Amedeo Benedetti

After Manuel Iori’s retirement, Amedeo Benedetti now has the most appearances for Cittadella that is currently on the team. This season, he can break into the top 10 all time leading appearance for the granata.

Amedeo was born on October 25, 1991 in Rovereto. Starting at Chievo Verona, he was with the club growing up and played for the U19’s for two years. In those two years he scored 4 goals and played 37 matches.

Loaned out to Pro Patria in the summer of 2010, Benedetti was quickly involved with his first semi-pro experience. At age 18, he made his semi-pro debut on August 29, 2010 against Casale. Just four games later, he scored his first semi-pro goal on October 3rd. Pro Patria were flying, and at Christmas they had only lost three matches.

Benedetti was a regular starter, and Pro Patria made the final of the promotion playoffs. He played in all playoff games. He scored in the fist leg of the final, but wasn’t enough to advance. They lost over the two legs to Feralpisalò 3-2.

The next season Benedetti was loaned again, this time to Pisa. Playing in Serie C at the time, the left back was also a regular for the club. His first professional game came on September 11, 2011 against Avellino. He played 27 matches that season, helping Pisa finish in 7th. He was again at Pisa the next season, and scored his first pro goal against Padova in the Coppa Italia second round.

That season, Benedetti played in 29 games, giving 2 goals and 1 assist to show. Pisa made the promotion finals, losing to Latina in the second leg 3-1. Benedetti, who came on in the 79th minute, lost in overtime.

The next season saw him at Lumezzane, once again in Serie C. He established himself as a starter again, and the club decided to renew the loan for the next season. Benedetti, however, only stayed for half there season. A midseason loan saw him move to Reggina. A struggling club at the time, Reggina was at risk of being relegated. Benedetti played in all but two matches in the final stretch of the season, which saw the club face relegation playoffs.

Against their fierce rivals Messina, it was going to be two games that would decide relegation. Benedetti played in both legs. A 1-0 win at home meant the team would have to travel away and grind a result. After a second yellow card, Benedetti was out of the match for at least 35 minutes. Reggina held on, they were safe.

Another loan that summer caused Benedetti to transfer to Cittadella. Eyeing promotion under new coach Roberto Venturato, Benedetti was part of one of his best teams. On April 18, 2016, Benedetti got the game-winning assist to clinch Serie B promotion for Citta.

Finally in Serie B, Benedetti made his Serie B debut at 24 years old against Bari. Cittadella made the loan permanent after the 16/17 season. With six seasons at the granata, Benedetti has played 166 matches, scoring 6 goals, but most impressively, 23 assists. He only needs 34 matches to play with 200th game. It could happen this year, as Benedetti is great at attacking and defending on the left flank. Never forget his free kicks as well, as he’s scored off a few. This will be his 7th season, and it’s shaping up to be a great one!