Elena Linari (born 15 April 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Serie A club AS Roma and the Italy women's national team. She has also played for FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Atlético Madrid, Fiorentina and Brescia,[1] and she has won four league titles, four cups and two supercups.[2][3] She has represented Italy internationally since 2013.[4]

Elena Linari
Linari playing for Fiorentina in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Fiesole, Italy
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
Roma
Number 32
Youth career
Atletica Castello
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2013 Firenze 107 (8)
2013–2016 Brescia 70 (3)
2016–2018 Fiorentina 44 (13)
2018–2020 Atlético Madrid 33 (1)
2020 Bordeaux 3 (0)
2021– Roma 51 (5)
International career
2013– Italy 92 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:41, 26 September 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:41, 26 September 2023 (UTC)

Club career

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Linari started her youth career with Atletica Castello and played in inter-gender training matches until she moved to Claudio Desolati's football academy in Florence when Linari was fourteen years old. She then played for her region's football club Firenze for five seasons, beginning in the 2008-2009 season and making her Serie A debut at sixteen years of age with the club. Linari would also win a Primavera title with Firenze in the 2012-2013 season.

The Italian defender would make a total 107 appearances for Firenze until Linari moved to Brescia in the summer of 2013. She won more team titles with Brescia, including winning the Serie A league title in her first season with the club. Linari also made her UEFA Champions League debut with Brescia on 9 October 2014. She would later with the Coppa Italia in 2014-15, and win two Supercoppa trophies in 2014 and 2015. In the summer of 2016, Linari decided to return to her home region and play for Fiorentina, which is the club she has supported since she was a child.[5]

Linari would go on to win a league title and two Coppa Italia trophies during her two seasons playing for Fiorentina, before she chose to become the first female Italian football player to sign a professional contract when she signed with Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2018.

During her two-year stay in Spain, Linari won a Liga title and made the cup final with Atletico before moving to France to sign with Bordeaux in 2020. Her brief stay with Bordeaux was not successful, and Linari the offer to return to her native Italy and play with Roma from January 2021 onwards.[6]

On 14 January 2021, she joined AS Roma on a free transfer and signed a contract until June 2021.[7] During Linari's first six months of playing for Roma, the team's goal-concession rate dropped from 1.21 goals conceded per game to 0.88 goals conceded per game.[8] Linari's arrival is widely credited with re-installing Roma's belief in their long-term goals as well as helping lead Roma to the club's first major trophy in the women's side of the game.

On 30 May 2021, the Italian defender racked up 16 ball recoveries, completed 111 passes and won 5 aerial duels for Roma in their 2021 Coppa Italia final victory over AC Milan.[9] That victory resulted in the fourth Coppa Italia winner's medal won by Linari in her playing career.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 4 June 2023[10]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] Continental[b] Other[c] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Firenze 2008–09 Serie A2 19 2 ? ? 19 2
2009–10 Serie A2 19 1 ? ? 19 1
2010–11 Serie A 17 1 ? ? 17 1
2011–12 Serie A 24 2 ? ? 24 2
2012–13 Serie A 28 2 ? ? 28 2
Total 107 8 ? ? 107 8
Brescia 2013–14 Serie A 29 2 3 0 32 2
2014–15 Serie A 22 0 4 0 1 0 1 0 28 0
2015–16 Serie A 19 1 4 1 6 0 1 0 30 2
Total 70 3 11 1 7 0 2 0 90 4
Fiorentina 2016–17 Serie A 22 5 4 1 26 6
2017–18 Serie A 22 8 4 1 4 0 1 0 30 7
Total 44 13 8 2 4 0 1 0 56 13
Atlético Madrid 2018–19 Primera División 16 1 2 0 4 0 22 1
2019–20 Primera División 17 0 1 0 3 0 21 0
Total 33 1 3 0 7 0 43 1
Bordeaux 2020–21 D1 Féminine 3 0 0 0 3 0
A.S. Roma 2020–21 Serie A 11 2 2 0 13 2
2021–22 Serie A 19 1 7 0 1 0 26 1
2022–23 Serie A 20 1 5 0 10 2 1 0 36 3
2023–24 Serie A 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Total 51 5 14 0 10 2 2 0 77 7
Career total 308 30 38 3 28 2 5 0 379 35

International

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As of match played 22 September 2023[11]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Italy 2013 1 0
2014 6 0
2015 5 0
2016 12 0
2017 12 0
2018 7 0
2019 17 1
2020 4 2
2021 9 1
2022 10 0
2023 9 0
Total 92 4
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Linari goal.
List of international goals scored by Elena Linari
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 November 2019 Stadio Ciro Vigorito, Benevento, Italy   Georgia 1–0 6–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying
2. 4 March 2020 Estádio Algarve, Faro, Portugal   Portugal 1–1 2–1 2020 Algarve Cup
3. 22 September 2020 Bosnia and Herzegovina FA Training Centre, Zenica, Bosnia & Herzegovina   Bosnia and Herzegovina 5–0 5–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying
4. 14 June 2021 Stadion Wiener Neustadt, Vienna, Austria   Austria 3–2 3–2 Friendly
5. 1 December 2023 Estadio Municipal de Pasarón, Pontevedra, Spain   Spain 3–1 3–2 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League

Honours

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Club
Individual

References

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  1. ^ Soccerway
  2. ^ RSSSF
  3. ^ RSSSF
  4. ^ Corriere della Sera
  5. ^ "Bisogna essere riconoscenti a chi ha giocato prima di noi". L'Ultimo Uomo (in Italian). 4 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  6. ^ bren (14 January 2021). "Official: Roma Signs Elena Linari". Chiesa Di Totti. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  7. ^ "ELENA LINARI JOINS ROMA WOMEN!". 14 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  8. ^ dallagente (6 June 2021). "Roma's Backline Can Build On Swaby-Linari Partnership For Years to Come". Chiesa Di Totti. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  9. ^ bren (31 May 2021). "Roma Wins 2021 Coppa Italia in Penalty Shootout". Chiesa Di Totti. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Italy - E. Linari - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  11. ^ "Italy - E. Linari - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  12. ^ "Gran Galà del Calcio 2021: trionfano Lukaku e Girelli! Scopri tutti gli altri premiati" (in Italian). Gran Galà del Calcio. 19 March 2021. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Ecco tutti i vincitori del Gran Galà del Calcio 2022" (in Italian). Gran Galà del Calcio. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Gran Galà del Calcio: tutti i vincitori della serata LIVE". Sky Sport (in Italian). 4 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
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