Riccardo Montolivo

He made his debut for the club in a Serie B match against Piacenza, coming onto the pitch as an 81st-minute substitute for Michele Marcoliniego.

His first starting match came in a 2–1 win against Hellas Verona.

From that match onwards, he was frequently in the starting line-up, scoring his first goal against Bari in a 2–0 win.

Riccardo Montolivo (born 18 January 1985) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

He most notably played for Fiorentina, AC Milan, and the Italy national team.

A versatile and creative player, Montolivo began his career with Atalanta in 2003 before joining Fiorentina in 2005.

He went on to make more than 250 appearances for the club in seven years.

Atalanta finished the 2003–04 season in fifth position and were promoted to Serie A.

Montolivo missed the first matches of his debut season in Serie A because he was out with an injury.

He made his Serie A debut in a 2–2 draw against Lecce.

He scored goals in consecutive matches against Cagliari and Parma.

Atalanta finished last in the 2004–05 Serie A and was relegated.

Montolivo won 32 caps and scored three goals in his debut season in the Serie A.

On 23 January 2005, he received the first red card of his career in a match against Lecce.

In the summer of 2005, Fiorentina signed Montolivo in a co-ownership deal for €3.5 million.

He subsequently signed a five-year contract.

He was given the jersey number 18.

During the 2005–06 season, Montolivo's first-team chances were limited, partly due to the fact he was still an inexperienced player and partly because manager Cesare Prandelli had a relatively stable and reliable squad of players at his disposal.

However, Montolivo's talent did not go unrecognised – he became a regular fixture in the Italy national under-21 team, coached by Pierluigi Casiraghi.

Montolivo eventually made his Fiorentina debut in a 2–1 loss to Internazionale.

Despite being associated with the Calciopoli scandal, Fiorentina signed Montolivo on a permanent basis the following season for €2 million.

He played a total of 36 matches for Fiorentina, scoring two goals.

He also declared he would continue playing for the Viola.

Montolivo made his debut for the Italy national team in 2007 against South Africa, Since then, he represented the country in two FIFA Confederations Cups (2009 and 2013, winning a bronze medal in the latter edition of the tournament), as well as in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012, the latter where he played as a starter in the final.

In total, he obtained 66 senior caps for Italy between 2007 and 2017, scoring 2 goals.

Montolivo is a graduate of the Atalanta youth academy.

The 2007–08 season began well for Montolivo.

In the first matchday, he was as one of the best on the field against Empoli, against which he also scored a splendid goal with a lob.

The season followed with ups and downs, but during its course, Montolivo confirmed himself as one of the best talents in Italian football, winning the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award in 2007.

His good form earned him a spot for the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

He also participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

As he sustained an injury while playing in the competition, he missed the first round of 2008–09 Serie A, against Juventus.

He scored a crucial brace as Fiorentina defeated Udinese 4–2 after being down 0–1 in the first half.

Montolivo scored two more goals against Sampdoria and Napoli and he ended the season with two goals, two more than his previous season.

On 17 January 2009, he captained Fiorentina for the first time in a 1–0 defeat to AC Milan.

In 2009–10 season, Montolivo was made club captain following the departure of Dario Dainelli.

Montolivo also expressed that the departure of Dainelli and Martin Jørgensen had weakened the team, but with Sébastien Frey and Marco Donadel, he formed a strong midfield.

Despite gaining attention from big clubs he said that Fiorentina was his house and he would not change his club.

In 2012, he signed for Milan on a free transfer and, following the departure of Massimo Ambrosini, served as the team's captain from 2013 until 2017, winning the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana.

He left the club in the summer of 2019, before retiring later that year.