Francesco Moriero facts for kids

Francesco "Checco" Moriero is a famous Italian football player and manager. He was born on March 31, 1969. He played as a midfielder, usually on the right side of the field. Today, he is the head coach for the Laçi football team.

Francesco played for many Italian clubs during his career. These included Lecce, Cagliari, Roma, Inter Milan, and Napoli. He won an important trophy called the UEFA Cup with Inter Milan in 1998. He also played for the Italian national team and took part in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Playing Career: Club Highlights

Francesco Moriero started his football journey in his hometown of Lecce. He joined the youth team of Lecce and later played for their main team. He made his first professional appearance in the 1986–87 season.

Early Days at Lecce

In the 1987–88 season, Francesco played 35 games and scored 3 goals. His efforts helped Lecce get promoted to Serie A, which is Italy's top football league. He played two seasons in Serie A with Lecce, appearing in 86 matches and scoring 4 goals. After this, Lecce was moved back down to Serie B. In the 1991–92 Serie B season, he scored his personal best of 6 goals in 34 games.

Moving to Cagliari and Roma

In 1992, Francesco moved to Cagliari. There, he played in European competitions for the first time. He helped Cagliari reach the semi-finals of the 1993–94 UEFA Cup. In 1994, he joined Roma, where he played for three seasons. He became a key player, making 75 appearances in Serie A and scoring 8 goals.

Success with Inter Milan

Francesco joined Inter Milan in 1997. This was the most successful part of his career. He made his debut for Inter on August 31, 1997. In his first season, he helped Inter win the 1997–98 UEFA Cup under manager Luigi Simoni. He even scored a spectacular goal with a bicycle kick against a Swiss team called Neuchatel Xamax during the tournament. In the final match, he also helped set up a goal for the famous player Ronaldo. Inter Milan almost won the Serie A title that season, finishing second. Francesco played 28 league games and scored 3 goals.

Later Years at Napoli

After his time at Inter, Francesco moved to Napoli in 2000. He played 14 games and scored one goal in the 2000–01 Serie A season. However, he could not prevent the club from being moved down to Serie B. He finished his playing career with Napoli in 2002. In total, he played 287 games in Serie A and scored 21 goals.

Playing for Italy: National Team

Francesco Moriero also played for the Italian national team. He scored two goals in eight matches for Italy between 1998 and 1999.

International Debut and World Cup

He made his first game for Italy on January 28, 1998, in a 3–0 win against Slovakia. In that match, he provided two assists for goals. In his next game, against Paraguay on April 22, 1998, he scored his only two goals for Italy. One of these goals was another amazing bicycle kick! Italy won that game 3–1.

Francesco was part of the Italian team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Italy reached the quarter-finals but lost to the host country, France, in a penalty shootout. Francesco played in all five of Italy's matches during the tournament. He assisted Christian Vieri's first goal in Italy's 3–0 win against Cameroon. He also helped start the play that led to Roberto Baggio's winning goal against Austria. His final game for Italy was in October 1999.

Coaching Career: Leading Teams

After finishing his playing career, Francesco Moriero became a football coach. He studied at a special coaching school in Italy.

First Coaching Roles

In 2006, he became the head coach of an Ivorian club called Africa Sports. He later coached Lanciano in Italy. In the 2008–09 season, he led Crotone to win their league playoffs and get promoted to Serie B.

Managing Various Italian Clubs

He then coached Frosinone from 2009 to 2010. In September 2010, he became the head coach of Grosseto in Serie B, but he was dismissed a few months later. He returned to coach Grosseto again in 2012. In 2013, he signed with his former club, Lecce, but his time there was short. He also coached Catanzaro in 2014 and Sambenedettese in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, he joined Cavese.

International and Recent Coaching Roles

In December 2020, Francesco was announced as the new head coach of the Albanian club Dinamo Tirana. He later resigned from this role in March 2021. On October 21, 2021, Francesco Moriero became the new head coach of the Maldives national football team. He was the first coach from a country that had won the World Cup to coach the Maldives. Since 2024, he has been coaching Laçi.

Playing Style: What Made Him Special

Francesco Moriero was a quick, energetic, and very skilled midfielder. He mostly played as a right winger. He was known for running forward to attack, but he also worked hard to defend. He was good at tracking back to help his team cover the sides of the field.

Skills and Creativity

His main strengths were his speed, dribbling skills, quickness, and creativity. These skills allowed him to beat opponents in one-on-one situations. He could run up the wing and help his team have more players in attack. He was also known for creating chances and giving assists to strikers with his crossing ability. He could also score amazing goals from far away or with acrobatic moves like volleys and bicycle kicks.

Famous Celebration

Besides his skills, Francesco Moriero was famous for his special goal celebration. Whenever one of his teammates scored a goal, he would pretend to polish their football boots!

Honours

Player

Inter

• UEFA Cup: 1997–98

See also

In Spanish: Francesco Moriero para niños