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Player's Profile |
Federico Marchetti
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 Federico Marchetti
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Date Of Birth:
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07-02-1983
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Country:
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Italy
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Height / Weight:
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186
cm /
76
kg
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N# / Position:
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1
-
GK
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Contract Expiry:
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30-06-2016
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Agent :
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Giuseppe Bozzo
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Having failed to establish himself earlier in his career, Federico Marchetti was constantly loaned out to clubs in the lower leagues by his owners, Torino. He spent his early years in Turin, growing up within their youth system but financial woes forced them to let go of one of their best prospects and AlbinoLeffe subsequently pounced on Marchetti.
He carved out his reputation in Serie B having spent a season in 'D' with Biellese and was named the best goalkeeper of the 2007-08 Serie B season, pipping a certain Gianluigi Buffon to the accolade. Ironically, it was Buffon he made his Serie B debut against as AlbinoLeffe held the archrivals of Marchetti's old club to a 1-1 draw. The performance did not go unnoticed and Marchetti eventually landed in Sardinia in 2009. It was a gamble on Cellino's part but it paid off as he was arguably the best goalkeeper in the 2009-10 Serie A season and ultimately fetched Cagliari five million euro.
Marchetti's emergence as a top level goalkeeper coincides with a near-fatal experience in 2005, when he and two of his colleagues at Pro Vercelli were involved in a car crash. Marchetti was almost killed and claims to have seen the Virgin Mary in the aftermath. This accident hit Marchetti hard as two of his close friends, Andrea and Francy tragically died in a similar accident. Their names are tattooed on his left arm and the prayer 'Ave Maria' is tattooed on his right. Marchetti believes these events gave him the mental strength to accompany his incredible physical strength and mould him into the footballer he is today.
Gianluigi Buffon has named Marchetti as the 'natural successor' to his Azzurri throne but Marchetti has never welcomed such comparisons. That mentality has perhaps been vindicated as many armchair experts, Cesare Prandelli included, have refused to appreciate Marchetti's value to club and country. He has recently found himself back in the Azzurri setup, but is currently third in line to Buffon's throne and his previous misdemeanours, if they can be called that, is unlikely to see him rise in rank.
Despite this, he has saved Lazio more times than any fan would like to have witnessed and continues to do so with minimal fuss. On leaving Sardinia for Lazio, he described it as the 'end of a nightmare' - with Federico between the sticks, Lazio fans everywhere are beginning to dream.
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Transfer Zone
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