Matteo Pessina (born 21 April 1997) 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 ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He is

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of club

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...

, on loan from

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

. He also plays for the Italy national team. Coming through the youth system, Pessina started his career at

. He joined

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 season ...

in 2015, who sent him on loan to

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the provinc ...

, Catania and

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has m ...

. In 2017, he moved to

, and was loaned out to

Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

and

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. Hi ...

. Pessina became a starter for Atalanta upon his return from loan in 2020. He returned to his hometown club Monza in 2022 and was made club captain. Pessina represented Italy internationally at under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels, before making his senior debut in 2020. He was part of Italy's squad at

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Euro ...

, where he scored two goals to help his side win the competition.

Club career

Monza

Born in

, Italy, Pessina began his youth career at local club La Dominante aged five. In 2007, aged 10, Pessina joined

's youth sector. He made his senior debut for Monza on 2 October 2013, in a

Coppa Italia Lega Pro Coppa Italia Serie C ( it, Serie C Italian Cup), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the ...

game against AlbinoLeffe. Pessina was made a permanent member of the first team in the 2014–15 season; he made his league debut on 6 January 2015, in which he also scored a goal, against Pro Patria. Pessina finished the season with three goals in 20 appearances in the regular season of the

Lega Pro The Serie C () 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 body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

, as well as three goals in two games in the relegation play-outs, won against

Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian and fur, Pordenon) is the main ''comune'' of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The name comes from Latin ''Portus Naonis'', meaning 'port on the Noncello (Latin ''Naon'') River'. H ...

AC Milan

Despite avoiding relegation, Monza was forced to restart from the

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

due to a bankruptcy: Pessina became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, and was signed by

on 30 June 2015.

Loans to Lecce, Catania and Como

Pessina was promptly sent on loan to

in the Lega Pro in August 2015. During the 2015–16 season, Pessina was used infrequently: he only made one appearance in the

and three in the league. In January 2016, the loan was interrupted and Pessina was loaned out to Catania. Even in his second loan spell, he was used infrequently, playing only one league game in the second half of the season. In summer 2016, Pessina was loaned out to Como. He played as a starter in the 2016–17 season, making two appearances in the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...

, three in the Coppa Italia Lega Pro, 35 in the league (scoring nine goals) and one in the promotion play-offs.

Atalanta

On 7 July 2017, Pessina signed a contract with

, as part of a swap deal involving Andrea Conti moving the other way.

Loan to Spezia

On 25 August 2017, Pessina was signed on loan by

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named 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 been ...

side

. He scored his first Serie B goal against Salernitana on 23 February 2018. Due to his performances, having scored two goals in 38 appearances, Pessina was nominated Best Young Player of the Serie B at the Serie B Gran Galà Top 11.

Return to Atalanta

In summer 2018, Pessina returned to Atalanta. He made his debut on 26 July, playing the first leg of the

second qualifying round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

as a starter, in a 2–2 home draw against

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...

; it was also his debut in

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...

club competition. He made his

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

debut on 20 August 2018, aged 21, replacing

Mario Pašalić Mario Pašalić (; born 9 February 1995) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for side Atalanta and the Croatia national team. He began his career at Hajduk Split before moving to Chelsea for a reported £3 ...

in the second half of the first matchday, a 4–0 home win against

Frosinone Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the ...

. He made 19 appearances in all competitions, including five in the preliminary rounds of the Europa League and two in the

Loan to Hellas Verona

In August 2019, Pessina joined newly-promoted Serie A side

on loan with an option to buy. On his debut, six days later, he scored his first Serie A goal in a 1–0 win against

in the second matchday. Pessina ended the 2019–20 season with seven goals in 35 league appearances.

Starter at Atalanta

After returning from loan in summer 2020, Pessina made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

debut with Atalanta on 21 October, in a 4–0 win against Midtjylland. Starting from November, Pessina started finding more space in Atalanta's starting lineup; on 3 January 2021, he scored his first goal with Atalanta, in a 5–1 home win over

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; egl, label= Modenese, Sasól ) 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 fo ...

