Paolo Montero facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Paolo Montero

Montero in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth	(1971-09-03) 3 September 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Centre-back, Left-back
Youth career
1990	Peñarol
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1990–1992	Peñarol	34	(1)
1992–1996	Atalanta	114	(4)
1996–2005	Juventus	186	(1)
2005–2006	San Lorenzo	14	(1)
2006–2007	Peñarol	46	(1)
Total		394	(8)
National team
1991–2005	Uruguay	61	(5)
Teams managed
2014	Peñarol (caretaker)
2016	Boca Unidos
2016	Colón
2017	Rosario Central
2019–2020	Sambenedettese
2021	Sambenedettese
2021	San Lorenzo
2024	Juventus (caretaker)
2024	Juventus Next Gen
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Rónald Paolo Montero Iglesias (born on September 3, 1971) is a football manager from Uruguay. He used to be a professional football player. He played as a central defender or a left-back.

Montero started his football journey in Uruguay with Peñarol in 1990. Later, he moved to Italy to play for Atalanta in 1992. In 1996, he joined Juventus, one of Italy's biggest clubs. He stayed there for nine years, winning four Serie A titles and other important trophies.

After his time at Juventus, he played for San Lorenzo in Argentina. In 2006, he returned to Peñarol, where he retired in 2007. Paolo Montero also played for the Uruguay national football team. He represented his country in major tournaments like the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Playing Career Highlights

Early Days at Peñarol

Paolo Montero was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He came from a family that loved football. His father, Julio Montero Castillo, was also a famous football player for Uruguay. When Paolo was a child, he had to get good grades in school. If he didn't, his father wouldn't let him go to football practice!

Montero began his professional career with Peñarol in 1990. He played for the club for two seasons. During this time, he played 34 games and scored one goal.

Moving to Italy: Atalanta

In 1992, Montero moved to Italy to play for Atalanta in the top league, Serie A. He quickly became a key player in their defense. In his first season, he played 27 league games and scored two goals.

In his second year, he played 30 games. However, his team was moved down to Serie B, the second division. Montero helped his team get promoted back to Serie A right away. He played 34 games and scored two goals in Serie B. After four impressive years at Atalanta, Montero moved to the powerful Italian club, Juventus.

Success with Juventus

In 1996, Montero joined Juventus in Turin. He played over 30 games in his first season. At Juventus, he achieved great success. He won four Italian league titles, known as scudetti.

He also won three Italian Supercups. He reached three Champions League finals and two Coppa Italia finals. Juventus was very strong during this time, both in Italy and in Europe. They had one of the best defenses in the world.

Montero played as both a central defender and a left-back. He formed strong defensive partnerships with many great players. Some of these players included Ciro Ferrara, Lilian Thuram, and Fabio Cannavaro. After winning the league title in 2005, Montero decided to leave Juventus. He had played over 200 games for the club.

In the 2003 UEFA Champions League final, Juventus lost to AC Milan in a penalty shootout. Montero was one of the players whose penalty was saved. He is known for being one of the players who played in the most Champions League finals without winning the trophy.

Short Stay at San Lorenzo

After leaving Juventus, Montero moved to San Lorenzo in Argentina. However, he often missed games because of injuries. He played only 14 games and scored one goal. In 2006, he decided to return to his first club, Peñarol.

Back Home to Peñarol

For the 2006–07 season, Montero rejoined Peñarol for his final season. He scored one goal in 26 matches. After this season, he officially announced his retirement from professional football.

International Career for Uruguay

Paolo Montero was a very important player for the Uruguay national football team. He first played for his country in a big tournament at the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. Uruguay finished in fourth place. He had also played for the Uruguay Under-20 team in 1991.

He played for the senior team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He helped his team qualify for the tournament. Sadly, Uruguay was eliminated in the group stage. In the 2004 Copa América, Montero and Uruguay reached the semi-finals and finished in third place.

Montero was also the captain of his country. He led Uruguay in their efforts to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. They played against Australia in a special playoff game. Uruguay had beaten Australia to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

However, in the second game against Australia, Montero got a hamstring injury. Australia won the game and qualified for the World Cup after a penalty shootout. After this defeat, Montero announced he was retiring from international football. He said it was a "pity" because the team deserved to be at the World Cup. Montero played over 60 games for Uruguay and scored 5 goals.

Retirement from Playing

Paolo Montero officially retired from playing football in May 2007. He went to a team training session to say goodbye to his teammates. His teammates tried to convince him to keep playing. One teammate, Rubén Capria, said it was "a tough blow to lose our captain."

Montero played his very last match in a farewell game for Marcelo Salas. Salas was a former teammate of Montero's at Juventus. In 2019, Montero started training to become a football coach.

How He Played

Paolo Montero is considered one of the best defenders of his time. Many people think he was one of Juventus's greatest central defenders ever. He was described as "skillful with the ball and calm under pressure." He was also called a "wonderfully talented and intelligent footballer."

In his best years, he was seen as one of the top defenders in the world. He was known for being strong, consistent, and a great leader on the field. He was good at playing in the center of the defense or on the left side. Montero was also good at heading the ball, timing his tackles, and passing.

However, he was also known for his aggressive and tough playing style. He often received yellow and red cards. He holds the record for the most red cards in Serie A history, with 16. Overall, he was sent off 21 times in his career. In 2007, The Times newspaper listed him as one of the 50 hardest footballers in history.

Ryan Giggs, a famous Welsh player, said that Montero and his Juventus teammate Ciro Ferrara were the "toughest defenders" he ever played against. He added that they were often very hard in their challenges.

Managerial Career

After retiring as a player, Montero started a career as a football manager. He worked in his home country, Uruguay, with Peñarol. He also managed teams in Argentina, such as Boca Unidos, Colón, and Rosario Central.

In June 2019, he returned to Italy to coach Sambenedettese, a club in Serie C. He was later fired in October 2020 but was brought back in February 2021. In June 2022, Montero became the coach of Juventus U19, which is the youth team for Juventus.

In May 2024, he became the temporary coach for the main Juventus team for two games. After that, he was put in charge of Juventus Next Gen, which is the Under-23 team that plays in Serie C. However, he was removed from this role in November 2024.

Personal Life

Paolo Montero has a son named Alfonso. Alfonso played for the Uruguay Under-17 team in 2022 and 2023. He later signed to play for Juventus, just like his father.

Honours and Achievements

Club Trophies

Juventus

• Serie A (Italian League Title): 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03
• Supercoppa Italiana (Italian Supercup): 1997, 2002, 2003
• UEFA Super Cup: 1996
• Intercontinental Cup: 1996
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999
• UEFA Champions League: Runner-up in 1996–97, 1997–98, 2002–03

Individual Awards

• FIFA Confederations Cup Team of the Year: 1997
• IFFHS Uruguayan Men's Dream Team (Team B)

See also

In Spanish: Paolo Montero para niños