Mateo Pablo Musacchio (, ; born 26 August 1990) is an Argentine former

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

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He spent most of his professional career with

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

after signing as a 19-year-old, going on to appear in 249 competitive matches and score seven goals over seven

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

seasons. In 2017 he joined

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and, four years later, signed with

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

also of the Italian

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 Cop ...

. Musacchio made his full debut for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in 2011.

Club career

River Plate

A product of

Club Atlético River Plate Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city's estuary, Río de la ...

'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. He was part of the squad that won the

Clausura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is divi ...

the following year, but did not feature in any games.

Villarreal

In August 2009, Musacchio moved to

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

in Spain, initially being assigned to the

B team B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...

in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. He made his official debut on 5 September in a 3–1 loss at Córdoba CF as the reserves overachieved in their first season ever in that tier, eventually finishing seventh. On 13 February 2010, shortly after ceasing to be a non-EU player, Musacchio made his

debut by playing the last 15 minutes in a 2–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao. From that moment onwards he was permanently promoted to Villarreal's first team, successively surpassing more experienced

Iván Marcano Iván Marcano Sierra (; born 23 June 1987) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays for Portuguese club FC Porto. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a left-back. After starting out at Racing de Santander ...

and Gonzalo Rodríguez – the latter his compatriot – in the defensive pecking order. Musacchio dealt with several injury problems during his spell at the

Estadio El Madrigal A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

Milan

On 30 May 2017, eight days after passing his medical, Musacchio moved to Italian club

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 ...

after signing a four-year contract. He contributed 15

appearances in his first season, with the subsequent

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

to the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

after a sixth-place finish. Following

Leonardo Bonucci Leonardo Bonucci (; born 1 May 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and captains both club Juventus and the Italy national team. Known for his technique and ball-playing ability, he is regarded as one of the b ...

's departure to

Juventus F.C. )''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback) , founded = as Sport-Club Juventus , ground = Juventus Stadium , capacity = 41,507 , owner = Agnell ...

and Mattia Caldara's two long-term injuries, Musacchio became a starter, oftentimes partnering up with the team's newly-appointed captain

Alessio Romagnoli Alessio Romagnoli (born 12 January 1995) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Lazio and the Italy national team. Romagnoli began his career with Roma in 2012, and later spent a season on loan with Sampdor ...

. 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. Musacchio played his first match in ten months on 12 January 2021, featuring 62 minutes in a 0–0

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory over

Torino F.C. Torino Football Club (), commonly referred to as Torino or simply Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont. They currently play in Serie A. Founded as ''Foot-Ball Club Torino'' in 1906, Torino are among the mos ...

in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of 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 ...

Lazio

On 27 January 2021, S.S. Lazio announced the signing of Musacchio on a permanent deal.

International career

Musacchio was first called by the Argentina national team in May 2011, as manager

Sergio Batista Sergio Daniel "Checho" Batista (; born 9 November 1962) is an Argentine football manager and former international player. As a footballer he played as a midfield for Argentinos Juniors, River Plate, Nueva Chicago, Tosu Futures and All Boys. H ...

only selected players under 25 for friendlies with

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He made his debut against the former on 2 June, in a 4–1 defeat. In 2017,

Gianni De Biasi Giovanni "Gianni" De Biasi (, sq, Xhovani "Xhani" De Biazi), born 16 June 1956 is an Italian football coach and former player. He holds dual Italian and Albanian citizenship. De Biasi was the first coach of the Albania national team to lead t ...

asked Musacchio if he would be interested in playing for

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

of which he was the manager, but the player declined as he wished to represent his country of birth.

Style of play

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

Personal life

Musacchio's paternal grandparents were of Albanian origin, being

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name * Arbëresh ...

from Portocannone in lower

Molise it, Molisano (man) it, Molisana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 ...

region, Italy. The surname Musacchio originated from the

Muzaka The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mention Muzaka ...

region in south-central

, and was widely used in the Albanian community in Italy.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

River Plate * Argentine Primera División: Clausura 2008

References

External links

Argentine League statistics
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Musacchio, Mateo 1990 births Living people Argentine people of Arbëreshë descent People of Molisan descent Footballers from Rosario, Santa Fe Argentine footballers Association football defenders Argentine Primera División players Club Atlético River Plate footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Villarreal CF B players Villarreal CF players Serie A players A.C. Milan players S.S. Lazio players Argentina youth international footballers Argentina under-20 international footballers Argentina international footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy