- Riccardo Montolivo
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Riccardo Montolivo Personal information Date of birth 18 January 1985 Place of birth Caravaggio, Italy Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)[1] Playing position Midfielder Club information Current club Fiorentina Number 18 Youth career 2000–2003 Atalanta Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2003–2005 Atalanta 73 (7) 2005– Fiorentina 196 (14) National team‡ 2004–2007 Italy U21 20 (3) 2008 Olympic Italy 5 (1) 2007– Italy 29 (1) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:45, 2 November 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:00, 11 October 2011 (UTC)Riccardo Montolivo (Italian pronunciation: [rikˈkardo montoˈlivo]; born 18 January 1985 in Caravaggio, Province of Bergamo) is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italian national team. He was appointed club captain during the 2009–10 season.
Montolivo is a prototypical "regista" (deep-lying playmaker), similar to Andrea Pirlo. Though he prefers to play in the middle, he can play anywhere including defensive midfield but he is more comfortable in an attacking role.[citation needed] Montolivo was born to an Italian father and German mother.
Contents
Club career
Atalanta
Montolivo began his career in Serie B with Atalanta. At the age of 18, he made his debut during the 2003–04 season. He played 41 matches and scored four goals, helping Atalanta gain promotion to Serie A.[1] In his first season in Serie A, he played 32 times and scored three goals.[1] However, his efforts were in vain as Atalanta were relegated back down to Serie B.
Fiorentina
Montolivo moved to Fiorentina in the summer of 2005. Initially Atalanta retained part-ownership of the player but the following summer they relinquished that option as Fiorentina took full ownership.[citation needed]
During the 2006–2007 season Montolivo's first-team chances were limited, partly due to the fact that he was still an inexperienced player and partly because manager Cesare Prandelli had a relatively stable and reliable squad of players at his disposal.[citation needed] The young man's talents did not go unrecognised though. He became a fixture in Italy's Under-21 team, coached by Pierluigi Casiraghi.[citation needed]
The 2007–2008 season started well for the Viola midfielder: in the first match day he was as one of the best on the field against Empoli, against which he also scored a splendid goal from a lob.[citation needed] The season follows between ups and downs, but Montolivo confirms himself during the course of the championship as one of the best talents in Italian Football.[citation needed]
In early 2010, due to the departures of then-captain Dario Dainelli and vice-captain Martin Jørgensen, Montolivo was appointed captain of the Tuscany-based club. At the end of the 2010–11, Montolivo refused to sign a contract extension, which had a year remaining.[citation needed]
International career
On 10 October 2006, Montolivo scored the winning goal when Italy's under-21 team beat Spain 2–1 and qualified for 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. [1]
On 17 October 2007, Montolivo debuted for the Azzurri in a 2–0 friendly win against South Africa.[2][3] He was also called up for Italy's provisional squad before the Euro 2008 tournament. However Coach Roberto Donadoni would eventually omit him from the final list of 23.
Montolivo was summoned by Pierluigi Casiraghi to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, scoring one goal in the tournament.[citation needed] After playing a bit-part role at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, he started all 3 games at the 2010 FIFA World Cup partnering Daniele De Rossi as a replacement for the injured Andrea Pirlo. He scored his first senior international goal on 10 August 2011 in a friendly against Spain. Montolivo scored the opening goal in a match that Italy won by two goals to one.[4]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Europe Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Atalanta 2003–04 41 4 2 0 — — 43 4 2004–05 32 3 1 0 — — 33 3 Total 73 7 3 0 — — 76 7 Fiorentina 2005–06 20 1 0 0 — — 20 1 2006–07 35 2 0 0 — — 35 2 2007–08 34 3 0 0 9 1 43 4 2008–09 34 4 0 0 8 0 42 4 2009–10 36 2 3 0 10 1 49 3 2010–11 29 2 0 0 — — 29 2 2011–12 8 0 1 0 — — 9 0 Total 196 14 4 0 27 2 227 16 Career total 269 21 7 0 27 2 303 23 Personal life
Montolivo holds German citizenship – his mother is from Kiel and his grandparents are from Schleswig-Holstein.[5] He speaks fluent German and has publicly stated that he is an atheist.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d "Riccardo Montolivo". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. http://www.soccerway.com/players/riccardo-montolivo/4040/. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ "Riccardo Montolivo". National Football Teams. http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=24497. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ Saaid, Hamdan (18 April 2008). "International Friendly Matches 2007". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesf/friend-intres2007.html. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ Martin, Andy (10 August 2011). "Fernando Torres of Chelsea suffers concussion in Spain defeat by Italy". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/aug/10/fernando-torres-chelsea-spain-italy. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ^ a b "Montolivo intervistato dal Guerino: "Voglio vincere con questa maglia!"" (in Italian). Fiorentina. 27 January 2009. http://www.fiorentina.it/notizia.asp?IDNotizia=69266&IDCategoria=98. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
External links
- Profile at ACF Fiorentina official site
- Riccardo Montolivo – FIFA competition record
ACF Fiorentina – current squad 1 Boruc · 2 Krøldrup · 5 Gamberini (c) · 6 Vargas · 7 Cerci · 8 Jovetić · 9 Babacar · 10 Silva · 11 Gilardino · 13 Kharja · 14 Natali · 15 Nastasić · 16 Cassani · 17 Salifu · 18 Montolivo · 19 Felipe · 20 Munari · 21 Lazzari · 22 Ljajić · 23 Pasqual · 25 Agyei · 26 Matos · 28 Romizi · best player of all time Gabrial batistuta
29 De Silvestri · 31 Camporese · 32 Marchionni · 36 Gulan · 37 Boadu-Maxwell · 40 Piccini · 41 Lezzerini · 60 Pazzagli · 85 Behrami · 89 Neto · 92 Rômulo · Manager: Rossi
Categories:- 1985 births
- Living people
- People from Caravaggio
- Italian footballers
- Atalanta B.C. players
- ACF Fiorentina players
- Serie A footballers
- Serie B footballers
- Italy under-21 international footballers
- Italy international footballers
- Olympic footballers of Italy
- Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- 2010 FIFA World Cup players
- Italian people of German descent
- Italian atheists
- German people of Italian descent
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