Matteo Brighi

Matteo Brighi (born 14 February 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

He did not appear for the club during the 1997–98 season, but the following season, he made ten league appearances, scoring one goal.

Brighi began his professional career at Rimini in Serie C2 in 1998.

Brighi also played for the team in 1998–99 Coppa Italia Serie C, as substitute and a starter respectively.

In his next professional season with Rimini, Brighi scored 6 goals, in 34 league appearances.

He also took part in the promotion playoffs of the season, scoring twice.

Although the club had initially purchased him in the summer of 1999 with the intent of having him play with the team's Primavera youth side before joining the first team, his signing was delayed by a year, as Brighi wanted to complete his high school diploma in accounting prior to moving to the club.

In the summer of 2000, Brighi moved to Juventus.

Brighi made 11 league appearances and 12 in total for Juventus first team during the 2000–01 season under manager Carlo Ancelotti, despite still eligible to their Primavera under-20 side.

Juventus ended the season in second place in Serie A.

In the summer of 2001, Brighi was sent on loan to Bologna for the 2001–02 season.

Regarded as one of Italy's most talented prospects in his early career, Brighi was named Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in 2002.

His excellent performances under manager Francesco Guidolin soon saw him break into the starting XI, and he earned a reputation as one of Italy's most promising midfielders, winning the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year Award in 2002.

In total, he made 32 league appearances during the season.

After his loan with Bologna ended, Brighi returned to Juventus in the summer of 2002.

After Brighi won the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana with the Turin side, the club sold 50% of his registration rights to Parma as part of the deal which saw Marco Di Vaio join Juventus.

The transfer was worth €5 million at the time.

The 2002–03 season was an unsuccessful one for Brighi, as it was marred by injuries which limited his playing time.

He was later sent on loan to Brescia during the 2003–04 season, where he was able to recapture his form, making 29 appearances and scoring once.

In 2004, Juventus repurchased Brighi's 50% registration rights for a €11.5 million fee, then sold the full registration rights of Brighi to Roma for €16 million as part of the deal which saw Emerson join Juve.

Brighi signed a five-year contract worth €930,000 annually in gross.

However, Brighi was then immediately sent on a one-season loan to Chievo.

That season, Roma also signed central midfielder Simone Perrotta from Chievo side.

Chievo would receive prize money from Roma per appearances of Brighi, with each five appearances worth €80,000.

The loan was extended in summer 2005 and again in 2006.

Brighi played for Chievo at 2006–07 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round and twice at 2006–07 UEFA Cup first round.

In his last season, he formed the midfield line with Paolo Sammarco and Franco Semioli for over 20 matches.

Although Chievo were relegated in June, their performance earned each of them a transfer to a different club.

In total, Brighi made 68 appearances for Chievo, scoring 9 goals.

In 2007, Brighi returned to Roma for the 2007–08 season.

On 25 July 2008, he signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until June 2012.

As such, his annual salary was increased: he earned €1.3 million in 2008–09, set to increase to €1.6 million in 2011–12.

Brighi made an excellent start to the 2008–09 season with Roma.

On 9 November 2008, Italy national team manager Marcello Lippi, who worked with Brighi at Juventus, was quoted in Rome newspaper Il Romanista saying, "My memories of Brighi are optimal. From the human point of view he is a splendid boy, and from the technical point of view he is one of those diligent midfielders that every trainer would want to have. To my warning, at the beginning of his career, he was praised so excessively that too many expectations were created around him."

In a 20 November 2008 interview with La Repubblica, Brighi called then-Roma head coach Luciano Spalletti "the best I've ever had in terms of managing the group, and I've had some great ones like [Francesco] Guidolin and [Cesare] Prandelli."

Around the same time, he told Sky Italia, "I like to work, not talk. Other players talk and sell themselves, certainly better than I do. I don't blame them for it. It's just not me."

In the same interview, he was asked who his favourite players were growing up and who he admires in football: "As a boy I loved Roberto Mancini when he was at Sampdoria, even though he played in a different position than I do. Now, as everyone knows, Damiano Tommasi inspires me. It's an honour to be compared to a great player and a great person like him."

Tommasi has said of Brighi: "He's more talented than I am, I just got the chance to play in a great team and win something special. I hope Matteo gets the same chance."

Brighi helped Roma to a strong 2009–10 season; the team finished second in Serie A, behind treble champions Internazionale, and also reached the 2010 Coppa Italia Final.

In September 2010, Brighi signed a new four-year contract with Roma, in which his annual salary increased to €1.8 million in 2010–11 Serie A season and to €2.3 million in the next three seasons.