1. Overview
Marco Carnesecchi (born 1 July 2000) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Atalanta. Standing at 75 in (191 cm) and weighing 183 lb (83 kg), his career began in youth academies, notably Cesena and Atalanta, before he progressed to the senior level. He has had significant loan spells at Trapani and Cremonese, where he gained extensive professional experience in both Serie B and Serie A. Carnesecchi has also represented Italy across various youth national teams, including the U-17, U-19, U-20, and U-21 squads, and has received call-ups to the senior national team. Among his achievements, he won the UEFA Europa League with Atalanta and was named to the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament.
2. Early Career
Carnesecchi's early football development saw him rise through the ranks of Italian youth academies, culminating in significant achievements at the youth level.
2.1. Youth Career
Marco Carnesecchi was born on 1 July 2000, in Rimini, Italy. He began his football journey in the youth academy of Cesena from 2014 to 2017. Following his time at Cesena, he joined the youth setup of Atalanta in 2017, where he continued his development until 2019. He started playing for Atalanta's Under-19 squad in the 2017-18 season. During the 2018-19 season, Carnesecchi, alongside teammates such as Dejan Kulusevski and Roberto Piccoli, contributed to Atalanta's triumph in the Campionato Primavera 1 title.
2.2. Atalanta Senior Team Debut Preparation
Carnesecchi's first involvement with the Atalanta senior squad came on 14 January 2019. He was called up for a 2018-19 Coppa Italia match against Cagliari, though he remained an unused substitute on the bench for the game.
3. Club Career
Marco Carnesecchi's club career has seen him develop through loan spells and establish himself as a key goalkeeper, eventually contributing to major successes with his parent club, Atalanta.
3.1. Atalanta BC
After his initial development and subsequent loan spells, Carnesecchi returned to play for Atalanta's senior team. He was part of the squad in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 seasons, though he did not make any appearances during these periods. His significant contributions began in the 2023-24 season, where he made 27 league appearances, 4 appearances in the Coppa Italia, and 1 appearance in the UEFA Europa League. In the 2024-25 season, he featured in 23 league matches, 9 matches in the UEFA Champions League, and 1 match in the Supercoppa Italiana. Overall, he has made a total of 65 appearances for Atalanta, including 50 in the league, 4 in the Coppa Italia, 10 in European competitions, and 1 in other competitions. A major highlight of his time with Atalanta was winning the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League.
3.2. Loan to Trapani
On 25 July 2019, Carnesecchi was loaned to Trapani, a club that had recently been promoted to Serie B. He made his professional debut in Serie B for Trapani on 22 September 2019, playing the entire match against Salernitana. During the 2019-20 season, he made 33 league appearances and 1 appearance in the Coppa Italia. Despite his performances, Trapani finished 18th in the league and was subsequently relegated to Serie C.
3.3. Loan to Cremonese
Carnesecchi embarked on multiple loan spells with Cremonese. His first loan began on 5 January 2021, for the remainder of the 2020-21 Serie B season, having spent the initial months of that season as an unused substitute at Atalanta. In this first stint with Cremonese, he kept 8 clean sheets in 20 matches. His loan was subsequently extended for another season, covering the 2021-22 campaign. As the starting goalkeeper, he made 36 league appearances in this season, playing a crucial role in Cremonese's promotion to Serie A for the first time in 27 years. His performance earned him a spot in the Lega B's fan-voted Best XI for the 2021-22 Serie B season, alongside teammates Caleb Okoli, Nicolò Fagioli, and Gianluca Gaetano.
On 31 August 2022, Carnesecchi returned to Cremonese for a new loan spell, with the club now competing in Serie A. This move came amidst reported interest from Lazio during the summer transfer window. He missed the beginning of the 2022-23 season due to an injury sustained in June while playing for the Italy U-21 team. He made his Serie A debut on 16 October 2022, in the 10th round match against Spezia Calcio. Across his loan spells with Cremonese, he accumulated 83 league appearances and 2 Coppa Italia appearances.
4. International Career
Marco Carnesecchi has been a regular fixture in Italy's national youth teams and has also received recognition at the senior level.
4.1. Youth National Teams
Carnesecchi's international career began with his first call-up to the Italy U-17 squad in October 2016. He made his debut on 14 December 2016, in a friendly match against Hungary. He was part of Italy's squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, though he did not make any appearances, serving as backup to Simone Ghidotti. He also represented Italy at the U-18 level, making 6 appearances, and the U-19 level, with 14 appearances.
He was the first-choice goalkeeper for Italy at the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, where the team was eliminated in the group stage. In May and June 2019, he was selected for the Italy U-20 squad for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Poland. In this tournament, where Italy finished in fourth place, Carnesecchi made two appearances: one in the group stage game against Japan and another in the third-place play-off against Ecuador, serving as backup to Alessandro Plizzari in other matches.
On 6 September 2019, he made his debut for the Italy U21 squad in a friendly match against Moldova in Catania. He participated in all three group stage matches of the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in March 2021. He also played in the quarter-finals against Portugal U-21 in May 2021, a match Italy lost 3-5 after extra time. From November 2021, Carnesecchi took over as captain of the Italy U21 team, succeeding Sandro Tonali. In total, he has made 22 appearances for the Italy U21 squad.
4.2. Senior National Team
On 24 January 2022, Marco Carnesecchi received a call-up from Italy national team manager Roberto Mancini to join the Azzurri for a three-day training camp in Coverciano. This call-up was part of preparations for the March 2022 FIFA World Cup play-offs. He was one of seven players to receive their first senior national team call-up during this period, alongside Luiz Felipe, Giorgio Scalvini, Nicolò Fagioli, Davide Frattesi, Samuele Ricci, and João Pedro.
5. Career Statistics
This table provides a comprehensive overview of Marco Carnesecchi's club career statistics, detailing his appearances and goals across various competitions.
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Atalanta | 2018-19 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020-21 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023-24 | Serie A | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2024-25 | Serie A | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 0 | ||
| Trapani (loan) | 2019-20 | Serie B | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 34 | 0 | ||
| Cremonese (loan) | 2020-21 | Serie B | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2021-22 | Serie B | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 37 | 0 | |||
| 2022-23 | Serie A | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 28 | 0 | |||
| Total | 83 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 85 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 166 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 184 | 0 | ||
6. Honours
Marco Carnesecchi has achieved notable team and individual accolades throughout his career.
6.1. Club Honours
Atalanta
- Campionato Primavera 1: 2018-19
- UEFA Europa League: 2023-24
6.2. Individual Honours
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2021
- Lega B Best XI (fan-voted): 2021-22 Serie B season
7. Personal Life
On 6 October 2020, Marco Carnesecchi tested positive for COVID-19.