Marco Silvestri (born 2 March 1991) is an Italian 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 plays 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 ...

for

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 ...

club

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...

. Before joining Verona in 2017, he played in England for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

and in Italy for

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

, Reggiana,

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

and

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

. Silvestri has represented his country at under-20 and under-21 level.

Club career

Modena

Born in

Castelnovo ne' Monti Castelnovo Monti (officially Castelnovo ne' Monti; locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia, central Italy. Along with every other town and village in the Apennines, Castelnovo is an approved area for the production of ...

, the

Province of Reggio Emilia The Province of Reggio Emilia ( it, Provincia di Reggio nell'Emilia, Emilian: ''pruvînsa ed Rèz'') is one of the nine provinces of the Italian Region of Emilia-Romagna. The capital city, which is the most densely populated comune in the provin ...

, Emilia–Romagna, Silvestri started his career at

Emilia Emilia may refer to: People * Emilia (given name), list of people with this name Places * Emilia (region), a historical region of Italy. Reggio, Emilia * Emilia-Romagna, an administrative region in Italy, including the historical regions of Emi ...

club

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 ...

. He was the third keeper behind

Enrico Alfonso Enrico Alfonso (born 4 May 1988) is an Italian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for S.P.A.L., SPAL. Club career Early career Aged only 6 years old, Alfonso began his pla ...

and

Antonio Narciso Antonio Narciso (born 1 October 1980) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Modena. Career After spending his early career as a backup keeper for Bari, with whom he made his Serie A debut on 22 April 2011 agai ...

in 2009–10 season.

Chievo

In August 2010, Silvestri was signed by

club

on a temporary deal, with an option to purchase half of his registration rights. He was the third keeper of the team, behind

Stefano Sorrentino Stefano Sorrentino (born 28 March 1979) is an Italian former footballer. A professional goalkeeper for his whole career, he is currently a football agent, as well as owner/chairman of Chieri in the Serie D league. Sorrentino played for several ...

and

Lorenzo Squizzi Lorenzo Squizzi (born 20 June 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Squizzi started his career at Serie A team Juventus, but spent most of his career in the lower divisions. In summer 2006, he signed fo ...

. Silvestri also became the first choice keeper at the "spring" under-20 team. In June 2011 Chievo exercised the option to sign Silvestri in a co-ownership deal, for €300,000.AC ChievoVerona Report and Accounts on 30 June 2011

Reggiana loan

Silvestri returned to

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

for Reggiana in July to replace Niccolò Manfredini. However Silvestri became the backup of Niccolò Bellucci since round 12. After the winter break Silvestri re-affirmed as first choice. In June 2012 Chievo signed Silvestri outright for another €150,000.

Padova loan

In July 2012 he left for

. The club failed to renew the loan of fellow U21 internationals

Mattia Perin Mattia Perin (; born 10 November 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Juventus. He also represented the Italy national team. He began his career with Genoa in 2010, and, aside from two season-long loa ...

. Silvestri wore no.1 shirt for Padova in new season and would compete with ex-internationals

Ivan Pelizzoli Ivan Pelizzoli (; born 18 November 1980) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Early career After playing for Atalanta and Triestina from 1997 to 2000, he made his Serie A debut with Atalanta on 5 ...

who acted as second-choice last season. However, on the last day of the transfer window, Pelizzoli rejoined Perin in

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

and Luca Anania, who became second choice in the same club, left for Padova.

Cagliari loan

On 30 January 2014, Silvestri signed for

on loan, including the option for

to acquire half his ownership rights at the end of the season, the move saw

first choice Goalkeeper

Michael Agazzi Michael Agazzi (; born 3 July 1984) is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently working as a youth coach at Real Calepina. Club career Early career Agazzi was a youth product of Atalanta. He start his professiona ...

join

on a permanent deal. Silverstri was given the number 1 shirt. He made his debut for the club in the

match against

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 ...

on 27 April, coming into the side for

Vlada Avramov Vladimir "Vlada" Avramov ( sr-Cyrl, Владимир Влада Аврамов; born 5 April 1979) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He works as David Suazo's goalkeeping coach for Brescia. Club career Av ...

, keeping a clean sheet on his debut in a 1–0 win. On 6 May, Silvestri started the match against

S.S.C. Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Camp ...

, a game in which Silvestri was given a straight red card in a 3–0 loss after fouling

Goran Pandev Goran Pandev ( mk, Горан Пандев, ; born 27 July 1983) is a Macedonian former professional footballer who played as a forward. After establishing himself at Lazio, Pandev moved to Inter Milan in early 2010. While playing for the ''Ne ...

. After returning from suspension he returned for the final match of the season in a 3–0 loss against

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 27 June, Silvestri's agent Francesco Romano, revealed that Silvestri was in talks over a move to English club Leeds United, owned by former

owner

Massimo Cellino Massimo Cellino (; born 28 July 1956) is an Italian entrepreneur and football club owner. Through his family trust Eleonora Sport Ltd he is the owner of Italian club Brescia Calcio, and is the former owner of italian club Cagliari, and English cl ...

Leeds United

2014–15 season

On 8 July 2014, Silvestri left Chievo for a fee of €1 million, and signed a four-year contract with English club Leeds United along with fellow Italian Tommaso Bianchi. Silvestri's first appearance for Leeds came on 11 July in Leeds' first pre–season game, which resulted in a 16–0 victory against Italian side FC Gherdeina. On 1 August, Silvestri was assigned the Leeds number 1 shirt for the 2014–15 season. Silvestri made his debut for Leeds on 9 August against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

. Silvestri kept his first clean sheet for Leeds in his home debut at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

on 16 August in Leeds' 1–0 victory against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

after a goal by

Billy Sharp Billy Louis Sharp (born 5 February 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker and captains club Sheffield United. He has also played for Rushden & Diamonds, Scunthorpe United, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Reading, ...

. Silvestri kept a clean sheet and won the man of the match award after a string of saves in Leeds' 1–0 win on 30 August against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. The performance led to him being named in the Football League team of the week. Silvestri's impressive form continued against

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

in a 3–1 win. With Silvestri earning praise from caretaker head coach

Neil Redfearn Neil David Redfearn (born 20 June 1965) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, who was most recently head coach of Sheffield United Women. Redfearn played 790 matches in the Football League, the sixth highest ...

after a string of impressive saves to help keep Leeds in the game when they were 1–0 down. Silvestri received the Man of the Match Award after keeping a clean sheet against the then league leaders Middlesbrough 1–0 on 21 February 2015. On 4 March, Silvestri saved a late penalty from

Daryl Murphy Daryl Michael Murphy (born 15 March 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer. Murphy began his career at Waterford United, having previously played youth football for Waterford based side Southend United and English side Luton Town, whi ...

to help earn Leeds a 2–1 victory against

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

. On 18 April 2015, Silvestri was one of six

signings (alongside Mirco Antenucci, Giuseppe Bellusci, Souleymane Doukara, Dario Del Fabro,

Edgar Çani Edgar Junior Çani (born 22 July 1989) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Legnano. Club career Early career Çani was born in Tirana, Albania but grew up in Città della Pieve in the Perugia central Italy, afte ...

) who controversially pulled out of the squad with an 'injury' the day before a 2–1 loss against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

. On 2 May 2015, Silvestri was one of five players nominated for the Fans Player Of The Year Award at Leeds United's official end of 2014–15 season awards ceremony, but lost out to eventual winner

Alex Mowatt Alex James Mowatt (born 13 February 1995) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion. Club career Leeds United Mowatt was born in Doncaster and ...

. After the end of the 2014–15 season, Silvestri after an impressive debut season said "Life in Leeds is good. Me and my wife feel at home here".

2015–16 season

After the signing of goalkeeper

Ross Turnbull Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

on 15 July 2015, head coach

Uwe Rösler Uwe Rösler (; born 15 November 1968) is a German football manager and former professional footballer. As a player he was a centre forward, notably playing in the Premier League for Manchester City, where he was the leading goalscorer for three ...

said Silvestri would still be the club's number 1 goalkeeper. Turnbull revealed he was going to challenge Silvestri for the Number 1 shirt.

2016–17 season

After the signing of

Robert Green Robert Paul Green (born 18 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Premier League and Football League and for the England national team. Green made his first-team debut for Norwi ...

as the club's first choice goalkeeper, Silvestri on 5 August was given the squad number 12 shirt for the 2016–17 season. He made his first appearance of the season for Leeds on 23 August 2016, starting in Leeds' League Cup fixture against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

. On 26 October 2016, Silvestri was the hero for Leeds, after saving three penalties for Leeds in their victory against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

in the English League Cup, with a dramatic penalty shootout victory after a 2–2 draw in extra time. On 29 November 2016, Silvestri started for Leeds in

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

quarter-final match against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

in a 2–0 defeat.

Hellas Verona

On 18 July 2017, Silvestri played the full 90 minutes of a closed-door friendly between Leeds and

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern. In th ...

, but the next day he travelled to

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

to complete a transfer to

club

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. His ...

, for an undisclosed fee.

International career

Silvestri started his national career in the 2008 goalkeeper training camp. Silvestri received his first cap in December 2009 from

Francesco Rocca Francesco Rocca (; born 2 August 1954) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Italian club Roma, where he won the Coppa Italia twice. He was the coach of the Italy n ...

for the Italy U20 team. He played that match, the round 3 of 2009–10 Four Nations Tournament, replacing Antonio Piccolo in the second half. He also played the last round (round 6) in that tournament. Silvestri played twice (out of 6 games) in the 2010–11 edition. In June 2011, he was picked for the Italy Under 21s team by

Ciro Ferrara Ciro Ferrara (; born 11 February 1967) is an Italian former footballer and manager. His most recent position was as manager of Wuhan Zall. He had also previously coached Juventus and the Italy national under-21 team. As an assistant coach to ...

to represent his country in the

2011 Toulon Tournament The 2011 Toulon Tournament was the 39th edition of the Toulon Tournament and took place from 1 June to 10 June. Ivory Coast were the defending champions, but they failed to win a single match and were eliminated in the group stage. Colombia won ...

, serving as backup to Sergio Viotti. Silvestri only played once in the bronze match. After the tournament he did not receive a call-up for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification. On 17 July 2015, Ermes Fulgoni who was

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...

's former goalkeeping coach at

described Silvestri as the heir to Buffon and tipped him to be

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 ...

's future number 1 goalkeeper. On 2 October 2020 he received his first senior team call-up.

Personal life

Silvestri's wife is Moroccan

Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...

fashion model Sofia Jamal Eddine. Silvestri said Eddine, who speaks fluent Italian and English, had been helping teach him

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Career statistics

References

External links

Football.it Profile

Lega Serie B Profile

FIGC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silvestri, Marco Italian footballers Italy youth international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Modena F.C. players A.C. ChievoVerona players A.C. Reggiana 1919 players Calcio Padova players Cagliari Calcio players Leeds United F.C. players Hellas Verona F.C. players Udinese Calcio players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Association football goalkeepers Italian expatriate footballers Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Sportspeople from the Province of Reggio Emilia 1991 births Living people Footballers from Emilia-Romagna