Omar Milanetto

Omar Milanetto
Personal information
Date of birth (1975-11-30) November 30, 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth Venaria Reale, Italy
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Cesena (chief scout)
Youth career
1990–1993 Genoa
1993–1994 Juventus
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1994 Juventus 0 (0)
1994–1997 Fiorenzuola 64 (3)
1996–1997 → Monza (loan) 19 (2)
1997–2000 Como 81 (5)
2000–2004 Modena 114 (13)
2004–2006 Brescia 64 (9)
2006–2011 Genoa 154 (10)
2011–2012 Padova 15 (4)
Total 511 (46)
Managerial career
2013–2019 Genoa (chief scout)
2019–2020 Torino (chief scout)
2020–2022 Hellas Verona (chief scout)
2023– Cesena (chief scout)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Omar Milanetto (born 30 November 1975 in Venaria Reale) is an Italian former footballer, who last played for Serie B side Padova as a midfielder as of 2012. A physical, experienced, hard-working, and tactically intelligent player, Milanetto was usually deployed as a defensive or central midfielder, where he was also capable of operating as a deep-lying playmaker. In addition to his creativity, strength, playmaking skills, and his ability to control the tempo of his team's play, he was also known for his accuracy from set-pieces, penalties, and shots from distance.[2][3]

Career

Milanetto began his career with Juventus in 1993; although he did not make a single appearance for the senior side during the 1993–94 season, he won the 1994 Torneo di Viareggio and the Campionato Nazionale Primavera with the Juventus Youth side.[2] He later played for several different clubs during the following seasons, including Fiorenzuola, Monza (on loan), and Como. In 2000, he joined Serie C1/A side Modena, and helped the club to achieve successive promotions, eventually making his Serie A debut during the 2002–03 season.[2] Following the retirement of Roberto Baggio in 2004, he joined Serie A club Brescia, where he was re-united with his former Modena coach Gianni De Biasi, although he was unable to save the club from relegation during his first season, spending his second season with the club in Serie B.[2][3] In 2006, he transferred to Serie B side Genoa,[2] where he remained for five seasons, helping the club to Serie A promotion.[3]

On 26 July 2011, after initially being linked with Lugano, it was announced that Milanetto had joined Padova, after a furious row with the Genoa supporters.[3][4] The midfielder had been a very popular figure with the fans, but his rapport with the club's ultras was damaged when he hurled an insult at the Gradinata Nord during the Derby della Lanterna against Sampdoria, after providing the winning assist to Mauro Boselli.[5][6]

Match-fixing and retirement

On 28 May 2012, Milanetto was arrested by Italian police for his alleged involvement in the Calcioscommesse sports betting scandal.[7] He subsequently cancelled his contract with Padova, retiring from football in August 2012;[8] he later took up a position as a scout for his former club, Genoa, in October 2013.[5]

In the 2019-20 season he was a scout at Torino, before moving to Hellas Verona in an identical position ahead of the 2020-21 season.[9] In 2023, he joined Cesena FC as their new chief scout.[10][11]

Honours

Club

Juventus Primavera[2][3]

References

  1. ^ "omar milanetto genoa – Serie A" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Milanetto, scusate il ritardo Ecco il play per il Grifone" [Milanetto, sorry for the delay Here is the playmaker for the Griffin] (in Italian). La Repubblica. 3 July 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Milanetto: "Il ruolo di regista mi ha allungato la carriera"" [Milanetto: "The deep-lying playmaker role prolonged my career"] (in Italian). Padova Sport. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  4. ^ Luca Romano (28 May 2015). "L'insostituibile Omar Milanetto, da bandiera all'addio del Genoa" (in Italian). Il Giornale. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Milanetto "osservatore" del Genoa" (in Italian). 4 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Milanetto fa 'mea culpa' "Chiedo scusa e mi censuro"" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Lazio captain arrested in match-fixing investigation". BBC Sport. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  8. ^ "UFFICIALE: Milanetto dice addio al Padova e rescinde il contratto" (in Italian). Padova Sport. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  9. ^ Torino, Milanetto saluta: per lui un triennale con l’Hellas Verona, toronews.net, 30 July 2020
  10. ^ Calcio C, Cesena: Milanetto capo dell'area scouting, corriereromagna.it, 31 August 2023
  11. ^ Cesena, c’è Milanetto in regia nell’altra squadra di Artico: “In una stagione guardo 200 partite dal vivo”, corriereromagna.it, 24 April 2024