Matteo Giampaolo Vitaioli (born 27 October 1989) is a Sammarinese

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays for La Fiorita as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. In 2007, he became the youngest ever player for the

San Marino national football team The San Marino national football team () represents San Marino in men's international association football competitions. The team is governed by the San Marino Football Federation and represents the smallest population of any UEFA member. They ...

. In 2022, he became the most capped footballer for the country.

Club career

Born in

Fiorentino Fiorentino (Romagnol: ''Fiurentêin'') is one of the nine castelli of San Marino. It occupies an area of and is the fourth smallest castello in the country by land area. As of 2023, it had a population of 2,615 inhabitants. History The ter ...

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

, Vitaioli has represented four clubs on a permanent basis:

San Marino Calcio Associazione Camachista San Marino Calcio, better known as San Marino Calcio, is a Sammarinese professional football club based in the city of Acquaviva, that competes in the Serie D, the fourth tier of Italian football, since being promoted i ...

, F.C. Fiorentino, Sammaurese and Tropical Coriano and has played for four clubs on loan:

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...

(although he failed to make a single league appearance in the second half of

2005–06 Serie A The 2005–06 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 104th season of top-tier Italian football, the 74th in a round-robin tournament. The league commenced on 28 August 2005 and finished on 14 May 2006. While Juventus w ...

), ASD Cagliese, Real Montecchio and P.D. Castellarano.

International career

At the age of 17 years-old, he became

's youngest ever international player in 2007. He played for the

as they secured a 0-0 draw against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

in 2014. He scored his first goal on 8 September 2015, in a 2-1 defeat in a European Championship qualifier away to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It was San Marino's first away goal in 14 years. He was considered to be one of the most promising young talents in the

, often regarded as a key member of the squad, partnering with

Andy Selva Andy Selva (born 23 May 1976) is a Sammarinese former Association football, footballer who is currently the manager of Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Campionato Sammarinese club S.S. Cosmos, Cosmos. During his playing career he played as a F ...

and Nicola Ciacci in a three-pronged San Marino attack. By 2024, he had become the captain of the San Marino national team, and in 2022, he became the most capped player in his country’s history with his 74th international appearance against Estonia, overtaking the 73 caps earned by Selva. On November 18, 2024, he played as San Marino secured promotion from the fourth and bottom tier of the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

with a 3-1 win away against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. He wears the number 7 shirt for both club and country.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list San Marino's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Vitaioli works as a graphic designer. He has one daughter. His brother Fabio Vitaioli also played alongside him for the San Marino national football team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitaioli, Matteo 1989 births Living people People from Fiorentino Sammarinese men's footballers San Marino men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders San Marino Calcio players FC Fiorentino players PD Castellarano players Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio players Graphic designers