Marco Motta

3.1. Atalanta

Motta made his professional debut with his youth club, Atalanta B.C., in 2005. His Serie A debut occurred on January 9, 2005, when he came on as a substitute for Riccardo Montolivo in the 65th minute. He also started in the Coppa Italia on January 13, 2005, in a match against Juventus FC where Atalanta eliminated Juventus with a 5-3 aggregate score. Motta made 22 appearances, including 3 in the Coppa Italia, in the remainder of the 2004-05 season, largely due to the departure of teammate Damiano Zenoni. Following Atalanta's relegation, he moved to Udinese Calcio in a co-ownership deal worth 2.05 M EUR prior to the 2005-06 Serie A season. This deal also involved Udinese acquiring several other players from Bergamo, including Fausto Rossini (50% for 450.00 K EUR), Cesare Natali, Massimo Gotti, Piermario Morosini (50%), and Michele Rinaldi, while sending Thomas Manfredini and Antonino D'Agostino (50%) to Atalanta for a total of 2.00 M EUR.

3.2. Udinese

Motta officially joined Udinese Calcio in the summer of 2005. In his first season, he was used sparingly, primarily as an understudy to Damiano Zenoni, making six league appearances and scoring one goal. He made his European debut for Udinese on November 2, 2005, coming on as a substitute in the 73rd minute in a UEFA Champions League match against Werder Bremen, which Udinese lost 3-4. An injury on January 30, 2006, sidelined him for the remainder of that season.

He continued with Udinese for the 2006-07 Serie A season, making 16 league appearances, all as a starter. In June 2007, Udinese purchased the remaining portion of his contract from Atalanta for an additional 800.00 K EUR. However, he did not stay for the 2007-08 Serie A campaign. As part of a part-exchange deal, Atalanta also signed Zlatan Muslimović from Udinese.

On July 28, 2007, Motta was loaned to Torino F.C. for one year, rejoining his former teammate Cesare Natali. He primarily served as an understudy to Gianluca Comotto but managed to make 24 league appearances, with 14 starts, and scored his second career Serie A goal.

Following a successful loan, Motta returned to Udinese for the 2008-09 Serie A season due to an injury to Cristián Zapata. He competed for a starting spot with players like Damiano Ferronetti, Aleksandar Luković, and Giovanni Pasquale. He started 8 out of 14 Serie A appearances that season. In the 2008-09 UEFA Cup, he was the starting right back for the group stage, playing all four matches, three of which were starts. Udinese finished first in Group D. With Udinese signing Dušan Basta and Zapata recovering, Motta was subsequently loaned to A.S. Roma, signing a 3.5-year deal with a gross salary of 300.00 K EUR for the remainder of the 2008-09 season, increasing to 660.00 K EUR in the 2009-10 season.

3.3. Roma

Motta made his debut for A.S. Roma on February 8, 2009, entering as a substitute in the 31st minute of a 3-0 victory against Genoa. His performance garnered praise from both fans and his new coach, Luciano Spalletti, who highlighted his speed, force, technical quality, and strong defensive play, noting his impressive personality despite the pressure of playing at the Stadio Olimpico for the first time.

Under Spalletti, Motta earned a starting position, outperforming rivals such as Cicinho, Cristian Panucci, and Marco Cassetti. He also played in both legs of the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League Round of 32 matches against Arsenal F.C., which Roma lost. On June 24, 2009, Roma exercised its option to sign half of Motta's contract for a pre-agreed price of 3.50 M EUR, with an outright option for 7.00 M EUR payable in three installments.

However, after Spalletti's resignation and the appointment of Claudio Ranieri, Motta's role diminished. He struggled to become a regular starter, making only 16 appearances during the entire 2009-10 Serie A season. At the season's end, Roma and Udinese could not agree on a price for his co-ownership, leading to a blind auction on June 25, 2010. Udinese successfully repurchased Motta on June 26, 2010, for 1.45 M EUR.

3.4. Juventus

On July 2, 2010, Juventus FC secured a loan deal for Motta from Udinese for the 2010-11 season, with an option for a permanent transfer. Juventus was actively looking for a new right-back to replace Martín Cáceres and Jonathan Zebina. Motta joined the Juventus squad for pre-season training while the deal was being finalized. On July 5, Juventus officially announced the completion of the deal, which included a loan fee of 1.25 M EUR and an option to make the transfer permanent for an additional 3.75 M EUR.

