Matteo Darmian

Matteo Darmian (born 2 December 1989) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a full-back or centre-back for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Italy national team.

[7][8] He made his first-team debut for the Rossoneri on 28 November 2006, aged only 16, in the Coppa Italia against Brescia, replacing Kakha Kaladze at half-time.

[11] He went on to make 20 appearances and score one goal, as Padova finished the season in 19th place and subsequently won the relegation play-off against Triestina.

On 11 July 2010, it was announced that Matteo Darmian would join Palermo's pre-season training camp in Austria, after Milan and the Sicilian Serie A club agreed in principle about a transfer move involving him.

[19] He made his debut for the Granata on 13 August 2011, in the second round of Coppa Italia against Lumezzane;[20] and scored his first goal on 30 October 2011, against Empoli, allowing his team to win 2–1.

[27][28] In the 2013–14 season, he played 37 games in Serie A for Torino, who finished 7th and qualified for the Europa League after Parma failed to obtain a UEFA license.

[31] In his first appearance of the 2014–15 season, on 7 August 2014, he scored his first goal in European competition, in a 4–0 victory against Sweden's IF Brommapojkarna, in the second leg of the 2014–15 Europa League third qualifying round.

[32] On 29 October 2014, he scored his first goal in Serie A to secure a 1–0 win over Parma,[33] before returning to the score-sheet on 11 December 2014 in the Europa League group stage, won 5–1 away at Copenhagen.

[38] He made his Premier League debut on 8 August 2015 as the season opened with a 1–0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, with manager Louis van Gaal selecting his performance as the best of the match.

"[40] In April 2016, Darmian scored his only Premier League goal for Manchester United, a powerful volley from the edge of the penalty area, in the 55th minute of a 2–0 victory against Crystal Palace.

[43] Darmian featured in the 2016 FA Cup Final against Crystal Palace on 21 May, coming on in the 66th minute for Marcos Rojo, helping United achieve a 2–1 victory.

[47][48][49] He continued to contribute to United's unbeaten streak by featuring against Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion in December.

[50][51][52][53] On 10 January 2017, he played in the 2–0 victory against Hull City in the EFL Cup semi-final first-leg, assisting the second goal with a cross to Marouane Fellaini.

[55] Darmian's appearances in the league became limited after a 1–1 draw against rivals Liverpool on 15 January,[56] with him not featuring again until 19 March when he came on as a stoppage time substitute in a 3–1 win against Middlesbrough.

[58] In May 2017, Darmian played in both of the UEFA Europa League semi-final games against Spanish-side Celta Vigo, helping United go through to the final 2–1 on aggregate.

[59][60] On 24 May, Darmian started at left-back in the UEFA Europa League Final against Dutch-side Ajax, playing the full 90 minutes as United won 2–0.

[92] On 10 October of that year, he scored his first international goal, which was the final one of a 3–1 away win over Azerbaijan which sealed Italy's qualification to UEFA Euro 2016.

[94] In the round of 16 of the tournament, at Stade de France in Paris on 27 June 2016, he came off the bench and set-up Graziano Pellè's 91st minute volley to give the Azzurri a 2–0 win over defending champions Spain.

[95] On 2 July 2016, he missed Italy's final penalty in a 6–5 shoot-out defeat to reigning World Cup champions Germany in the quarter-finals of the competition.

An intelligent, dynamic, hard-working, and versatile player, he is known for his good quality of offensive and defensive play, as well as his tactical awareness, pace, and stamina, attributes which allow him to cover the wing effectively and provide width to his team when attacking.

His professionalism, as well as his promising and consistent performances in his youth, led him to be compared to several esteemed Italian former full-backs, such as Antonio Cabrini and Paolo Maldini.

Darmian playing for Palermo against CSKA Moscow in 2010
Darmian playing for Manchester United in 2017
Darmian in action with Inter during the 2023-24 pre-season friendlies against Red Bull Salzburg
Darmian playing for Internazionale in UEFA Champions League group stage in 2023
Darmian in action in a June 2015 friendly match in Geneva , Switzerland