Introduction
Marco Amelia, Ufficiale OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko aˈmɛːlja]; born 2 April 1982) is an Italian professional footballer who plays for Vicenza as a goalkeeper.
Developed at Roma, Amelia spent most of his career at Livorno, where he made 181 appearances across all competitions, including playing and scoring in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup.
Amelia won a Bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, and earned nine senior caps for Italy between 2005 and 2009. He was part of the squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, also being included for Italy's UEFA Euro 2008 squad.
Club career
Early career
Born in Frascati, Province of Rome, Amelia grew up as part of the Roma youth system. In 2001, he left the Giallorossi to join Serie C1 club Livorno on loan, playing only once in his first season with the Tuscan side; he was successively confirmed by Livorno in 2002–2003 season, for a transfer fee of €2.8 million, as part of the deal that acquired half of Giorgio Chiellini's registration rights for €3.1 million, and promoted as regular by head coach Roberto Donadoni in the club's Serie B comeback campaign.
Amelia then spent two unremarkable loan spells at Lecce and Parma (both Serie A) before returning to Livorno in June 2004, becoming one of the team mainstays since then, and also having his chance to make a debut at European level in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, where he even managed to score a goal, an injury time header against Partizan.
Palermo
In July 2008, after Livorno were relegated to Serie B, Amelia agreed a permanent deal and contract to join Palermo, for €6 million; among the highlights of his season, Amelia was mostly remembered by fans for saving Ronaldinho's penalty in a 3–1 win over A.C. Milan, but also, in a more negative fashion, for failing to deal with Giuseppe Mascara's 49-yard strike in the Derby di Sicilia which ended in a shocking 0–4 home loss for his side.
Genoa
In August 2009, Amelia moved to Genoa as part of a player exchange deal, with Rubinho moving the other way, both players valued €5 million. Amelia was the first choice of the team except a few matches played his understudy Alessio Scarpi.
Milan
On 23 June 2010, and after the sale of goalkeeper Marco Storari to Juventus, Amelia was signed by Milan on loan, in a deal which included the right to purchase the player at the end of the year-long loan.
On 24 May 2011, Milan took up the option to buy Amelia for €3.5 million on a three-year contract, despite Amelia only making a handful of appearances and being second choice to Christian Abbiati all season. Amelia made his debut in the 2011–2012 season in Serie A, on 28 November 2011, against Chievo, replacing Christian Abbiati who suffered a shoulder injury. He went on to make 14 appearances for Milan that season.
In the 2012–13 season, his third season at Milan, Amelia continued to be second choice to Abbiati, making 11 first-team appearances. Milan did not renew Amelia's contract at the end of 2013–14 season. Amelia and Daniele Bonera had a fight on 19 May, in the return journey from the opening of Milan's new headquarters, Casa Milan. Amelia denied any fight, saying that it was only an argument.
Later career
Amelia became a free agent on 1 July 2014. He spent a few months with amateur side Rocca Priora (where he served as a player and honorary president) before returning to professional football on 9 February 2015, for Serie B club Perugia.
On 23 August 2015, Amelia became the honorary president and a player for Lega Pro newcomers Lupa Castelli Romani. He had played twice for Lupa Castelli Romani in 2015–16 Coppa Italia Lega Pro.
On 31 August, he cancelled his contract with the club.
Chelsea
On 8 October 2015, he moved abroad for the first time, signing for English team Chelsea on a free transfer, on a deal until the end of the season, with the team adding him as back-up goalkeeper to Asmir Begović due to an injury to Thibaut Courtois.
On 10 June 2016, it was announced that Amelia would leave Chelsea on the expiry of his contract.
Vicenza
On 27 February 2017, Amelia signed six-month contract for Serie B club Vicenza.
Personal life
Amelia is currently married to an Italian woman, Carlotta Bosello. They have two children together, their son Giulio Cesare Amelia was born on 28 September 2009, and their daughter Matilde Amelia was born on 19 February 2013.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Roma | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Livorno | 2001–02 | Serie C1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Serie B | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06 | Serie A | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | Serie A | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 38 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08 | Serie A | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| Total | 166 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 181 | 1 | |||
| Lecce (loan) | 2003–04 | Serie A | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| Parma (loan) | 2003–04 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Palermo | 2008–09 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| Total | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||||
| Genoa | 2009–10 | Serie A | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| Milan | 2010–11 | Serie A | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2012–13 | Serie A | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 29 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 272 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 308 | 1 | ||
International
| Italy national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | 2 | 0 |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 9 | 0 |
Honours
Club
- Serie A: 2000–01
- Serie C1: 2001–02
- Serie A: 2010–11
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2011
International
- FIFA World Cup: 2006
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2004
- Olympics Bronze medal: 2004