Marcelo Moretto

Marcelo Moretto de Souza (born 10 May 1978), known as Moretto, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.

Marcelo Moretto
Personal information
Full name Marcelo Moretto de Souza
Date of birth (1978-05-10) 10 May 1978
Place of birth Eldorado, Brazil
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998 São José 0 (0)
1998–2003 Portuguesa 13 (0)
1999 → Londrina (loan) 0 (0)
2001 → Sport Recife (loan) 6 (0)
2002 → Brasiliense (loan) 0 (0)
2004 15 de Novembro
2004–2005 Felgueiras 8 (0)
2005–2006 Vitória Setúbal 23 (0)
2006–2009 Benfica 19 (0)
2007–2008 → AEK Athens (loan) 16 (0)
2010–2011 Olhanense 13 (0)
2011 Arka Gdynia 14 (0)
2011–2012 Avaí 19 (0)
2013 Atlético Sorocaba 13 (0)
2013–2014 América-MG 2 (0)
2015–2016 Miami Dade
2017 Portuguesa-RJ 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 November 2014

Club career

Early years

Born in Eldorado, Mato Grosso do Sul, Moretto played four years professionally in his home country, representing São José, Portuguesa, Londrina, Sport, Brasiliense and 15 de Novembro. In 2003, aged 25, he decided to try his luck in Portugal, joining S.C. Salgueiros in the second division and making a very good first impression during the pre-season; however, facing serious economical crisis, the club was relegated to the third level and lost all of its professional players.

Forced to look for another team, Moretto joined F.C. Felgueiras (also in division two). There, he played only eight matches and conceded a total of ten goals but, nevertheless, caught the attention of other sides in the country.

In January 2005, Moretto came close playing for G.D. Estoril Praia and F.C. Penafiel – both in the Primeira Liga – but ended up signing for two years with fellow league club Vitória F.C. to replace Fulham-bound Ricardo Batista. He soon became the coach's first option while the team performed above all expectations, winning the Portuguese Cup after beating S.L. Benfica in the final.[1]

In 2005–06, Moretto started off the season in Setúbal. They performed well during the first half, with him appearing in 17 matches and conceding only five goals; after enjoying a remarkable success, Vitória was struck by the resignation of their coach Luís Norton de Matos and a few other players due to unpaid wages, and 2005 ended with the player being the number one goalkeeper of all European leagues, with the fewest goals conceded per minute played.[2][3]

Benfica

During the 2005 Christmas and New Year break in Portugal, a lot was spoken in the press about Moretto's possible transfer to Benfica or FC Porto. In a controversial move he followed his will and picked Benfica to be his new club after explaining the allegedly "bad behaviour" of both the player's manager and Porto chairmen; Porto officially denied immediate interest in the player, and the transfer cost Benfica €1 million whilst he signed for five-and-a-half years.[4][5]

Benfica's interest gained strength as José Moreira suffered an injury that would keep him off the pitch for the remainder of the season. Quim, the team's other goalkeeper also suffered an injury, leaving them with only junior Rui Nereu to play both the domestic league and the UEFA Champions League; upon his arrival, Moretto immediately became Ronald Koeman's number one choice between the posts, even with Quim fully recovered: throughout the rest of the campaign he played on 18 occasions in the league, once in the cup and four times in the Champions League, against reigning champions Liverpool (conceding no goals)[6] and FC Barcelona, where he put on a Player of the match performance with several saves.[7]

Moretto did not have an easy time after joining Benfica because, alternating above-average performances with subpar ones, he suffered from the animosity of the club supporters, which undermined his concentration.[8][9][10] As a result, upon the departure of Koeman and arrival of his replacement, Fernando Santos, he was relegated to the role of substitute, with Quim again becoming the starter; during 2006–07 he played only one game, often splitting the bench with Moreira.

On 13 July 2007, Moretto agreed to join AEK Athens F.C. on a loan deal.[11] The Greek club had the option to purchase the player at the end of the loan period, which was not activated, and he returned to Benfica for the 2008–09 season.

Late career

On 3 August 2009, Benfica released Moretto from his contract, with the player planning to return to his country.[12] Late in the year he signed with a team he had already represented, Brasiliense in the Série B.

