Domenico Morfeo
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Domenico Morfeo (born 16 January 1976) is an Italian former professional
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 played as
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 ...
, usually as an
attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
. Throughout his career, he played for several clubs in Italy, and also spent short spells at many top Italian clubs. At the international level, he played for the Italy national under-21 team. A highly skilful and creative playmaker, with an eye for goal, he was regarded as one of Italy's most promising players in his youth, but he failed to live up to his potential in his later career.


Club career


Early years and emergence with Atalanta

Born in Pescina, Abruzzo, after joining the
Atalanta BC Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio (), commonly referred to as Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy, who compete in Serie A, the top tier of the Italian league system. Founded in 1907, Atalanta holds the record ...
youth academy in 1988, at the age of 14, Morfeo enjoyed a highly successful youth career with the Bergamo primavera squad, under manager
Cesare Prandelli Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian former football coach and former player. Playing career Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first game for Juventus was in the 1979–80 Eur ...
, winning the Campionato Allievi in 1992, and later the Trofeo Dossena, the
Campionato Nazionale Primavera The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in the 1 ...
, and the
Torneo di Viareggio The Torneo di Viareggio (), officially named the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament Coppa Carnevale, is a youth association football tournament held annually in the commune of Viareggio, Italy and its surrounding areas. Established in 1949, t ...
in 1993, establishing himself as one of Italy's most promising under-21 players. Morfeo subsequently began his professional career when he was promoted to the
Atalanta BC Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio (), commonly referred to as Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy, who compete in Serie A, the top tier of the Italian league system. Founded in 1907, Atalanta holds the record ...
senior side, making his
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
debut with the club later that year, at the age of 17, on 19 December, in a 2–1 home win over
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. he scored his first two goals for the club after coming on as a substitute against
Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...
, helping Atalanta to come back from behind to earn a 3–3 draw; he finished the 1993–94 season with 9 appearances and 3 goals. After helping Atalanta to gain Serie A promotion during the
1994–95 Serie B The Serie B 1994–95 was the sixty-third tournament of this competition played in Italy since its creation. Teams Chievo, Como, Perugia and Salernitana had been promoted from Serie C, while Piacenza, Udinese, Atalanta and Lecce had been relega ...
season under manager
Emiliano Mondonico Emiliano Mondonico (9 March 1947 – 29 March 2018) was an Italian professional association football, footballer and Coach (sport), coach. He played as a winger (association football), winger. His playing career was spent mostly with U.S. Cremon ...
, Morfeo soon came to prominence with the club during the 1995–96 season alongside
Christian Vieri Christian Vieri (; born 12 July 1973), commonly known as Bobo Vieri, is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning ...
, scoring 11 goals in 30 league appearances, at the age of 19, and also reaching the Coppa Italia final, losing out to
Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...
. The following season, he scored less frequently, managing only five goals, but provided several assists for his new attacking partner
Filippo Inzaghi Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi (; born 9 August 1973) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently the head coach of club Pisa. He was nicknamed "Superpippo" (" Super Goof") or "Alta ten ...
; together, they formed a formidable offensive partnership, and Inzaghi finished the season as the league's top-scorer.


Fiorentina and loan struggles

Morfeo's precocious performances led to a move to
Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...
in 1997, for an undisclosed fee. During his time in Florence, despite the presence of the attacking trio of Manuel
Rui Costa Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors. ...
,
Gabriel Batistuta Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Archangel Gabriel, A ...
and
Luís Oliveira Luís Airton Barroso "Lulù" de Oliveira (born 24 March 1969) is a football manager and former player. A striker, he spent most of his playing career in Italy. Born in Brazil, Oliveira was an international footballer for Belgium. Playing care ...
on the team, he initially managed to find space in the starting eleven under manager
Alberto Malesani Alberto Malesani (; born 5 June 1954) is an Italian football manager and former player. As a manager, he is mostly remembered for his successful spell with Parma during the late 1990s, with whom they won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the ...
, although following the arrival of
Edmundo Edmundo is variation of the English name Edmund, meaning “protector of prosperity or riches.” It is common in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. Some individuals include: * Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto (born 1971), former Brazilian foot ...
, he later struggled to find playing time; in spite of the competition for a starting spot, he still managed 5 goals in 26 appearances for the club, and also provided several assists for his teammates throughout the
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
. After failing to appear in Fiorentina's opening five league matches under new manager
Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), popularly nicknamed "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian former Association football, football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Football in Italy, Italian football ...
the following season, Morfeo was sent on loan to Italian giants
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
in 1998, who had been impressed by the youngster's performances the previous season; however, his time at the Milanese club was largely unsuccessful, as several injuries and disagreements with manager
Alberto Zaccheroni Alberto Zaccheroni (; born 1 April 1953) is an Italian former association football, football manager, formerly in charge of the United Arab Emirates national football team, United Arab Emirates and Japan national football team, Japan national fo ...
limited his playing time, and he only managed to obtain eleven appearances, mostly as a substitute, scoring one goal. Furthermore, Milan's rigorous use of the 4–4–2 system and subsequent switch to a 3–4–3 formation, neither of which featured an attacking midfielder, meant that Morfeo was often forced to play out of position as a winger, where he was not as effective or influential to the team's attacking play; as a result, he was often benched. Despite his mixed success throughout the season, he still managed to win his only professional trophy with the club that year, as Milan finished the 1998–99 season by claiming the Serie A title. Due to his subsidiary role in Milan's title victory, his loan was not renewed the following season, and Fiorentina instead loaned him out to
Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
. Morfeo's first half of the season was largely unsuccessful, as he managed only one goal in five appearances due to injury; in January 2000, he moved on loan to
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
, where he was reunited with his former Atalanta youth coach, Prandelli. In the second half of the 1999–2000 season, despite another injury, his performances improved drastically, and he scored five goals in ten appearances playing as a second striker, as well as providing several decisive assists, which ultimately helped Verona avoid relegation. After being sidelined through injury for the first half of the 2000–01 season with Fiorentina, Morfeo briefly returned to Atalanta on loan the following January; during this time, however, he struggled with injuries and due to his character, and ultimately failed to consistently replicate the quality performances he had managed during his first spell with Atalanta, despite some promising performances, and a respectable tally of five goals in 17 appearances. After Fiorentina's financial difficulties had forced the club to sell several key players, Morfeo returned to the side for the 2001–02 season, and was now expected to be a central figure for the club; however, Fiorentina endured a difficult season, which ultimately ended with
relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
to
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
and bankruptcy, while Morfeo was limited to just two goals in 18 appearances, once again due to injury troubles.


Inter, Parma, and later career

The following season, Morfeo was signed by
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
on a free transfer; however, he once again struggled at the club, due to several clashes with teammates, and manager
Héctor Cúper Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player who was most recently head coach of the Syria national team. As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Ferro Carril Oeste, w ...
, who frequently deployed Morfeo on the wing, and was eventually benched. Inter narrowly missed out on the
2002–03 Serie A The 2002–03 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 101st season of top-tier Italian football, the 71st in a round-robin tournament. It was composed by 18 teams, for the 15th consecutive time from season 1988–89. ...
title, and also reached the Champions League semi-finals, while Morfeo only scored one goal in 17 appearances. Morfeo later spent five seasons with
Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
, from 2003 to 2008, where he was initially once again re-united with Prandelli, whose decision to field the playmaker in his favoured number 10 role was met with notable success and a great improvement in form. In later seasons, however, Morfeo once again clashed with his managers, and was often left out of the starting eleven; in total, Morfeo managed 16 goals in 101 Serie A appearances for the Emilian side. At the age of 32, he then agreed to start the 2008–09 season with
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
club
Brescia Calcio Brescia Calcio, commonly referred to as Brescia (), is an Italian football club based in Brescia, Lombardy. The team currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, but will play in Serie C in 2025–26 due to financial contro ...
, but in October 2008 he ultimately decided to retire from football citing lack of motivation, and did not appear for the club in league, making his only appearance for Brescia in the
Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
. In January 2009 he stepped back on his decision and returned to play football for the second half of the season with
Cremonese Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...
, in the lower divisions, where he was re-united with coach Mondonico once again. Following a lengthy ban, he fully retired from football in February 2011, after a season with
San Benedetto dei Marsi San Benedetto dei Marsi (, ; ) is a ''comune ''and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is on the eastern shore of the dried Lake Fucino, from the remains of another ancient site, Alba Fucens. Near the town ...
in the
Seconda Categoria The Seconda Categoria is the 8th level (since 2014–15) in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Seconda Categoria level progresses to their closest regional league in the Prima Categoria level. Depending on ...
division. In total he scored 56 goals in 300 professional appearances throughout his career, scoring 54 goals in Serie A; 14 of these were scored from outside the area, with 8 of them coming from free-kicks, while only three were scored with his head, and ten with his right foot.


