Michele Cossato

Michele Cossato

Personal information
Date of birth	April 28, 1970 (1970-04-28) (age 41)
Place of birth	Milan, Italy
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Retired
Youth career
?-1986	Chievo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1986–1997	Chievo	189	(41)
1987–1988	→ Valdagno(loan)	19	(4)
1990–1991	→ Oltrepò (loan)	5	(0)
1990.11-1991	→ Perugia (loan)	3	(0)
1997–1999	Venezia	34	(11)
1998.10-2000	Atalanta	24	(2)
2000–2003	Verona	51	(6)
2003–2004	Fiorentina	6	(0)
2004	Cittadella	10	(0)
2004–2006	Montichiari	52	(17)
2006–2008	Domegliara	33	(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Michele Cossato (born April 28, 1970 in Milan) is an Italian former professional footballer who now plays as a striker for Domegliara, a team that competes in Serie D of the Italian Championship. He is the brother of Federico Cossato.

His first achievements in football took place in Verona, where he grew up. He played in the Veronese teams Chievo Verona and Hellas Verona.

The early years

Michele's long football career began in the football season of 1986–1987, when, although he was still very young, he joined A.C. ChievoVerona. During that year the team moved down to the lower series, C2. He was then sold to Valdagno, to get experience in playing for the Interregional Championship (the current Serie D). With the team of Vicenza he scored 4 goals in 19 matches. In the 1988–1989 Championship he returned to Chievo, and was part of the team's most triumphant season (which resulted in their promotion to C1). In the summer of 1990 he was lent to Oltrepò and then to Perugia Calcio, in C1. In the 8 matches he played, no goals were scored. In the season 1991–1992 the Chievo decided to keep the player, whose season has unfortunately not been memorable: in fact, he played 3 matches without scoring a goal.

Chievo

The C1 Championship 1992–1993 enshrines the aging football of Cossato, who is noted by scoring 5 goals in 25 matches. The following season, with its 8 goals in 28 matches, gives a fundamental contribution to the promotion of Chievo in B. In the three years as a cadet played for Chievo, he confirmed himself as a prolific striker (28 goals scored in 104 matches). Become a key player for the team, he meant salvation for his team in 1994 and in 1995 as well. In the 1996–1997 season, the one in which Chievo almost got a promotion in A, he established along with Raffaele Cerbone one of several pairs of the League (32 total goals). At the end of the season he left Chievo, together with the trainer Malesani, another big maker of the then excellent championship team.

Promotion and difficulty

After the long and successful period with Chievo, Cossato went to Venice, which strongly fought to obtain the promotion in Series A. The promotion is very positive for both the player and his team. The worship of the success of the so called Lagoon (reference to Venice) is largely attributable to the couple of attack formed by Schwoch (17 goals) and Cossato (11 goals). In the season 1998–1999 he had the opportunity to play in Serie A, but being not included in the plans of the team he didn't make its debut in the championship. In October he returned to Atalanta. In his period in Bergamo, Cossato, due to several physical problems, wasn't able to express himself at best and to meet the high expectations placed on him.

Hellas Verona

During the month of January 2000 he went back to Verona, this time to play with the team of Hellas. On 6 February 2000 he made his debut in Series A (playing Verona – Fiorentina, ended with a 2–2). The year ended with no goals scored by Cossato. The precarious physical condition allowed him to play only a few times in season 2000–2001 (14 matches, 2 goals). Indeed, on June 24, 2001, during the play-off return to escape relegation in Serie B between Reggina and Hellas Verona, he put off a goal which meant salvation for the team. This made him extremely popular among supporters of Verona. Cossato has been nicknamed Super Mike and in his honor several gadgets have been created. In the first Derby in A with Chievo some physical problems continued to prevent him by a continuous use (7 presences, 1 goal). At the end of the season, Hellas retroceded in the B series. In his last season with the team, the attacker scored 3 goals in 22 league appearances.

Fiorentina, Citadel and recovery in Montichiari (2003–2006)

After the period with the Verona, Cossato was bought by ACF Fiorentina in September 2003. The trainer saw him as the expert attacker who could give a valuable contribution for the immediate return of the team in the premier league. However, the experience of Cossato with the team of Florence is anything but memorable. Between the beginning of the championship in January he played only a few minutes and didn't score any goal. Thus, with the beginning of 2004, he moved to the Citadel, in the C1 League. Even with the team of Padua he failed to make better (10 presences, no goals). In 2004, the player signed the offer of Montichiari, playing in C2. The first season with the team of Brescia was very positive. The player, in fact, went back to his goal continuity (15 goals in 27 presences) becoming a player of primary importance for his team. The championship 2005–2006 was Cossato's last among professionals. He scored 2 goals.

Domegliara (2006–2008)

In the summer of 2006 he accepted the proposal by Claudio Paiola, ambitious president of Domegliara, training veronese of Valpolicella. He had therefore the possibility of closing his career close to home and at the same time, to make a good contribution in terms of experience to his new team, which had as its objective the jump in Serie D. In 2007, the Domegliara won the championship of Excellence gaining promotion. Cossato fell 16 times in 2 marking networks. He remained in the next season of Serie D player on the staff headed by Paolo Vanoli.

In the summer of 2008 was reached by his brother Federico, but the permanence of both lasted only a few months and in December received the consensual termination of the contract.

Selection Padana

At the beginning of June 2008, Michele Cossato advocated to the ideals Po Valley and announced its aggregation row in the selection of Padania football team to tackle the 2008 edition of Viva World Cup, World Cup between national NF-Board and not recognised by FIFA, along with his brother Federico.

External links

• Profile at lega-calcio.it

Persondata
Name	Cossato, Michele
Alternative names
Short description	Italian former professional association footballer
Date of birth	April 28, 1970
Place of birth	Milan
Date of death
Place of death