Morgan De Sanctis facts for kids
De Sanctis pictured in 2012
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Morgan De Sanctis | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 26 March 1977 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Guardiagrele, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Pescara | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 1994–1997 | Pescara | 74 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Juventus | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2007 | Udinese | 194 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Sevilla | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | → Galatasaray (loan) | 31 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2013 | Napoli | 147 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Roma | 71 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Monaco | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 529 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Italy U-18 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Italy U-21 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2005–2012 | Italy | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Morgan De Sanctis (born 26 March 1977) is a former professional footballer from Italy. He played as a goalkeeper for many years.
De Sanctis played for several Italian football clubs during his career. He started with Pescara, then moved to big teams like Juventus, Udinese, Napoli, and Roma. He also played in Spain for Sevilla and in Turkey for Galatasaray. He finished his playing career in France with Monaco in 2017.
He also represented the Italian national team. He was part of the squads for major tournaments like the 2000 Summer Olympics, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2012.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Football
Morgan De Sanctis began his career with Pescara, a team in Italy's second division, Serie B. He played there for three years. After that, he joined the famous Serie A club, Juventus. He was a reserve player there, meaning he didn't play many games, only three in two seasons.
In 1999, he moved to Udinese. This was a big step for him.
Time at Udinese
At Udinese, Morgan De Sanctis spent three seasons as a backup goalkeeper. But then, in the 2002–03 season, he finally became the main starter. He played in all six group stage matches of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, which is a very important European competition. He also helped Udinese reach the round of 16 in the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.
Moving to Spain and Turkey
In 2007, De Sanctis joined Sevilla in Spain. He signed a four-year contract with them. After one season, he was loaned out to Galatasaray in Turkey for the 2008–09 season. He played in all the league and European matches for Galatasaray during that year.
Playing for Napoli
In 2009, Morgan De Sanctis returned to Italy and signed with Napoli. He stayed there for four years. He was a key player for Napoli, helping them win the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) in the 2011–12 season.
Joining Roma
On 25 July 2013, De Sanctis moved to Roma. He signed a two-year deal. He had a fantastic start with Roma, keeping nine clean sheets (meaning he didn't let the other team score) in their first ten games. This helped Roma top the league table early on. During the 2013–14 season, he went 745 minutes without letting in a goal. This is one of the longest unbeaten streaks for a goalkeeper in Italian top-flight football.
Final Season with Monaco
In 2016, Morgan De Sanctis joined Monaco in France for one year. He made his debut in a UEFA Champions League qualifying match. He was the team's second goalkeeper that season. He played in a Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen, becoming the first Italian player to play in the competition for five different clubs. Monaco had a great season, winning the Ligue 1 title. After his contract ended in July 2017, he announced his retirement from professional football.
International Career
Morgan De Sanctis played for the Italy under-21 team seven times. He helped them win the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He was also part of the Italian squad for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
He didn't become the main goalkeeper for the senior Italian national team. This was mostly because of the amazing Gianluigi Buffon, who was usually the first choice. De Sanctis often served as a backup goalkeeper. He made his senior international debut for Italy in 2005.
He was part of the Italian squads for several big tournaments:
- UEFA Euro 2008
- 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
- 2010 FIFA World Cup
- UEFA Euro 2012
Even though Buffon got injured during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, De Sanctis didn't play in any matches. He was part of the squad that reached the final of UEFA Euro 2012. His last game for Italy was in 2012. On his 36th birthday in 2013, he announced he was retiring from international football. He played a total of 6 matches for Italy.
Style of Play
Morgan De Sanctis was known as a reliable and strong goalkeeper. He was a leader on the field and would often talk to his teammates to guide them. He was especially good at stopping shots, positioning himself well, and handling the ball. He was also quick when he needed to rush out of his goal. Many people thought he was one of the best Italian goalkeepers of his time. He was also skilled at saving penalty kicks.
Life After Playing Football
After he stopped playing football, Morgan De Sanctis became a team manager for his former club, Roma, in August 2017. He also studied to become a coach and received his coaching license.
In December 2018, he also got a degree to become a sporting director. He worked as a deputy sporting director at Roma for a while. In June 2022, he was appointed sporting director for another Serie A club, Salernitana. He left that role in December 2023. In June 2024, he became the new sporting director for Palermo, a Serie B club, but left in January 2025.
Personal Life
On January 5, 2021, Morgan De Sanctis was in a car accident in Rome. He had to go to the hospital and had an operation for his injuries.
Career Statistics
Club
- Source:
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pescara | 1994–95 | Serie B | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 0 | ||
| 1995–96 | Serie B | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 0 | |||
| 1996–97 | Serie B | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 0 | |||
| Total | 74 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 79 | 0 | ||||
| Juventus | 1997–98 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Udinese | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 10 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2001–02 | Serie A | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2002–03 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 42 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | – | 50 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Serie A | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 0 | |||
| Total | 194 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 | – | 230 | 0 | |||
| Sevilla | 2007–08 | La Liga | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Galatasaray | 2008–09 | Süper Lig | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| Napoli | 2009–10 | Serie A | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Serie A | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | – | 49 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 49 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| Total | 147 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 175 | 0 | ||
| Roma | 2013–14 | Serie A | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Serie A | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 71 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 79 | 0 | |||
| Monaco | 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | |
| Career total | 529 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 632 | 0 | ||
International
- Source:
| Italy | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 6 | 0 |
Honours
Club Achievements
Juventus
- Serie A: 1997–98
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1997
Udinese
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2000
Galatasaray
- Turkish Super Cup: 2008
Napoli
- Coppa Italia: 2011–12
Monaco
- Ligue 1: 2016–17
International Achievements
Italy
- UEFA European Championship: Runner-up 2012
Individual Awards
- Pallone d'Argento: 2009–10
See also
In Spanish: Morgan De Sanctis para niños
