Massimo Maccarone
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Massimo Maccarone (; born 6 September 1979) is an Italian
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
coach and former player, who played as a striker. He was nicknamed ''Big Mac'' during his playing days.


Club career


Early career

Maccarone started his career at
A.C. 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 ...
's youth system. In 1998, he went on loan 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 ...
but did not make a single appearance. In 1999, he was transferred to
Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...
team
Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...
(in a co-ownership deal), scoring 20 goals in 28 league matches, finishing the season as the top scorer in the 1999–2000 Serie C2 season. In 2000, he was bought back by Milan and transferred to Empoli F.C., helping the club get promoted 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 ...
during the 2001–02 season. In the same period, he was one of the most outstanding players of the Italian U21 team which reached the semi-finals in the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. As a result, he was noticed by several teams.


Middlesbrough

Maccarone was signed by
English Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
team
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
on 9 July 2002 for £8.15 million (€12.7 million). He made his debut against
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
on 17 August 2002. On his second appearance and his home debut the following week he scored twice in a 2–2 draw with
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
. Another highlight in his first season was scoring twice as Middlesbrough defeated
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
5–1. Maccarone was an unused substitute when Middlesbrough won the
2004 Football League Cup Final The 2004 Football League Cup Final (known as the Carling Cup final for sponsorship reasons) was a football match that took place on 29 February 2004 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2003–04 Football League Cup, ...
. Despite showing fine early form in his first few matches for Middlesbrough, the remainder of his spell at the club was a struggle to justify his price tag and during the first half of the 2004–05 season he was loaned out 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 ...
club
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, ...
, and in January 2005 to
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 ...
. Maccarone returned to Middlesbrough for the 2005–06 season, and despite not being a regular first-team player, endeared himself to the Middlesbrough fans, especially through his work-rate and attitude. The player's spell at Middlesbrough is remembered for two last-minute winners in key
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
ties in 2006. He scored against
Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
in the second leg of the quarter-finals, a tie in which Middlesbrough overturned a three-goal deficit to win 4–3 on aggregate. In the semi-final of the same competition he came on as a substitute and scored twice in the aggregate 4–3 win over Steaua Bucharest, scoring one of Middlesbrough F.C's most iconic goals of all time, once again in the 90th minute, taking ''Boro'' to the
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 ...
in
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, in which he came on as a substitute. Following his exploits in the semi-final, fellow Middlesbrough striker
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink ( ; born 27 March 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Born in Suriname, he and his family would later move to the Dutch city of Zaandam where he first played football, initially a ...
declared "Massimo, I love him until I die... it's unbelievable".


Siena

Despite these heroics, he made few appearances for Middlesbrough in the following season and in January 2007, Maccarone moved to Siena in a free transfer, signing a three-year contract. In February 2007, he made headlines by criticising former Middlesbrough and then-
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manager
Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English football coach and former player who is currently the manager of the Jamaica national team. McClaren began his coaching career with Oxford United, before joining Derby County in 1995. In 1999 ...
for his "ineptitude", causing his club's chairman Steve Gibson to call Maccarone "a fool". On 11 February 2007, he played his first Serie A match after his Siena return, against
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 ...
. Maccarone scored a brace in the 4–3 defeat against
A.C. 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 ...
on 17 February, to register his first goals for Siena. He finished 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 ...
with six goals, and added 13 in the following (club best by a long margin), as Siena achieved two consecutive 13th league places. After the club was relegated at the end of the 2009–10 season, Maccarone agreed a move to Sicilian Serie A club
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 ...
, signing a three-year deal with the ''rosanero'', for €4.5 million.


Palermo

His stint at Palermo however turned out to be a disappointing one, with only two league goals in 18 games.


Sampdoria

On 24 January 2011, Maccarone signed for Sampdoria for €2.7 million on a -year contract.''Relazione sulla Gestione'' of UC Sampdoria Report and Accounts on 31 December 2010 (in Italian)


Empoli

From January 2012 to June 2014 Maccarone returned to Empoli in temporary deals. His contract was also extended to 30 June 2015 in 2012. On 17 July 2014 he was allowed to join Empoli on a free transfer.


