Matteo Lovato (born 14 February 2000) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Torino, on loan from Salernitana.

Matteo Lovato
Lovato playing for Atalanta in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-02-14) 14 February 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Monselice, Italy[1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Torino (on loan from Salernitana)
Number 6
Youth career
0000–2016 Padova
2016–2019 Genoa
2018–2019Padova (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Padova 17 (0)
2020–2021 Hellas Verona 25 (0)
2021–2022 Atalanta 6 (0)
2022Cagliari (loan) 16 (0)
2022– Salernitana 30 (0)
2024–Torino (loan) 0 (0)
International career
2020–2023 Italy U21 15 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 January 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 June 2023

Club career edit

Early years edit

Lovato spent his early years in the youth teams of Padova before moving to Genoa's under-17 team at age 16, where he made 18 appearances and scored two goals.[3] Lovato did not join Genoa's Primavera team, though; he returned to Padova on loan in January 2018.[4]

On 25 August 2019, Lovato made his Serie C debut with Padova under coach Salvatore Sullo, as a starter in a 3–1 away victory against Virtus Verona. He would remain with the club for the first half of the 2019–20 season, accumulating 18 appearances in all competitions.[3]

Hellas Verona edit

On 31 January 2020, Hellas Verona announced the acquisition of Lovato for a reported fee of €500,000.[3][5][6] He made his Serie A debut with the club on 18 July 2020 under coach Ivan Jurić as a late substitute for Koray Günter in a 1–1 home draw against Atalanta.[7][8]

The next season, Lovato broke into the starting lineup following the sale of Marash Kumbulla.[9][10] He made a total of 24 appearances for Verona, helping the club to a 10th-place finish.[11]

Atalanta edit

On 31 July 2021, Lovato signed for Atalanta on a four-year contract, for a reported fee of €8 million plus €3 million in bonuses.[12]

Loan to Cagliari edit

On 3 January 2022, Lovato joined Cagliari on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.[13]

Salernitana edit

Lovato joined Salernitana on 6 July 2022 on a five-year contract,[14] as part of a deal in which Éderson moved the other way.[15]

Loan to Torino edit

On 31 January 2024, Lovato moved on loan to Torino, with an option to buy.[16]

International career edit

On 12 November 2020, Lovato made his debut with the Italy U21 playing as a starter in a qualifying match won 2–1 against Iceland in Reykjavík.[17]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of match played 22 May 2022[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Padova 2019–20 Serie C 17 0 1 0 18 0
Hellas Verona 2019–20 Serie A 1 0 0 0 1 0
2020–21 24 0 0 0 24 0
Total 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 0
Atalanta 2021–22 Serie A 6 0 0 0 1 0 7 0
Cagliari (loan) 2021–22 Serie A 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
Career total 64 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 66 0

References edit

  1. ^ Matteo Lovato at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ "Matteo Lovato #66". Cagliari Calcio (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Manzoni, Samuele (16 December 2020). "Da Kumbulla a... Matteo Lovato, il nuovo difensore del Verona" (in Italian). SportPaper. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Tutti i movimenti del mercato invernale del settore giovanile del Calcio Padova" (in Italian). 1 February 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Matteo Lovato ceduto a titolo definitivo all'Hellas Verona". padovacalcio.it (in Italian). 31 January 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Ufficiale: dal Padova arriva Lovato". hellasverona.it (in Italian). 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Verona-Atalanta 1-1, gol e highlights. Pessina risponde a Zapata" (in Italian). Sky Sport. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Verona, primo gettone in Serie A anche per Lovato". mondoprimavera.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Fanta guida: il Verona 2020–21 punta su Faraoni, Lazovic e Veloso per ripetere il miracolo". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 15 September 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  10. ^ Antolini, Simone (11 October 2020). "Juric, tesoro da cento milioni: È caccia ai nuovi... Kumbulla" (in Italian). L'Arena. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  11. ^ Bettoni, Lorenzo (30 July 2021). "Lovato to Atalanta 'a done deal', will he replace Romero?". Football Italia. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  12. ^ Mork, Martin (31 July 2021). "Official: Lovato moves to Atalanta". Football Italia. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Lovato al Cagliari" (in Italian). Cagliari. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Matteo Lovato è un nuovo giocatore della Salernitana" (in Italian). US Salernitana 1919. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Salernitana, Ederson saluta. Lovato e Botheim alle visite". Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 5 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  16. ^ "LOVATO AL TORO" [LOVATO AT TORO] (in Italian). Torino. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Iceland U21 vs. Italy U21 - 12 November 2020". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  18. ^ Matteo Lovato at Soccerway. Retrieved 21 June 2022.

External links edit