Matias Antonini

Matias Antonini

Personal information
Full name	Matias Antonini Lui
Date of birth	(1998-04-09) 9 April 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Porto Alegre, Brazil
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Catanzaro
Number	4
Youth career
	Grêmio
	Meda
2015–2016	Inter Milan
2016–2018	Cagliari
2018–2020	Grêmio
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020	Arezzo	0	(0)
2020–2021	NibionnOggiono	29	(0)
2021–2022	Ravenna	36	(6)
2022–2024	Taranto	57	(7)
2024–	Catanzaro	14	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 May 2024

Matias Antonini Lui (born 9 April 1998) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Serie B club Catanzaro.

Career

Beginnings

Antonini started his career as part of the youth system of Grêmio before moving to Italy to join amateur club Meda.[1] He was subsequently scouted by Inter Milan who signed him for their youth teams.[1] After a few appearances with friendly games for Inter, Antonini left the Nerazzurri for Cagliari, joining the Under-19 Primavera team;[2] he shortly thereafter made his professional first team debut in a 2016–17 Coppa Italia game against Sampdoria ended in a 0–3 away loss, on what turned to be his only senior appearance with the Sardinian club.[3] Despite having served as team captain for the Under-19 team of Cagliari, he was released in July 2018 and then left to move back to Brazil, re-joining Grêmio.[4]

Serie C

Arezzo

In February 2020, Antonini returned to Italy, joining Serie C club Arezzo.[5]

Serie D

NibionnOggiono

After failing to make any appearances for Arezzo, he left the Tuscan club to join Serie D club NibionnOggiono, with whom he finally managed to play as a regular.

Ravenna

His impressive performances won him the interest of the ambitious Serie D club Ravenna, who signed him in July 2021.[6]

Return to Serie C

Taranto

In July 2022, Antonini signed for Serie C club Taranto.[7] He quickly affirmed himself as a staple for the Apulians, playing as a regular and being praised for his performances, which gained him a contract extension until 30 June 2025.[8] In the 2023–24 Serie C season, Antonini established himself as one of the best defenders in the league, as well as a prolific goalscorer (with four goals in his first sixteen games),[9] and then being linked to higher division clubs and praised by his manager Ezio Capuano as player with Serie A potential.[10]

Antonini, therefore, experienced the best seasons of his career in Taranto, revealing himself to be a key player for the rossoblù.

Serie B

Catanzaro

On 21 January 2024, Antonini joined Serie B side Catanzaro for an undisclosed fee, signing a contract until June 2027.[11][12]

Personal life

Antonini was born and raised in Brazil to a father of Austrian origins and a mother of Italian ancestry.[5]

He also holds Italian citizenship through jus sanguinis.[13]

References

1. "L'interesse di Guardiola e l'esordio a San Siro: la storia di Matias Antonini, pupillo di Figo che segna a Taranto" (in Italian). La Casa di C. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
2. "Il giovane Antonini Lui in Primavera" (in Italian). Cagliari Calcio. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
3. "SAMPDORIA AGLI OTTAVI, 3-0 AL CAGLIARI" (in Italian). Eurosport. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
4. "Cagliari, Matias Antonini Lui al Gremio" (in Italian). Gianluca Di Marzio. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
5. "Arezzo, c'è Antonini per la difesa. Gori a parte, Cutolo squalificato per due turni" (in Italian). ArezzoNotizie.it. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
6. "Benvenuto Matias Antonini Lui" (in Italian). Ravenna FC. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
7. "Un difensore brasiliano ed un portiere per il Taranto" (in Italian). Corriere di Taranto. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
8. "Taranto: Antonini prolunga fino al 2025" (in Italian). Antenna Sud. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
9. "Antonini, difensore goleador: sono quattro i gol in campionato" (in Italian). MondoRossoblu.it. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
10. "Taranto, Capuano: 'Antonini come Parisi, è da Serie A'" (in Italian). Blunote.it. 16 December 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
11. "MATIAS ANTONINI È UN NUOVO CALCIATORE DEL CATANZARO" (in Italian). US Catanzaro 1929. 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
12. Pasta, Niccolò (21 January 2024). "Il Catanzaro ha un nuovo difensore: Matias Antonini firma fino al 2027". TUTTOmercatoWEB (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2024.
13. "Antonini, Cutolo e Dell'Agnello. Dalla sosta l'Arezzo prova a uscire con qualche pedina in più" (in Italian). ArezzoNotizie.it. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2024.

External links

• Matias Antonini at Soccerway
• Matias Antonini at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)