Marco Amelia

Early career

Born in Frascati, Province of Rome, Amelia grew up as part of the Roma youth system, and initially played as a forward, before playing in goal. In 2001, he left the Giallorossi to join Serie C1 club Livorno on loan, playing only once in his first season with the Tuscan side; he was successively confirmed by Livorno in the 2002–03 season, for a transfer fee of €2.8 million, as part of the deal that acquired half of Giorgio Chiellini's registration rights for €3.1 million, and promoted as regular by head coach Roberto Donadoni in the club's Serie B comeback campaign. Amelia then spent two unremarkable loan spells at Lecce and Parma (both Serie A) before returning to Livorno in June 2004, becoming one of the team mainstays since then, and also having his chance to make a debut at European level in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, where he even managed to score a goal during the group stage, an injury time header in a 1–1 draw against Partizan in November 2006.

Palermo

In July 2008, after Livorno were relegated to Serie B, Amelia agreed a permanent deal and contract to join Palermo, for €6 million. Among the highlights of his season, fans mostly remembered Amelia for saving Ronaldinho's penalty in a 3–1 win over Milan, but also, in a more negative fashion, for failing to deal with Giuseppe Mascara's 49-yard strike in the Derby di Sicilia, which ended in a shocking 0–4 home loss for his side.

Genoa

In August 2009, Amelia moved to Genoa as part of a…

Amelia made his debut for the Italy under-15 side in March 1998, in a tournament held in France. With the Italy under-21 side, Amelia was the starting goalkeeper in Claudio Gentile's squad that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Later that year, he served as a back-up to Ivan Pelizzoli in the Italy under-23 squad which won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Amelia made his senior debut for Italy at age 23, on 16 November 2005, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 friendly draw against the Ivory Coast, in Geneva. He later became a permanent member of Marcello Lippi's squad, and was called up as Italy's third goalkeeper at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, behind Gianluigi Buffon and Angelo Peruzzi, and ahead of reserve Morgan De Sanctis. Italy went on to win the tournament, although Amelia did not feature in any matches throughout the competition. Following Peruzzi's retirement, Amelia became Italy's second-choice goalkeeper, behind Buffon. He was called up as Buffon's back-up for UEFA Euro 2008 by manager Roberto Donadoni and for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup by Donadoni's replacement, Lippi. Amelia's last appearance for Italy came on 10 June 2009 in a 4–3 friendly win against New Zealand, in Pretoria. In total, Amelia has made nine appearances for Italy.

Amelia initially played as a forward in his youth before moving to the position of goalkeeper. He was mainly known for his excellent reflexes, shot-stopping ability, and his command of his area as a goalkeeper, despite his relatively modest stature for a goalkeeper (6ft 1in). He was considered to be one of the best Italian goalkeepers of his generation in his prime, but his opportunities at international level were limited by the presence of Buffon as the Italy national team's starting goalkeeper.

After retirement, Amelia received his UEFA A coaching licence on 15 December 2017. In July 2018, he was appointed as the new head coach of Serie D club Lupa Roma. On 29 June 2019, he moved to Serie D club Vastese. He was sacked on 28 January 2020 due to poor results. On 1 March 2021, he agreed to return at Livorno as the club's new head coach, replacing Alessandro Dal Canto at the helm of the struggling Serie C side. He failed to save Livorno from relegation to Serie D and left by the end of the season; the club was successively dissolved due to longstanding financial issues. On 29 September 2021, he was hired by Serie D club Prato. However, his period in charge of Prato lasted only two months, as he was dismissed on 27 December 2021. In August 2024, Amelia was hired as the new head coach of recently-relegated Serie D club Olbia. After a negative start of the season with just one point achieved in the first four games of the season, however, Amelia was dismissed on 30 September 2024. On 12 December 2024, Amelia was appointed as the new head coach of Serie D amateurs Nuova Sondrio.