Thiago Motta

Thiago Motta Santon Olivares (born 28 August 1982) is a professional football manager and former player.

He is currently the head coach of club Bologna.

A midfielder, Motta spent his early career at Barcelona, where he was injury-prone.

Motta signed with Barcelona in 1999 at age 17 from São Paulo side Clube Atlético Juventus, initially being assigned to the club's B-side.

He eventually graduated to the first team in 2001, making his official debut on 3 October against Mallorca in a 3–0 home win.

In the 2001–02 edition of the UEFA Champions League, Motta made seven appearances and helped his team to the semi-finals.

In 2002–03's La Liga he appeared in a career-best 21 games (with three goals) as Barça could only finish in sixth position, and also played an important part in the following season's long UEFA Cup run, which was eventually ended by Celtic; in the first leg, a 0–1 loss in Glasgow (0–1 on aggregate), he was sent off during half-time after hitting out at opposing goalkeeper Robert Douglas who was also shown the red card, in an incident that happened in the tunnel.

After making two appearances for his country of birth in 2003, he represented the latter national team a total of 30 times since making his debut in 2011, scoring once.

Motta was also dogged by several injuries, particularly one suffered on 11 September 2004 against Sevilla, which sidelined him for seven months, during his time at Barcelona.

He would eventually need surgery to rebuild the anterior cruciate and lateral ligaments in his left knee, but was able to make a swift recovery and made an emotional comeback, taking to the field to rapturous applause as eventual league champions defeated Getafe 2–0 on 17 April.

In late August 2007, Motta signed a one-year contract with Atlético Madrid for an undisclosed fee.

Once again he began the season on the sidelines, injured; in the Copa del Rey quarter-final match against Valencia he was ejected after only 25 minutes, and the Colchoneros lost the away fixture 0–1 and subsequently the tie.

Due to injury to regular starter Raúl García and the departure of Maniche in January 2008, Motta's opportunities increased.

In March, however, the recurrent knee problems reappeared and his season was over, followed by a successful surgery and rehabilitation in the United States; he trialled with Premier League side Portsmouth after his release, but did not sign for them.

In September 2008, Motta joined Genoa on a free transfer, after passing a medical.

During his debut campaign he performed consistently well and was a regular in the starting eleven, under coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

On 11 April 2009, Motta scored two goals (one of them in the first half's injury time) in a final 3–2 home victory over Juventus.

He finished the year with a career-best six goals, and his team qualified for the Europa League.

On 20 May 2009, La Gazzetta dello Sport confirmed that Motta, alongside teammate Diego Milito, transferred to Inter Milan, who paid €28 million for the latter and €10.2 million for the former while as part of the deal, Genoa received five Inter players: Robert Acquafresca, Francesco Bolzoni, Leonardo Bonucci, Ivan Fatić and Riccardo Meggiorini.

Motta's agent, Dario Canovi, later revealed that his Genoa contract with the club included a buy-out fee of €10 million.

Motta's debut came in 2009–10's opener, a 1–1 home draw against Bari, and his first goal came the next round as he opened the score in the Derby della Madonnina after an assist by Milito, in the 4–0 defeat of A.C. Milan.

Having been in and out of the team for the duration of the season, he netted his first brace for them in a 3–0 win over Bologna on 3 April 2010.

Motta also appeared in eight games during the club's victorious Champions League campaign, including the 0–1 loss at former side Barcelona in the semi-finals (3–2 aggregate win).

During that match, he was sent off after apparently striking Sergio Busquets in the face with his hand; the incident gathered attention due to Busquets' apparent feigning of injury.

On 23 October 2011, from a corner taken by Wesley Sneijder, Motta scored through a header in a 1–0 victory against Chievo, which was Inter's first at home in 2011–12.

He played two and a half seasons with Inter Milan before joining Paris Saint-Germain in January 2012, winning 27 major titles all clubs combined.

Motta also had brief spells with Atlético Madrid in Spain, and Genoa in Italy.

Born in Brazil, Motta also holds Italian citizenship.

On 31 January 2012, in spite of Inter manager Claudio Ranieri indicating shortly before he was confident the player would remain with the club until the end of the season, having called him to the upcoming league match against Palermo, Motta signed with Paris Saint-Germain in France, for a fee believed to be around €10 million.

Following his move, he revealed that he dreamt of playing for the club ever since fellow Brazilians such as Raí, Leonardo and Ronaldinho shone in the French capital; he also revealed that he was not happy at Inter, refusing to further elaborate on his reasons to leave.

Four days after signing for the club, Motta made his debut for PSG, against Evian in a 3–1 home win, being booked in the process.

On 22 April 2012, in another home fixture, he scored his first goal in Ligue 1, contributing to a 6–1 rout of Sochaux.

He appeared at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and two European Championships with Italy, finishing second at Euro 2012.

On 21 February 2014, aged 31, Motta extended his contract until June 2016.

In August, he was left with a broken nose after being headbutted by Bastia's Brandão in the tunnel, as his opponent went on to be suspended for six months.

Following his retirement in 2018, he coached the under-19 side of Paris Saint-Germain.

Motta announced his retirement for the end of the season on 8 May 2018, while also being appointed as the new coach of PSG's under-19 side.

During his six-and-a-half-year stint at the Parc des Princes he played 232 competitives matches and won 19 trophies, making his final appearance on 19 May against Caen.

In October 2019, he was appointed as Genoa's new manager, being fired in December following a poor run of results.In July 2021, Motta was appointed manager of Spezia, where he remained for one season, before taking over as manager of Bologna in September 2022.

Motta was born in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo.