Fabio Coltorti

Fabio Coltorti (born 3 December 1980) is a Swiss former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Fabio Coltorti
Coltorti as a Grasshoppers player (2007)
Personal information
Full name Fabio Coltorti
Date of birth (1980-12-03) 3 December 1980
Place of birth Kriens, Switzerland
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1987–1999 Kriens
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Kriens 12 (0)
2001–2003 Schaffhausen 61 (0)
2003–2005 Thun 58 (0)
2005–2007 Grasshoppers 77 (0)
2007–2011 Racing Santander 36 (0)
2011–2012 Lausanne-Sport 24 (0)
2012–2018 RB Leipzig 92 (1)
Total 360 (1)
National team
2006–2007 Switzerland 8 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Coltorti was born in Kriens. During his career in his country he played with SC Kriens, FC Schaffhausen, FC Thun and Grasshopper Club Zürich, being first choice for the latter three sides.

On 30 August 2007, Coltorti penned a four-year contract with Spanish club Racing de Santander, for €1 million.[1] During his first season with the Cantabrians he was mainly restricted to Copa del Rey matches, which also happened in the following; his La Liga debut came on 22 December 2007, in a 1–4 away loss against Sevilla FC.[2]

From mid-December 2009 to February 2010, Coltorti had his longest league run in Racing's goal, benefitting from starter Toño's injury. In the first eight matches the team only lost once, at Villarreal CF (2–0), conceding just seven goals.[3] He would finish the campaign with 23 league appearances, as they barely avoided relegation after finishing in 16th position.

Toño returned to full fitness for 2010–11, playing 37 of 38 league games. In mid-June 2011, Coltorti returned to his country and signed a one-year deal with FC Lausanne-Sport.[4] During a league game against BSC Young Boys in early April of the following year he injured his little finger in the final minutes but, rather than leaving the pitch as his team had already used all three substitutes, he relocated his finger back into place and continued playing until the end of the 3–1 away win.[5]

In the summer of 2012, Coltorti joined German club RB Leipzig,[6] helping it promote from the Regionalliga Nord to the 2. Bundesliga in just two years.[7] In late July 2014 he suffered a serious knee injury, going on to be sidelined for several months.[8] On 24 April of the following year he became the first goalkeeper to score a winner from open play in any of the two major levels of German football, netting in the 90th minute for a 2–1 home victory over SV Darmstadt 98.[9]

Coltorti's maiden and only appearance in the Bundesliga took place on 1 April 2017, as the 36-year-old was in goal during the 4–0 home win against Darmstadt.[10] He announced his retirement in August 2018, with a testimonial match due to be held in his honour the following year.[11]

International career

Coltorti was called up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup despite having only one cap for the Switzerland national team, won in a friendly with Scotland on 1 March 2006.[12][13] He also appeared twice for the under-21 side.

References
  1. "Coltorti ficha por el Racing" [Coltorti signs for Racing] (in Spanish). UEFA. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  2. Cejas Rubio, Antonio (22 December 2007). "El Sevilla toma aire" [Sevilla breathe]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  3. Matilla, Alfredo (25 March 2010). "Coltorti salva; Tchité desespera" [Coltorti saves; Tchité despairs]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  4. Fernández, Pedro (16 June 2011). "Coltorti se compromete un año con el Lausana" [Coltorti commits to Lausanne for one year]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  5. "Coltorti verteidigt Sieg mit gebrochenem Finger" [Coltorti defends win with broken finger]. Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 9 April 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  6. "Coltorti geht nach Deutschland" [Coltorti goes to Germany] (in German). UEFA. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  7. "RB Leipzig schreibt mit Aufstieg Geschichte" [RB Leipzig make history with promotion]. Die Welt (in German). 3 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  8. "RB Leipzig-Torhüter Coltorti fällt mit Knieverletzung lange aus" [RB Leipzig goalkeeper Coltorti out for several months with knee injury]. Die Welt (in German). 22 July 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  9. "Leipzigs Torwart Coltorti schreibt Geschichte" [Leipzig goalkeeper Coltorti makes history] (in German). T-Online. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  10. "AllerHAND! Illegales Tor von Keita" [Crass! Keita's goal should not have stood]. Bild (in German). 1 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  11. Grimm, Anne (22 August 2018). "Coltorti beendet Karriere bei RB Leipzig und bekommt ein Abschiedsspiel" [Coltorti ends career at RB Leipzig and gets a farewell match] (in German). Sport Buzzer. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  12. "New boys enter Swiss fray". UEFA. 22 February 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  13. Perrin, Emile (2 March 2006). "Une année bien lancée..." [Year begins well...] (in French). Arc Info. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
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