He made his official debut for Juventus on July 29, 2010, in a 2010-11 UEFA Europa League qualifier against Shamrock Rovers F.C., starting as the right back ahead of Zdeněk Grygera. Juventus won the aggregate 3-0. However, Grygera later regained his starting position, and Motta was often an unused substitute for much of the 2010-11 Serie A campaign. On June 22, 2011, Juventus exercised their option to sign Motta permanently, along with Simone Pepe, for the pre-agreed price. Following his permanent transfer, he became surplus to requirements under the new coach, Antonio Conte, and failed to make any further appearances for the club. He was one of several players, including Carvalho Amauri, Luca Toni, and Vincenzo Iaquinta, who were moved on during the 2012 winter transfer window through loans or permanent transfers.

3.5. Later career

Following his departure from Juventus, Motta continued his career with clubs outside Italy.

He signed with Championship side Watford F.C. on February 26, 2015, making his debut on March 3, 2015, in a 1-0 victory against Fulham. However, after Watford earned promotion to the Barclays Premier League, Motta was released by the club.

On February 12, 2016, Motta signed with Championship club Charlton Athletic F.C. on a deal until the end of the 2015-16 season. He was subsequently released by Charlton at the end of the season.

On January 31, 2017, after a successful trial, Motta signed a contract with Segunda División team UD Almería that extended until 2019. He scored his first goal for the club on December 3, contributing the opener in a 2-1 home defeat of CD Tenerife. On July 9, 2018, having been a consistent starter, Motta terminated his contract with Almería.

On July 11, 2018, Motta reached an agreement for a contract with Cypriot club AC Omonia. He missed the first half of the 2018-19 Cypriot First Division season due to a back problem but eventually debuted on February 17, 2019, against Anorthosis Famagusta. He concluded the season with 8 league appearances before leaving the club at the end of June 2019.

In February 2020, Motta signed a two-year contract with Indonesian Liga 1 club Persija Jakarta, following his stint with AC Omonia. He made his debut for Persija Jakarta in a pre-season match against Persela Lamongan on February 11, which Persija won 4-1 in the 2020 East Java Governor Cup. His league debut came on March 1 in a 3-2 victory against Borneo F.C. at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, where he expressed admiration for the stadium's atmosphere. The season was suspended on March 27 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was eventually declared void on January 20, 2021. On January 15, 2022, Motta scored his first goal for Persija Jakarta, a late equalizer against Persela Lamongan at the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium.

4.1. Youth national teams

Motta was a prominent member of Italy's youth national teams. He was part of the U-16 team in 2002, making 3 appearances and scoring 2 goals. From 2002 to 2003, he played for the U-17 squad, with 14 appearances and 4 goals, participating in the 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. In 2003, he also made 5 appearances for the U-18 team. From 2003 to 2004, he played for the U-19 team, making 6 appearances. In 2006, he earned 1 cap for the U-20 team and also participated in the 2006-07 Under-20 Four Nations Tournament.

Since 2005, Motta was a key player for the Italy U-21 national team, making 36 appearances and scoring 1 goal. Following the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, he was named captain of the U-21 side. He participated in the 2008 Toulon Tournament, which Italy won, and the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He missed the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship due to an injury. In the U-21 qualifying matches, he played in 4 out of 8 possible matches.

Motta also represented Italy at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he played 6 matches. In the group stage, he appeared in the match against South Korea. In the quarter-final against Belgium, he started but was substituted in the 81st minute, with Italy losing 2-3.

4.2. Senior national team

Motta received his first call-up to the Italy senior national team on March 22, 2009, for matches against Montenegro and the Republic of Ireland, following his impressive performances at Roma. However, he remained an unused substitute on both occasions.

He eventually made his debut with the senior team on August 10, 2010, under new head coach Cesare Prandelli, in a friendly match against Ivory Coast, which Italy lost 1-0. This remains his only senior international appearance.

5.1. Club

5.2. International

6.1. Club

• Serie A runner-up: 2009-10 (with Roma)
• Coppa Italia runner-up: 2009-10 (with Roma)
• Serie A: 2013-14 (with Juventus)
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2013 (with Juventus)
• Menpora Cup: 2021 (with Persija Jakarta)

6.2. International

• Toulon Tournament: 2008 (with Italy U21)

6.3. Individual

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship Best Eleven: 2009
• Menpora Cup Best Eleven: 2021