In July 2010, however, Moretto returned to Portugal, signing with lowly top tier side S.C. Olhanense for two years.[13][14] In the following transfer window, however, he changed teams – and countries – again, joining Arka Gdynia from Poland.[15]

Personal life

Moretto's younger brother, André (born 1987), was also a footballer and a goalkeeper. He was under contract with Vitória de Setúbal for several years as well, but never represented the first team.[16]

Gustavo Manduca, who shared teams with him at Benfica, was Moretto's brother-in-law.[17]

Career statistics

Club
As of 21 January 2018[18][19]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other[lower-alpha 1] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
São José 1998 ——
Portuguesa 1998 00——00
1999 00——00
2000 100——100
2002 30——30
2003 00——00
Total 130——130
Londrina (loan) 1999 00——00
Sport (loan) 2001 60——60
Brasiliense (loan) 2002 ——
15 Novembro 2004 ——
Felgueiras 2004–05 8010———90
Vitória Setúbal 2004–05 8020———100
2005–06 15000—2010180
Total 23020—2010280
Benfica 2005–06 18010—40—230
2006–07 1000—10—20
2008–09 00103000—40
Total 190203050—290
AEK Athens (loan) 2007–08 160—70—230
Olhanense 2010–11 1300000——130
Arka Gdynia 2010–11 140————140
Avaí 2011 30————30
2012 160———110270
Total 190———110300
Atlético Sorocaba 2013 130————00
América 2013 2000———20
Miami Dade 2015 ———
2016 ———
Total ———
Portuguesa-RJ 2017 0000——8080
Career Total 146050301402001880
  1. Includes the Campeonato Carioca, Campeonato Catarinense and Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

Honours

Vitória Setúbal

Benfica

References
  1. Meyong magic seals Setúbal joy; UEFA, 29 May 2005
  2. "Moretto (V. Setúbal) é o menos batido da Europa, mas reparte louros com "grupo que quer ter um lugar ao sol"" [Moretto (V. Setúbal) is Europe's least beaten, but shares laurels with "group who wants to find place in the sun"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 21 November 2005. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  3. "Liga 2005/06: Moretto passa a ser guarda-redes mais tempo em branco" [2005/06 League: Moretto is now cleanest goalkeeper] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 17 December 2005. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  4. Benfica build for title surge; UEFA, 2 January 2006
  5. "Moretto recorda como o Benfica 'tirou-o' do FC Porto" [Moretto remembers how Benfica 'took him' from FC Porto] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 12 November 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  6. Simão sends Liverpool crashing out; UEFA, 9 March 2006
  7. Barça denied by Moretto magic; UEFA, 29 March 2006
  8. Benfica build for title surge; UEFA, 2 January 2006
  9. "Não desejo a ninguém o que passei no Benfica" ["I wish to no one what happened to me in Benfica"] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  10. ""No Benfica fui prejudicado por aquele triste episódio no aeroporto"" ["That sad episode at the airport hurt me at Benfica"]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 12 November 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  11. Moretto in AEK loan move; UEFA, 13 July 2007
  12. Benfica libera Marcelo Moretto para voltar ao futebol brasileiro (Benfica release Marcello Moretto so he can return to Brazilian football); Futebol na Rede (in Portuguese)
  13. "Moretto está de volta para defender baliza do Olhanense" [Moretto is back to defend goal of Olhanense] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 3 July 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  14. "Liga: só um em cada quatro guarda-redes é português" [League: only one in every four goalkeepers is Portuguese] (in Portuguese). TVI 24. 5 November 2010. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  15. Marcelo Moretto w Arce Gdynia (Marcelo Moretto to Arka Gdynia) Archived 20 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine: Sport.onet, 17 February 2011 (in Polish)
  16. "André Moretto já pensa em conquistar baliza sadina" [André Moretto already thinking of conquering sadina goal]. Correio da Manhã (in Portuguese). 1 June 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  17. "Moretto: "Muitos pensaram que iam sair em Janeiro"" [Moretto: "Many thought they would leave in January"]. Record (in Portuguese). 9 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  18. "Moretto". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  19. Marcelo Moretto at Soccerway. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  20. "V. Setúbal triunfante 38 anos depois" [V. Setúbal triumphant 38 years later] (in Portuguese). TSF. 29 May 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.