Marco Ballotta (born 3 April 1964) is an Italian former 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 le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. His professional career spanned a quarter of a century, but he was never

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

for the Italy national team. He also held the distinction of being the oldest player ever to appear in both 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 ...

and the Champions League. During 15

seasons, Ballotta appeared in 138 games for six clubs, mainly

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

and

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Career

Early years

Born in

Casalecchio di Reno Casalecchio di Reno ( Bolognese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. History Casalecchio's name is derived from ''Casaliculum'' ("collection of little houses"), and from the presence of ...

Emilia Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

, Ballotta emerged through

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

's youth system before starting out as a senior with hometown club Boca San Lazzaro. In the 1984 summer he joined

, where he remained for the next six years. In January 1991 he transferred to

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...

, but only stayed for six months before being purchased by

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

also in

. Ballotta was in top form during 1992–93, as Parma won the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

and finished third in the league. However, his momentum did not continue into the next season and he only made three league appearances. He did start both legs in the team's 2–1 aggregate win over

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

in the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

, but was benched in favor of Luca Bucci for the 1993–94 Cup Winners' Cup, as Parma reached the

final 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 ...

for the second consecutive year, only to be defeated by

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Rise to success

Ballotta signed with

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

in 1994, being relegated in his sole season. He then spent the following campaign in

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 ...

with Reggiana, achieving promotion at the first attempt. After being immediately relegated, he left for

for 1997–98, initially as third-choice. After three seasons with the ''Biancocelesti'', Ballotta enjoyed a brief stint with

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

, who acquired the player as part of

Angelo Peruzzi Angelo Peruzzi (; born 16 February 1970) is an Italian football coach and former goalkeeper, and a three-time winner of the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award. Peruzzi is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest Italian goalkeepers of all ...

's multi-billion lire move to Inter. Inter claimed the transfer fee for Ballotta and Peruzzi were 7 billion and 40 billion respectively (thus 33 billion plus Ballotta), while ''

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

'' claimed the transfer fee of Peruzzi was 35 billion plus Ballotta. During this timeframe he was also loaned to Modena, helping them gain promotion to the top flight in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and subsequently signing permanently for free. Ballotta remained at the Stadio Alberto Braglia until the club's relegation at the end of 2003–04, spending the following season with

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

in the second tier. Despite a fourth-place finish, they were promoted in place of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

after the latter were demoted to

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...

following a match-fixing scandal, and he was once again back in the top level after rejoining Lazio as a replacement for Fabrizio Casazza as third goalkeeper.

Winning records and retirement

Ballotta made eight starts during the 2005–06 campaign, as an injury replacement for both Peruzzi and

Matteo Sereni Matteo Sereni (born 11 February 1975) is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Born in Parma, Sereni started his career at UC Sampdoria, and was loaned out to A.C. Crevalcore in 1994. He returned to Sampdoria and only m ...

. On 23 October 2005, he set the record as the oldest player to have played in the first division when he started in Lazio's lineup against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

at the age of 41 years and 203 days, beating the previous record set on 7 May 1983 when

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at the ...

played his last game at the age of 41 years and 34 days. Due to Peruzzi's ongoing injury problems the following season, Ballotta made eleven league appearances as Lazio finished third behind Inter and Roma. They subsequently clinched a berth in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. Ballotta started the first two matches of 2007–08, until the gloves were handed to new acquisition

Fernando Muslera Néstor Fernando Muslera Micol (; born 16 June 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Turkish club Galatasaray, whom he captains, and the Uruguay national team. He is considered one of the finest goalkeepers ...

for the next five rounds. Following the 5–1 home loss against Milan on 7 October 2007, he regained the starting spot, which he kept until the end of the season. He also started in all Champions League matches, in which he also became the oldest player ever to play in the competition during a 1–1 draw with

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

on 18 September 2007, at the age of 43 years and 168 days, beating the previous record held by another Italian,

Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro Costacurta (born 24 April 1966) is an Italian football pundit, manager and a former professional defender, who usually played as a centre back. Throughout his club career, Costacurta spent over twenty years with AC Milan between 19 ...

, who was 40 years and 211 days in Milan's loss to

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

on 21 November 2006. Ballotta retired after his contract with Lazio expired at the end of the season, expressing an interest in continuing his career, before eventually signing a deal as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

at former club Modena. This experience was however short-lived and, after just 35 days, he decided to stop working at the club. In late 2008, Ballotta returned with

Prima Categoria The Prima Categoria is a level of football in Italy. It is the seventh level (since 2014–15) in the Italian football league system and is organized by the National Amateur League by the Regional Committees. Each individual league winner within t ...

(eighth level) side Calcara Samoggia, but in another position:

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 ...

Honours

Modena *

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 ...

: 1985–86, 1989–90 Parma *

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 ...

: 1991–92 *

: 1992–93 *

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

Lazio *

: 1999–2000 *

: 1997–98, 1999–2000 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

: 1998–99 *

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Records *

: Oldest player to play in a game, at 44 years and 38 days (for Lazio, vs. Genoa, 11 May 2008) *

: Oldest player to play in a game, at 43 years and 252 days (for Lazio, vs.

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, 11 December 2007) *Oldest debutant for Inter

References

External links

*
Gazzetta dello Sport profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballotta, Marco 1964 births Living people Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Bologna Italian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Modena FC 2018 players AC Cesena players Parma Calcio 1913 players Brescia Calcio players AC Reggiana 1919 players SS Lazio players Inter Milan players Treviso FBC 1993 players Footballers from Emilia-Romagna