Mateo Musacchio

Mateo Pablo Musacchio (Spanish: [maˈteo muˈsakjo], Italian: [muˈzakkjo]; born 26 August 1990) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a central defender.

Mateo Musacchio
Musacchio in action for Villarreal in 2012
Personal information
Full name Mateo Pablo Musacchio
Date of birth (1990-08-26) 26 August 1990[1]
Place of birth Rosario, Argentina[1]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
25 de Mayo
1999–2006 River Plate
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 River Plate 10 (0)
2009–2010 Villarreal B 22 (3)
2010–2017 Villarreal 189 (7)
2017–2021 Milan 63 (1)
2021 Lazio 4 (0)
International career
2006–2007 Argentina U17 15 (1)
2008–2010 Argentina U20 3 (0)
2011–2017 Argentina 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 March 2021

He spent most of his professional career with Villarreal after signing as a 19-year-old, going on to appear in 249 competitive matches and score seven goals over seven La Liga seasons. In 2017 he joined Milan and, four years later, signed with Lazio also of the Italian Serie A.

Musacchio made his full debut for Argentina in 2011.

Club career

River Plate

A product of Club Atlético River Plate's youth system, Musacchio was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, and he made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old during the 2006–07 season, making four appearances.[3] He was part of the squad that won the Clausura the following year, but did not feature in any games.[4]

Villarreal

In August 2009, Musacchio moved to Villarreal CF in Spain, initially being assigned to the B team in the second division.[5] He made his official debut on 5 September in a 3–1 loss at Córdoba CF[6] as the reserves overachieved in their first season ever in that tier, eventually finishing seventh.[7]

On 13 February 2010, shortly after ceasing to be a non-EU player,[8] Musacchio made his La Liga debut by playing the last 15 minutes in a 2–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao.[9] From that moment onwards he was permanently promoted to Villarreal's first team, successively surpassing more experienced Iván Marcano and Gonzalo Rodríguez – the latter his compatriot – in the defensive pecking order.[10][11]

Musacchio dealt with several injury problems during his spell at the Estadio El Madrigal.[12][13][14]

Milan

On 30 May 2017, eight days after passing his medical,[15] Musacchio moved to Italian club A.C. Milan after signing a four-year contract.[2] He contributed 15 Serie A appearances in his first season, with the subsequent qualification to the UEFA Europa League after a sixth-place finish.[16]

Following Leonardo Bonucci's departure to Juventus F.C. and Mattia Caldara's two long-term injuries, Musacchio became a starter, oftentimes partnering up with the team's newly-appointed captain Alessio Romagnoli.[17] In June 2020, just before the post-pandemic restart of the league competition in Italy, he underwent surgery on his left ankle and missed the remainder of games.[18]

Musacchio played his first match in ten months on 12 January 2021, featuring 62 minutes in a 0–0 penalty shootout victory over Torino F.C. in the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia.[19]

Lazio

On 27 January 2021, S.S. Lazio announced the signing of Musacchio on a permanent deal.[20] He was released at the end of season.

After more than two years without a club, Musacchio finally decided to retire at the age of 32.[21]

International career

Musacchio was first called by the Argentina national team in May 2011, as manager Sergio Batista only selected players under 25 for friendlies with Nigeria and Poland.[22] He made his debut against the former on 2 June, in a 4–1 defeat.[23]

In 2017, Gianni De Biasi asked Musacchio if he would be interested in playing for Albania of which he was the manager, but the player declined as he wished to represent his country of birth.[24]

Style of play

A press release of A.C. Milan described Musacchio as a "very physical centre back" with character and agility.[2] Additionally, the article highlighted his marking and blocking abilities, and that he liked to start moves and play short passes."[2]

Personal life

Musacchio's paternal grandparents were of Albanian origin, being Arbëreshë from Portocannone in lower Molise region, Italy. The surname Musacchio originated from the Muzaka region in south-central Albania, and was widely used in the Albanian community in Italy.[25]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 21 March 2021[26]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
River Plate 2006–07 Argentine Primera División 5000––50
2007–08 Argentine Primera División 1000––10
2008–09 Argentine Primera División 400010–50
Total 1000010–110
Villarreal B 2009–10 Segunda División 223–––223
Villarreal 2009–10 La Liga 700010–80
2010–11 La Liga 31060150–520
2011–12 La Liga 3002070–390
2012–13 Segunda División 39210––402
2013–14 La Liga 32130––351
2014–15 La Liga 1433070–243
2015–16 La Liga 1313050–211
2016–17 La Liga 2301060–300
Total 1897190410–2497
Milan 2017–18 Serie A 1500071–221
2018–19 Serie A 2913010–331
2019–20 Serie A 18000––180
2020–21 Serie A 101000–20
Total 6314081–752
Lazio 2020–21 Serie A 400010–50
Career total 293112305110036212

International
Argentina[27]
YearAppsGoals
201120
201510
201610
201720
Total60

Honours

River Plate

References
  1. "Mateo Musacchio". Eurosport. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  2. "Official: Musacchio is now red and black". A.C. Milan. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  3. "River Plate Squad – Closing '07". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  4. Storti, Fabián (2 September 2021). "¿Volverá a River en algún momento? El el ex Millonario que define su futuro en Europa" [Will he ever return to River? The former Millionaire who clears his future in Europe] (in Spanish). El Crack Deportivo. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  5. "Musacchio jugará en el filial del Villarreal" [Musacchio will play in Villarreal's reserves]. Marca (in Spanish). 31 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  6. "Debut agridulce para Musacchio en el filial" [Bittersweet debut for Musacchio with reserves]. El Periódico Mediterráneo (in Spanish). 7 September 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  7. Ortigosa Arnau, Carlos (14 May 2012). "El filial se ve obligado a descender a Segunda B tras el descenso del Villarreal" [Reserves forced to relegate to Segunda B after Villarreal relegation] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  8. "Musacchio y 'Sema' ya son comunitarios" [Musacchio and 'Sema' are already EU players]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  9. Mata, Javier (14 February 2010). "Nilmar bautiza la 'era Garrido'" [Nilmar baptizes 'Garrido era']. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  10. "Jugar en el Bernabéu es un sueño para mí" [To play at the Bernabéu is a dream for me]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 20 February 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  11. "Musacchio apunta a titular si Godín no está disponible" [Musacchio poised to start if Godín is not available]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). 27 February 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  12. "Musacchio se lesiona de gravedad" [Musacchio seriously injured]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 April 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  13. "Musacchio puede perderse el resto de la temporada" [Musacchio may lose rest of season]. Marca (in Spanish). 1 April 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  14. "Musacchio, un mes de baja" [Musacchio, one month out]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 9 January 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  15. "Mateo Musacchio undergoing his medicals". A.C. Milan. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  16. Sgamma, Alessandro (24 August 2018). "Napoli-Milan, Musacchio favorito su Caldara: i motivi della scelta di Gattuso" [Napoli-Milan, Musacchio favourite over Caldara: the reasons for Gattuso's choice] (in Italian). Milan News 24. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  17. Vendrame, Luca (20 August 2019). "Mateo Musacchio, una titolarità da difendere nella stagione della rivoluzione" [Mateo Musacchio, starting status to defend in the season of revolution] (in Italian). Milan News. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  18. Hanson, Peter (19 June 2020). "Milan dealt injury blow as Musacchio requires ankle surgery". My Khel. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  19. Farinola, Antonio (12 January 2021). "Coppa Italia, Milan-Torino 5–4 ai rigori: i rossoneri ai quarti dopo una maratona" [Italian Cup, Milan-Torino 5–4 on penalties: red-and-black to quarter-finals following a marathon]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  20. "Comunicato 27.01.2021" [Announcement 27.01.2021] (in Italian). S.S. Lazio. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  21. "Qué fue de la carrera de Mateo Musacchio?". 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  22. "Musacchio y Ruben, convocados a la selección argentina" [Musacchio y Ruben, called to Argentine national team] (in Spanish). River Plate. 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  23. "Argentina B fue vapuleada por Nigeria" [Argentina B routed by Nigeria] (in Spanish). Info News. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  24. "De Biasi: Musacchio te Milan? I kam dërguar mesazhe për ta afruar në kombëtare" [De Biasi: Musacchio to Milan? I've sent messages to get him in the national team] (in Albanian). Balkan Web. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  25. "Calciomercato Roma, Musacchio è il primo rinforzo" [Calciomercato Roma, Musacchio is first addition] (in Italian). Roma Today. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  26. "M. Musacchio". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  27. Mateo Musacchio at National-Football-Teams.com
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