Matteo Pessina

Matteo Pessina (born 21 April 1997) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Monza, whom he captains, and the Italy national team.

Coming through the youth system, Pessina started his career at Monza.

In 2007, aged 10, Pessina joined Monza's youth sector.

He made his senior debut for Monza on 2 October 2013, in a Coppa Italia Lega Pro game against AlbinoLeffe.

He joined AC Milan in 2015, who sent him on loan to Lecce, Catania and Como.

Pessina was made a permanent member of the first team in the 2014–15 season; he made his league debut on 6 January 2015, in which he also scored a goal, against Pro Patria.

Pessina finished the season with three goals in 20 appearances in the regular season of the Lega Pro, as well as three goals in two games in the relegation play-outs, won against Pordenone.

Despite avoiding relegation, Monza was forced to restart from the Serie D due to a bankruptcy: Pessina became a free agent, and was signed by AC Milan on 30 June 2015.

Pessina was promptly sent on loan to Lecce in the Lega Pro in August 2015.

During the 2015–16 season, Pessina was used infrequently: he only made one appearance in the Coppa Italia Lega Pro and three in the league.

In January 2016, the loan was interrupted and Pessina was loaned out to Catania.

Even in his second loan spell, he was used infrequently, playing only one league game in the second half of the season.

In summer 2016, Pessina was loaned out to Como.

He played as a starter in the 2016–17 season, making two appearances in the Coppa Italia, three in the Coppa Italia Lega Pro, 35 in the league (scoring nine goals) and one in the promotion play-offs.

In 2017, he moved to Atalanta, and was loaned out to Spezia and Hellas Verona.

On 7 July 2017, Pessina signed a contract with Atalanta, as part of a swap deal involving Andrea Conti moving the other way.

On 25 August 2017, Pessina was signed on loan by Serie B side Spezia.

Pessina was a member of the Italy U20 side that finished in third place at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

He made his debut with the U21 team on 5 October 2017, in a 6–2 friendly win against Hungary in Budapest.

He scored his first Serie B goal against Salernitana on 23 February 2018.

Due to his performances, having scored two goals in 38 appearances, Pessina was nominated Best Young Player of the Serie B at the Serie B Gran Galà Top 11.

In summer 2018, Pessina returned to Atalanta.

He made his debut on 26 July, playing the first leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League as a starter, in a 2–2 home draw against Sarajevo; it was also his debut in UEFA club competition.

He made his Serie A debut on 20 August 2018, aged 21, replacing Mario Pašalić in the second half of the first matchday, a 4–0 home win against Frosinone.

He made 19 appearances in all competitions, including five in the preliminary rounds of the Europa League and two in the Coppa Italia.

In August 2019, Pessina joined newly-promoted Serie A side Hellas Verona on loan with an option to buy.

On his debut, six days later, he scored his first Serie A goal in a 1–0 win against Lecce in the second matchday.

Pessina ended the 2019–20 season with seven goals in 35 league appearances.

Pessina became a starter for Atalanta upon his return from loan in 2020.

He returned to his hometown club Monza in 2022 and was made club captain.

Pessina represented Italy internationally at under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels, before making his senior debut in 2020.

He was part of Italy's squad at UEFA Euro 2020, where he scored two goals to help his side win the competition.

Born in Monza, Italy, Pessina began his youth career at local club La Dominante aged five.

After returning from loan in summer 2020, Pessina made his UEFA Champions League debut with Atalanta on 21 October, in a 4–0 win against Midtjylland.

Starting from November, Pessina started finding more space in Atalanta's starting lineup; on 3 January 2021, he scored his first goal with Atalanta, in a 5–1 home win over Sassuolo.

In the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, he scored a brace in a 3–1 win against Napoli, which allowed Atalanta to progress to the final.

On 29 September 2021, he scored the sole goal in a win against Young Boys on the second matchday of the Champions League group stage: it was his first goal in a UEFA competition.

On 6 July 2022, Pessina returned to his former club Monza, who had been promoted to the Serie A for the first time in their history; he joined on a one-year loan, with an option and conditional obligation for purchase, and was made club captain.

He made his debut on 26 August, as a substitute in a 2–1 home defeat to Udinese.

On 2 October, Pessina scored his first Serie A goal for Monza in a 3–0 away win to Sampdoria.