Matteo Darmian

Matteo Darmian

Darmian playing with Italy in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Matteo Darmian[1]
Date of birth	2 December 1989
Place of birth	Legnano, Italy
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Full-back
Club information
Current team	Manchester United
Number	36
Youth career
2001–2009	Milan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2006–2010	Milan	4	(0)
2009–2010	→ Padova (loan)	20	(1)
2010–2011	Palermo	11	(0)
2011–2015	Torino	132	(3)
2015–	Manchester United	27	(1)
National team^‡
2006	Italy U17	7	(0)
2006	Italy U18	5	(0)
2007–2008	Italy U19	11	(0)
2008–2009	Italy U20	7	(0)
2009	Italy U21	1	(0)
2014–	Italy	21	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 April 2016. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 March 2016

Matteo Darmian (Italian pronunciation: [matˈtɛo darˈmjan]; born 2 December 1989) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Premier League club Manchester United and the Italy national team.^[2]

He began his career at Milan, making his Serie A debut at age 17. In 2009, he joined Padova, whom he helped avoid relegation from Serie B in his only season there. He then returned to Serie A with Palermo, and one year later, Torino, where he played for four seasons. He moved to Manchester United in July 2015.

Darmian made his senior debut for the Italy national team in May 2014, and represented his nation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Early life

Darmian grew up playing football in the main square in Rescaldina^[3] and was trained by his father, Giovanni, who was one of the coaches of Oratorio team, U.S. CARCOR, where players such as Marco Simone and Luigi Pogliana also played.^[4][5][6] His first real break came when he was spotted by Beniamino Abate, a former goalkeeper tasked with scouting Lombardy for young talent by Milan.^[3]

Club career

Milan

In 2000, he joined Milan's youth system.^[7][8] He made his first-team debut for the Rossoneri on 28 November 2006, aged only 16, in the Coppa Italia against Brescia, replacing Kakha Kaladze at half-time.^[9]

He made his debut in Serie A at the age of 17, in Milan – Udinese (2–3) of 19 May 2007^[9] when he entered in the 67th minute to replace Giuseppe Favalli. During the 2007–08 season he became the leader and captain of the A.C. Milan Primavera, collecting another appearance for the first-team in the Coppa Italia. The following season, the 19-year-old defender collected an additional three league appearances. He ended his experience at Milan with four appearances in the top flight.

Padova (loan)

On 17 July 2009, Darmian moved to Serie B club Padova until the end of the 2009–10 season.^[10] He made his official debut for the club on 28 November, in a home loss against Vicenza.^[11] He went on making 20 appearances and scoring one goal, as Padova finished the season in 19th place and subsequently won the relegation play–off against Triestina.

Palermo

Darmian playing for Palermo against CSKA Moscow in 2010

On 11 July 2010, it was announced that Matteo Darmian would join Palermo's pre-season training camp in Austria, after Milan and the Sicilian Serie A club agreed in principle about a transfer move involving him.^[12] The move, unveiled as a co-ownership bid, was officially announced by Palermo the next day.^[13] The fee was €800,000.^[14] Darmian made his debut for the rosanero on 16 September 2010 in a Europa League game against Sparta Prague (2–3), which also earned him his debut in European competition. His Palermo league debut was during the fourth game of the season, coming on for Javier Pastore in a 3–1 win against Juventus.^[15] On 6 February 2011 he played his first game as a starter in the league away at Lecce (4–2), but was substituted in the 33rd minute due to injury.^[16] He finished the season with 16 appearances among Serie A, Europa League and Coppa Italia.

Torino

After Milan and Palermo renewed the co-ownership on 23 June 2011,^[17][18] on 12 July he was officially loaned to Torino in Serie B.^[19] He made his debut for the Granata on 13 August 2011 in the second round of Coppa Italia against Lumezzane;^[20] and scored his first goal on 30 October against Empoli, allowing his team to win 2–1.^[21] On 13 November he was injured against Bari (1–1) and sidelined for five games.^[22] At the end of the season he was promoted to Serie A, having played 33 games in the league and one in Coppa Italia.^[23]

