Everyone knows EA Sports were overly generous with their FIFA ratings in the early editions of the game – but you may not know the second-highest rated player in the franchise’s history was young Juventus midfielder Matteo Brighi in 2003.
Brighi has never been particularly interested in the limelight. In 2009, the midfielder gave an interview with Roma News in which he professed he prefers to go home and read rather than go to a nightclub, but search for his name online and you will discover he has a curious place in pop culture.
While he was a promising youngster upon the release of FIFA 2003, nobody expected Brighi to be given a rating of 97 – a figure only Ronaldo has beaten in the history of the game and one which neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo have ever matched.
And the accolade only appears stranger given the way his career panned out.
To be fair, when the game was released Brighi had just been named Serie A’s Young Player of the Year following a season under the tutelage of Francesco Guidolin on loan at Bologna from Juventus.
Juve chief Luciano Moggi had compared Brighi to Real Madrid legend Fernando Redondo upon the signing of the youngster from his hometown club Rimini in 2000.
His arrival was part of Juve’s recruitment drive to secure some of the best young talent in Europe, but their similar signings of Andreas Isaksson, Sergio de Windt, Vincent Pericard and Ronnie O’Brien – just released from Middlesbrough – all proved unsuccessful.
A shy talent
Brighi had already proven a slightly unconventional footballer by delaying his move to Turin by a year so he could complete his qualifications to become an accountant and continue playing for Rimini in Serie C2, which was then the fourth tier of Italian football.
“I didn’t feel like coming immediately, I wasn’t ready yet,” he said. “It was better to wait, and still have some experience.”
When he finally arrived at Juventus, manager Carlo Ancelotti was instantly struck…
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