Matteo Sereni was born in Parma, on February 11, 1975.
He is the son of Giorgio Sereni, former player (Reggiana, Palermo, Padova) and manager (including Parma, Foggia, Padova, Salernitana). His father was full-back but Matteo decided to be a goalkeeper.
He started his youth career at Petrarca and then Sampdoria. It was with the Blucerchiati in 1993-94 that he began his professional path but in that first year never played. He was then loaned to Crevalcore (Bologna) in C1 but again made no appearances.
He finally made his debut in 1995 when he returned to Sampdoria. He played 4 league games that year (95-96) and 6 the following.
In 1997 he went to Piacenza on loan in Serie A and made 34 league appearances and 1 in Coppa Italia under manager Vincenzo Guerini. The following year he joined Empoli on loan in Serie A and played 30 league games under managers Mauro Sandreani (1-21) and then Corrado Orrico (22-34), the Azzurri were however relegated to Serie B.
In 1999-2000 he went back to his mother club Sampdoria in Serie B and became first choice keeper. He stayed two years, the first with manager Gianpiero Ventura and the second with Luigi Cagni. Sereni played respectively 37 and 38 times in this period.
In 2001-2002 he went for the Premier League adventure and joined Ipswich Town in England. He played 25 league games and 6 in the UEFA CUP. The Tractor Boys from Suffolk were relegated and so Sereni moved back to Italy.
In 2002 he was loaned to Brescia in Serie A. At the Rondinelle (Little Swallows) he found manager Carlo Mazzone and played in the same team as legend Roberto Baggio. Brescia had a decent season coming 9th and Sereni made 26 league appearances.
In 2003 he joined Lazio who were looking for a good reliable keeper for the bench, behind first choice Angelo Peruzzi. In his first year, under Roberto Mancini, he played 9 league games and 1 in the Champions League but it was in Coppa Italia where he would have his moment of glory. He was officially the cup keeper and helped Lazio lift their 4th domestic trophy in a double legged final versus Juventus.
The following year, under Delio Rossi, he made 20 league appearances, 4 in the UEFA Cup and one in Coppa Italia.
The 2005-2006 season saw Sereni run into some problems at Lazio; he only played 2 league games and 4 in the Intertoto Cup and also had contractual issues.
In January 2006 he was loaned to Treviso in Serie A where he played 7 league games but the Veneti Sky Blue and Whites were relegated to Serie B. The three managers Ezio Rossi (1-12), Alberto Cavasin (12-27) and finally Diego Bortoluzzi were not able to avoid Treviso the drop.
At this point Sereni came back to Lazio. The Capitolini had a great season under Delio Rossi, coming 3rd and qualifying for a Champions League preliminary, Sereni however would not be involved. His ongoing contractual problems led to him being dropped from the squad. He was not the first to receive this treatment from owner Claudio Lotito and certainly not the last. The fans, seeing an enemy to use against the unpopular president, took the player's side but Sereni would never play for Lazio again.
In 2007 Sereni, at the end of his contract, joined Torino and started another chapter in his career. He performed well for the Granata and played 32 games in Serie A and 1 in Coppa Italia. In one match against Siena he stopped two penalties by Massimo Maccarone, although " Big Mac" did manage to score the second after the rebound.
His second year was not as positive for " Il Toro" and the Torinese got relegated. The Granata changed managers from Gianni De Biasi (1-16) to Walter Novellino (16-34) and finally to former Lazio player Giancarlo Camolese (34-42) but failed to keep their place in the big time. Sereni however played with continuity getting 31 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.
Sereni followed Torino down to Serie B but was not able to help them win promotion. They finished 5th and were eliminated by Brescia in the playoff final (0-0 at home, 2-1 away). The managers came and went as usual from Stefano Colantuono (1-16), then Mario Beretta (17-21) and then Colantuono again (21-42). Sereni played 35 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia.
In 2010 he went back to Brescia in Serie A for one last season. "La Leonessa" got relegated under two different managers Giuseppe Iachini (1-15), Mario Beretta (16-22) and Iachini again (22-38). Sereni only played 15 league games and Brescia were relegated in penultimate position.
In 2011 Sereni retired after 373 professional games. With Lazio he played 49 games and will forever be linked with the 2004 Coppa Italia triumph but also for the unfortunate way his Lazio relationship came to an end.
His retirement was also due to personal family problems. He went through a divorce and was accused by his wife of physically abusing their kids. Sereni was later cleared of all accusations and declared innocent.
At 1.86 metres tall and 80 kilos Sereni was a strong keeper. He was often likened to Angelo Peruzzi physically and to Gianluca Pagliuca technically. He was an excellent penalty saver and hypnotized many a player over the years. His goalkeeping ability perhaps deserved a more illustrious career but he did win 2 Italian Cups, one in Sampdoria's squad in 1994 and the other as absolute protagonist with Lazio in 2004. He also earned two U21 caps for Italy and won the Mediterranean Games with Italy in 1997.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Cup | Intertoto Cup |
2003-04 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | - | - |
2004-05 | 25 | 20 | 1 | - | 4 | - |
2005-Jan 06 | 6 | 2 | - | - | - | 4 |
Total | 49 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
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