Matteo Sereni (born 11 February 1975) is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Career Born in Parma, Sereni started his career at Sampdoria, and was loaned out to Crevalcore in 1994. He returned to Sampdoria and only made 10 appearances before being transferred to Piacenza in 1997. There, he helped the club avoid relegation to Serie B, but in 1998 he transferred to Empoli, where he failed to avoid relegation.
In 1999, Sereni returned to Sampdoria in Serie B and made 75 (out of 76) Serie B appearances. In 2001, Ipswich Town signed him for £4.5 million, which was the highest transfer fee paid by the club, until the acquisition of Omari Hutchinson in 2024. He failed to avoid relegation with Ipswich and was loaned to Brescia in 2002.
Lazio In 2003, he transferred to Lazio, for €550,000 to compete for the number one goalkeeping slot with Angelo Peruzzi. In 2004, he started for the club in both legs of the 2004 Coppa Italia final against Juventus and played the matches in the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup, when Lazio went out to Marseille in the semi-finals.
In January 2006, he was loaned out to Treviso, with Samir Handanović going to Lazio on loan in return. He returned to Lazio for the 2006–07 campaign, but did not play a single match, being excluded from the roster for the whole season.
Torino In June 2007 he signed for Torino in a free transfer to replace Christian Abbiati, signed a two-year contract. In November 2008, he signed a new contract which last until June 2011.
Brescia On 5 July 2010 he was signed by Brescia for on free transfer. A few days before the last game of Serie A, his contract was mutually terminated, following the club's relegation a few weeks before.
International career He was internationally selected at the age of 16 for the Italy national under-17 team, and played for the Italy national under-23 team at the 1997 Mediterranean Games, where Italy were champions.
Legal challenges After divorcing his ex-wife Silvia, Sereni was accused of having raped their daughter during a 2009 holiday on Sardinia's Costa Smeralda. He denied the charges. In 2015, Sereni was found guilty, and was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. In July 2017, Sereni's conviction was annulled on appeal and he was scheduled a new trial in Turin.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCoppa ItaliaEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSampdoria1995–96Serie A4000——401996–97Serie A6000——601999–2000Serie B37070——4402000–01Serie B38070——4502001–02Serie B0010——10Total850150——1000Piacenza (loan)1997–98Serie A34010——350Empoli (loan)1998–99Serie A30020——320Ipswich Town2001–02Premier League250006020330Brescia (loan)2002–03Serie A24000——240Lazio2003–04Serie A908010—1802004–05Serie A2001040002502005–06Serie A200040—60Total310909000490Treviso (loan)2005–06Serie A70———70Torino2007–08Serie A32010——3302008–09Serie A31010——3202009–10Serie B35020——370Total98040——1020Brescia2010–11Serie A15000——150Career total3490310150203970
References
External links National Team Statistics at FIGC official site Statistics at Voetbal International http://aic.football.it/scheda/1507/sereni-matteo.htm