Federico Balzaretti (; born 6 December 1981) 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 a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Currently is the Loan Manager of

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. A product of the

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

youth system, his first experience as a professional footballer was on loan to

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

and

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 ...

, returning to Turin to play a year in Serie A and two in

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 ...

. Later he moved to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, playing a year in Serie A and the Champions League and winning the ''

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (; Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous ...

'', later revoked for the events of ''

Calciopoli ''Calciopoli'' () was a sports scandal in Italy's top professional association football league Serie A, and to a lesser extent, Serie B. The scandal centered on the manipulation of referee appointments to favor certain clubs during the 2004- ...

'' and the next season in the lower division that ended in promotion. Sold 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 2007, after half a season he moved to

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, with whom he played in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. In 2010, he was called up to the Italy national team and took part in the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

, where Italy finished as runners-up . The same summer, he moved to

. After struggling with injuries, on 12 August 2015, he announced his retirement from football after having made a total of 221 appearances and scored 4 goals in Serie A and 130 appearances and 3 goals in Serie B.

Club career

Torino

Balzaretti began his playing career at the age of 6 for hometown club

, playing in the various youth teams. He soon gained a reputation as an athletic wing-back with enormous potential, and was soon loaned out to provincial sides

and

between 1999 and 2002. A local, Balzaretti identified with the supporters and shortly became a symbol for Torino supporters, kissing the badge under the ''curva'' at the end of games. In 2004–05, he was heavily involved in the campaign for promotion, which brought the team back to

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 ...

. However, the promotion, achieved on the field, was lost during the difficult pre-season retreat after the bankruptcy of ''Torino Calcio''. Balzaretti, as all the other players, were released and allowed to come to agreements with other teams.

Juventus

On 15 August 2005, Balzaretti was signed by cross-city rivals

on a free transfer. "It was a hard decision," Balzaretti said. "But I only moved to Juve because I was promised I would stay and not be sold. I can't lie that the thought of staying in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, my home, was a big factor." His first wife, Jessica, was then pregnant with daughter Lucretia, influencing his stay in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. The move was interpreted as an act of betrayal by the Torino faithful (Balzaretti, having previously sworn eternal love for his former club) which have, ever since, booed and insulted him whenever he returns to Turin. In 2005–06 he was part of the first team for the ''bianconeri'', often playing as regular under orders of coach

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL, AS Roma, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus FC, Juventus. H ...

, and finally winning the Serie A league. His first ever senior goal came on 17 February 2007, in

, as Juventus beat

Crotone Crotone (; ; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( or ; ), it became a great Greek city, home of the renowned mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras amongst other famous citizens, and one ...

5–0.

Fiorentina and Palermo

Balzaretti was sold to

in July 2007 for €3.8 million fee, but failed to adjust with the ''Viola'' as he made only six appearances in the first half of the

Serie A 2007-08 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

, and was subsequently signed by

on a -year contract in a permanent move (loan with an option to buy according to financial report) during the January transfer market, also for €3.8 million (€1.27 million for loan plus €2.53 million). At Palermo, Balzaretti took the #42 jersey as a homage to his father, who was born in 1942; in his tenure with the Sicilian side, he immediately established himself as a mainstay, playing regularly for the ''rosanero'' also in the following seasons and establishing as one of the most praised Italian left backs. In January 2010, Balzaretti signed a new -year contract.

Roma

On 1 August 2012, Balzaretti signed a three-year contract with

, for a fee of €4.5 million. He made his debut in a 2–2 draw against

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, during the 2012–13 season. He scored his first goal for Roma in the

Derby della capitale The Derby della Capitale (), also known as Derby Capitolino and Derby del Cupolone, as well as The Rome Derby in English and Derby di Roma in Italian, is the Association football, football local derby in Rome, Italy, between SS Lazio, Lazio and ...

match against

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, on 22 September 2013; Roma won the game 2–0. During his second season at the club, however, Balzaretti suffered a severe case of

athletic pubalgia Athletic pubalgia, also called sports hernia, core injury, hockey hernia, hockey groin, Gilmore's groin, or groin disruption, is a medical condition of the pubic joint affecting athletes. It is a syndrome characterized by chronic groin pain in ...

following Roma's match against

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

, on 10 November 2013, which threatened to end his career; due to the pain in his pelvis, he had to undergo several operations. He finally returned to the pitch on the final match of the 2014–15 season, in a 2–1 home defeat to his former club Palermo, on 31 May 2015.

Retirement

On 12 August 2015, Balzaretti declared his retirement from professional football. He stated that failing to fully recover from the hip injury that he had battled with for the past two years was the reason for him to quit for good at the age of 33. The following is taken from Balzaretti's public statement:

International career

Steven Gerrard and Federico Balzaretti England-Italy Euro 2012

After playing with a number of youth selections between 2000 and 2002, Balzaretti made his debut with the Italy national team under coach

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 ...

on 17 November 2010, in a friendly match against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. He has been selected in the Italian team for

, becoming the starting left-back in the third match at the group stage as Italy moved from 3–5–2 to 4–4–2. He also played the entire match against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

as a right-back due to absences of

Christian Maggio Christian Maggio (; born 11 February 1982) is an Italian former footballer who played as a right-back, as a wing-back, or as a right winger. A dynamic and hard-working offensive full-back, prior to joining Napoli in 2008, Maggio played for Ita ...

who was suspended and

Ignazio Abate Ignazio Abate (; born 12 November 1986) is an Italian professional football coach and a former full-back. Although naturally a winger, he could also play as a wide midfielder, wing-back, and on rare occasions, as a centre-back. As a player, A ...

who was injured but stayed on the bench, conceding a penalty during stoppage time, but also helping his team to reach the tournament

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Style of play

An offensive-minded, left-sided full-back, who was also capable of playing as a winger, wing-back, or as a wide-midfielder, Balzaretti's main attributes were his pace, stamina, and crossing ability. A tactically versatile player, he was also capable of playing on the right side of the pitch.

Post-playing career

Following his retirement, Balzaretti agreed to stay at Roma, working under Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini. He stated, “I will now form part of the sports management staff here at Roma. It's something I like and feel is right for me." On 2 November 2021 he was announced as the new director of football of struggling

club

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 ...

Personal life

Balzaretti is married to renowned Italian

ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

Eleonora Abbagnato Eleonora Abbagnato (; born 30 June 1978) is an Italian ballet dancer, model, and actress. Between 2013 and 2021 she was Danseur étoile, Étoile at the Paris Opera Ballet. Early life and education Born in Palermo, Abbagnato started dancing at ...

; their wedding took place in summer of 2011 in Palermo. They have two children. Balzaretti has two children from a previous relationship.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Juventus *

: 2006–07 Roma *

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 ...

runner-up:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Italy *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

runner-up:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Individual *

Serie A Team of the Year The AIC Serie A Team of the Year (in Italian: ''Squadra dell’anno AIC'') is an annual award given to a set of eleven footballers in the top tier of Football in Italy, Italian football, the Serie A, who are considered to have performed the best d ...

: 2011–12

References

External links

Career profile
at US Palermo official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balzaretti, Federico 1981 births Living people Footballers from Turin Italian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Juventus FC players ACF Fiorentina players Torino FC players Siena FC SSD players Palermo FC players SSD Varese Calcio players AS Roma players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Italy men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2012 players Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Italy Mediterranean Games medalists in football Competitors at the 2001 Mediterranean Games 21st-century Italian sportsmen