Dany Mota Carvalho (born 2 May 1998) is a Portuguese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for club

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

. Starting his senior career in Luxembourg at

CS Pétange Club Sportif Pétange is a former football club, based in Pétange, in south-western Luxembourg. In 2015 it folded and merged with FC Titus Lamadelaine to form Union Titus Pétange. In the 2007–08 season, Pétange finished fourteenth and last ...

, Mota moved to Italy in 2014 to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

club

Virtus Entella Virtus Entella, commonly referred to as Entella, is an Italian professional football club based in Chiavari, Liguria. Founded in 1914, the club currently competes in the . History 1914: Foundation The club was founded in 1914 as Foot-Ball Club ...

. He spent four seasons at the club, having his breakthrough season in the 2018–19 Serie C where he scored 13 league goals. The following season Mota moved to Juventus U23, where he spent the first half of the season, before moving to Monza for the second half, helping them gain promotion to the Serie B. Born in Luxembourg to Portuguese parents, Mota holds

dual-citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...

. He has represented the Portugal national under-21 team at the

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2021) was the 23rd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (26th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football ch ...

, helping them finish runners-up.

Early life

Born on 2 May 1998 in

Niederkorn Niederkorn () is a town in the Communes of Luxembourg, commune of Differdange, in south-western Luxembourg, on the Chiers river (), from which it takes its name. As of March 31, 2020, the town has a population of 7,272. Niederkorn is home to FC P ...

, Luxembourg to Portuguese immigrants, Mota holds both

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

citizenship.

Club career

Virtus Entella

On 17 September 2015,

side

signed Mota. He made his professional debut on 14 May 2016, in a 2015–16 Serie B match against

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

. Mota ended the season with two appearances. On 17 April 2017, Mota scored his first senior goal for Virtus Entella, in a 1–1 draw against

Ternana Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A (in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seas ...

. He scored one goal in six appearances during the 2016–17 season. The following season, Mota made three appearances in the league, and one in the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, without scoring. Mota's breakthrough season for Virtus Entella came in the 2018–19 Serie C. After scoring his first Coppa Italia goal against

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

on 12 August 2018, Mota scored a

brace Brace(s) or bracing may refer to: Medical * Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement ** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine *** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cur ...

the following game in the league against Gozzano, his first in his professional career, before scoring once again the next matchday against

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

. Mota scored his second brace for Virtus Entella on 20 February 2019, against

Pistoiese Unione Sportiva Pistoiese 1921 is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany. Currently, Pistoiese plays in Serie D. Originally founded on 21 April 1921 and later restored after bankruptcy, the team plays their home games ...

in the league in a 3–1 home win. The player ended the season with 13 goals in 35 appearances in the league, as well as one goal in four Coppa Italia appearances.

Juventus U23

On 5 August 2019, Mota joined

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

on a permanent transfer from Virtus Entella. The

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

champions moved him to their reserve team playing in

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

: Juventus U23. Mota made his debut for Juventus U23 on 26 August 2019, in a 2–0 home win over

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

in the league. The following matchday, on 1 September 2019, Mota scored a brace against

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

; his team, however, lost the encounter 2–3. He scored four consecutive league goals, between 18 and 30 September 2019, against

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

Pontedera Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Central Italy, central Italy. The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florenc ...

, AlbinoLeffe, and

, his eventual future club. Mota scored seven league goals in 20 appearances in the first half of the 2019–20 season.

Monza

2019–20 season

On 20 January 2020, Monza signed Mota on a six-month loan from

, with obligation to buy in case Monza were promoted to the

. He made his debut for his new team on 22 January 2019, coming on as a substitute on the 60th minute in a league match against Pro Patria. Mota scored his first goal for Monza 23 minutes later from a header, helping his team win 2–0. He scored two goals in six games, before the season was cut short due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

precautions; Monza were crowned champions of Serie C, and were promoted to the Serie B for the first time in 19 years.

2020–21 season

Mota's first Serie B game for Monza during the 2020–21 season was in the season opener on 25 September 2020, drawing 0–0 to newly-relegated

SPAL Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly known as S.P.A.L. (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The team plays in Serie B, the second tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in 1907, sinc ...

. His first goal of the season came on 7 November, helping Monza win 2–0 against

Frosinone Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the Va ...

in the league. On 17 April 2021, Mota scored and made an assist in a 2–1 home win against Cremonese. He finished the season with six goals and five assists.

2021–22 season

On 18 September 2021, Mota scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season: a 30-meter shot in the 5th minute against

; the match ended in a 1–1 draw. He scored braces in consecutive home games – a 3–2 win against

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

and a 4–1 win against

Cosenza Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...

– equalling his previous season's league goal tally of six goals on 30 November. Mota was key in helping Monza gain promotion to the Serie A for the first time, scoring 12 goals and making 5 assists in 32 games throughout the season.

2022–23 season

Mota made his Serie A debut on 13 August 2022, as a substitute at home against

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

; he scored Monza's first-ever Serie A goal in stoppage time, with the match ending in a 2–1 defeat.

International career

On 5 September 2019, Mota made his youth international debut for Portugal U21, scoring a brace against

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in a 4–0 win at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification. He scored four goals in the qualifiers, helping Portugal reach the

final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. In the group stage, Mota scored a goal against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to help Portugal qualify to the knock-out stage. His

, including a

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...

which was nominated Goal of the Tournament, against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the quarter-finals enabled Portugal to win 5–3

after extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

and qualify to the semi-finals against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Portugal finished the tournament as runners-up, losing the final 1–0 to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Style of play

A versatile and dynamic

, Mota can play in a multitude of offensive positions, mainly as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

or winger. His main characteristics are his

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

and ball control in narrow situations, alongside his pace and physical strength. Mota's attitude on the pitch, stamina, attacking positioning in the box and finishing are also of note.

Personal life

Mota speaks five languages:

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, French, and

. His idol is compatriot

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

: indeed, while at Virtus Entella, Mota has been nicknamed "the CR7 of

Chiavari Chiavari (; lij, Ciävai ) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Entella. History Pre-Roman and Roman Era A pre-Roman necropolis, which dates f ...

" (). Mota also follows the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, and is a fan of

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Virtus Entella *

Group A: 2018–19 Monza * Serie C Group A: 2019–20 Portugal U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

runner-up:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Individual * UEFA European Under-21 Championship Squad of the Tournament: 2021 *UEFA European Under-21 Championship Goal of the Tournament: 2021

References

External links

Profile
at AC Monza * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mota, Dany 1998 births Living people People from Differdange Luxembourgian people of Portuguese descent Luxembourgian footballers Portuguese footballers Men's association football forwards CS Pétange players Virtus Entella players Juventus FC players Juventus Next Gen players AC Monza players Luxembourg Division of Honour players Serie B players Serie C players Serie A players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portuguese expatriate footballers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Luxembourgian expatriate footballers Luxembourgian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy