Emiliano Moretti

Emiliano Moretti

200px Moretti playing for Torino in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth	(1981-06-11) 11 June 1981
Place of birth	Rome, Italy
Height
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Torino
Number	24
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–	Torino	88	(4)
International career‡
1997–1998	Italy U16	4	(0)
2001	Italy U20	1	(0)
2001–2004	Italy U21 / Olympic	24	(0)
2014–	Italy	2	(0)
Medal record Representing Italy Men's Football 2004 Athens Team Competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 May 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 March 2015

Emiliano Moretti (born 11 June 1981) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Torino and the Italy national team.

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.

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, he became the oldest player to debut for the Italian national football team, playing as a starter in a friendly against Albania.

Club career

Early career

Moretti started his career with local club Lodigiani, and in 2000 transferred to AC 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, and was loaned to Modena F.C. to help them avoid relegation. In 2003, Parma signed Moretti for €1.8M (part of Stephen Appiah's €2M loan), loaning him to Serie A team Bologna. In 2004, with Parma facing financial problems and Claudio Ranieri becoming head coach of Valencia CF, the left defender was traded to Valencia CF.

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.

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 2012-2013 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

After being close to a renewal with Genoa, on 11 July 2013 he was signed by Torino for €700,000, on a two-year contract. On 17 August 2013 he officially debuted during a game of Coppa Italia, lost to Pescara, 1–2. He scored his only goal of the season during a 4–1 win against Catania. At the end of the positive 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. It was his second goal for Torino.

On 30 August of that same year he scored the equaliser against Fiorentina; the game would end 3–1 for the Granata. It was his fourth goal for Torino. On 25 November, his contract with the club was renewed until 2017.

International career

File:20150616 - Portugal - Italie - Genève - Emiliano Moretti.jpg

Moretti playing with Italy in 2015

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.

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. 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 the Italian national team.

Style of play

Naturally left-footed, he was originally a left-back, but throughout his career he has often been used as a central defender. He is noted for his physicality, excellent technique and good heading technique.

Honours

Club

• Coppa Italia (1):

Fiorentina: 2000–01

• Supercoppa Italiana (1):

Juventus: 2002

• Serie A (1):

Juventus: 2002–03

• Copa del Rey (1):

Valencia: 2007–08

• UEFA Super Cup (1):

Valencia: 2004

International

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship (1):

Germany 2004

• Olympic bronze (1):

Athens 2004

Orders

4th Class / Officer: Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2004

Career statistics

Club

Updated 21 December 2014.

Season	Team	League			Domestic Cup			European Competition			Other Tournaments			Total
		Comp	Apps	Goals	Comp	Apps	Goals	Comp	Apps	Goals	Comp	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1997–98	Lodigiani	C1	5	0	CI	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	0
1998–99	Fiorentina	A	0	0	CI	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	0
1999–00		A	0	0	CI	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	0
2000–01		A	9	0	CI	4	0	-	-	-	SI	1	0	14	0
2001–02		A	27	0	CI	0	0	CU	6	0	-	-	-	33	0
Total Fiorentina			36	0		4	0		6	0		1	0	47	0
2002	Juventus	A	8	0	CI	3	0	UCL	3	0	SI	1	0	15	0
2003	Modena	A	9	0	CI	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	0
2003–04	Bologna	A	32	0	CI	2	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	34	0
2004–05	Valencia	PD	23	1	CR	0	0	UCL+CU	4+2	0+0	-	-	-	29	1
2005–06		PD	33	0	CR	0	0	Int	1	0	-	-	-	34	0
2006–07		PD	23	2	CR	0	0	UCL	10	0	-	-	-	33	2
2007–08		PD	28	1	CR	9	0	UCL	7	0	-	-	-	44	1
2008–09		PD	28	0	CR	2	0	-	-	-	SS	2	0	32	0
Total Valencia			135	4		11	0		24	0		2	0	172	4
2009–10	Genoa	A	29	1	CI	1	0	UEL	7	0	-	-	-	37	1
2010–11		A	18	0	CI	3	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	21	0
2011–12		A	27	1	CI	2	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	29	1
2012–13		A	33	0	CI	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	34	0
Total Genoa			107	2		7	0		7	0				121	2
2013–14	Torino	A	36	1	CI	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	37	1
2014–15		A	35	2	CI	1	0	UEL	11	0	-	-	-	47	2
Total Torino			71	3		2	0		11	0				84	3
Total career			403	9		29	0		51	0		4	0	487	9

External links

• Official WebSite (Italian), (Spanish)
• Short bios at UEFA.com
• (Italian) FIGC
• (Dutch) Stats. at Voetbal International
• (Spanish) Profile and stats. at Valencia CF site