12 Facts About Matteo Brighi

Matteo Brighi began his professional career at Rimini in Serie C2 in 1998.

Matteo Brighi took part in the promotion playoffs of the season, scoring twice.

However, Matteo Brighi was then immediately sent on a one-season loan to Chievo.

In total, Matteo Brighi made 68 appearances for Chievo, scoring 9 goals.

On 24 January 2018, Matteo Brighi signed a contract with Empoli, keeping him at the club until 30 June 2018.

At youth level, Matteo Brighi played for the Italy under-21 side at the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, forming the team's midfield alongside Manuele Blasi, Andrea Pirlo and Marco Marchionni, as they reached the semi-finals.

Matteo Brighi won the 2004 edition of the tournament and helped the team qualify to the Olympics later that year, although he was not included by Claudio Gentile in the squad for the final tournament.

Matteo Brighi was called up again to play in Italy's pre-2009 FIFA Confederations Cup friendly against Northern Ireland in Pisa on 6 June.

Widely regarded as one of the most promising young players in Italy and Europe in his early career, in 2001 Matteo Brighi was named one of the 101 best young players in the world by Don Balon, while in 2002 he was named the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year.

Matteo Brighi has been praised for his movement off the ball and ability to make attacking runs, which enables him to get into good offensive positions from which he can score goals.

Matteo Brighi is the second of four brothers, who play football; his younger brother Marco is a professional footballer.

Matteo Brighi was the highest rated player in the FIFA Football 2003 video game, with a rating of 97.