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Emiliano Moretti (; born 11 June 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
He began his career at AS Lodigiani and was signed by AC Fiorentina in 1998. In March 2001 he made his debut in Serie A under Roberto Mancini, before spending periods at Juventus FC, Modena FC, Parma FC and Bologna. In 2004, he was signed by Spaniards Valencia CF, where he won the Copa del Rey in 2007–08. In 2009, he returned to Italy where he spent four seasons with Genoa CFC. In August 2013, he was signed by Torino FC, where he remained until his retirement in 2019, having collected over 600 career appearances at club level.
Internationally, Moretti represented Italy at under-16 and under-20 youth levels. He was also part of the under-21 team that won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship and a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. On 18 November 2014, at the age of 33, he became the oldest player to debut for the Italy national football team, playing as a starter in a friendly against Albania. In total, he collected 2 appearances for Italy at senior level between 2014 and 2015.
The following season, he was a starter, making 33 appearances and a decisive contribution to the achievement of a third-place finish. At the beginning of the following season, on 6 November 2006, in the match against RCD Espanyol, Moretti was seriously injured, damaging his lateral ligament of the knee, forcing him to the sidelines for more than three months. Despite the injury, the season remained one of the most important on a personal level and as a team, which reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, defeated only by Chelsea. Moretti ended the year with 34 total appearances.
The 2007–08 season was not as positive, which concluded with Valencia tenth. Moretti remained a protagonist of the side, leading to Valencia's victory on 16 April 2008 in the 2008 Copa del Rey final, playing all the matches from the initial stage to the final.
The following season, he was still a starter in the Spanish side, which reached the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup, which concludes the year sixth place in the Primera División. Moretti disputed 32 games.
He made his debut for Genoa on 23 August 2009, a 3–2 victory at home against AS Roma. A week later he scored his first goal in red and blue colours against Atalanta BC. His first season with the Grifoni finished with 37 appearances and 1 goal in total. The following year, he only made 18 appearances under Gian Piero Gasperini, while the team finished the season in tenth place. The 2011–12 season is even more difficult for the team, and despite 27 appearances and a goal (against Inter Milan), Genoa finished in fourth last position. He was confirmed part of the Genoa defence for the 2012–13 season, contributing 33 total appearances.
On 5 May 2013, he celebrated his hundredth appearances in Serie A with the shirt of Genoa, on the occasion of a match ending 4–1 against Pescara Calcio.
On 25 January 2015, he scored a goal in the 94th minute in which Torino defeated Inter Milan at San Siro after 27 years. It was his second goal for Torino.
On 30 August, he scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season, the equaliser in a 3–1 home win against AC Fiorentina. On 25 November, his contract was renewed until 2017. On 2 April 2017, he scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season in a 2–2 home draw against Udinese Calcio. On 5 April, his contract was renewed until 2018.
On 26 May 2019, he made his last appearance for Torino and of his football career, coming on as a substitute for Armando Izzo, and helped Torino beat SS Lazio 3–1 at home, after which he retired from professional football; in total, he collected over 600 career appearances at club level
On 9 November 2014, he was called up to the senior national team by Antonio Conte ahead of a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Croatia and a friendly against Albania. On 18 November, he was deployed as a starter in Genoa during a 1–0 win against Albania, becoming, at 33 years, 5 months and 7 days, the oldest player to debut for Italy. He made his second and final appearance for Italy a 1–1 friendly draw against England in Turin on 31 March 2015.
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