Marco Verratti facts for kids
Verratti warming up with Paris Saint-Germain in 2019
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 5 November 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pescara, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.65 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Al-Arabi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Manoppello | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2006 | Manoppello Arabona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Pescara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2012 | Pescara | 74 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2023 | Paris Saint-Germain | 276 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Al-Arabi | 26 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Italy U19 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Italy U20 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Italy U21 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2023 | Italy | 55 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Marco Verratti (born 5 November 1992) is an Italian professional footballer. He plays as a central-midfielder for Qatar Stars League club Al-Arabi.
Marco Verratti is known for his amazing skills with the ball. He started his career in 2008 with an Italian club called Pescara. He quickly became famous as one of the best young midfielders in Europe. He helped his team win the 2011–12 Serie B title. In 2012, he won the Bravo Award, which is given to the best young player in Europe. People often compared his playing style to Andrea Pirlo. This was because of his great passing, vision, and control of the game.
In July 2012, Verratti moved to the French team Paris Saint-Germain. There, he won a record nine Ligue 1 titles. He also won many other awards with the team and as an individual player. He became one of the best midfielders in the world. He is the player with the third-highest number of games played for Paris Saint-Germain.
For his country, Verratti played for the Italy under-21 team in 2013. They finished second in the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He was even chosen for the tournament's all-star team. He first played for the senior Italy in 2012. He played for Italy in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2020, which Italy won!
Contents
Early Life and Football Dreams
Marco Verratti was born in Pescara, Italy. He grew up in a town called Manoppello. When he was a child, he loved Juventus and looked up to Alessandro Del Piero. Del Piero was a famous Italian attacking playmaker.
Verratti's football talent was clear from a young age. He received offers to join big youth academies like Atalanta and Internazionale. But he chose to join his local club, Pescara, for a small fee. After playing very well against AC Milan for Pescara's under-16 team, AC Milan offered a lot of money to sign him. However, Verratti decided to stay with Pescara.
Club Career Highlights
Starting Strong at Pescara
Marco Verratti first played for the youth team of Manoppello. This team later joined with Manoppello Arabona. He stayed there until 2006, when he joined the youth team of Pescara.
Verratti played his first game for Pescara's main team in the 2008–09 season. He was only 15 years and 9 months old! In the 2009–10 season, he played more often and became a very important player for the team. His great performances made people across Italy talk about him as a future star.
Under manager Zdeněk Zeman, Verratti became an excellent "deep-lying playmaker." This means he controlled the game from a deeper position on the field. He helped Pescara win the 2011–12 Serie B title. The team was even said to be playing "the best football in Italy." This win helped Pescara get promoted to Serie A, Italy's top league. After this success, Verratti won the 2012 Bravo Award. This award is for the best player under 21 in Europe. Many big clubs wanted to sign him, including Napoli, Roma, and Juventus. He was also named the best player of the 2011–12 Serie B season.
Success with Paris Saint-Germain
On 18 July 2012, Marco Verratti signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in France. He played his first game for PSG on 2 September 2012 against Lille. A few days later, he helped Javier Pastore score a goal in his first game at PSG's home stadium, the Parc des Princes.
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On 18 September 2012, he played his first game in the UEFA Champions League. PSG won that game 4–1 against Dynamo Kyiv. In his first season in France, he helped PSG win the 2012–13 Ligue 1 title. In August 2013, Verratti signed a new contract with PSG, keeping him there until 2018.
Verratti's second season at PSG was even better. The team won the Ligue 1 title again. They also won the Coupe de la Ligue and the 2013 Trophée des Champions. Verratti was named the best young player in Ligue 1 for the 2013–14 season. He was also included in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year.
On 30 September 2014, Verratti scored his first goal for PSG. It was a header in a 3–2 win against Barcelona in the Champions League. On 18 January 2015, he scored his first goal in Ligue 1. In August 2016, he signed another contract extension, staying with the club until 2021.
In 2018, Verratti was sent off in a Champions League game against Real Madrid. PSG lost that game and was knocked out of the competition. On 3 April 2019, Verratti scored his first goal of the 2018–19 season in a French Cup semi-final. He also set up another goal in that game, helping PSG reach the final.
Winning Many Titles
After PSG won the 2019 Trophée des Champions on 3 August, Verratti became the player with the most titles for the club. He had won 22 trophies in total! This included six Ligue 1 titles, four French Cups, five League Cups, and seven Champions Trophies. In October, he signed a new contract until June 2024.
