Morgan De Sanctis (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmɔrɡan de ˈsaŋktis]; born 26 March 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He most recently worked as sporting director for Salernitana until December 2023.

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Morgan De Sanctis

De Sanctis pictured in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Morgan De Sanctis[1]
Date of birth	(1977-03-26) 26 March 1977 (age 47)[1]
Place of birth	Guardiagrele, Italy
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Pescara
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1997	Pescara	74	(0)
1997–1999	Juventus	3	(0)
1999–2007	Udinese	194	(0)
2007–2009	Sevilla	8	(0)
2008–2009	→ Galatasaray (loan)	31	(0)
2009–2013	Napoli	147	(0)
2013–2016	Roma	71	(0)
2016–2017	Monaco	1	(0)
Total		529	(0)
International career
1994–1995	Italy U-18	8	(0)
1999–2000	Italy U-21	7	(0)
2005–2012	Italy	6	(0)
Medal record Men's Football Representing  Italy UEFA European Championship Runner-up 2012 Poland–Ukraine
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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De Sanctis played for several Italian clubs throughout his career; he began his career with Pescara, and later also played for Juventus, Udinese, Napoli, and Roma; he also had spells in Spain and Turkey with Sevilla and Galatasaray respectively. He ended his playing career in France after a season with Monaco in 2017.

At international level, he has represented the Italy national team and was included in squads for the 2000 Summer Olympics, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012.

At youth level, De Sanctis represented the Italy under-21 side on seven occasions between 1999 and 2000,^[21] and won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with the team.^[22][23] He was also part of the Italy squad that took part at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.^[24]

De Sanctis never became a regular in the Italian senior national team due to the consistency of Gianluigi Buffon, and therefore often served as a back-up keeper.^[25][26] De Sanctis made his senior international debut for Italy on 30 March 2005, under manager Marcello Lippi, in a 0–0 friendly draw against Iceland.^[22][23] Although he did not make Lippi's 23-man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was chosen as one of the four back-up players to be called up in the event of an injury to Buffon, Angelo Peruzzi or Marco Amelia.^[27][28] After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he secured a place as the team's number two goalkeeper to travel with the Italian squad to UEFA Euro 2008, under Roberto Donadoni,^[29] as well as the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup^[30] and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, under Lippi.^[31] Although Buffon suffered an injury in the opening match of the latter tournament, De Sanctis did not feature in any matches, as Federico Marchetti was instead chosen to start; Italy were eliminated in the first round.^[26][32]

The team's subsequent coach Cesare Prandelli preferred to include younger understudies, such as Antonio Mirante and Salvatore Sirigu, to Buffon, instead of De Sanctis.^[26] However, after injury to Emiliano Viviano, De Sanctis returned to the squad as Buffon's back-up for UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches in September 2011,^[26][33] and also appeared in Italy's 3–0 friendly win against Northern Ireland in Pescara on 11 October, three years after his last cap for Italy.^[23][26] He eventually made the squad for the final tournament, but did not play, as Italy reached the final.^[23][34] His final match for Italy came on 16 October 2012, in a 3–1 win over Denmark in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.^[23] On 26 March 2013, the day of his 36th birthday, he announced that he would be retiring from international football after Italy's World Cup qualifier against Malta later that day.^{[23][25][35][36]} In total, he made 6 appearances for Italy.^[21]

A reliable and commanding goalkeeper, known for his leadership from the back and vocal presence on the pitch, in his prime, De Sanctis was known in particular for his shot-stopping ability, positioning, handling, and speed when rushing off his line, and is regarded as one of the best Italian goalkeepers of his generation; he was also adept at stopping penalties.^{[37][38][39][40][41][42][43]}

After retiring as a player, De Sanctis was appointed a team manager with his former club Roma in August 2017.^[44]

In the autumn of 2017, he enrolled in an UEFA's coaching programme, which allowed him to coach youth teams, and first teams in Serie C, as well as hold assistant manager positions in Serie B and Serie A.^[45] On 15 December, he received his coaching licence.^[46]

In December 2018, he also obtained his sporting director degree through the Coverciano Technical Centre.^[47]

After serving as deputy sporting director of Roma for a short period, working alongside sporting director Tiago Pinto, De Sanctis left the Giallorossi in February 2022.^[48] Later in June 2022, he was appointed sporting director of Serie A club Salernitana.^[49] He left the club on 21 December 2023 by mutual consent, following the appointment of his predecessor Walter Sabatini as the club's new managing director.^[50]

On January 5, 2021, De Sanctis was involved in a car accident in Rome, which caused serious injuries to him. He was rushed to hospital and had undergone an operation on an abdominal haemorrhage, where his spleen was removed.^[51]