Vincenzo Montella (born June
18, 1974 in Pomigliano
d'Arco
) is a retired Italian
footballer who last played for
Serie A club Roma.
Montella's nickname during his playing career was
L'Aeroplanino ("The Little Aeroplane"), in a reference to
his short stature and trademark goal celebration.
Club
Montella began his club career in
Serie C1
at
Empoli in 1990 before moving to
Serie B club
Genoa in 1995, where he scored 21 goals in his
only season with the club. He then moved up to
Serie A to
U.C.
Sampdoria, where he remained three
years, until 1999, when he moved to Roma in a €25m transfer.
Montella made his Serie A debut on 8 September 1996, against
Perugia.
Roma
It was Roma coach
Zdeněk Zeman
that wanted him to spearhead the Roma attack, but that year Roma
also signed a new coach,
Fabio
Capello, who disliked short forwards. Despite this, during the
season 1999-00, Montella scored 18 goals, being the topscorer of
the
giallorossi.The following year, Roma signed the
Argentinian forward
Gabriel
Batistuta from
ACF Fiorentina,
the tall striker wanted by Capello.
There was a controversy between the two forwards concerning the
jersey #9, that was the number
of both players. In the end Batistuta chose #18. "Batigol" was the
coach's first choice, while Montella was often a substitute.
Despite his lack of starts he was one of the main protagonists of
Roma's third
Scudetto in
2000-01 and scored many important goals for
the team.
The controversies between Capello and Montella continued in the
following years as Montella was unhappy at his lack of first team
opportunites, and in March 2002 he made his sadness clear stating
"
I would have better expectations with another coach".He
has always been an idol of Roma's supporters, mainly because he has
had a knack for performing well in the
Rome
derby against
S.S. Lazio, scoring a brace in his first derby in
1999, and four goals in a 5-1 win on March 10, 2002. His four-goal
haul is still the record of goals scored in a derby by a single
player.2003 was a bad period for Montella as he divorced from his
former wife and was plagued with many injuries. During the
season 2003-04 he played only 12 games but
still managed a good scoring record, scoring 6 goals in those
limited games.
During the
season 2004-05 Fabio Capello finally left Roma for
Juventus FC and, while the
giallorossi
had a disastrous season, Montella scored 23 goals and earned a new
contract lasting until June 30, 2010.In
season 2005-06 he was again plagued with
injuries. He underwent surgery on both his back and shoulder,
limiting him to just twelve games. In January 2007, during
season 2006-07 he was loaned to
Fulham FC because
Francesco Totti was the lone forward in
Luciano Spalletti's
4-2-3-1, while Montella wanted
to have more chances to play.
In the red AS Roma jersey he played a total of 215 matches in 8
years scoring 94 goals, becoming the
fifth best
topscorer of Roma's history.
He played his last game with
giallorossi on December 23,
2006 before left on loan to England.
Later career
He joined Fulham on loan on January 4, 2007 on a six month deal
wearing the number 11 shirt. He scored twice against
Leicester City on his home debut in the
FA Cup. He scored again on January 27 in the
same competition against
Stoke
City.
On January 13, 2007 he made his Premier League debut against
West Ham United.
Against Tottenham at
Craven
Cottage
seven days later, he scored his first Premiership goal with a penalty
kick. He also scored a goal against Blackburn Rovers in a
1-1 all draw which gave Fulham the boost to stay up in the
Premiership.
Montella quickly became popular with the Fulham fans and showed his
gratitude for making him feel at home at Craven Cottage. However,
he hardly started under manager Chris Coleman, despite several
public pleas. After
Coleman's sacking, Montella only
started twice under replacement manager
Lawrie Sanchez. Montella hinted that he would
like to return to Roma after the end of the 06-07 season.The loan
was terminated by
Sanchez on May 8,
2007, a week before its natural expiration.
He has been loaned to
UC Sampdoria for
the season 2007-08.
Bruno Conti brought
Montella back to Roma in 2008-09, after
Amantino Mancini had left
Roma.Montella took number 23 when he came back; Vučinić held on the
number 9 shirt which was formerly Montella's, and Montella took the
number 23 shirt which was formerly for Vučinić'.
Montella was only able to make a substitute appearances for
giallorossi at the 2008-09 season. He played his last game
so far on 16 May 2009.
On 2 July 2009, Montella announced his retirement from professional
football as a player.
Country
Montella received his first international
cap against
Wales on June 5, 1999, and was
part of the
Italian
national team at
Euro 2000 and the
2002 World Cup. He has yet
to receive another call-up since 2005 and was not included in
Italy's
2006 World Cup triumph,
Montella holds 20 caps.
Coaching career
He signed a 3-year contract with Roma as youth team coach for the
Giovanissimi Nazionali (Under-15 level).
References
- A Montella il n. 9
- Il silenzio degli innocenti
- Montella e Nakata rimontano la Juve
- Roma, Capello-Montella è lite continua
- Roma - Lazio 5-1
- Un calcio al matrimonio
- Spalletti dà il via libera a Montella
- Montella hört auf
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