On 12 January 2020, Verratti played his 300th game for PSG. On 18 February, he played his 58th Champions League game for the club. This made him the player with the most Champions League appearances for PSG, beating the old record. In April, PSG was given the 2019–20 Ligue 1 title because the season ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PSG was far ahead in first place. This was Verratti's seventh Ligue 1 title, which tied the all-time record for most Ligue 1 wins by a player. PSG also won a domestic treble that season, meaning they won the league and two main cups. They reached the Champions League final but lost 1–0 to Bayern Munich.
In the 2020–21 season, PSG reached the Champions League semi-finals but lost to Manchester City. In the league, PSG did not win the title that year; Lille became champions.
On 23 January 2022, Verratti scored two goals in a league game against Reims. This was his first time scoring two goals in one game! After a draw against Lens on 23 April, PSG won Ligue 1 for the tenth time. This made them the club with the most league titles in France. Verratti himself won his eighth Ligue 1 title with PSG, becoming the first player to do so.
On 28 December 2022, Verratti signed another contract extension with PSG until 2026. On 27 May 2023, he won his ninth Ligue 1 title, breaking his own record! In August 2023, the new coach told Verratti he was not in his plans for the next season. He left Paris Saint-Germain after 11 years. He played 416 matches for the club, which is the second-highest number of games played by any PSG player.
Moving to Al-Arabi
On 13 September 2023, Verratti signed a three-year deal with Qatar Stars League club Al-Arabi. The transfer fee was reported to be around €45 million.
International Career for Italy
Youth Teams
Marco Verratti played for the Italy U-21 team in the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The team finished second, losing to Spain in the final. Verratti played so well that he was chosen for UEFA's all-star team for the tournament.
Senior National Team
Verratti was chosen for Italy's main squad for UEFA Euro 2012, even though he had not played for the senior team yet. However, he was later removed from the final squad.
On 15 August 2012, Verratti played his first game for the Italian senior team. It was a friendly match against England in Switzerland, which Italy lost 2–1. He played his first official game in a World Cup qualification match against Bulgaria on 7 September.
On 6 February 2013, Verratti scored his first goal for Italy. It was in a friendly game against the Netherlands. He scored in the 91st minute, making the score 1–1.
Playing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup
On 1 June 2014, Verratti was chosen for Italy's team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In Italy's first game, he started in midfield against England. Italy won that match 2–1. Verratti was involved in Italy's first goal, helping to set it up. However, Italy lost their next two games against Costa Rica and Uruguay. Because of these losses, Italy was knocked out of the tournament in the first round.
Later International Games
On 6 May 2016, it was announced that Verratti would miss Euro 2016. He had a long-term injury that needed surgery. After recovering, he returned to the team for a friendly match against France in September.
On 26 March 2019, Verratti scored his second goal for Italy. It was in a big 6–0 win against Liechtenstein in a Euro 2020 qualifying match.
Winning UEFA Euro 2020
In June 2021, Verratti was chosen for Italy's team for UEFA Euro 2020. He missed Italy's first two group games because of a knee injury. But he played his first game of the tournament against Wales on 20 June. He helped set up a goal from a free-kick, and Italy won 1–0. This win helped Italy finish first in their group. On 2 July, Verratti helped set up Italy's first goal in a 2–1 win over Belgium in the quarter-finals.
On 11 July, Italy played against England in the final at Wembley Stadium. Verratti was involved in Italy's goal that tied the game. His header was saved by the goalkeeper, but Leonardo Bonucci scored from the rebound. The game ended 1–1 after extra time, and Italy won 3–2 in a penalty shootout! This meant Italy won the tournament for the first time since 1968. Verratti was named the top performer of Euro 2020. He had a 93% passing accuracy and made three assists during the tournament.
Personal Life
Marco Verratti was in a relationship with his childhood friend, Laura Zazzara. They got married and had two sons named Tommaso and Andrea. They later separated in early 2019. On 15 July 2021, just four days after Italy won Euro 2020, Verratti married model Jessica Aidi in Paris.
Honours
Pescara
- Serie B: 2011–12
Paris Saint-Germain
- Ligue 1: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23
- Coupe de France: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20
- Trophée des Champions: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022
Italy
- UEFA European Championship: 2020
- UEFA Nations League third place: 2020–21, 2022–23
Individual
- Bravo Award: 2012
- Serie B Footballer of the Year: 2012
- UEFA U-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2013
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
- UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: September 2013, February 2017
- UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 2013–14
- UNFP Ligue 1 Foreign Player of the Year: 2014–15
- Pallone Azzurro: 2015
- Qatar Stars League Team of the Year: 2023–24
Orders
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5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2021
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See also
In Spanish: Marco Verratti para niños
