Federico Gatti

Youth career

In 2005, aged seven, Federico Gatti played in a friendly match for Chieri against Torino; Giorgio Boscarato, Torino's sporting observer, noted his talent as a trequartista and reported him to Silvano Benedetti, the Torino Youth Sector sporting director who ultimately signed him. Gatti was promoted to the under-15s side before moving on to Alessandria's youth team. Gatti spent the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons with the club's under-15s (Giovanissimi Nazionali) side and with the under-17s (Allievi) team. Throughout his youth career, Gatti was not considered by Torino nor by Alessandria. Gatti was sent on loan to Pavarolo in the 2014–15 season. Instead of playing with the under-17s side, Gatti spent most of the season playing for the under-19s (Juniores) team, with whom he scored 13 goals in 18 league appearances despite being only 17 years old.

Amateur career

In February 2015, Federico Gatti debuted with the Pavarolo first team, with whom he made four appearances that season. The following season, Gatti was promoted to the first team and scored three goals in 27 Promozione appearances; he also won the award for the Best Youth Player of the season. His side were also promoted to Eccellenza, having won the Coppa Italia Promozione Piemonte–Valle d'Aosta. In 2016, Alessandria loaned Gatti to Saluzzo but not having found much space, Gatti returned to Pavarolo in mid-January 2017. At the end of the season, Pavarolo avoided relegation to Promozione.…

In May 2022, coach of the Italy national football team Roberto Mancini called Gatti up for a three-day training camp in Coverciano. Gatti debuted on 11 June as a starter in a UEFA Nations League match against England. The match ended in a goalless draw, and Gatti was considered to have played like "a veteran" by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in the post-match report. On 3 June 2024, Gatti was called up to the preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024, replacing the injured Giorgio Scalvini.

Gatti is a robust, right-footed, centre-back who is 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) tall. According to Andrea Gigante writing for 90min.com, attributed Gatti's technique and vision to previous experience as a midfielder; he also has a strong personality and is strong in the air. According to Domenico Marchese writing for La Repubblica, Gatti excels at man-to-man marking. According to Pro Patria sporting director Sandro Turotti, Gatti can play in a four-man defence and can also play centre-right in a three-man defence as he did for Pro Patria.

Gatti is an only child; his father Ludovico was a sporting director during his experience at Pavarolo. At the age of 17, Federico Gatti left school and started working, following his father's unemployment. Gatti worked as a bricklayer and as a window manufacturer, repaired roofs and worked at markets for nine to ten hours a day until 2018. Gatti would train in the evenings, having dinner at 23:00 and would get up between 03:00 and 04:00. Gatti's career has also been compared to that of Moreno Torricelli, who played amateur football and was a joiner before signing with Juventus in 1992. Gatti considers Juventus' defender Giorgio Chiellini as his idol. Prior to switching positions from midfielder to defender, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Adel Taarabt and Radja Nainggolan had been his inspirations.