Tommaso Berni was born in Florence on March 6, 1983.
His first professional club at youth level was Fiorentina but at 15 he joined Inter's football academy.
In 2000-01 he joined the Nerazzuri's first team squad but never played.
In 2001 he moved to England and joined Wimbledon in the First Division (2nd tier). He stayed two seasons but only played 3 games in the domestic cups. In the league The Dons finished 8th and 10th.
In 2003 he returned to Italy and signed for Ternana in Serie B. He stayed three seasons and the Rossoverdi finished 7th, 9th and 20th (relegated). Berni played 82 league games and 5 in Coppa Italia. His managers included Mario Beretta, Bruno Bolchi, Claudio Tobia, Fabio Brini and former Lazio player and manager, Domenico Caso. His teammates included Antonio Candreva (Lazio, 2012-16), Luis Jiménez (Lazio, 2007), Emanuele Pesaresi (2000-01).
In 2006 he joined Lazio. The manager was Delio Rossi and in three seasons Berni played 2 league games. The number one keeper was first Angelo Peruzzi, then Marco Ballotta and finally Juan Pablo Carrizo with Fernando Muslera as back up.
In January 2009 he was loaned to Salernitana in Serie B. The Granata got through four managers, were docked six points and were eventually relegated. Berni played 16 league games.
In the summer of 2009, he returned to Lazio. The manager was now Davide Ballardini and Lazio in August immediately won the Super Coppa beating Inter 2-1 in China. The season however was poor and, in February, Ballardini was replaced by Edy Reja. Lazio eventually climbed up to 12th place. Berni played 2 league games as Lazio had Fernando Muslera as first choice keeper and Albano Bizzarri as back up.
The following season, under Reja, he again played 2 league games plus 3 in Coppa Italia. Lazio finished 5th (Europa League). Muslera played 36 league games.
In 2011-12 he spent a season in Portugal with Sporting Braga. The Arsenalistas finished 3rd in Primeira Liga, under Leonardo Jardim. Berni played 1 league game and 4 in the domestic cups.
In 2012-13 he was back in Italy with Sampdoria in Serie A. First under Ciro Ferrara (1-17) and then former Lazio, Delio Rossi, the Blucerchiati finished 14th. Berni played 3 league games. The first keeper was Sergio Romero. One of his teammates was former Lazio, Lorenzo De Silvestri (1999-2009).
In 2013 Berni joined Torino in Serie A. He did not get one game under future Italy manager, Gian Piero Ventura and Toro finished 7th (Europa League). The main keeper was Daniele Padelli and the squad included future Lazio legend, Ciro Immobile.
In 2014 Berni signed for Inter where he stayed for the next six seasons as 3rd keeper. The main keepers were Samir Handanovic (undisputed first choice), Juan Pablo Carrizo, Ionuț Radu, then in 2017 Daniele Padelli arrived while Carrizo and Radu left. The fact is Berni never even played one minute let alone a game. He had obviously taken that into account when he moved back to Inter. His managers included Walter Mazzarri, Roberto Mancini, Frank de Boer, Stefano Pioli and Luciano Spalletti. The squad included Lazio connections: Hernanes (2010-14), Antonio Candreva (2012-16) and Stefan de Vrij (2014-18).
In 2020 Berni retired at 37.
He had been a promising keeper in his youth as his games for various Italy selections prove. He played for Italy U15's (2 games), U16's (2 games), U17's (4 games), U19's (7 games), U20's (9 games) and U21's (3 games).
So ended a career without much playing time. He only really played regularly with Ternana and then on his short loan period with Salernitana. He played a total of 128 professional games in almost twenty years.
At Lazio he stayed four and a half seasons in two different spells. He played 6 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia. In these he did fine but it was not enough to push him up in the pecking order. He won a Super Coppa with Lazio in 2009.
His career puts us in front of the eternal dilemma, especially for goalkeepers, is it better to play regularly for lesser clubs or be second or third choice for more glamorous clubs but play little or not at all?
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
2006-07 | 2 | 2 | - |
2009-10 | 2 | 2 | - |
2010-11 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Total | 9 | 6 | 3 |
Sources
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