Francesco Moriero

1.1. Club Career

Moriero began his professional career with his hometown club, Lecce, joining their youth ranks before making his senior team debut during the 1986-87 Serie B season. In the subsequent 1987-88 Serie B season, he made 35 appearances and scored 3 goals, contributing significantly to Lecce's promotion to Serie A. He spent two seasons in Serie A with Lecce, accumulating 86 appearances and scoring 4 goals, before the team was relegated back to Serie B. During the 1991-92 Serie B season, he achieved a personal best of 6 goals in 34 appearances for Lecce. In total, he played 156 matches and scored 13 goals for Lecce across all competitions.

In 1992, Moriero transferred to Cagliari, where he made his debut in European competitions. He was instrumental in helping Cagliari reach the semi-finals of the 1993-94 UEFA Cup. Over two seasons with Cagliari, he made 54 appearances and scored 4 goals.

In 1994, Moriero moved to Roma in a transfer valued at approximately 8.50 B ITL. He spent three seasons with Roma, becoming an important figure and a fan favorite due to his exciting dribbling and direct play down the flanks. He made 75 appearances in Serie A, scoring 8 goals. Despite his individual contributions, the team's league finishes were inconsistent, with two fifth-place finishes and one twelfth-place finish. His contract was not renewed after the 1996-97 season. Initially, he had a deal with Milan in May 1997, but in July, he signed with Inter Milan for 1.00 M ITL as part of an exchange deal involving André Cruz.

Moriero made his Inter Milan debut on 31 August 1997, against Brescia, at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, on the first matchday of the 1997-98 Serie A season. His most successful career spell came with Inter under manager Luigi Simoni. In his first season, he played 44 official matches, scoring 6 goals, and won the 1997-98 UEFA Cup. During this tournament, he notably scored a goal from a bicycle kick against Swiss team Neuchatel Xamax. In the 1998 UEFA Cup final, he provided an assist for Ronaldo's goal shortly after coming on as a substitute. Inter also finished second in Serie A that season, narrowly missing the title to Juventus; Moriero made 28 league appearances and scored 3 goals. Although injuries limited his appearances in the subsequent two seasons (with a total of 28 Serie A appearances and 3 goals), he reached the 2000 Coppa Italia final with the club under Marcello Lippi, before moving to Napoli in 2000.

He spent two seasons with Napoli. During the 2000-01 Serie A season, he made 14 appearances and scored a goal, though he could not prevent the club's relegation. He concluded his playing career with Napoli in 2002, playing in Serie B. In total, across his Serie A career, Moriero made 287 appearances and scored 21 goals. His entire club career summed up to 366 appearances and 32 goals.

1.2. International Career

Francesco Moriero also represented the Italy national team. He made an appearance for the Italy national under-21 football team on 7 February 1990, in a 1-0 victory over Greece, under manager Cesare Maldini.

For the senior Italy national team, he earned 8 caps and scored 2 goals between 1998 and 1999. His senior international debut came on 28 January 1998, in a 3-0 home win against Slovakia, where he provided two assists. In his subsequent appearance, an international friendly against Paraguay on 22 April 1998, he scored both of his goals for Italy, including one from a bicycle kick, contributing to a 3-1 home victory.

Moriero was part of Italy's squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, again under Cesare Maldini. Despite often rotating with the more defensive-minded Angelo Di Livio on the right wing, Moriero played in four matches during the tournament. He started in the second group stage match against Cameroon, assisting Christian Vieri's opening goal in Italy's 3-0 win and also initiating the play for Vieri's second goal. He also combined with Filippo Inzaghi to create the decisive play that led to Roberto Baggio's match-winning goal against Austria in Italy's final group match, securing a 2-1 victory and topping their group. Italy was eventually eliminated in the quarterfinals by hosts and eventual champions France after a penalty shootout. Moriero's final appearance for Italy was on 9 October 1999, in a European qualifier against Belarus under manager Dino Zoff, which ended in a 0-0 away draw.

1.3. Style of Play

Moriero was a right-footed player, characterized by his quickness, diminutive stature, energy, and high technical ability. He predominantly played as a right winger, though he was occasionally deployed as an outside forward. While primarily an offensive-minded player known for his attacking runs, he also distinguished himself through his strong work-rate, tactical intelligence, and defensive contributions off the ball, demonstrating an ability to track back effectively and cover the flank.

His key attributes included impressive acceleration, pace, dribbling skills, agility, flair, and creativity. These qualities allowed him to consistently beat opponents in one-on-one situations, advance up the wing, and provide width, creating numerical advantages for his team in attack. He was also highly regarded for his vision, distribution, and his ability to create scoring opportunities and provide assists for strikers with his accurate crossing and long balls from the right flank. Moriero had a penchant for scoring spectacular goals, including powerful strikes from distance and acrobatic goals from volleys and bicycle kicks.

During his prime, Moriero was considered one of the best wingers of his generation. His world-class performances, characteristics, and playing style often drew comparisons to esteemed Italian wingers such as Franco Causio, Bruno Conti, and Roberto Donadoni, as well as the Portuguese winger Luís Figo. However, despite his undeniable talent, Moriero sometimes garnered a reputation for being inconsistent. Beyond his playing abilities, he was also famous for his trademark celebration, where he would humorously pretend to polish his teammates' football boots after they scored a goal.

3.1. Player

• Inter Milan
  • UEFA Cup: 1997-98
  • Serie A: Runner-up (1997-98)
• US Lecce
  • Serie B: Runner-up (1987-88)
• Cagliari Calcio
  • UEFA Cup: Semi-finalist (1993-94)

3.2. Manager

• Dinamo Tirana
  • Albanian Second League: Runner-up (2020-21)