Thiago Motta facts for kids
Motta in 2023
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 28 August 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Juventus (head coach) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Juventus-SP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Barcelona B | 84 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2007 | Barcelona | 96 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Atlético Madrid | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Genoa | 27 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Inter Milan | 55 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2018 | Paris Saint-Germain | 166 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 434 | (43) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Brazil | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2016 | Italy | 30 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Paris Saint-Germain U19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Genoa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Spezia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Bologna | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Juventus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Thiago Motta (born 28 August 1982) is a football manager and a former player. He is currently the head coach for the Juventus club. As a player, Motta first became known at FC Barcelona in Spain. He finished his playing career in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
Thiago Motta played for Brazil at the start of his international career. Later, he chose to play for Italy and represented them in three major tournaments. He was a defensive midfielder. Motta won two La Liga titles and the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona, even though he had many injuries.
After short times at Atlético Madrid and Genoa, Motta joined Inter Milan in 2009. There, he was part of the team that won a "continental treble" in 2010. This means they won three big titles: Serie A, Coppa Italia, and the Champions League. In 2012, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain. He won 18 trophies there, including five Ligue 1 titles, before he stopped playing in 2018.
Thiago Motta was born and grew up in Brazil, but he also has Italian family. He holds Italian citizenship. He played two games for his home country, Brazil, in 2003. Then, he played 30 times for the Italian national team starting in 2011, scoring one goal. He played for Italy when they were finalists at UEFA Euro 2012. He also played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2016.
After he retired from playing, Motta coached the under-19 team for PSG. In October 2019, he became the manager for Genoa, but he was fired in December. In July 2021, Motta became the manager of Spezia for one season. In September 2022, he took over as manager of Bologna. He helped them qualify for the Champions League in his second season. In June 2024, Motta was named head coach of Juventus.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Motta was born in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil. His family has Italian roots.
Playing Career Highlights
Barcelona Years
Motta joined Barcelona in 1999 when he was 17. He came from a team in São Paulo called Juventus-SP. At first, he played for Barcelona's B-team. He moved up to the main team in 2001. His first official game was on 3 October, a 3–0 home win against Mallorca.
In the 2001–02 Champions League, Motta played seven games. He helped his team reach the semi-finals. In the 2002–03 La Liga season, he played 21 games, which was his most ever. He scored three goals that season. Barcelona finished in sixth place. He also played a big part in the UEFA Cup run the next season. This run ended when they lost to Celtic. In the first game, he was sent off at half-time. This happened after an argument with the opposing goalkeeper, Robert Douglas.
Motta had many injuries while at Barcelona. One serious injury happened on 11 September 2004 against Sevilla. This kept him out of the game for seven months. He needed surgery on his left knee. But he recovered quickly and made a comeback. He played again on 17 April when Barcelona beat Getafe 2–0. Barcelona won the league that year.
Time at Atlético Madrid
In August 2007, Motta signed a one-year deal with Atlético Madrid. He started the season injured again. In a Copa del Rey game against Valencia, he was sent off after only 25 minutes. His team lost that game.
Motta got more chances to play when another player, Raúl García, was injured. But in March, his knee problems came back. His season ended early. He had surgery and recovered in the United States. After leaving Atlético, he tried out for Premier League team Portsmouth, but he did not sign with them.
Playing for Genoa
In September 2008, Motta joined Genoa for free. He passed a medical exam. In his first season, 2008–09, he played very well and was a regular starter. His coach was Gian Piero Gasperini.
On 11 April 2009, Motta scored two goals in a 3–2 home win against Juventus. He ended the year with six goals, which was his best goal-scoring season. His team then qualified for the Europa League.
Success with Inter Milan
On 20 May 2009, Motta and his teammate Diego Milito moved to Inter Milan. Inter paid €10.2 million for Motta. Motta's first game for Inter was a 1–1 home draw against Bari. He scored his first goal in the next game, the Derby della Madonnina, against A.C. Milan. Inter won that game 4–0. On 3 April 2010, he scored two goals in a 3–0 win against Bologna.
Motta played in eight games during Inter's Champions League win. This included a 0–1 loss against his old team, Barcelona, in the semi-finals. During that game, he was sent off for hitting Sergio Busquets.
On 23 October 2011, Motta scored a header from a corner kick. This goal gave Inter a 1–0 win against Chievo. It was Inter's first home win in the 2011–12 season.
Moving to Paris Saint-Germain
On 31 January 2012, Motta signed with Paris Saint-Germain in France. The fee was about €10 million. He said he always dreamed of playing for PSG because other Brazilian players like Raí and Ronaldinho had played there. He also said he was not happy at Inter.
Four days after signing, Motta played his first game for PSG. It was a 3–1 home win against Evian. He got a yellow card in that game. On 22 April 2012, he scored his first goal in Ligue 1. PSG won that game 6–1 against Sochaux.
On 21 February 2014, Motta extended his contract until June 2016. In August, he broke his nose after being headbutted by Brandão from Bastia. Brandão was suspended for six months.
Motta announced he would retire at the end of the 2017–18 season on 8 May 2018. He was also named the new coach of PSG's under-19 team. During his six and a half years at PSG, he played 232 games and won 19 trophies. His last game was on 19 May against Caen.
