Michele Polverino (born 26 September 1984) is a Lichtensteiner professional

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 ...

manager and former player who played as a

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 ...

. He currently manager of

USV Eschen/Mauren USV Eschen/Mauren is a Liechtensteiner football club from Eschen and Mauren. They play at the Sportpark Eschen-Mauren, which used to be the national football stadium, until the Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz was built. USV Eschen/Mauren, like al ...

. Born in Switzerland, he made 79 appearances for the Liechtenstein national team scoring six goals.

Club career

FC Schaan

Polverino played for the youth teams of

FC Schaan FC Schaan is a Liechtensteiner professional football team that plays in Schaan. The reserve team is called FC Azzurri Schaan. It is one of the seven official teams in the nation and it plays in the Swiss Football League in 4. Liga, which is the e ...

until he was 18, when he moved to

FC Vaduz Fussball Club Vaduz (En: ''Football Club Vaduz'') is a professional association football, football club from Vaduz, Liechtenstein that plays in the Challenge League (Switzerland), Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. The club pla ...

FC Vaduz

He joined FC Vaduz in the summer of 2002, making 11 league appearances in his first season in the

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League (known as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the wi ...

(then known as the Nationalliga B). He remained with Vaduz until the end of the 2004–05 season, making 60 league appearances and scoring 8 goals.

Olbia Calcio

For the 2005–06 season, Polverino played for Olbia Calcio of

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 ...

, making 26 league appearances and scoring 1 goal as the club narrowly avoided relegation by winning the relegation playoff.

Second spell with FC Vaduz

Polverino rejoined Vaduz at the end of the 2005–06 season. He was part of the FC Vaduz squad that won promotion to the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

for the first time in the club's history in the 2007–08 season. He left at the end of the 2008–09 season, after the club was relegated back to the Swiss Challenge League.

FC Aarau

At the start of the 2009–10 season, Polverino joined

FC Aarau FC Aarau is a Swiss professional football club based in Aarau. Founded in 1902, the club competes in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from the Swiss Super League. History FC Aarau was form ...

of the Swiss Super League. At the end of the season the club was relegated down to the second tier, with Polverino leaving at the end of the 2010–11 season. He played 51 league matches for Aarau

Steel Azin

Polverino spent one season at Steel Azin of the Iranian

Azadegan League The Azadegan League (, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 (, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from its foundation in 1991 until 2001, when t ...

(2nd tier of Iranian football). He was part of the squad that initially finished 3rd in the league, but the team was docked 12 points by FIFA and relegated to the 3rd tier.

Wolfsberger AC

Polverino joined

Wolfsberger AC Wolfsberger AC, commonly referred to as Wolfsberg or simply WAC, is an Austrian association football club from Wolfsberg, Carinthia, who currently play in the Austrian Bundesliga. Between the 2007–08 and 2011–12 seasons, Wolfsberger AC enter ...

of the

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

in 2012, making 53 league appearances and 6 appearances in the

ÖFB-Cup The Austrian Cup (), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for a record 27th time. W ...

in his 2 seasons with the club.

Third spell with FC Vaduz

For the 2014–15 season, Polverino returned again to FC Vaduz, however he made just 4 league appearances for the club and left at the end of the season

FC Rapperswil-Jona

Polverino joined Rapperswil-Jona for two months in 2016, making 3 league appearances

FC Balzers

Polverino joined

FC Balzers FC Balzers is a Liechtensteiner football (soccer), football team based in Balzers. They currently compete in the 2. Liga Interregional, the fifth tier of Swiss football league system, Swiss football. Balzers play at Sportplatz Rheinau which is ...

, a Liechtenstein club playing in the Swiss 1st League (4th tier), in 2016.

Retirement

Polverino announce officially retirement from football after 2021–22 season.

International career

Polverino made his international debut on 2 June 2007, in a 1–1 draw with

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in EURO 2008 qualifying. On 17 November 2019, Polverino announced he was to retire from international football after the EURO 2020 qualifying match against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. The game was his 79th and final cap for his country.

Managerial career

In 2019, Polverino signed to

as Assistant manager. In 2022, he promoted to manager of same club. In 2024, Polverino appointment Assistant manager of

. On 2 February 2025, he appointment of manager at same club.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Liechtenstein's goal tally first.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

* U-15 Swiss Cup-winner * Promotion with

to the

Axpo Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

References

External links

*
Michele Polverino Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polverino, Michele 1984 births Living people Liechtenstein men's footballers Liechtenstein men's international footballers Swiss men's footballers Liechtenstein people of Italian descent Swiss people of Italian descent FC Vaduz players FC Aarau players Swiss Super League players Wolfsberger AC players Steel Azin F.C. players Men's association football midfielders SV Ried players FC Rapperswil-Jona players FC Balzers players Liechtenstein football managers FC Balzers managers USV Eschen/Mauren managers 21st-century Swiss sportsmen