Matteo Brighi

Matteo Brighi (; born 14 February 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. Regarded as one of Italy's most talented prospects in his early career, Brighi was named Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in 2002.

Club career Rimini Brighi began his association football professional career at Rimini in Serie C2 in 1998. He did not appear for the football club during the 1997–98 season. The following season, he made ten league appearances, scoring one goal, as substitute. Brighi also played for the team in , where he was a starter. In his next professional season with Rimini, Brighi scored 6 goals, in 34 league appearances.

Juventus In the summer of 2000, Brighi moved to Juventus.

In the summer of 2001, Brighi was sent on loan to Bologna for the 2001–02 Serie A. His excellent performances under manager Francesco Guidolin soon saw him break into the starting XI, and he earned a reputation as one of Italy's most promising midfielders, winning the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year Award in 2002. In total, he made 32 league appearances during the season.

Parma and Brescia After his loan with Bologna ended, Brighi returned to Juventus in the summer of 2002. After Brighi won the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana with the Turin side, the club sold 50% of his registration rights to Parma as part of the deal which saw Marco Di Vaio join Juventus. The 2002–03 Serie A was an unsuccessful season for Brighi, as it was marred by injuries which limited his playing time. where he was able to recapture his form, making 29 appearances and scoring once. then sold the full registration rights of Brighi to Roma for €16 million as part of the deal which saw Emerson join Juve. Brighi signed a five-year contract worth €930,000 annually in gross. That season, Roma also signed central midfielder Simone Perrotta from Chievo side. Chievo would receive prize money from Roma per appearances of Brighi, with each five appearances worth €80,000.

The loan was extended in summer 2005 and again in 2006. After the sanctions imposed on other clubs as a result of the Calciopoli scandal, Brighi played for Chievo at 2006–07 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round and twice at 2006–07 UEFA Cup first round. In his last season, he formed the midfield line with Paolo Sammarco and Franco Semioli for over 20 matches. Although Chievo were relegated to Serie B in June, their performance earned each of them a transfer to a different club. In total, Brighi made 68 appearances for Chievo, scoring 9 goals. Brighi made an excellent start to the 2008–09 Serie A season with Roma.

Atalanta loan On 31 August 2011, Brighi joined Atalanta on loan. He played 11 league matches in the 2011–12 Serie A season, before he returned to Roma at the end of the season.

Torino On 11 August 2012, after a trial period, Brighi moved to Torino on a free loan. On 1 September 2012, he scored his first goal, against Pescara, a match which ended for 3–0. On 13 January 2013, he scored his second goal of the season in the match against Siena (3–2). At the end of the season, Brighi returned to Roma, but on 8 July 2013, he rejoined Torino, this time outright for free.

Later career In January 2014, Brighi was transferred to Sassuolo. On 2 February, Brighi made his debut in Sassuolo's starting XI in the club's 2–1 home defeat against Hellas Verona. With seven appearances, he helped the club avoid relegation to Serie B. On 20 July 2015, Brighi returned to Bologna. A year later, he signed for Perugia on a two-year deal. The contract was cancelled in a mutual agreement on 23 January 2018. On 24 January 2018, Brighi signed a contract with Empoli, keeping him at the club until 30 June 2018.

International career At youth level, Brighi played for the Italy national under-21 football team at the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, forming the team's midfield alongside Manuele Blasi, Andrea Pirlo, and Marco Marchionni, as they reached the semi-finals. He also won the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and helped the team qualify to the 2004 Summer Olympics, although he was not included by head coach Claudio Gentile in the squad for the final tournament. In total, he made 35 appearances for the Italy under-21 side, scoring two goals, and also served as the team's captain for a time.

Brighi's senior debut for Italy came at age 21, when he started in a 1–0 friendly defeat against Slovenia on 21 August 2002, in Trieste. On 28 March, Brighi was put on as a substitute in the 80th minute of a 2–0 away win against Montenegro, playing for his first time since 2002. Four days later, he was chosen for the starting line-up in Italy's 1–1 draw with the Republic of Ireland.

Brighi was called up again to play in Italy's pre-2009 FIFA Confederations Cup friendly against Northern Ireland in Pisa on 6 June. Brighi came on as a substitute for Gennaro Gattuso at the beginning of the second-half, and provided many spectacular passes, one of which led to a goal, as Italy won the match 3–0. Although Brighi played well, he was not selected in Italy's 23-man roster for the Confederations Cup that summer. In total, he made four appearances for Italy at senior level between 2002 and 2009. while in 2002 he was named the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year.

Personal life Brighi is the second of four brothers, who also play football; Brighi was the highest rated player in the FIFA Football 2003 video game, with a rating of 97 out of 99, which is higher than the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in subsequent FIFA games. This helped him achieve significant notability among fans and gamers.

Career statistics Club .

International As of 2019.

Honours Club Roma Coppa Italia (1): 2008 Supercoppa Italiana (1): 2007

Juventus Supercoppa Italiana (1): 2002

International Italy UEFA European Under-21 Championship (1): 2004

Individual Serie A Young Footballer of the Year (1): 2002