Emiliano Moretti

Early career

Moretti started his career with local club Lodigiani, and in 1998 transferred to 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 for a fee of €2.6 million, and was loaned to Modena to help them avoid relegation. In 2003, Parma signed Moretti for €1.8 million (part of Stephen Appiah's €2 million loan), loaning him to Serie A team Bologna. In 2004, with Parma facing financial problems and Claudio Ranieri becoming head coach of Valencia, the left defender was traded to Valencia.

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…

Club

International

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 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 Italy. He made his second and final appearance for Italy a 1–1 friendly draw against England in Turin on 31 March 2015.

A naturally left-footed defender, Moretti was originally an attacking left-back, but throughout his career he has often been used as a central defender. He is noted for his physicality, good positional sense, excellent technique, and ability in the air.