Federico Viviani (born 24 March 1992) 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 lea ...

who plays a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

Ternana Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria and currently compete in the Serie C. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A ...

. He plays as a

deep-lying playmaker In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in the

defensive midfield In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

role, and is also known as a free-kick specialist. He also represented Italy national team at various youth international levels. Viviani is a former Italy U21 international. He is also the son of Mauro Viviani, a former football player of

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

in the 1980s.

Club career

Roma

Viviani started his career at

A.S. Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: ) is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its exis ...

. He was given his first team debut by

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

coach

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. He is the manager of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playin ...

in the

2011–12 UEFA Europa League The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League was the third season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 41st edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 30 June 2011 with ...

play-off round against Slovan Bratislava in August 2011. On 12 December 2011, at age 19, he made his debut in

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

in the 1–1 draw against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, in which he started. He played 9 games in all competitions his first season, mostly coming on as a substitute. On 22 March 2012, Viviani captained the Roma Primavera side which won the Tim Cup (

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

) after a 2–1 aggregate win against Juventus in a two legged final. After coming through the youth system, Viviani signed a 5-year contract in May 2012.

Serie B loan

He was loaned to

Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

for the 2012–13 season where he scored two goals in 22 matches. He made his debut with the 18 August game against Atalanta. On 25 September, Viviani scored his first goals of his career, scoring both goals in a 2–0 win against Empoli. On 1 July 2013, Viviani joined

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

on loan, again in

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie 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 season. It had b ...

. He made his debut 14 September in the next away game against

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

, scoring on his debut, scoring with a freekick in a 3–2 loss. On 24 September, Viviani scored his second goal for by scoring a freekick against

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

in a 1–1 draw. In January 2014, Viviani was recalled by

as part of the transfer deal which saw

Gianluca Caprari Gianluca Caprari (born 30 July 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Monza and the Italy national team. Club career Roma Born in Rome, Italian capital, Caprari started his career at Atletico 2000. He then ...

join

, on the same day Viviani was loaned back out, this time to fellow

side

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

. He was given the number 7 shirt. On 28 February, Viviani scored his first goal for

in a 3–0 victory against his old side

with a long range shot. Viviani scored a freekick against

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

on 12 April in a 4–1 victory. On 10 May, Vivani scored a freekick in a 2–0 victory for

over

. He was integral to helping

to a 3rd-place finish, guiding them in the

playoffs,

got to the final but lost out promotion to

A.C. Cesena AC Cesena, commonly referred to as Cesena (), was an Italian football club based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. The club spent most of its history in professional leagues such as Serie A and Serie B, but went bankrupt and folded in 2018. Another cl ...

after losing the two legged final 4–2 on aggregate. After returning to

, on 26 June, Viviani's agent revealed that his future would depend on Roma's plans for the player under manager

Rudi Garcia Rudi José Garcia (; ; born 20 February 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Belgium national team. Garcia began his professional career with Lille, and went on to have stints ...

. On 21 July 2014, Roma confirmed that they had let the player discuss terms with

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 sys ...

side

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. The player was also left out of the Roma squad for their pre-season tour. On 22 July 2014, Viviani was set to sign for Leeds United on a season long loan deal, and he was in attendance on that day for Leeds' 2–0 pre-season friendly defeat against

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

. However, the transfer of Viviani to Leeds dramatically fell through despite the player attending pre season games. After his Leeds move fell through, he re-joined

side

Verona

On 30 June 2015 Viviani was signed by

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

for €4 million.

Bologna

On 31 August 2016, Viviani joined fellow Serie A side

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

on a season-long loan deal. On 20 November, he scored his first league goal for Bologna, a free-kick and assisted

Mattia Destro Mattia Destro (; born 20 March 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie B side Reggiana. He has also featured at international level, holding eight caps for Italy. Club career Youth career Destro began his ...

's headed goal that put Bologna level, before

Blerim Džemaili Blerim Džemaili (, ; ; born 12 April 1986) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He began his career at FC Zürich, where he won the Swiss Super League twice. He subsequently spent most of his career in Italy, ma ...

made it 2–1, followed by Viviani's splendid set-piece which put the game to bed and allowed Bologna to claim a 3–1 home victory over

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

; ending a six-game winless run for

Roberto Donadoni Roberto Donadoni (; born 9 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder. A skilful and versatile winger, Donadoni was capable of playing on either flank, or in the centre. He began his career with Atalanta, and late ...

's side.

SPAL

He joined newly promoted

side

S.P.A.L. 2013 Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly referred to by the acronym SPAL (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. During the 2024–25 season the team played in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian foot ...

in the summer of 2017, during his first season he scored 3 times in 27 games as helped keep the club in

and signed a permanent deal with the club in June 2018.

Frosinone

On 24 January 2019, Viviani joined to

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

on loan with an option to buy until 30 June 2019.

Livorno

On 2 September 2019, Viviani joined

side

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

on loan until 30 June 2020.

Brescia

On 25 August 2022, Viviani moved to

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

Ternana

On 8 September 2023, Viviani signed a three-season contract with

International career

Viviani played for the ''Azzurrini'' at

2011 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship elite qualification 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (Elite Round) was the second round of qualifications for the final tournament of 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. The 28 teams that advanced from the qualifying round were distributed into seven gr ...

. In 2011–12 season, he received a call-up from

Italy national under-20 football team Italy national under-20 football team is the national under-20 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. The team competes for the Under 20 Elite League, held annually and, if qualified, for the FIFA U-20 Worl ...

for the first round of Four Nations Tournament, which the fixture of the "tournament" would be spread over the year. He was made captain of the

by manager

Luigi Di Biagio Luigi Di Biagio (; born 3 June 1971) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is currently managing Saudi Arabia U23. A former midfielder, Di Biagio last played for Ascoli in 2007, and previously also played for seve ...

. On 25 April 2012 he made his debut with the Italy U-21, in a friendly match won 4–1 against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. In November 2013, Viviani scored a freekick in a 3–0 victory against the Northern Ireland U21s. On 10–12 March 2014 was called up to a training squad for the senior

Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...

by the then Manager

Cesare Prandelli Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian former football coach and former player. Playing career Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first game for Juventus was in the 1979–80 Eur ...

, the training squad was organized in order to see some of the younger players ahead of the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in June 2014. He participated at the

2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 20th edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international association football, football competition for men's under-21 national teams organised by UEFA. The final tourn ...

played in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Style of play

Viviani is a deep-lying

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

who plays primarily as a 'Regista' in the

position; he is also renowned for his ability from free kicks. His style of play has been compared to compatriots

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest Midfielder (association football)#Deep-lying playmaker, mi ...

and

Marco Verratti Marco Verratti (; born 5 November 1992) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Qatar Stars League club Al-Arabi SC (Qatar), Al-Arabi. A technically gifted playmaker, Verratti began his ...

Honours

Latina *

Promotion Playoff Final (Runner-up): 2013–14

References

External links

FIGC

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Viviani, Federico 1992 births Living people Italian men's footballers AS Roma players Calcio Padova players Delfino Pescara 1936 players Latina Calcio 1932 players Men's association football midfielders Serie A players Serie B players Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Footballers from Lecco Hellas Verona FC players Bologna FC 1909 players SPAL players Frosinone Calcio players US Livorno 1915 players Brescia Calcio players Ternana Calcio players 21st-century Italian sportsmen