Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 24 January 2002 | ||
Place of birth | Borgo San Lorenzo, Italy | ||
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back, left-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team |
Sassuolo (on loan from Nice) | ||
Number | 21 | ||
Youth career | |||
2006–2009 | Ponte a Greve | ||
2009–2010 | Audace Legnaia | ||
2010–2020 | Empoli | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2020–2022 | Empoli | 22 | (0) |
2022– | Nice | 9 | (1) |
2023– | → Sassuolo (loan) | 15 | (1) |
International career‡ | |||
2017 | Italy U15 | 2 | (0) |
2018 | Italy U16 | 3 | (0) |
2020 | Italy U18 | 2 | (0) |
2021 | Italy U20 | 4 | (0) |
2022– | Italy U21 | 6 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:07, 26 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2023 |
Mattia Viti (born 24 January 2002) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Serie A club Sassuolo, on loan from Nice.
Born in Borgo San Lorenzo,[2][3][4][5] in the province of Florence, Mattia Viti already played football at the age of 4, with the club of Ponte a Greve—that would later merge with Rondinella Marzocco—in the Tuscan capital.[3][6] Having moved to the nearby Audace Legnaia, he joined the Empoli academy as a 8-year-old, in 2010.[3][5][7]
After a full 2019–20 season with the Primavera, Viti made his professional debut on the 30 September 2020, starting a 2–1 Coppa Italia win against Renate.[8] He played his first Serie B game with Empoli on the 9 April 2021, replacing Nedim Bajrami in a 1–0 away win to Reggina, already proving to be decisive with a late minute goal line clearance.[6][9][10] His side eventually won the championship, making their come-back in Italy's top flight, while the Primavera squad also won their championship.[11]
On 22 September 2021 he made his Serie A debut in a 2–0 away victory against Cagliari, with Aurelio Andreazzoli making him start and finish the game, as the youngster proved to be instrumental in keeping a clean sheet for the Azzurri.[12][13][14]
During the following months—despite having to face the loss of his mother in November 2021[15]—he became a regular with the first team, alternating with Sebastiano Luperto or the veterans Tonelli and Romagnoli. He was a starter for several important Serie A wins, against the likes of Bologna,[16] Sassuolo[17] or Udinese,[18] appearing as one of the Italian championship most promising young defenders.[2][5][13][14][19][20]
On 3 August 2022, Viti joined Ligue 1 side Nice on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of €13 million.[21][22]
On 12 July 2023, Serie A side Sassuolo announced the signing of Viti on a season-long loan with a future option to buy.[23]
Mattia Viti is a youth international for Italy,[4] having played at under-15,[24] under-16[25] and under-18 levels.[26]
In September 2021, he was selected with the under-20,[27] making his debut during a 1–0 away friendly win against Serbia on the 6 September and becoming a regular starter for the team in November,[28][29][30] before being promoted to the under-21 side,[31] where he was however forced to withdraw due to injury.[32][33]
A left-footed centre-back with a good physical presence, he is seen as a technically gifted defender, able to launch offensive movements from the back, who doesn't hesitate to take risks and dribble to move froward.[11][13][14][20]
Proactive in putting pressure on the opponent, he has a good discipline—not having received a single card during his first six months in Serie A—but still does his far share of defensive tasks, as he was for example among the top 1% of centre-backs in the top 5 European leagues in therms of blocks, halfway through his first Serie A season.[13]
Very soon compared to former Empoli star Daniele Rugani,[3][4][6] his profile is often associated with the one of Alessandro Bastoni.[13] [14] He cites Sergio Ramos and Paolo Maldini as his main inspirations as a player.[3][6][5]
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Empoli | 2020–21 | Serie B | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |
2021–22 | Serie A | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 21 | 0 | ||
Total | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 26 | 0 | |||
Nice | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
Sassuolo | 2023–24 | Serie A | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
Career total | 46 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 56 | 2 |
Empoli