Piermario Morosini (5 July 1986 – 14 April 2012) was 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 played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. On 14 April 2012, during a match between
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
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, Morosini suffered a fatal
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
on the pitch.
Early life
Piermario Morosini was born on 5 July 1986, in
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
, Italy. His mother Camilla died in 2001, when he was fifteen years old. His father, Aldo, died in 2003, followed shortly after by a disabled brother who committed suicide, leaving him alone with a disabled elder sister.
Shortly after his parents' death, Morosini remarked that "these are the things that change your life, but at the same time make you so angry and help you achieve what was also a dream of my parents."
Club career
Morosini started his career at hometown club
Atalanta
Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...
, and was sold to
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 ...
in a co-ownership deal during 2005.
On 23 October 2005, he debuts in
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 ...
in the match
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 ...
-
Inter
Inter may refer to:
Association football clubs
* Inter Milan, an Italian club
* SC Internacional, a Brazilian club
* Inter Miami CF, an American club
* FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club
* FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club
* FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...
, collecting in total five appearances in this league. In this season 2005–06 he debuts also in
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
in the match Levski Sofia-Udinese.
Udinese got full ownership from Atalanta in 2006, and loaned him to
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 ...
in order to gain experience. From 2007 to 2009 half of the registration rights was farmed to Serie B club
Vicenza Calcio
L.R. Vicenza, commonly referred to as Vicenza, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Vicenza, Veneto. Founded in 1902 as Associazione del Calcio in Vicenza, they became Lanerossi Vicenza in 1953, then Vicenza Calcio from 1990 ...
. Morosini signed four-year contract with Vicenza and sold for €500,000. Udinese acquired Morosini back from Vicenza for €300,000.
On 31 August 2009, Morosini signed for newly relegated side
Reggina
Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo.
They are n ...
on loan.
On 1 February 2010, he was loaned to
Calcio Padova
Calcio Padova, commonly referred to as Padova, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Padua, Veneto. Founded in 1910, Padova currently play in , having last been in Serie A in 1996. The team's official colours are white and red. ...
. In June 2010, the club decided not to buy him outright.
In January 2011 he was transferred on loan to
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan.
Vicenza is a th ...
and played 15 times for this club.
On 31 January 2012, he went on loan to
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
playing 8 matches.
International career
Morosini made his international debut for the
Italy U-17 team in 2001 and his
U-21 debut in 2006.
He was called up for the
2009 European Championships as back-up.
Death and legacy
On 14 April 2012, while representing Livorno, Morosini suffered cardiac arrest and fell to the ground in the 31st minute of the
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 ...
match away to
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 ...
. He stumbled on the ground, trying to get up, before losing consciousness and receiving medical attention on the field. A
defibrillator
Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''coun ...
was used on Morosini, who was conscious when he was taken on the stretcher. According to the news agency
ANSA
Ansa (Latin for "handle") or ANSA may refer to:
Organizations
* Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, Italian news agency
** Ansa Mediterranean or ANSAmed, section of the above
* Applied Neuroscience Society of Australasia
* Association of Norw ...
, a city police car was blocking the stadium's exit for the ambulance for nearly a minute, but a heart specialist said that the delay made no difference. After Morosini was taken to the hospital, the match was abandoned with Livorno leading 2–0, and some players reportedly "left the field in tears".
Morosini was rushed to the Santo Spirito hospital, but reports later indicated he died before reaching the hospital.
Italian media reports were alerted of Morosini's death after an "explosion of shouts and tears" by his teammates who had gone to the hospital. All of the Italian football league matches for the weekend were suspended. Livorno and Vicenza then decided they would retire the number 25, the number Morosini wore whilst their player.
Morosini's death came four weeks after
Fabrice Muamba
Fabrice Ndala Muamba (born 6 April 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played for Arsenal, Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers as a central midfielder. Born in Zaire, Muamba moved to England at the age of 11 and subsequently ...
suffered a cardiac arrest in an English
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
match, after which awareness of heart risk had been raised in Italian football.
[ Morosini's sister, who is disabled, was left with no family. However, ]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 ...
player Antonio Di Natale
Antonio Di Natale (; born 13 October 1977) is an Italian fotball coach and former professional player who played as a striker.
After being a member of the Empoli youth side since 1994, Di Natale started his professional career with the Empoli ...
confirmed that he would financially support and look after her.
Several days after Morosini's death, the Curva
Curva (plural: ''curve'' ) is an Italian term or name for curved stands of seating located at sports stadiums, particularly in Italy; so named, originally, due to their curved or bending shape. The curva plays an integral part in the culture of ...
Sud of the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia
Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, known for sponsorship reasons as the Gewiss Stadium since July 2019 and as Stadio di Bergamo in UEFA competitions, is a stadium in Bergamo, Italy. It is the home of club Atalanta and has a capacity of 21,000 seat ...
—the home stadium of Atalanta—was renamed the ''Curva Piermario Morosini'' in his honor.
On the third anniversary of his death, 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 ...
goalkeeper 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 ...
dedicated his side's 1–0 away win over Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League
The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League was the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
The final was pl ...
quarter-final to Morosini. The award for the best player of Campionato Primavera is named after him.
References
External links
Profile at official website of A.S. Livorno Calcio
Forza Italian Football site
Photo Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morosini, Piermario
1986 births
2012 deaths
Italian footballers
Udinese Calcio players
Bologna F.C. 1909 players
L.R. Vicenza players
Reggina 1914 players
Calcio Padova players
U.S. Livorno 1915 players
Association football midfielders
Serie A players
Serie B players
Italy youth international footballers
Italy under-21 international footballers
Footballers from Bergamo
Association football players who died while playing
Filmed deaths in sports
Piermario
Sport deaths in Italy