International career

Morfeo was never capped by the
Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...
at senior level, although in February 1996, he was called up by
Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach, best known for having twice managed AC Milan. Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and his Milan side (1987–1991) is widely regarded ...
along with several other young, promising Italian players to an Italy training camp. Between 1991 and 1992, Morfeo represented the Italy Under-15 and Under-16 side, collecting 7 appearances and scoring two goals for the team. In 1993, he was called up to the Italy Under-18 side, with which he scored six goals in as many appearances. At Under-21 level, he was first called up under
Cesare Maldini Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender. Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Trie ...
in 1995, and he was later one of the key players in Italy's victorious
1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1994–96), had 44 entrants. After the quarter-finals stage, Spain were chosen as the hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total. Italy U-21s won the compe ...
campaign, scoring the decisive penalty in the final shoot-out victory against
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
following a 1–1 draw, after coming on as a substitute for goalscorer
Francesco Totti Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for AS Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He was a technically gifted and creati ...
in the second half; that same year, he represented the youth side at the
1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
. In total, he managed 7 appearances with the under-21 side between 1995 and 1997, scoring 1 goal for the ''Azzurrini''.


Style of play

Although Morfeo usually played as an
attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
, he was often not deployed in his normal position at the beginning of his career, due to the prevalence of the 4–4–2 formation; he was therefore capable of playing in several midfield and attacking positions, and could also play as a left winger, as a
second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...
, or even as a
deep-lying playmaker In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
. A talented, diminutive, and creative player, with good feet, a slender physique, and an eye for goal, he was capable of both setting-up goals and scoring them himself with his excellent left foot, which initially earned him comparisons with his idol
Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pr ...
, as well as
Gianni Rivera Giovanni "Gianni" Rivera (; born 18 August 1943) is an Italian politician and former association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Dubbed Italy's "Golden Boy" by the media, he played the majority of his club career wi ...
, and in particular
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
, leading him to be nicknamed ''Maradonino''. Although he was not a particularly prolific player, he possessed an accurate and powerful shot from outside the area, and was also an accurate
free-kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offenc ...
taker. Gifted with an intuitive capacity to interpret the game, Morfeo was known above all for his creativity, technical skills, vision, passing, and playmaking ability, as well as his adeptness at making attacking runs into the area, which made both him a dangerous attacking threat and an excellent assist provider. A quick and skilful dribbler, he was also known for his excellent technique, close control, and ability to dribble with his head up when in possession of the ball. In addition to his footballing skills, he was known for his confident and extroverted personality; however, he also had a difficult character, which led him to be involved in several conflicts with his managers. He was also notorious for his lack of notable pace or tactical discipline, and his arrogance and poor work-rate on the pitch, as well as his inconsistency and proneness to injury; as a result, he struggled to stand out in larger teams, in which he faced more competition for a starting spot, and which did not allow him to be deployed in his favoured role as a classic number 10. In his youth, he was considered by several pundits to be one of the most promising and precociously talented players ever to come out of Italy in recent years; however, despite his ability, he never realised his full potential.


After retirement

Morfeo currently runs a restaurant in Parma, where he resides with his family.


Personal life

Domenico's brother, Mario, was also a footballer.


Honours


Club

;Milan *
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
: 1998–99


International

;Italy U21 *
UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...
:
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...


References


External links


Profile on ''La Gazzetta dello Sports official website

FIGC Profile


{{DEFAULTSORT:Morfeo, Domenico 1976 births Living people People from Pescina Italian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Atalanta BC players Cagliari Calcio players ACF Fiorentina players Inter Milan players AC Milan players Parma Calcio 1913 players Hellas Verona FC players US Cremonese players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Italy men's under-21 international footballers Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Italy Footballers from the Province of L'Aquila 20th-century Italian sportsmen