Mattia Liberali (born 6 April 2007) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Serie C Group B club Milan Futuro, the reserve team of Serie A club AC Milan.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mattia Liberali | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 6 April 2007 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Carate Brianza, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | |||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Milan Futuro | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Aquile della Brianza | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | La Dominante | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015– | AC Milan | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Milan Futuro | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Italy U15 | 6 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Italy U16 | 10 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Italy U17 | 28 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:38, 26 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 June 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
In October 2024, Liberali was included in The Guardian's list of the 60 best talents in the world born in 2007.[1]
Early life
editLiberali was born in Carate Brianza, Italy.[2]
Club career
editIn 2013, the manager of local amateur side Rhodense, Alberto Bianchi, spotted Liberali and invited him to play in a youth tournament with a view to later sign him.[3] However, he would participate at the tournament with Aquile della Brianza from Muggiò instead, spending a year with the side before joining La Dominante, who he would train during the week with, while playing with professional side AC Milan on weekends.[3]
After a year of this arrangement, Liberali made the switch to AC Milan permanent.[3] During the 2021–22 under-16 Scudetto tournament, he finished second-top scorer behind Francesco Camarda with nine goals, as AC Milan went on to win the competition.[3] He was called up to train with the first team for the first time, alongside Camarda and Nirash Perera, in December 2022.[4] The following year, in July 2023, he signed his first professional contract with the club through 2027.[5]
Liberali joined AC Milan for their 2024–25 pre-season, displaying impressive performances during the friendly matches, including the headlining assist for a 1–0 win against Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid at the Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, United States, the club's third friendly match on 31 July 2024.[6] He made his professional debut on 10 August 2024, starting for the newly created reserve team Milan Futuro, and scoring the first goal of a 3–0 away win Coppa Italia Serie C first round match against Lecco.[7]
International career
editLiberali has represented Italy at the under-15, under-16 and under-17 levels.[8]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 30 October 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Milan Futuro | 2024–25 | Serie C | 7 | 0 | 2[a] | 1 | — | 9 | 1 | |
| Career total | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
- Notes
- ^ Appearances in Coppa Italia Serie C
Style of play
editInitially a central defender while playing at 7-a-side level, Liberali was moved up the pitch in the academy of AC Milan, settling at left-wing, with Italy under-17 coach Massimiliano Favo also utilising him as an attacking midfielder.[3] Former AC Milan defender and current football pundit, Alessandro Costacurta, compared him with English international Phil Foden for their similar playing style.[9]
Honours
editItaly U17
editIndividual
edit- UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2024[11]
References
edit- ^ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (15 October 2024). "Next Generation 2024: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
- ^ "Mattia Liberali". acmilan.com (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Barilaro, Andrea (10 May 2022). "BII nuovo fuoriclasse del Milan dal mancino fatato: Mattia Liberali incanta il Diavolo, e con la Nazionale..." [The new AC Milan champion with the fairy left-handed: Mattia Liberali enchants the Devil, and with the national team...]. sprintesport.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ Schettino, Francesco (7 December 2022). "Milan, prosegue la linea giovane: Camarda, Liberali e Perera si allenano con la primavera" [Milan, the young line continues: Camarda, Liberali and Perera train with the spring]. footballnews24.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ Antonelli, Michele (19 July 2023). "Il Milan blinda "il mago" Liberali, il 2007 mancino paragonato a Foden" [Milan locks up "the magician" Liberali, the left-handed 2007 compared to Foden]. gazzetta.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "AC Milan 1-0 Real Madrid, DIRECTV Soccer Champions Tour 2024: The match report".
- ^ "Lecco 0-3 Milan Futuro, Coppa Italia Serie C 2024/2025: The match report".
- ^ Mattia Liberali at WorldFootball.net
- ^ Scapellato, Fabio (20 July 2023). "Mattia Liberali, chi è il "Nuovo Foden" che il Milan ha blindato a soli 16 anni" [Mattia Liberali, who is the "New Foden" that Milan locked up at just 16 years old]. spraynews.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "UEFA Under-17 EURO final report: Italy 3-0 Portugal". UEFA.com. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament". UEFA.com. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
External links
edit- Mattia Liberali at Soccerway