Alessandro Mattioli

The right back who was signed earlier this season, Alessandro Mattioli is the newest edition in the Cittadella defense. The only defensive signing so far, Mattioli was signed to fill in the spot of Luca Ghiringhelli, and also he is a fantastic right back.

Mattioli was born in Reggio Emilia on February 13, 1998. He started at his local club, Reggiana until 2012. He frequently got called up to the Italian youth national team. His first appearance for the Azzuri came on November 5, 2013 against Austria U16’s. He even scored in that match in a 1-1 draw against the Austrians. Later in 2014, he captained his country for three friendlies against Poland U16 and two against Croatia U16.

On the club level, he moved to Inter Milan and stayed there for five years. While playing at the Milan giants, his youth national career was taking off. He helped Italy qualify for the U17 European Championship, going undefeated in qualifying. At the tournament in 2015, he played every match, going all the way to the quarterfinals, losing to France.

At Inter Milan, while playing on the same team as current teammate Enrico Baldini, Alessandro was out for most of the season. He saw his team win the Coppa Italia Primavera on the bench, but the next season was much better. In the 16/17 season, he played 25 matches, scoring and assisting one time each.

That was his last season at the Primavera, and Mattioli went pro. A loan saw him at Renate, and his debut came on July 30, 2017 against Siracusa in the Coppa Italia. He played 33 matches that season, which also saw him score his first pro goal on October 29, 2017 against Bassano. It was against the same team that Renate lost to later on in the playoffs, ending Mattioli’s first pro season.

The next season, Mattioli was loaned to Cuneo for half a season. Playing 16 games until January, another half season loan meant Mattioli had to play at Südtirol, up in the mountains. Still in Serie C, Mattioli and Südtirol were in the hunt for promotion. A second round exit to Monza was the last of Mattioli in Südtirol.

For the 19/20 season, the next loan was now at Modena. Playing mostly as a right back, Mattioli bagged 4 assists during that season. Though the season was cut short due to Covid, Modena made playoffs when the league restarted in June, though they lost in the first round.

Modena liked what they saw, and bought Alessandro on a permanent deal in the summer of 2020. Mattioli missed half of last season due to an injury. He came back stronger, and played 15 games in the remainder of the season. Modena once again made playoffs, Alessandro played in both legs against AlbinoLeffe. Two late, late goals in the second leg saw Modena crash out in the Round of 16.

That was the last game for Mattioli in a Modena shirt. In July, Cittadella signed the right back on a free transfer. With the departure of Luca Ghiringhelli, Citta were in need of an extra right back. Now here, Mattioli is expected to play a decent amount of games, as Tommaso Cassandro will surely get his opportunity as well. We are excited on what Alessandro can deliver for us!