[1] In the 2002–03 season, he occasionally received first-team call-up and made his debut on 19 January 2003 against Como, where he replaced Gianluca Comotto at half-time.

Partially due to the 2006 Italian football scandal, Juventus terminated all ongoing co-ownership deals in June 2006, and Mantovani was sold back to Chievo[3] for about €301,000.

[6] After returning to Serie A, he continued to play as a regular and helped the team survive the relegation battle.

In the 2009–10 season, he played as a left-back or one of the 3 central defenders in the 352 formation and helped the team remain in Serie A.

On 6 July 2011, after weeks of speculation surrounding his future, Mantovani agreed on a four-year deal with Palermo with a €3.5 million transfer fee,[7] thus re-joining his former Chievo head coach Stefano Pioli to Sicily.