On 20 June 2012 Palermo redeemed his 50% share from Milan for €500,000^[24][25][26] and on 5 July, his return to Torino was formulised under a co-ownership agreement for €825,000.^[25][27] With Torino he played 30 games in Serie A and two in Coppa Italia. On 20 June 2013 Torino redeemed the remainder of his contract from Palermo for €1.5 million.^[27][28]

In the 2013–14 season he played 37 games in Serie A for Torino, who finished 7th and qualified for the Europa League after Parma failed to obtain a UEFA license.^[29] He featured in the Serie A Team of the Year, along with teammate, Ciro Immobile.^[30] On 18 May 2014 he made his 100th appearance for Torino during the 2–2 draw away to Fiorentina.^[31]

In his first appearance of the 2014–15 season, on 7 August 2014, he scored his first goal in European competition against Sweden's IF Brommapojkarna, valid for the second leg of the 2014–15 Europa League third qualifying round, won 4–0 in Turin (7–0 on aggregate).^[32] On 29 October he scored his first goal in Serie A to secure a 1–0 win over Parma,^[33] before returning to the score-sheet on 11 December in the Europa League group stage, won 5–1 away at Copenhagen.^[34] On 26 February 2015 he scored the match-winner against Athletic Bilbao,^[35] qualifying Torino for the round of 16 after a historic victory 3–2 in Spain.^[36] He concluded the season with 47 appearances and five goals between Serie A, Europe and the Coppa Italia.^[23]

Manchester United

On 11 July 2015, Darmian signed for English club Manchester United for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £12.7 million. He signed a four-year contract with an option to extend it for a further year.^[37] He made his debut for the club against Club América during preseason on 17 July 2015, playing the first 45 minutes, with United winning 1–0.^[38] He made his Premier League debut on 8 August as the season opened with a 1–0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, with manager Louis van Gaal selecting his performance as the best of the match.^[39]

On 10 September 2015, Darmian earned his first official accolade at the club, after he was voted Manchester United's August 2015 player of the month. "It's important to know this is from the fans," Matteo told United's official website. "I want to thank them. I am happy. I also want to thank my team-mates and everyone at the club for making me feel welcome."^[40]

In his twenty-seventh appearance of the 2015–16 season on 20 April 2016, Matteo scored his first Manchester United and Premier League goal, a powerful volley from the edge of the Penalty area, in a 2–0 victory against Crystal Palace.^[41] He was presented with the club's Man of the Match award for his performance in this fixture and hailed his 55th minute strike as the best goal of his career, thus far.^[42] His cross in the fourth minute of play had also previously forced an own goal from Damien Delaney.^[43]

International career

Darmian in action in a June 2015 friendly match in Geneva, Switzerland.

After playing for Italy at under-17 and under-18, he was called up to the under-19 squad, led by Francesco Rocca in July 2008. At the UEFA European U-19 Championship he played in the starting lineup, always in the role of a right full-back. In 2009, he took part in the Mediterranean Games, playing seven games for the under-20 side. On 25 March 2009, he made his debut for the Italy U-21 side in a friendly match against Austria (2–2), played in Vienna. From 10 to 12 March 2014, he was called up to the senior national team by coach Cesare Prandelli as part of an internship to evaluate young players ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup,^[44] confirmed on the next meeting between 14 and 15 April.^[45]

Given his excellent season with Torino,^[46] on 13 May 2014, he was included in the list of 30 provisional players for the 2014 World Cup.^[47] He made his debut for the Azzurri on 31 May 2014, at age 24, playing as a right-back in a friendly match with Ireland (0–0) held in London.^[2] The following day, he was included in the list of 23 players selected for the World Cup.^[48] On 14 June, he made his debut at the World Cup, playing as a starter in Italy's opening game against England, won 2–1.^[49] He also played the next two games against Costa Rica and Uruguay, both lost 1–0 with Italy failing to qualify for the next round.

In early 2015 he was awarded with the Pallone Azzurro as the best player of the national team for 2014.^[50] On 10 October of that year, he scored his first international goal, which was the final one of a 3–1 away win over Azerbaijan which sealed Italy's qualification to UEFA Euro 2016.^[51]

Style of play

Although he started his career as a centre-back, in recent years Darmian has played as a dynamic full-back on either flank, although he prefers the right. He is known for his good quality of attacking and defensive play, his tactical awareness, his pace, and his stamina, attributes that have led him to be compared to legendary Italian full-backs Antonio Cabrini and Paolo Maldini.^{[52][53][54][55][56][57]} In 2012–13, Darmian made the most tackles per game (5.3) across Europe's top five leagues.^[58]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 April 2016.^[59]

Club	Season	League		Cup[nb 1]		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Milan	2006–07	1	0	1	0	–		0	0	–		2	0
	2007–08	0	0	1	0	–		0	0	0	0	1	0
	2008–09	3	0	0	0	–		0	0	–		3	0
	Total	4	0	2	0	–		0	0	0	0	6	0
Padova (loan)	2009–10	20	1	0	0	–		–		2[lower-alpha 1]	0	22	1
Palermo	2010–11	11	0	1	0	–		4[lower-alpha 2]	0	–		16	0
Torino	2011–12	33	1	1	0	–		–		–		34	1
	2012–13	30	0	2	0	–		–		–		32	0
	2013–14	37	0	1	0	–		–		–		38	0
	2014–15	32	2	1	0	–		13[lower-alpha 2]	3	–		47	5
	Total	132	3	5	0	–		13	3	–		151	6
Manchester United	2015–16	27	1	2	0	1	0	7	0	–		37	1
Career total		194	5	10	0	1	0	24	3	2	0	231	8

1. All appearances in Relegation Serie B
2. All appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of 29 March 2016

Italy national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2014	9	0
2015	10	1
2016	2	0
Total	21	1

International goals

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 October 2015	Baku National Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	3–1	3–1	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Honours

Individual

• Serie A Team of the Year: 2013–14,^[60] 2014–15^[61]
• Pallone Azzurro: 2014^[62]

Notes

1. Includes cup competitions such as Coppa Italia and FA Cup

References

1. "Premier League – Squad List 2015/16" (PDF). Premier League. p. 23. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
2. "Italia-Irlanda 0–0: il tabellino della gara". tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). Retrieved 1 June 2014.
3. "Italy's Darmian living the dream".
4. "Matteo Darmian e Francesca, tutti i gossip e vita privata del calciatore dei Mondiali 2014". gossippiu.com. gossippiu. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
5. "Da Rescaldina al Brasile" (in Italian). Prealpina.it. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
6. Cristiana Mariani. "Darmian il predestinato: "Ha un dono naturale". La Carcor di Rescaldina si gode il suo Matteo" (in Italian). ilgiorno.it. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
7. Brochure Pre Palermo-Inter, Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo, 17 September 2010, p. 5.
8. "Giovanissimi Nazionali 2003/2004". acmilan.com (in Italian). Associazione Calcio Milan. Archived from the original on 6 June 2004. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
9. "A.C. Milan – Matteo Darmian". ACMilan.com (in Italian). A.C. Milan. Archived from the original on 2 July 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
10. "Il baby rossonero Darmian in prestito al Padova". padovacalcio.it (in Italian). Padova Calcio. 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
11. "Padova–Vicenza 1–2". padovacalcio.it (in Italian). Padova Calcio. 1 December 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
12. "DA DOMANI I ROSA IN RITIRO" (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 11 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
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14. "AC Milan Group 2010 Annual Report" (PDF). AC Milan (in Italian). April 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
15. "JUVENTUS 1 – 3 PALERMO". legaseriea.it (in Italian). Lega Serie A. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
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17. "RISOL. ACC. PART." (pdf). Legaseriea.it. p. 2. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
18. "COMUNICATO COMPARTECIPAZIONI" [Darmian and Glik loaned to Torino]. palermocalcio.it (in Italian). Retrieved 12 May 2014.
19. "Darmian e Glik ceduti al Torino". palermocalcio.it (in Italian). U.S. Città di Palermo. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
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21. "Torino-Empoli 2 1". legaserieb.it (in Italian). lega serie b. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
22. "torino grave infortunio per lex rosanero darmian". tuttopalermo.net. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
23. "M. Darmian". soccerway.com. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
24. AC Milan Group 2012 annual report
25. "Palermo, Succi al Cesena e Darmian al Torino". tuttopalermo.net (in Italian). Retrieved 12 May 2014.
26. "Partecipazioni" (PDF) (in Italian). Legaseriea.it. p. 2.
27. US Città di Palermo SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2013, PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
28. "GLIK E DARMIAN COMPROPRIETA' RISOLTE A FAVORE DEL TORINO". U.S. Citta' di Palermo.
29. "Why Manchester United won’t get Darmian in January". Here Is The City.
30. "Serie A, Gran Galà del Calcio Aic. Tutte le frasi e i premi". www.www.tuttosport.com. 15 December 2014.
31. "FIORENTINA VS. TORINO 2 – 2". soccerway.com. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
32. "TORINO VS. BROMMAPOJKARNA 4 – 0". soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
33. "Torino vs. Parma - 29 October 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
34. "Copenaghen-Torino 1-5 - Calcio - Sportmediaset". Sportmediaset.it.
35. "Athletic Bilbao vs. Torino - 26 febbraio 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
36. "Athletic Bilbao-Torino 2-3: Darmian manda i granata agli ottavi". Repubblica.it. 26 February 2015.
37. "Matteo Darmian: Man Utd sign Torino and Italy defender". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 11 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
38. Hibbs, Ben (18 July 2015). "Four new signings shine against Club America". manutd.com. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
39. Magowan, Alistair (8 August 2015). "Man Utd 1–0 Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
40. "Matteo Darmian wins Manchester United's Player of the Month award - Official Manchester United Website". manutd.com.
41. "Manchester United 2-0 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport.
42. "Darmian hails best goal of his career - Official Manchester United Website". manutd.com.
43. "Matteo Darmian stunner seals Man United win over Crystal Palace". ESPN FC. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
44. "STAGE A ROMA DAL 10 AL 12 MARZO: SONO 31 I CONVOCATI DI PRANDELLI". figc.it (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
45. "TEST A COVERCIANO: PRIMA CHIAMATA PER ROMULO E BERARDI, TORNA CASSANO". figc.it (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
46. "La vera storia di Darmian: freccia Torino, al Milan con Abate senior...". Goal.com.
47. "ECCO I 30 PRE-CONVOCATI PER IL MONDIALE. IL 19 MAGGIO IL RADUNO". figc.it. Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
48. "PRANDELLI HA SCELTO: ECCO I 23 AZZURRI CHE PARTIRANNO PER IL BRASILE". figc.it (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
49. McNulty, Phil (14 June 2014). "Italy 2–1 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
50. "Il torinista Darmian vince il pallone azzurro". Quotidiano Piemontese.
51. "Azerbaijan 1-3 Italy". BBC Sport. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
52. "Speciale giovani talenti: Matteo Darmian, il nuovo Cabrini" (in Italian). Tutto Calcio News. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
53. "Matteo Darmian Can Be Italy's Secret Weapon by Following in Cabrini's Footsteps". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
54. "Here’s where England v Italy was won and lost". The Score. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
55. "Why Losing Mattia De Sciglio Isn't a Major Problem for Italy and Prandelli". Retrieved 16 June 2014.
56. Giovanni Chinnici (3 February 2011). "Palermo, Darmian piacevole sorpresa". tuttopalermo.net (in Italian). Retrieved 16 April 2014.
57. "Darmian provides Italy hope". Football Italia. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
58. "Player Focus: Torino's Matteo Darmian is Europe's best tackler". whoscored.com. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
59. "M. Darmian". soccerway.com. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
60. "Serie A, Gran Galà del Calcio Aic. Tutte le frasi e i premi" (in Italian). Tuttosport. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
61. "Oscar del Calcio, dominio Juve. Buffon: "Donnarumma ha doti da grande"" [Serie A Oscars, Juve dominate. Buffon: "Donnarumma has the characteristics to be great"] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
62. "A DARMIAN IL "PALLONE AZZURRO 2014", TRA LE DONNE LA VINCITRICE È ROSUCCI" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 15 December 2015.

External links

• Profile at Torino's official club website (Italian)
• Profile at Assocalciatori.it (Italian)
• Profile at EmozioneCalcio.it (Italian)
• International Caps at FIGC.com (Italian)