Vito Mannone (born 2 March 1988) 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 ...

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

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

. He has represented Italy at U21 level. Previously Mannone played for

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 ...

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Minnesota United Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American So ...

Esbjerg fB Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, that plays in the 2nd division, the third-tier of the Danish football league system. Foun ...

and

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...

Early career

Born in

Desio Desio ( lmo, label= Brianzoeu, Des) is a town and in the Province of Monza and Brianza, Italy. History In 1277 it was the location of the battle between the Visconti and della Torre families for the rule of Milan. On 24 February 1924, Desio rece ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, from Sicilian parents, Mannone was signed by

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...

during the summer of 2005, joining

from

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 ...

on a three-year deal for a £350,000 compensation fee. He made his Arsenal debut in a pre-season friendly against

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

on 16 July 2005, as Arsenal ran out 4–1 winners.

Club career

Arsenal

Early career

On 18 August 2006, Mannone was sent out on a three-month loan to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

, where he was expected to challenge

Nick Colgan Nicholas Vincent Colgan (born 19 September 1973) is an Irish football coach and former professional footballer who is goalkeeping coach at EFL League Two side Stockport County. As a player, he was a goalkeeper from 1991 to 2013 and first briefl ...

for the number-one spot. He made his debut in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

on 22 August 2006. After a 2–2 draw, the game went to a penalty shootout in which Mannone saved a penalty from Keigan Parker to help his team through to the next round. However Mannone's time at Barnsley was ultimately not a happy one. Making his league debut in an away game to Preston North End on 22 September, he came on as a substitute after Colgan was sent off. He punched a cross onto Patrick Agyemang's head and the ball bounced in for the winning goal to Preston. In his next match, starting in place of the suspended Colgan, 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 ...

, he dropped a cross late on and Ahmet Brković scored the winner. After suffering a knee injury, Mannone's loan period was cut short and he returned to Arsenal on 23 October 2006 for treatment. He was linked with a loan move to then newly promoted

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

side Gretna in the summer of 2007, but that move fell through. Mannone was understudy to

Łukasz Fabiański Łukasz Marek Fabiański (born 18 April 1985) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club West Ham United. He also played for the Poland national team, until his retirement in 2021. Having begun his career at Legi ...

during Arsenal's 2007–08

campaign. However, he was an unused substitute in all of the club's five matches in the competition, before they were knocked-out in the semi-finals by North London rivals

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. On 19 December 2007, Arsenal announced that Mannone had signed a new long-term contract. On 19 April 2008, he was named on the bench for a

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

game for the first time, in Arsenal's 2–0 win against

at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

. But he was an unused substitute as

Jens Lehmann Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA Ch ...

played the entire match.

2008–2012

Following the departure of Jens Lehmann in the summer of 2008, Mannone became Arsenal's third-choice goalkeeper, behind

Manuel Almunia Manuel Almunia Rivero (born 19 May 1977) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He competed mainly in the Spanish lower leagues in his early years, only appearing in 26 La Liga games over the course of two seasons with Rec ...

and

. Mannone changed his shirt number from 40 to 24 at the beginning of the 2008–09 season, after Manuel Almunia (the previous owner) was given the number 1. On 19 July 2008, he was brought on for the second half of Arsenal's 2–1 pre-season friendly win over

at Underhill, keeping a clean sheet. He made a total of four pre-season appearances for Arsenal's first team in the summer of 2008, coming on as a half-time substitute in all of them. He finally made his competitive debut for Arsenal's first team in their final match of the 2008–09 season, a Premier League fixture at home to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

on 24 May 2009. Arsenal won the game 4–1. Vito Mannone

With first choice goalkeeper

and back-up Łukasz Fabiański out injured, Mannone made his first

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 ...

start against

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

, in Arsenal's first group stage match on 16 September 2009. Mannone's night got off to a poor start, conceding twice within the first five minutes: first from a shot from outside of the box by

Eliaquim Mangala Eliaquim Hans Mangala (born 13 February 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. Born in France, he moved to Belgium as a child and began his career there at Standard Liège, going onto Porto in 2011 where he won c ...

which beat Mannone at the near post and then a penalty converted by Milan Jovanović after he was brought down by

William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glo ...