. In the second leg of the

semi-final, he scored a

brace Brace(s) or bracing may refer to: Medical * Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement ** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine *** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cu ...

in a 3–1 win against

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, which allowed Atalanta to progress to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. On 29 September 2021, he scored the sole goal in a win against Young Boys on the second matchday of the Champions League group stage: it was his first goal in a UEFA competition.

Loan to Monza

On 6 July 2022, Pessina returned to his former club Monza, who had been promoted to the Serie A for the first time in their history; he joined on a one-year loan, with an option and conditional obligation for purchase, and was made club

. He made his debut on 26 August, as a substitute in a 2–1 home defeat to

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a foo ...

. On 2 October, Pessina scored his first Serie A goal for Monza in a 3–0 away win to

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s ...

International career

Youth

Pessina was a member of the Italy U20 side that finished in third place at the

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 ...

. He made his debut with the U21 team on 5 October 2017, in a 6–2 friendly win against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Senior

Pessina was called up to the

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

senior squad by manager

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Sampd ...

in November 2020, and made his senior debut for Italy on 11 November, featuring as a substitute in a 4–0 friendly win against

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

in Florence. On 28 May 2021, Pessina scored his first goal for Italy in the 75th minute of a 7–0 home win in a friendly against

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

; he scored a second goal in the 87th minute. In June 2021, he was included in Italy's preliminary squad for

by manager

, but he was initially left out of the final 26-man squad for the tournament. However, following an injury to

Stefano Sensi Stefano Sensi (; born 5 August 1995) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Monza, on loan from club Inter Milan, and the Italy national team. He began his career with Italian side Cesena in 2013, and was sub ...

, Pessina was called up to the tournament in his place. He made his first appearance in the tournament as a late substitute in Italy's group match against Switzerland on 16 June, a 3–0 win for Italy. He then started in the match against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 20 June, scoring the only goal of the match in the team's 1–0 victory in Rome; the result allowed them to top their group. On 26 June, after coming off the bench for

Nicolò Barella Nicolò Barella (born 7 February 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Inter Milan and the Italy national team. He is often recognized as one of the best midfielders in Europe. Club career Cagliari ...

, Pessina scored the match-winning goal in a 2–1 win in

extra-time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

over

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in the round of 16, which allowed Italy to progress to the quarter-finals. On 11 July, Pessina won the European Championship with Italy following a 3–2

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory over

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in the

, after a 1–1 draw in

. On 20 November 2022, Pessina came on as a substitute in a 2–0 friendly defeat to Austria, becoming Monza's first-ever player to play for the Italy national team.

Style of play

Primarily an offensive-minded

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, known as the '' mezzala'' role in Italian football jargon, Pessina is also capable of playing as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or even as a winger. A left-footed player, he possesses good technique, and is known for his ability to create chances for teammates or make late attacking runs off the ball into the penalty area; he is also known for his defensive qualities and work-rate. In his position, he has been likened to midfielders

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, ...

and

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfiel ...

for his surging runs and eye for goal. He has cited both English midfielders among his idols growing up.

Personal life

Pessina studied

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

at the LUISS Business School in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pessina goal.''

Honours

Italy U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when ...

third place:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Italy *

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

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

Orders :*

5th Class / Knight: '' Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 2021

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pessina, Matteo 1997 births Living people People from Brianza Sportspeople from Monza Footballers from Lombardy Association football midfielders Italian footballers A.C. Monza players A.C. Milan players U.S. Lecce players Catania S.S.D. players Como 1907 players Atalanta B.C. players Spezia Calcio players Hellas Verona F.C. players Serie C players Serie B players Serie A players Italy youth international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Italy international footballers UEFA Euro 2020 players UEFA European Championship-winning players Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic