Emiliano Moretti

Emiliano Moretti (Italian pronunciation: [emiˈljaːno moˈretti]; born 11 June 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

Emiliano Moretti
Moretti with the Italy national team in 2015
Personal information
Full name Emiliano Moretti[1]
Date of birth (1981-06-11) 11 June 1981
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1991–1998 Lodigiani
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998 Lodigiani 5 (0)
1998–2002 Fiorentina 36 (0)
2002–2003 Juventus 8 (0)
2003 → Modena (loan) 9 (0)
2003–2004 Parma 0 (0)
2003–2004 → Bologna (loan) 32 (0)
2004–2009 Valencia 135 (4)
2009–2013 Genoa 107 (2)
2013–2019 Torino 175 (5)
Total 507 (11)
National team
1997–1998 Italy U16 4 (0)
2001 Italy U20 1 (0)
2001–2004 Italy U21 / Olympic 24 (0)
2014–2015 Italy 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He began his career at Lodigiani and was signed by Fiorentina in 1998. In March 2001 he made his debut in Serie A under Roberto Mancini, before spending periods at Juventus, Modena, Parma and Bologna. In 2004, he was signed by Spaniards Valencia, where he won the Copa del Rey in 2007–08. In 2009, he returned to Italy where he spent four seasons with Genoa. In August 2013, he was signed by Torino, where he remained until his retirement in 2019, having collected over 600 career appearances at club level.

Internationally, Moretti represented Italy at under-16 and under-20 youth levels. He was also part of the under-21 team that won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship and a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. On 18 November 2014, at the age of 33, he became the oldest player to debut for the Italy national football team, playing as a starter in a friendly against Albania. In total, he collected 2 appearances for Italy at senior level between 2014 and 2015.

Club career

Early career

Moretti started his career with local club Lodigiani, and in 1998 transferred to Fiorentina. He made his Serie A debut in March 2001, and was a member of the team that won the 2001 Coppa Italia. In the 2001–02 season, he played in 27 matches. Right before the Fiorentina bankruptcy, Moretti moved to Juventus in June 2002 for a fee of €2.6 million,[2] and was loaned to Modena to help them avoid relegation.[3] In 2003, Parma signed Moretti for €1.8 million[2] (part of Stephen Appiah's €2 million loan[4]), loaning him to Serie A team Bologna. In 2004, with Parma facing financial problems and Claudio Ranieri becoming head coach of Valencia, the left defender was traded to Valencia.[5]

Valencia

In the summer of 2004 he was transferred outright to Spanish club Valencia, who had already purchased fellow Italians Bernardo Corradi, Marco Di Vaio and Stefano Fiore. On 27 August, while remaining on the bench, he was part of the team that won the UEFA Super Cup, beating Porto 2–1. Claudio Ranieri would use Moretti predominantly at left-back, and, despite a difficult start due to competition with Fábio Aurélio and compatriot Amedeo Carboni, would soon earn the starting spot. He scored his first goal for Valencia on 28 November 2004 in the Primera División in a 2–0 home win against Mallorca. In the Champions League he played 4 games against Inter Milan, Werder Bremen and Anderlecht, with 29 appearances during the season.

The following season, he was a starter, making 33 appearances and a decisive contribution to the achievement of a third-place finish. At the beginning of the following season, on 6 November 2006, in the match against Espanyol, Moretti was seriously injured, damaging his lateral ligament of the knee, forcing him to the sidelines for more than three months. Despite the injury, the season remained one of the most important on a personal level and as a team, which reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, defeated only by Chelsea. Moretti ended the year with 34 total appearances.

The 2007–08 season was not as positive, which concluded with Valencia tenth. Moretti remained a protagonist of the side, leading to Valencia's victory on 16 April 2008 in the 2008 Copa del Rey Final, playing all the matches from the initial stage to the final.

The following season, he was still a starter in the Spanish side, which reached the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup, which concludes the year sixth place in the Primera División. Moretti disputed 32 games.

Genoa

After 172 appearances and 4 goals with the Spanish club, he returned to Italy to play for Genoa, engaged in the Europa League. The transfer fee was €3.5 million, according to Genoa.[6]

He made his debut for Genoa on 23 August 2009, a 3–2 victory at home against Roma. A week later he scored his first goal in red and blue colours against Atalanta. His first season with the Grifoni finished with 37 appearances and 1 goal in total. The following year, he only made 18 appearances under Gian Piero Gasperini, while the team finished the season in tenth place. The 2011–12 season is even more difficult for the team, and despite 27 appearances and a goal (against Inter Milan), Genoa finished in fourth last position. He was confirmed part of the Genoa defence for the 2012–13 season, contributing 33 total appearances.

On 5 May 2013, he celebrated his hundredth appearances in Serie A with the shirt of Genoa, on the occasion of a match ending 4–1 against Pescara.

Torino
Moretti with Torino in 2015

After being close to a renewal with Genoa,[7] on 11 July 2013 he was signed by Torino[8][9] on a free transfer,[10] on a two-year contract. He made his competitive debut for the Granata on 17 August, in Coppa Italia against Pescara.[11] He scored his first official goal for Torino on 24 December in a 4–1 win against Catania.[12] At the end of the season he extended his contract until 2016.

On 25 January 2015, he scored a goal in the 94th minute in which Torino defeated Inter Milan at San Siro after 27 years.[13] It was his second goal for Torino.[14][15]

On 30 August, he scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season, the equaliser in a 3–1 home win against Fiorentina. On 25 November, his contract was renewed until 2017.[16] On 2 April 2017, he scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season in a 2–2 home draw against Udinese. On 5 April, his contract was renewed until 2018.[17]

On 26 May 2019, he made his last appearance for Torino and of his football career, coming on as a substitute for Armando Izzo, and helped Torino beat Lazio 3–1 at home, after which he retired from professional football; in total, he collected over 600 career appearances at club level[18][19]

International career

Moretti was in Italy's squad in the 1998 UEFA European Under-16 Championship, which the Azzurrini lost to Republic of Ireland in the final. With the under-21, he won the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics football tournament.[5]

On 9 November 2014, he was called up to the senior national team by Antonio Conte ahead of a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Croatia and a friendly against Albania.[20] On 18 November, he was deployed as a starter in Genoa during a 1–0 win against Albania, becoming, at 33 years, 5 months and 7 days, the oldest player to debut for Italy.[21] He made his second and final appearance for Italy a 1–1 friendly draw against England in Turin on 31 March 2015.[22]

Style of play

A naturally left-footed defender, Moretti was originally an attacking left-back, but throughout his career he has often been used as a central defender. He is noted for his physicality, good positional sense, excellent technique, and ability in the air.[23]

Career statistics

Club
Source:[24]
Club Season League Domestic Cup Europe Other Total
CompAppsGoalsCompAppsGoalsCompAppsGoalsCompAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lodigiani1997–98Serie C150CI--------50
Fiorentina1998–99Serie A00CI00------00
1999–2000Serie A00CI00------00
2000–01Serie A90CI40---SI10140
2001–02Serie A270CI00CU60---330
Total360406010470
Juventus2002–03Serie A80CI30UCL30SI10150
Modena2002–03Serie A90CI--------90
Bologna2003–04Serie A320CI20------340
Valencia2004–05Primera División231CR00UCL+CU4+20+0---291
2005–06Primera División330CR00Int10---340
2006–07Primera División232CR00UCL100---332
2007–08Primera División281CR90UCL70---441
2008–09Primera División280CR20---SS20320
Total1354110240201724
Genoa2009–10Serie A291CI10UEL70---371
2010–11Serie A180CI30------210
2011–12Serie A271CI20------291
2012–13Serie A330CI10------340
Total107270701212
Torino2013–14Serie A361CI10------371
2014–15Serie A352CI10UEL110---472
2015–16Serie A351CI31------382
2016–17Serie A231CI30------261
2017–18Serie A220CI20------240
2018–19Serie A240CI20------260
Total17551211101986
Career total507113915104060112

International
Source:[24][25]
Italy
YearAppsGoals
201410
201510
Total20

Honours

Club

Fiorentina[24]

Juventus[24]

Valencia[24]

International

Italy U21[5][24]

Orders
4th Class / Officer: Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2004[26]

References
  1. "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 162" [Official Press Release No. 162] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 19 February 2019. p. 4. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  2. "Reports and Financial Statements at 30 June 2003" (PDF). Turin: Juventus F.C. 28 October 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  3. "Modena draft Moretti". UEFA.com. 29 January 2003. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  4. "Agreements with Parma A.C. S.p.A." (PDF) (Press release). Turin: Juventus F.C. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. "Emiliano Moretti" (in Italian). Vivo Azzurro. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  6. "Nota Integrativa". Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A. bilancio al 2009-12-31 [Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A. financial report at 31 December 2009] (in Italian). Genoa: Italian C.C.I.A.A. 2010. Capitolo 2.
  7. "ESCLUSIVA TMW - Genoa, Moretti verso il rinnovo. Idea biennale". TUTTOmercatoWEB.com. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  8. "MORETTI PASSA AL TORINO" (Press release) (in Italian). Genoa CFC. 11 July 2013. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  9. "Moretti al Toro!" (in Italian). Torino FC. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  10. "Nota Integrativa". Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A. bilancio al 2013-12-31 [Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A. financial report at 31 December 2013] (in Italian). Genoa: Italian C.C.I.A.A. 2014. p. 40.
  11. "Torino vs. Pescara - 17 August 2013 - Soccerway". Au.soccerway.com. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  12. "Torino vs. Catania - 24 November 2013 - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  13. "Torino defender breaks 27-year San Siro curse". Forzaitalianfootball.com. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  14. "Australian FourFourTwo". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  15. "Inter vs. Torino - 25 gennaio 2015 - Soccerway". it.soccerway.com. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  16. "Torino, dopo Maxi Lopez tocca alla vecchia guardia. Arrivano altri quattro rinnovi". Repubblica.it. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  17. "Moretti rinnova sino al 2018". Torinofc.it. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  18. "Torino-Lazio 3-1: l'ultima va a Mazzarri. Festa per Moretti" (in Italian). Il Corriere dello Sport. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  19. Fabrizio Turco (26 May 2019). "Torino-Lazio 3-1: Iago Falque, Lukic e De Silvestri firmano il successo granata" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  20. "Liverpool's Mario Balotelli recalled to Italy squad for Euro qualifier". The Guardian. Press Association. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  21. "Italy: Okaka breaks Albania". Football Italia. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  22. Phil McNulty (31 March 2015). "Italy 1–1 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  23. Giulia Abbate (5 June 2015). "Il pagellone 2014/2015: Gaston Silva" (in Italian). Gazzetta Granata. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  24. "E. Moretti". soccerway.com. soccerway. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  25. "Moretti, Emiliano" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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