Massimiliano Esposito, known as Max, was born in Naples on May 27, 1972.
He started his career in 1990 with Catanzaro in C2. He stayed three seasons playing 61 league games with 8 goals.
In 1993 he signed for Reggiana in Serie A. The Granata were newly promoted and managed to survive, helped by Esposito's 5 goals (including the winner away to champions Milan), under manager Pippo Marchioro. The following year things did not go as well and Reggiana were relegated. In his time in Reggio Emilia, he played alongside Lazio legend Angelo Gregucci and stars such as Paulo Futre and Cláudio Taffarel. In total Esposito played 59 league games with 9 goals.
In 1995 he joined Lazio. The Biancocelesti had Zdenek Zeman as a manager and came from a second place. They finished 3rd and Esposito played 17 league games with 3 goals (Piacenza x2, Atalanta), 2 games in Coppa Italia and 1 in the UEFA Cup.
The following year he left and moved south to Naples. The manager was first former Lazio Gigi Simoni (1-28) and then Vincenzo Montefusco (29-34) and Napoli finished 12th. Esposito played 22 with 2 goals (Cagliari, Fiorentina) and 5 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Monza). Napoli reached the cup final but lost 1-4 on aggregate to Vicenza.
In 1997-98 he spent a season at Verona on loan. The Scaligeri were in Serie B and finished 6th, first under Luigi Cagni and then Sergio Maddė. Esposito played 27 league games. His teammates included Lazio connections Leonardo Colucci (1994-95) and Sebastiano Siviglia (2004-10).
Esposito then returned to Napoli who were now in Serie B. The manager was Renzo Ulivieri (1-35) and then Vincenzo Fusco (36-38). Esposito played 20 league games with 3 goals and 2 games in Coppa Italia. The squad included Lazio connections, Raffaele Sergio (1989-92), Giovanni Lopez (1997-98) and Emanuele Pesaresi (2000-01).
In 1999-2000 he played for Perugia in Serie A. The manager was Carlo Mazzone and the Grifoni finished 10th. They did Lazio a huge favour by beating Juventus on the last game of the season and thus handing Lazio the Scudetto. Esposito played 27 league games with 1 goal (Reggina), including 90 minutes of that famous waterlogged game on May 14.
In 2000 he joined Brescia in Serie A and stayed a season and a half. In the first the Rondinelle finished 8th under Carlo Mazzone. Esposito played 19 league games with 1 goal and 5 games in Coppa Italia. The squad included Lazio connections Simone Del Nero (2007-12), the Filippini brothers (2004-05), Igli Tare (2003-05) plus the greats Andrea Pirlo and Roberto Baggio.
The following year he left in January after 15 league games. Brescia eventually finished 13th.
He joined Chievo where he found manager Luigi Del Neri and the Clivensi finished an excellent 5th and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Esposito played 9 league games. The squad included Lazio connections, Dario Franceschini (1995-97), Fabio Firmani (2005-09, 2009-11), Bernardo Corradi (2002-04), Christian Manfredini (2002-03, 2004 -11).
In 2002 Esposito joined Ternana for two and a half seasons. The Umbri finished 7th, 7th and 9th in Serie B. Esposito played 39 league games with 4 goals.
In January 2005 he joined Venezia in Serie B. The "Leoni Alati" (Winged Lions) were relegated and went bankrupt. Esposito played 17 league games with 3 goals.
In 2005 he joined Triestina for two seasons. The Giuliani were in Serie B and finished 13th and 17th. Esposito played 17 league games with 2 goals.
He then spent five more years at amateur level with Abano, Saccolongo, Boara Pisani and Janus Selvazzano.
He then retired and became a coach although he had already collaborated with Padova in 2009-10 and been player-manager at Janus Selvazzano. In 2015 to 2018 he coached in Sacra Famiglia youth sector, 2018-19 Padova U13's, 2019 assistant manager at Padova and 2019-20 back with Padova youth sector.
Esposito also had a career as a beach soccer player. In 2008-09 he played for Lignano Sabbiadoro (winning a Coppa Italia) and between 2008 and 2015 played for the Italian national team, with 48 games and 32 goals, winning a World Cup silver medal in 2008. He was also national coach between 2010 and 2015.
Esposito was an attacking midfielder. He had a good career, playing 172 games in Serie A with 16 goals and 121 games in Serie B with 12 goals.
At Lazio he only stayed one season and was not a regular. Lazio had Diego Fuser, Roberto Rambaudi, Aron Winter, Giuseppe Signori, Gigi Casiraghi and Alen Boksic in the squad but Esposito still made 17 league appearances with 3 goals and contributed to a positive 3rd place.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1995-96 | 20 (3) | 17 (3) | 2 | 1 |
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