Cristian Damián Battocchio (; born 10 February 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Monopoli. Born in Argentina, he represented Italy at the under-20 and under-21 international levels.

Club career

Udinese Born in Rosario, Argentina, Battocchio arrived at Italian club Udinese in 2009 at the age of 16 from Newell's Old Boys in Argentina for a transfer fee of €200,000 In the 2010–11 season he became the captain of the youth team of Udinese. On 27 February 2011, he made his debut with the first team of Udinese against Palermo in an historic 7–0 victory for Udinese, coming on from the bench after the game had already been won.

On 29 September 2011, he made his second appearance with the first team in the UEFA Europa League competition, facing Celtic in a 1–1 draw.Football Italia – the Italian football website for English-speaking football fans before the match his first team coach Francesco Guidolin said that Battocchio was now ready for the first team and compared him to David Pizarro, Johan Walem, the youth coach of Udinese, said "he is now stable for the first team, has important qualities: vision of the game, a good foot, kick the penalties. He can do well as a deep-lying playmaker".

Watford On 30 August 2012, Battocchio was loaned to Watford, with Watford having the choice to purchase him at the end of the deal. Battocchio played in Watford's 4–0 win over Huddersfield on 19 January, and scored Watford's final goal – his first for the club – with a lovely finish from a beautiful team move which has been described as one of the best team goals ever at Vicarage Road. This goal won Watford "Goal Of The Season" as voted by the fans and Battocchio was awarded the trophy. Battocchio then scored his second goal for Watford against Blackpool on 9 March 2013.

Battocchio signed for Watford on a permanent basis on 19 July 2013, with the contract running for a period of three years until 2016. Battocchio scored his first league goal as a permanent Watford player in a 1–0 win at home to Wigan Athletic on 28 September 2013.

Loan to Virtus Entella After falling down the pecking order under then Watford manager Beppe Sannino, Battocchio moved on a season-long loan to Serie B side Virtus Entella on 26 August 2014.

Brest Battocchio left Watford in the summer of 2015, signing a two-year deal at Stade Brestois 29 on 11 August 2015.

Maccabi Tel Aviv On 10 July 2017, Battocchio signed a two-year contract at Maccabi Tel Aviv with an option to extend for another year.

Return to Brest On 19 January 2019, Battocchio joined Brest for a second time. On 3 December 2019, he scored his first Brest goals (and Brest's first top-flight hat-trick in almost 29 years) in a 5–0 win over RC Strasbourg.

Tokushima Vortis On 4 February 2021, Battochio signed for Japanese side Tokushima Vortis.

UNAM In the summer of 2021, Battocchio arrived in Mexico City for a nice vacation, hired by Pumas UNAM.

Monopoli On 2 August 2024, Battochio signed a contract with Monopoli in Serie C for one season, with an option to extend. In January 2026, Battocchio extended his contract with the Apulian side until the summer of 2027.

International career On 9 October 2011, Battocchio was called up to the Italy U20 squad by coach Luigi Di Biagio. Then, on 9 November 2011, he made his debut with Italy U20s in a friendly against Ghana U20s, ending in a 3–0 win for the . He went on to play for Italy at U21 level.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsUdinese2010–11Serie A1000——102011–124000—3Appearances in the Europa League0702012–131000—0010Total6000—3090Watford (loan)2012–13Championship2421000—2522013–143543031—415Total5964031—667Virtus Entella (loan)2014–15Serie B32000——320Brest2015–16Ligue 23351000—3652016–173582020—398Total68133020—7313Maccabi Tel Aviv2017–18Ligat Ha`Al2510050110411Brest2018–19Ligue 21420000—1422019–20Ligue 11000010—110Total2420010—252Tokushima Vortis2021J1 League1002020—140UNAM2021–22Liga MX180——10190Volos2022–23Super League Greece4000——40Sektzia Ness Ziona2022–23Ligat Ha`Al1200000—120Chennaiyin2023–24Indian Super League1703010—210Career total2752212014115031623

References

External links