Salvatore Bocchetti

Salvatore Bocchetti (Italian pronunciation: [salvaˈtore bokˈketti]; born 30 November 1986 in Naples) is an Italian footballer who plays as a centre back for Spartak Moscow.

Bocchetti started his professional career at Ascoli. He made his Serie A debut against Palermo on 20 December 2006.

He was sent on loan to Serie C1 for Lanciano, and Frosinone of Serie B on second half of 2006–07 season. In the 2008–09 season Bocchetti was signed by Genoa and sooon became a regular starter in central defence, also functioning as a fullback on occasion. In the 2010–2011 season he was signed by Rubin Kazan on a 3.5-year contract with a fee reported to be around €15 million for the transfer. On 2 October 2011 Bocchetti scored two goals in a league match against Tom Tomsk. Kazan won the game 2–0. In January 2013, he moved to Spartak Moscow, another Russian Premier League club. In August 2013, he received a knee surgery and missed the rest of the season. On 27 January 2015, Milan had signed him on loan with an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.

In March 2008 Bocchetti made his debut with the Italy U-21 squad. He established himself in Pierluigi Casiraghi's Azzurrini squad which won the 2008 Toulon Tournament, and retained his place in the starting line up for the Summer Olympics, as Italy reached the quarter-finals. Together with Marco Andreolli, he was first-choice in central defence during the 2009 U-21 European Championship as Italy reached the semi-finals; he was later named to the team of the tournament.

On 22 March 2009 Bocchetti received his first call up to the senior Italy squad for two World Cup qualifiers matches but remained an unused substitute. On 10 October 2009 he made his senior national team international debut against Ireland coming on as a second-half substitute in Croke Park. He was named in Marcello Lippi's 23-men squad for the 2010 World Cup. Bocchetti was also selected for Italy's preliminary squad for Euro 2012, but was not picked for the final squad.

Bocchetti has been described as a versatile, left-footed centre back, who is also capable of being deployed as a full back. He is known for his strength, pace, and anticipation, as well for his reliable technical ability.

Club

Rubin Kazan

• Russian Cup: 2011–12
• Russian Super Cup: 2012

International

Italy U-21

• Toulon Tournament: 2008

Individual

• 2009 UEFA European under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament

• "S. Bocchetti". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 December 2015. 
• "Salvatore Bocchetti" (in Italian). Vivo Azzurro. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015. 
• "2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Technical Report" (PDF). UEFA.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.