. However, Arsenal recovered to win the match 3–2, after goals from

Nicklas Bendtner Nicklas Bendtner (; born 16 January 1988) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a forward. His preferred position was centre-forward, but he has also played on the right side of attack, and occasionally on the left. A large, ...

Thomas Vermaelen Thomas Vermaelen (born 14 November 1985) is a retired Belgian professional footballer who is currently an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Being left-footed, he usually played as a left-sided centre-back and could play at left-bac ...

and

Eduardo Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footbal ...

. Mannone made his second Premier League appearance against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

on 19 September 2009. He kept a clean sheet in a 4–0 victory for Arsenal. Mannone also kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 win against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

on 26 September 2009, in which he pulled off many good saves and almost single-handedly kept Arsenal in the game. Mannone said the game was the highlight of his career. He again kept a clean sheet in the 2–0 victory over

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 ...

in the

on 29 September 2009. On 17 October 2009, Mannone was selected as the starting keeper over the previous mainstay, Almunia, who had been overlooked after missing through illness; this was seen as a vote of confidence for Mannone after people had previously questioned his and Almunia's future in the first team. On 25 January 2010, Mannone signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal, setting his sight to become Arsenal's first choice goalkeeper. On 18 October 2010, Mannone joined Championship side

on loan until 3 January 2011. On 27 October 2010, Mannone played his first game with Hull City against Scunthorpe United in a reserve match in which Hull won 3–0. Mannone was reported to have made a few great saves. He made his first team debut on 13 November 2010 against Preston North End, where he kept a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in a 2–0 victory. He also kept another clean sheet 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 his home debut in which the game ended in a 1–0 victory for Hull. He had a good spell with Hull, keeping 4 clean sheets in 7 games and also saved a penalty against

. On 31 December 2010, he returned to Arsenal after a thigh injury, but rejoined Hull on loan until the end of the season. He returned from injury on 5 March 2011, in a 1–0 win over

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

at the

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when E ...

. Mannone returned to Arsenal as third choice behind the two Polish keepers,

Wojciech Szczęsny Wojciech Tomasz Szczęsny (; born 18 April 1990) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Juventus and the Poland national team. After starting his club career at Legia Warsaw, Szczęsny signed for Arsenal in Jan ...

and

. His first competitive appearance of the 2011–12 season came on 6 December 2011 against Olympiakos in the

, replacing the injured Lukasz Fabiański. Mannone made a blunder that allowed David Fuster to score Olympiakos' second goal of the night and Arsenal eventually lost the game 3–1.

Later career

Mannone returned to Hull City on 4 January 2012, signing on loan until the end of the season. His first game back at the

KC Stadium The MKM Stadium (also known as the Hull City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The stadium was previously called the KC Stadium, but was renamed the KCOM Stadi ...

was an

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 ...

Third round match against

, with

winning 3–1. His first league game was a 1–0 away win over

. He then played in the

Fourth round match against

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

which ended in a surprise 0–1 defeat for Hull, during which he was announced Man of the Match. He then kept a

over

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

in a goalless draw at the

on 31 January. Due to injuries to both Wojciech Szczęsny and Łukasz Fabiański, Mannone was the first choice goalkeeper, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw against

, and keeping another clean sheet a week later 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 ...

at Anfield. Mannone also played in a 1–1 draw against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

on 23 September. Due to his performances this season Mannone stated he was ready to challenge Szczęsny for the number one spot. He effectively succeeded Fabiański for the number two spot. In March, with Szczęsny rested for a few matches and Mannone injured, Fabiański filled in. Fabiański's performances got him promoted to reserve, pushing Mannone down to third choice.

