Marco Verratti is an Italian footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Paris Saint
Germain in Ligue 1 and the Italian national football team.
A technically gifted playmaker with notable dribbling and passing skills, as well as good
vision and close ball control, Verratti has been compared to Italy legend Andrea Pirlo
after making the same transition from trequartista to regista that the 2006 FIFA World Cup winner
made early in his career.
Early life Verratti was born in Pescara, in Italy and
grew up in L'Aquila.
As a child, he supported Juventus and idolised Alessandro Del Piero, the team's Italian international
playmaker.
Verratti's talent was noticed at an early age, and he was made offers to join the youth
academies of Atalanta and Internazionale, but joined his local club Pescara for €5,000.
After an impressive performance for Pescara's under-16 team against A.C. Milan, the Lombardy
club offered €300,000 to sign the midfielder.
Club career Pescara
Verratti made his first team debut in the 2008–09 season at the age of 16.
In the 2009–10 season, he appeared more regularly for Pescara, and since then became
a key player in the first team.
His performances generated national media coverage as a potential star of the future
and Italian international.
With Zdeněk Zeman as manager, Verratti excelled as a deep-lying playmaker in a Pescara team
which won the 2011–12 Serie B title playing "the best football in Italy".
After helping Pescara to promotion to Serie A, Verratti received the 2012 Bravo Award
for the best player under the age of 21 in Europe, and was reportedly wanted by Napoli,
Roma and Juventus, as well as Carlo Ancelotti's Paris Saint-Germain.
Paris Saint-Germain
On 18 July 2012, Verratti signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain in the French
Ligue 1.
After making his debut against Lille, the midfielder assisted Javier Pastore's opening
goal on his first appearance at the Parc des Princes, a 2–0 defeat of Toulouse.
On 18 September, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 4–1 defeat of Dynamo Kyiv.
He ended his first season in the French capital by winning the 2012–13 Ligue 1 title.
On 20 August 2013, Verratti signed a one-year extension to his contract with PSG, keeping
him at the club until 2018.
Veratti's second season with PSG was even more successful than the first as the team
retained its league title and won the Coupe de la Ligue.
Verratti was named as the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year and included in the Ligue 1 Team
of the Year for 2013–14.
International career The uncapped Verratti was included into Cesare
Prandelli's preliminary 32-man Italy squad for UEFA Euro 2012, being one of only two
Serie B players to be part of it.
He was subsequently cut from the squad on 28 May 2012.
On 15 August 2012, Verratti made his debut with the Italian senior team in a friendly
match against England played in Bern.
He subsequently made his first competitive appearance in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification,
appearing as a second half substitute for Emanuele Giaccherini in a 2–2 draw against
Bulgaria on 7 September.
On 6 February 2013, Verratti scored his first international goal in a friendly against the
Netherlands when he scored the 91st minute equalizer in the game that ended 1–1.
He took part with the Italy U-21 side at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship,
where the Azzurrini finished as runner-ups to Spain.
His performances saw him included in UEFA's all-star squad for the tournament.
On 1 June 2014, Verratti was selected in Italy's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
In Italy's opening match of the tournament, he made his first competitive start for the
Azzurri, forming a midfield trio with Andrea Pirlo and Daniele de Rossi in a 2–1 victory
over England in Manaus.
International goals Honours
Club
Pescara Serie B: 2011–12
Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1: 2012–13, 2013–14
Coupe de la Ligue: 2013–14 Trophée des Champions: 2013, 2014
Individual Bravo Award: 2012
UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 2013–14 UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2012–13,
2013-14 References
External links TuttoCalciatori profile