Name Marcelo Moretto 1998 Sao Jose Weight 89 kg | Years Team Height 1.96 m Playing position Role Footballer | |
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Full name Marcelo Moretto de Souza Date of birth (1978-05-10) 10 May 1978 (age 37) Profiles | ||
Apresenta o goleiro marcelo moretto
Marcelo Moretto de Souza (born 10 May 1978), known as Moretto, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Associação Atlética Portuguesa (RJ) as a goalkeeper.
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Early years
Born in Eldorado, Mato Grosso do Sul, Moretto played four years professionally in his homecountry, representing São José Esporte Clube, Associação Portuguesa de Desportos, Londrina Esporte Clube, Sport Club do Recife, Brasiliense Futebol Clube and Clube 15 de Novembro. In 2003, aged 25, he decided to try his luck in Portugal, joining S.C. Salgueiros in the second division and making a very good first impression during the pre-season. However, facing serious economical crisis, the club was relegated to the third level and lost all of its professional players.
Forced to look for another team, Moretto joined F.C. Felgueiras (also in division two). There, he played only eight matches and conceded a total of ten goals but, nevertheless, caught the attention of other sides in the country.
In January 2005, Moretto came close playing for G.D. Estoril Praia and F.C. Penafiel – both in the Primeira Liga – but ended up signing for two years with fellow league club Vitória F.C. to replace Fulham-bound Ricardo Batista. He soon became the coach's first option while the team performed above all expectations, winning the Portuguese Cup after beating giants S.L. Benfica in the final.
In 2005–06, Moretto started off the season in Setúbal. They performed well during the first half, with him appearing in 17 matches and conceding only five goals; after enjoying a remarkable success, Vitória was struck by the resignation of their coach Luís Norton de Matos and a few other players due to unpaid wages, and 2005 ended with the player being the number one goalkeeper of all European leagues, with the less number of goals conceded per minute played.
Benfica
During the 2005 Christmas and New Year break in Portugal, a lot was spoken in the press about Moretto's possible transfer to Benfica or FC Porto. In a controversial move he followed his will and picked Benfica to be his new club after explaining the allegedly «bad behaviour» of both the player's manager and Porto chairmen; Porto officially denied immediate interest in the player, and the transfer cost Benfica €1 million whilst he signed for five-and-a-half years.
Benfica's interest gained strength as José Moreira suffered an injury that would keep him off the pitch for the remainder of the season. Quim, the team's other goalkeeper also suffered an injury, leaving the team with only the junior unexperienced Rui Nereu to play both the domestic league and the UEFA Champions League; upon his arrival Moretto immediately became Ronald Koeman's number one choice between the posts, even with Quim fully recovered: throughout the rest of the campaign, he played on 18 occasions in the league, once in the cup and four times in the Champions League, against reigning champions Liverpool (conceding no goals) and FC Barcelona, where he put on a Man of the match performance with several saves.
Moretto did not have an easy time after joining Benfica because, alternating above-average performances with subpar ones, he suffered from the animosity of the club supporters, which undermined his concentration. As a result, upon the departure of Koeman and arrival of his replacement, Fernando Santos, he was relegated to the role of substitute, with Quim again becoming the starter; during 2006–07 he played only one game, often splitting the bench with Moreira.
On 13 July 2007, Moretto agreed to join AEK Athens F.C. on a loan deal. The Greek team had the option to purchase the player at the end of the loan period, which was not activated, and he returned to Benfica for the 2008–09 season.
Late career
On 3 August 2009, Benfica released Moretto from his contract, with the player planning to return to his country. Late in the year he signed with a team he had already represented, Brasiliense in the Série B.
In July 2010, however, Moretto returned to Portugal, signing with lowly first-divisioner S.C. Olhanense. In the following transfer window he changed teams – and countries – again, joining Arka Gdynia in Poland.
Personal life
Moretto's younger brother, André (born 1987), is also a footballer and a goalkeeper. He was under contract with Vitória de Setúbal for several years as well, but never represented the first team.
Gustavo Manduca, who shared teams with him at Benfica, is his brother-in-law.
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