Massimiliano Esposito

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Massimiliano Esposito

| image =

| height = 1.75 m

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|5|27|df=y}}

| birth_place = Naples, Italy

| position = Midfielder

| youthyears1 = 1981–1984

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1990–1993 | clubs1 = Catanzaro | caps1 = 61 | goals1 = 8

| years2 = 1993–1995 | clubs2 = Reggiana | caps2 = 59 | goals2 = 9

| years3 = 1995–1996 | clubs3 = Lazio | caps3 = 17 | goals3 = 3

| years4 = 1996–1997 | clubs4 = Napoli | caps4 = 26 | goals4 = 2

| years5 = 1997–1998 | clubs5 = Verona | caps5 = 27 | goals5 = 0

| years6 = 1998–1999 | clubs6 = Napoli | caps6 = 20 | goals6 = 3

| years7 = 1999–2000 | clubs7 = Perugia | caps7 = 27 | goals7 = 1

| years8 = 2000–2002 | clubs8 = Brescia | caps8 = 34 | goals8 = 1

| years9 = 2002 | clubs9 = Chievo | caps9 = 9 | goals9 = 0

| years10 = 2002–2005 | clubs10 = Ternana | caps10 = 39 | goals10 = 4

| years11 = 2005 | clubs11 = Venezia | caps11 = 17 | goals11 = 3

| years12 = 2005–2007 | clubs12 = Triestina | caps12 = 17 | goals12 = 1

| years13 = 2007–2009 | clubs13 = Abano | caps13 = ? | goals13 = ?

| years14 = 2009– | clubs14 = Saccolongo | caps14 = ? | goals14 = ?

| totalcaps = 353 | totalgoals = 35

| nationalyears1 =

}}

Massimiliano Esposito (born 27 May 1972), is an Italian beach soccer player and coach, and also a former professional footballer, who played as a playmaking midfielder or as a creative forward.

Career

Born in Naples, Esposito started his professional career in Catanzaro in Serie C2, where he was a promising midfielder in the early 1990s. When Reggiana was promoted to Serie A in 1993, they signed Esposito as the team's playmaker, who went on to make his Serie A debut with the club. During his two years in Reggio Emilia, Esposito was one of the clubs' key players, helping to save the club from relegation to Serie B in 1994,{{cite web|author1=Maurizio Mariani|title=Italy Championship 1993/94|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/ital94.html|accessdate=11 May 2015|website=RSSSF|date=31 October 2000}} although he was unable to prevent the club from being relegated the following season.{{cite web|title=Massimiliano Esposito|url=http://www.tuttocalciatori.net/Esposito_Massimiliano|publisher=Tutto Calciatori|accessdate=11 May 2015|language=Italian}}

In the summer of 1995, one of the Italian giants of the time, Lazio, signed Esposito. He spent one season at the Roman club, but could not earn himself a regular spot in the starting XI, due to heavy competition from players such as Aron Winter and Roberto Di Matteo, for the first time in his career.{{cite web|author1=Maurizio Mariani|title=Italy Championship 1995/96|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/ital96.html|accessdate=11 May 2015|website=RSSSF|date=5 January 2000}} He was subsequently sold to his hometown club Napoli, where he performed decently during the 1996–97 season, before unexpectedly being sold to Hellas Verona in the midst of the league campaign. Following his time in Serie B with Verona, he returned to Napoli the following season, although the club had been relegated in 1998. Esposito's second foray at Napoli in Serie B did not result in a promotion, and he left for Serie A club Perugia at the end of the season. In the three coming years following his time with Perugia, Esposito spent his last years in Serie A as a player, with Brescia, playing alongside Roberto Baggio, and Chievo; in total, he played about 172 matches in the top domestic division, scoring 16 goals. Before rounding off his career with several amateur clubs between 2007 and 2012, he also played for three Serie B sides between 2002 and 2007: Ternana, Venezia, and Triestina.

Following his Esposito's retirement from professional football, he worked as a coach, and also became a stalwart in the Italian beach soccer national team; in 2010 he took on a role as a player-manager with the Italian national beach soccer team.{{cite web|title=BEACH SOCCER, MASSIMILIANO ESPOSITO NUOVO CT AZZURRO|url=http://www.settoretecnico.figc.it/news.aspx?c=3&sc=&ssc=&n=1185|publisher=FIGC|accessdate=11 May 2015|language=Italian|date=26 July 2010}}