Sunderland

2013–2015

On 3 July 2013, Mannone signed a two-year contract with

, for an undisclosed fee. Mannone started both of Sunderland's matches in the

Premier League Asia Trophy The Premier League Asia Trophy (formerly the FA Premier League Asia Cup) is a biennial pre-season association football friendly tournament in Asia. The two-day competition was inaugurated in 2003 and is "the only Premier League-affiliated compe ...

in pre-season, but

Keiren Westwood Keiren Westwood (born 23 October 1984) is a professional footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for Queens Park Rangers. Born in England, he played international football for the Republic of Ireland. Club career Manchester City Westwood was ...

was preferred to him for the opening league game of the season against Fulham. After featuring in the League Cup, Mannone made his league debut for the Black Cats in a 1–0 loss at Hull, replacing the injured Westwood. Mannone retained his place for a 2–1 cup win over Southampton, and made his first league start in a 1–0 home win over

. In the 2nd leg of the semi-final tie against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the League Cup, Mannone saved two penalties in the penalty shoot out at the end of the extra time that helped Sunderland qualify for the Final at Wembley against Manchester City. On 22 April 2014, Mannone was named the

Supporters Player of the Year, at a special presentation night at the Stadium of Light. On 29 May 2014, he was named the club's official Player of the Year. Mannone began the 2014–15 season as first choice, but after a series of poor performances culminating in an 8–0 loss at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and a 2–0 home defeat at Arsenal the following week he was dropped in favour of

Costel Pantilimon Costel Fane Pantilimon (; born 1 February 1987) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is currently a free agent. Pantilimon began his senior career at Politehnica Timișoara. In 2011, he signed for Manchester City ...

. Pantilimon remained first choice for the rest of the season, with Mannone only featuring in cup games and in a 3–1 defeat at Chelsea on the final day.

2015–2017

On 26 December 2015, Mannone started ahead of Pantilimon in a 4–1 defeat at Manchester City. He retained his place in the following match, a 0–1 home defeat to Liverpool, and was praised by manager

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English association football, football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent most ...

after the game. After Pantilimon was transferred to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

in January 2016, Mannone remained first choice over

Jordan Pickford Jordan Lee Pickford (' Logan; born 7 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Everton and the England national team. Pickford has previously played for Sunderland's academy, reserve, and senior te ...

for the rest of the season, as Sunderland fought an ultimately successful battle against relegation, with their safety eventually being confirmed with a 3–0 home victory over Everton on 11 May 2016. On 4 July 2016, Mannone signed a new two-year contract with Sunderland.

Reading

On 19 July 2017, Mannone moved to

for a fee of around £2 million. signing a three-year contract. On 10 February 2019, Mannone joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Socc ...

on a one-year loan. On 24 October 2019, Mannone was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. On 31 January 2020, Mannone was loaned out to

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...

club

for the rest of the season.

Monaco

On 11 September 2020, Mannone signed for

side

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 ...

on a two-year contract.

Lorient

On 2 September 2022, Mannone signed a one-year contract with

International career

On 13 November 2009, Mannone made his debut with the Italy U-21 team in a match against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. He played seven matches in 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification.

Personal life

On 14 June 2015, Mannone married his girlfriend Fiorella.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Sunderland *

Football League 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 ...

runner-up: 2013–14 Individual * Sunderland Supporters' Player of the Year: 2013–14 * Sunderland Official Player of the Year: 2013–14 *

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkepeer of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer award established in 1996. It is voted on by media, MLS players and club management based on regula ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

References

External links

* Vito Mannon
player profile
a
Minnesota United F.C.Vito Mannone profile
at

Reading F.C. Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is managed by Paul Ince. Reading are nicknamed ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mannone, Vito 1988 births Living people People from Desio People of Sicilian descent Sportspeople from the Province of Monza e Brianza Italian footballers Footballers from Lombardy Association football goalkeepers Atalanta B.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Reading F.C. players Minnesota United FC players Esbjerg fB players AS Monaco FC players FC Lorient players English Football League players Premier League players Major League Soccer players Danish Superliga players Ligue 1 players Italy under-21 international footballers Italian expatriate footballers Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Italian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate footballers in Monaco