Brisbane Roar

On 17 July 2017, Maccarone signed a one-year marquee deal with
A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
club Brisbane Roar.


Carrarese

On 25 May 2018, he was signed by Italian
Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...
team
Carrarese Carrarese Calcio 1908, commonly referred to as Carrarese, is an Italian football club based in Carrara, Tuscany. The team plays in Serie B, second tier of Italian football, after promotion from Serie C in 2023–24. History The club was foun ...
.


International career

During his time at Empoli, Maccarone made his debut with the Italy Under-21 side under
Marco Tardelli Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internazion ...
. He later earned a place as a starting striker in Claudio Gentile's Italy Under-21 side between 2000 and 2002. In total, he scored 11 goals with the Under-21 side in 15 appearances, and he took part at the 2002 Under-21 European Championship with Italy, where he finished as the tournament's top scorer, with 3 goals, helping Italy to reach the semi-finals, where they lost out to the eventual champions, the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. During the group stage, he scored two goals in a 2–1 win against the England Under-21 side in Basel. In 2002, he played twice for the
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 the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
senior side. He made his senior international debut on 27 March, in a friendly match against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in Leeds; he came on as a late substitute, with the score level at 1–1. In injury time, Maccarone was fouled in the area by the English goalkeeper David James, allowing
Vincenzo Montella Vincenzo Montella (; born 18 June 1974) is an Italian association football, football manager and former striker (association football), striker. He is the current head coach of the Turkey national football team. Montella's nickname during his p ...
to score the winning goal from the penalty spot. Maccarone had scored a goal in a 1–1 friendly draw in Bradford against the England Under-21 side earlier that week. It had been over seventy years that a
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 ...
player had made his debut with the Italy national side before 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. He made his second and final appearance for the Italian senior side on 16 October 2002, in a 2–1 away defeat against
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
in a European Championship qualifying match.


Style of play

Maccarone predominantly played as a striker, although he was also capable of being deployed as a supporting forward or as a winger, where he was able to move into the center of the pitch and
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shots towards goal with his stronger foot, due to his striking ability from distance, and his eye for goal. Maccarone was capable of shooting with either foot, and he possessed good tactical intelligence, pace, and technique, as well as a strong mentality and good composure in front of goal; however, he was effective in the air.


Coaching career

Following his retirement, he stayed on at
Carrarese Carrarese Calcio 1908, commonly referred to as Carrarese, is an Italian football club based in Carrara, Tuscany. The team plays in Serie B, second tier of Italian football, after promotion from Serie C in 2023–24. History The club was foun ...
as a technical collaborator under his former boss Silvio Baldini for the 2020–21 season, leaving in April 2021 following the appointment of Antonio Di Natale as the club's new head coach. In June 2022, Maccarone took on his first role as head coach, accepting a job offer from Tuscan
Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...
amateurs Ghiviborgo. After a single season at Ghiviborgo, Maccarone was named new head coach of Serie D fallen giants
Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...
; he was however dismissed from his coaching post just a few months later, on 12 November 2023, following a negative start to the club's league campaign.


Career statistics


Club


Managerial


Honours


Club

Middlesbrough *
Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
: 2003–04 *
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
runner-up: 2005–06


Individual

* UEFA European Under-21 Championship Top-scorer:
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...


References


External links

*
FIGC national team stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maccarone, Massimo 1979 births Living people Footballers from the Province of Novara Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers AC Milan players Brisbane Roar FC players Empoli FC players Modena FC 2018 players Middlesbrough F.C. players Parma Calcio 1913 players Siena FC SSD players SSD Varese Calcio players AC Prato players Palermo FC players UC Sampdoria players Carrarese Calcio 1908 players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Premier League players A-League Men players Men's association football forwards Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Marquee players (A-League Men) Italian expatriate sportspeople in Australia Italian football managers Piacenza Calcio 1919 managers