Enrico Alfonso (born 4 May 1988) is an Italian 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 plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for club

Virtus Verona Virtus Verona, founded as Unione Sportiva Virtus Borgo Venezia in 1921, sometimes referred to as Virtus Vecomp Verona for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian association football club located in Borgo Venezia, a district of Verona, Veneto. It c ...

Club career

Early career

Aged only 6 years old, Alfonso began his playing career with Alte di Montecchio. He spent 4 years with the club, before moving for one season at

Montecchio Maggiore Montecchio Maggiore () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is situated approximately west of Vicenza and east of Verona; SP 246 provincial road passes through it. Montecchio Maggiore borders the following muni ...

at the age of 10. After that season, Alfonso joined

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona. History The name came from t ...

's Giovanissimi. He was sent on loan to

Pizzighettone Pizzighettone ( Pizzighettonese: ) is a ''comune'' of the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy. The main population centre is located on the river Adda and is divided into two parts: Pizzighettone on the east bank and Gera on the we ...

Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...

in summer 2006. He competed with

Alex Cordaz Alex Cordaz (born 1 January 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Vigne. Career Inter Milan Cordaz started his career at Inter Milan. In the 2001–02 season, he was the regular selection ahead of Mathieu Mor ...

for first choice until Cordaz ended his loan.

Inter Milan

On 27 August 2007, he joined

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 co-ownership deal, for €1.9 million, signing a five-year deal with the club. He replaced

Fabián Carini Héctor Fabián Carini Hernández (born 26 December 1979 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played three seasons at Uruguayan club Danubio F.C before signing for Italian club Juventus in ...

, who left for

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...

, as fourth goalkeeper (but in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

the 4th keeper was

Paolo Tornaghi Paolo Tornaghi (born 21 June 1988) is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Club career Youth career Born in Garbagnate Milanese, the Province of Milan, Tornaghi started his career with Inter Milan. Tornaghi had played for Inter f ...

). He took the number 71 shirt, which was previously owned by Cordaz. On 17 January 2008 Alfonso made his debut against Reggina 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 the match he was forced to make two good saves, keeping a clean sheet to help Inter win 3–0 (7–1 on aggregate). In January 2008 Alfonso was loaned out to

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

until the end of the 2007–08 season. Alfonso spent the 2008–09 season on loan 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 ...

side

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

. After Pisa's relegation to

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into ...

, and ultimately its financial collapse, Internazionale secured a loan move to

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

for Alfonso for the 2009-10 Serie B season. In the next season he became the starting goalkeeper of Modena, playing 31 times. In July 2011 he was transferred to

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 ...

along with

Michele Rigione Michele Rigione (born 7 March 1991) is an Italian footballer who plays for side Avellino as a centre back. Club career Chievo and Inter Born in Naples, Campania, Rigione had played for Veneto club Chievo since 2001. In August 2007 he joined I ...

and

Riccardo Bocalon Riccardo Bocalon (born 3 March 1989) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Renate. Career Treviso Born in Venice, Veneto, Bocalon started his career with Treviso. In January 2008, he was signed by Internazio ...

. They finished as the losing semi-finalists in the promotion playoffs. On 21 June 2012, Inter bought Alfonso outright for €1.1 million, with

Matteo Solini Matteo Solini (born 9 March 1993) is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender for club Mantova. Career Youth career Born in Bussolengo, the Province of Verona, Veneto region, Solini started his career at Verona club Chievo. In August ...

returning to Chievo, also for €1.1 million. In July 2012, he returned to

Lega Pro clubs

In late July 2013 Alfonso joined

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

as a trialist, in which he played as one of the starting keepers in the pre-season games. On 10 August 2013 Alfonso signed a 1-year contract with

, in

Lega Pro The Lega Italiano Calcio Professionistico (Italian for Professional Football Italian League), commonly known as Lega Pro (Pro League), is the governing body that runs the third tier of professional football competitions in Italy, the Serie C. I ...

. Alfonso immediately replaced Angelo Di Stasio as the starting keeper of Vicenza in competitive games, his debut being the second round of the

2013–14 Coppa Italia The 2013–14 Coppa Italia, also known as TIM Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 67th edition of the domestic competition. As in the previous year, 78 clubs have taken part in the tournament. Lazio were the cup holders. Napoli were the winners, ...

. He was the first choice in the match after, against

Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who mainly played as a second striker, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has wor ...

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

. Vicenza were promoted back to Serie B in 2014 as a replacement of

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, despite finished as a losing quarter-finalist in the 2014 promotion playoffs. On 26 September 2014, Alfonso went to Pro Piacenza as a free agent. On 16 July 2015, Alfonso was signed by

A.S. Cittadella Associazione Sportiva Cittadella, commonly referred to as Cittadella, is an Italian professional football club based in the city of Cittadella, Veneto, currently playing in , but will play in Serie C following relegation in the 2024–25 seaso ...

Return to Cremonese

On 26 August 2020 he returned to

SPAL

On 29 January 2022, he signed with

SPAL Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly referred to by the acronym SPAL (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. During the 2024–25 season the team played in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian foot ...

until 30 June 2023.

Virtus Verona

On 6 August 2024, Alfonso moved on loan to

. On 3 February 2025, Virtus Verona made the transfer permanent.

International career

Alfonso had been part of every minor

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 ...

s, from the under-15 to the under-21. He took part in

2005 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship The 2005 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the fourth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship. Italy hosted the championship, during 3–14 May. Turkey defeated Netherlands in the final to win the competition for the secon ...

(in which he was sent off in the third match) and

2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the eleventh edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura and Iquitos in Peru from 16 September to 2 October 2005. Players born after 1 January 1988 could participate i ...

. He was not played in any match of 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship elite qualification and was rarely selected for the U-19 team. On 5 September 2007, the round 1 of 2007–08 Four Nations Tournament, Alfonso played the whole match of Italy under-20 national team against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Alfonso managed to hold a clean sheet, as the match ended in a goalless draw. On 5 October 2007, Pierluigi Casiraghi called up Alfonso, along with teammate

Francesco Bolzoni Francesco Bolzoni (born 7 May 1989) is a retired Italian footballer who played as a midfielder. He is a former Italy U21 international. Club career Internazionale Bolzoni started out at San Colombano al Lambro before joining Inter's academy. ...

, to form part of the

Italy national under-21 football team The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 Association football, football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, held every two ...

. The national side would be involved in the

2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship started on 31 May 2007 with a qualifying competition and finishes on 15 October 2008, before the final tournament on 15–23 June 2009. 51 of the 52 other nations in UEFA's jurisdiction, including Monten ...

matches against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. However, he did not play nor was he named on the bench. That season he only managed to play the third and sixth round of the Four Nations Tournament. He was called up to the

2008 Toulon Tournament The 2008 Toulon Tournament was the 36th edition of the Toulon Tournament, and was held from 20 May to 29 May 2008. Tournament finished with the final between Italy and Chile at Stade Mayol in Toulon as Italy had the title after the final score of ...

from Italy Olympic where he played two matches keeping one clean sheet, during the group stages, after Italy already qualified for the next round with a win. He was not selected to

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

in August. Despite having still been eligible for the 2009–11 season, he did not receive any call-up.

References

External links

*
FIGC
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonso, Enrico Living people 1988 births Footballers from Padua Men's association football goalkeepers Italian men's footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers AC ChievoVerona players AS Pizzighettone players Inter Milan players Pisa SC players Venezia FC players Modena FC 2018 players US Cremonese players LR Vicenza players AS Cittadella players Brescia Calcio players SPAL players Virtus Verona players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players 21st-century Italian sportsmen