Matteo Vitaioli

Matteo Vitaioli

Vitaioli with San Marino in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Matteo Giampaolo Vitaioli
Date of birth	(1989-10-27) 27 October 1989 (age 36)
Place of birth	Fiorentino, San Marino
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	La Fiorita
Number	7
Youth career
1996–1998	Montevito
1998–1999	Tre Fiori
1999–2005	San Marino Calcio
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2006	San Marino Calcio	2	(0)
2006	→ Empoli (loan)	0	(0)
2006–2007	San Marino Calcio	2	(0)
2007–2008	→ ASD Cagliese (loan)	26	(1)
2008–2009	→ Real Montecchio (loan)	30	(6)
2009–2010	San Marino Calcio	1	(0)
2010	→ P.D. Castellarano (loan)	17	(2)
2010–2012	San Marino Calcio	18	(0)
2012	F.C. Fiorentino	1	(0)
2013–2014	Sammaurese	49	(18)
2014–2021	Tropical Coriano	175	(102)
2021	Pennarossa	3	(0)
2021–2022	Tropical Coriano	17	(3)
2022–	La Fiorita	77	(20)
International career‡
2007–	San Marino	100	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 31 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025

Matteo Giampaolo Vitaioli (born 27 October 1989) is a Sammarinese footballer who plays for La Fiorita as a midfielder. In 2007, he became the youngest ever player for the San Marino national football team. In 2022, he became the most capped footballer for the country.

Club career

Born in Fiorentino, San Marino, Vitaioli has represented four clubs on a permanent basis: San Marino Calcio, F.C. Fiorentino, Sammaurese and Tropical Coriano and has played for four clubs on loan: Empoli (although he failed to make a single league appearance in the second half of 2005–06 Serie A), ASD Cagliese, Real Montecchio and P.D. Castellarano. ^[1]

International career

At the age of 17 years-old, he became San Marino's youngest ever international player in 2007. ^[2] He played for the San Marino national football team as they secured a 0–0 draw against Estonia in 2014. He scored his first goal on 8 September 2015, in a 2–1 defeat in a European Championship qualifier away to Lithuania. It was San Marino's first away goal in 14 years. ^{[3] [4]}

He was considered to be one of the most promising young talents in the San Marino national football team, often regarded as a key member of the squad, partnering with Andy Selva and Nicola Ciacci in a three-pronged San Marino attack. By 2024, he had become the captain of the San Marino national team, and in 2022, he became the most capped player in his country’s history with his 74th international appearance against Estonia, overtaking the 73 caps earned by Selva. ^{[5] [4] [6]}

On November 18, 2024, he played as San Marino secured promotion from the fourth and bottom tier of the UEFA Nations League with a 3–1 win away against Liechtenstein. ^[2]

On November 18, 2025, he made his 100th international appearance against Romania during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, becoming the first Sammarinese player to achieve this feat. ^[7]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
San Marino Calcio	2005–06	Serie C1	2	0	0	0	—		1 [a]	0	3	0
	2006–07		2	0	—		—		0	0	2	0
	Total		4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
Empoli (loan)	2005–06	Serie A	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Cagliese Calcio (loan)	2007–08	Serie D	26	1	—		—		2 [b]	0	28	1
Real Montecchio (loan)	2008–09	Serie D	30	6	—		—		2 [b]	0	32	6
San Marino Calcio	2009–10	Serie C2	1	0	—		—		2 [a]	0	3	0
	2010–11		14	0	0	0	—		4 [c]	1	18	1
	2011–12		4	0	—		—		2 [a]	0	6	0
	Total		19	0	0	0	0	0	8	1	27	1
Castellarano (loan)	2009–10	Serie D	30	6	—		—		2 [b]	0	32	6
Fiorentino	2012–13	Campionato Sammarinese	1	0	3	0	—		—		4	0
Sammaurese	2013–14	Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna	27	7	—		—		0	0	27	7
Tropical Coriano	2014–15	Promozione Emilia-Romagna		9	—		—		0	0
	2015–16			23	—		—		0	0
	2016–17			13	—		—		0	0
	2017–18			7	—		—		0	0
	2018–19			18	—		—		0	0
	2019–20	Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna	7	4	—		—		0	0
	2020–21			0	—		—		0	0
	Total			74	0	0	0	0
Pennarossa	2020–21	Campionato Sammarinese	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
Tropical Coriano	2021–22	Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna	17	3	—		—		0	0	17	3
La Fiorita	2022–23	Campionato Sammarinese	20	6	4	3	0	0	5 [d]	1	29	10
	2023–24		24	7	6	0	1 [e]	0	4 [f]	0	35	7
	2024–25		23	6	2	1	0	0	3 [g]	0	28	7
	2025–26		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		67	19	12	4	1	0	12	1	92	24
Career total

1. Appearance in Coppa Italia Serie C
2. Appearance in Serie D play-offs
3. Three appearances; one goal in Coppa Italia Serie C; one appearance in Serie C Promotion play-offs
4. Four appearances; one goal in Campionato Sammarinese play-offs; one appearance in Super Coppa Sammarinese
5. Appearances in UEFA Conference League
6. Appearances in Campionato Sammarinese play-offs
7. Two appearances in Campionato Sammarinese play-offs; one appearance in Super Coppa Sammarinese

International

International goals

Scores and results list San Marino's goal tally first. ^[8]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 September 2015	LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania	Lithuania	1–1	1–2	UEFA Euro 2016 Qualification

Personal life

Vitaioli works as a graphic designer. ^[9] He has one daughter. ^[4] His brother Fabio Vitaioli also played alongside him for the San Marino national football team. ^[10]

References

1. NORZ. "Matteo Vitaioli - Carriera - stagioni, presenze, goal - TuttoCalciatori.Net - Schede calciatori con carriera, gol, della serie A, serie B, serie C, serie C1 e serie C2, lega pro, serie D". tuttocalciatori.net. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
2. Walker, Ron (2 January 2025). "San Marino: The inside story of the world's worst football team winning Nations League promotion in 2024". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
3. "LITHUANIA VS. SAN MARINO 2 - 1". Soccerway. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
4. Poole, Harry (18 March 2024). "San Marino: 'The ultimate dream' - world's worst national football team chase first win for 20 years". BBC Sport . Retrieved 18 March 2024.
5. "Matteo Vitaioli record of appearances with the National Team". Sanmarinortv. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
6. "'Dream with no limits' - world's worst team bid to make history". BBC Sport. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
7. "Matteo Vitaioli verso quota 100 con la Romania" (in Italian). San Marino TV. 17 November 2025.
8. "Matteo Vitaioli". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
9. "San Marino haven't won since 2004 and are world's worst team, but they're not giving up". ESPN. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
10. Poole, Henry (8 October 2014). "England v San Marino: Simoncini - cheating death to facing Rooney". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2025.