International Career
Playing for Brazil
Motta first played for Brazil in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He missed the 2004 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament due to injuries. He played for Brazil's under-23 team in November 2003. Later, there were talks that he wanted to play for Italy because he had dual nationality. His great-grandfather was Italian. FIFA allows players with dual nationality to change which country they play for, but not if they have already played in a competitive "A" match.
Playing for Italy
On 6 February 2011, Motta was called up to play for Italy for the first time. It was for a friendly game against Germany. FIFA approved his change of nationality two days later. He played his first game on 9 February, a 1–1 draw.
On 25 March 2011, in only his second international game, Motta scored the only goal. It was a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovenia. He was chosen for the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine. He started in three group games and came on as a substitute twice. One of these was in the semi-finals against Germany, which Italy won 2–1. He also played in the final against Spain. In the final, he came on in the 55th minute but got a hamstring injury after only five minutes. He had to leave the field, leaving his team with ten players because Italy had used all their substitutes. Italy lost the final 0–4.
Motta was named in Italy's team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He played his first World Cup game at almost 32 years old. He came on in the 57th minute of a 2–1 win against England on 14 June.
On 31 May 2016, Motta was chosen for Italy's team for Euro 2016. He was given the number 10 shirt, which caused some talk. His teammate Daniele De Rossi defended the choice, saying Motta was a "master" technically. He played four games in the tournament. He was suspended for the quarter-final game against Germany. His last game for Italy was his 30th cap, a 2–0 win against Spain on 27 June. Italy was knocked out in the next round.
How Thiago Motta Played
Thiago Motta was a strong player. He usually played as a defensive or central midfielder. He could play in different midfield spots because he was smart about tactics and very flexible. For the Italy national team, he sometimes played as a deep-lying playmaker or an attacking midfielder. This was because he could control the speed of his team's play with his passes. At Euro 2012, he even played in a new role as a false attacking midfielder.
Motta was great at controlling the ball, using his skills, seeing the field, and making long passes. People also praised him for his tackling and his ability to understand the game. He was good at winning the ball back. He was strong, good at heading the ball, and could make late runs into the penalty area. He also had a powerful long-range shot. Even with all his skills, he was sometimes criticized for being too aggressive and not very fast. He also got injured often.
Managerial Career
In August 2019, after coaching Paris Saint-Germain's under-19 team, Motta started studying for his UEFA Pro Licence. He got the license on 16 September 2020.
Coaching Genoa
On 21 October 2019, his old club Genoa, which was near the bottom of the Italian league, announced Motta as their new manager. In his first game, five days later, he led the team to a 3–1 home win against Brescia. However, he was fired on 28 December because the team was in last place.
Coaching Spezia
On 5 July 2021, Motta became the head coach of Spezia, a Serie A club. Many people thought Spezia would be relegated. Despite a tough start, Motta helped Spezia improve by January. He even won the Serie A Coach of the Month award after three wins in a row.
On 15 May 2022, after a win against Udinese, Motta successfully kept Spezia from being relegated for the second season in a row. He left Spezia by agreement on 28 June 2022.
Coaching Bologna
On 12 September 2022, Motta was named the new head coach of Bologna, another Serie A club. He was named Coach of the Month in February 2023 for winning three out of four games. He led Bologna to finish ninth in 2022–23, which was a new record for the team with 54 points.
In his full season in charge, 2023–24, he won Coach of the Month in both February and March. He then guided the club to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1964–65. This meant they finished in the top five in Serie A.
On 23 May 2024, Bologna announced that Motta would not extend his contract. He set a new club record with 68 points that season.
Coaching Juventus
On 12 June 2024, Motta was appointed as the head coach of Juventus, signing a three-year contract.
Tactics and Coaching Style
After retiring as a player in May 2018, Motta became the coach of Paris Saint-Germain's under-19 team. In an interview in November that year, he said he wanted to change football with a 4–3–3 formation. He described it as a "2–7–2" formation.
He explained his ideas:
- He wants his team to play offensively.
- The team should be "short," meaning players are close together.
- They should control the game with high pressure.
- Players should move a lot with and without the ball.
- He wants the player with the ball to always have three or four options and two teammates nearby.
- He believes in keeping things simple: control the ball, pass, and get free.
- He doesn't like strict numbers for formations because they can be misleading. A 5–3–2 can be very offensive, and a 4–3–3 can be defensive, depending on the players.
- He said the goalkeeper is the "first attacker" because they start the play. The attackers are the "first defenders" because they start the pressure to win the ball back.
He has also used an attacking 4–2–3–1 formation.
Honours and Achievements
As a Player
Barcelona
- La Liga: 2004–05, 2005–06
- Supercopa de España: 2006
- UEFA Champions League: 2005–06
Inter Milan
- Serie A: 2009–10
- Coppa Italia: 2009–10, 2010–11
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2010
- UEFA Champions League: 2009–10
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2010
Paris Saint-Germain
- Ligue 1: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18
- Coupe de France: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
- Trophée des Champions: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Brazil
- South American Under-17 Football Championship: 1999
Italy
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2012
Individual Awards (Player)
- Don Balón Award – Breakthrough player in La Liga: 2002–03
- Serie A Team of the Year: 2010–11
- Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2013–14
As a Manager
Individual Awards (Manager)
- Serie A Coach of the Month: January 2022, February 2023, February 2024, March 2024
See also
In Spanish: Thiago Motta para niños
- List of association footballers who have been capped for two senior national teams
