Dany Mota

This article is about the Portuguese footballer. For the Dominican Republic baseball player, see Danny Mota.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Mota and the second or paternal family name is Carvalho.

Dany Mota Carvalho (born 2 May 1998) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Monza.

Dany Mota

Mota in 2020
Personal information
Full name	Dany Mota Carvalho
Date of birth	(1998-05-02) 2 May 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Niederkorn, Luxembourg
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Monza
Number	47
Youth career
2013–2016	CS Pétange
2015–2016	→ Virtus Entella (loan)
2016–2018	Virtus Entella
2018	→ Sassuolo (loan)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2016	CS Pétange	14	(2)
2015–2016	→ Virtus Entella (loan)	2	(0)
2016–2019	Virtus Entella	44	(14)
2019–2020	Juventus	0	(0)
2019–2020	→ Juventus U23 (res.)	20	(7)
2020	→ Monza (loan)	6	(2)
2020–	Monza	147	(31)
International career
2019–2021	Portugal U21	16	(7)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Portugal UEFA European Under-21 Championship Runner-up 2021 U-21 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:55, 01 February 2025 (UTC).

Starting his senior career in Luxembourg at CS Pétange, Mota moved to Italy in 2014 to Serie B club Virtus Entella. He spent four seasons at the club, having his breakthrough season in the 2018–19 Serie C where he scored 13 league goals. The following season Mota moved to Juventus U23, where he spent the first half of the season, before moving to Monza for the second half, helping them gain promotion to the Serie B.

Born in Luxembourg to Portuguese parents, Mota holds dual-citizenship. He has represented the Portugal national under-21 team at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, helping them finish runners-up.

Early life

Born on 2 May 1998 in Niederkorn, Luxembourg to Portuguese immigrants, Mota holds both Luxembourgish and Portuguese nationality.^[2][3]

Club career

Virtus Entella

On 17 September 2015, Serie B side Virtus Entella signed Mota.^[4] He made his professional debut on 14 May 2016, in a 2015–16 Serie B match against Avellino.^[5] Mota ended the season with two appearances.^[6] On 17 April 2017, Mota scored his first senior goal for Virtus Entella, in a 1–1 draw against Ternana.^[7] He scored one goal in six appearances during the 2016–17 season.^[6] The following season, Mota made three appearances in the league, and one in the Coppa Italia, without scoring.^[6]

Mota's breakthrough season for Virtus Entella came in the 2018–19 Serie C. After scoring his first Coppa Italia goal against Salernitana on 12 August 2018,^[8] Mota scored a brace the following game in the league against Gozzano,^[9] his first in his professional career,^[6] before scoring once again the next matchday against Pisa.^[10] Mota scored his second brace for Virtus Entella on 20 February 2019, against Pistoiese in the league in a 3–1 home win.^[11] The player ended the season with 13 goals in 35 appearances in the league,^[6] as well as one goal in four Coppa Italia appearances.^[6]

Juventus U23

On 5 August 2019, Mota joined Juventus on a permanent transfer from Virtus Entella.^[12] The Serie A champions moved him to their reserve team playing in Serie C: Juventus U23.^[12]

Mota made his debut for Juventus U23 on 26 August 2019, in a 2–0 home win over Novara in the league.^[13] The following matchday, on 1 September 2019, Mota scored a brace against Siena; his team, however, lost the encounter 2–3.^[14] He scored four consecutive league goals,^[15] between 18 and 30 September 2019, against Arezzo, Pontedera, AlbinoLeffe, and Monza,^[6] his eventual future club.^[16] Mota scored seven league goals in 20 appearances in the first half of the 2019–20 season.^[6]

Monza

2019–20 season

On 20 January 2020, Monza signed Mota on a six-month loan from Juventus, with obligation to buy in case Monza were promoted to the Serie B.^[16] He made his debut for his new team on 22 January 2019, coming on as a substitute on the 60th minute in a league match against Pro Patria.^[6] Mota scored his first goal for Monza 23 minutes later from a header, helping his team win 2–0.^[17] He scored two goals in six games,^[6] before the season was cut short due to COVID-19 precautions; Monza were crowned champions of Serie C, and were promoted to the Serie B for the first time in 19 years.^[18]

2020–21 season

Mota's first Serie B game for Monza during the 2020–21 season was in the season opener on 25 September 2020, drawing 0–0 to newly-relegated SPAL.^[19] His first goal of the season came on 7 November, helping Monza win 2–0 against Frosinone in the league.^[20] On 17 April 2021, Mota scored and made an assist in a 2–1 home win against Cremonese.^[21] He finished the season with six goals and five assists.^[22]

2021–22 season

Mota celebrating with his teammates after scoring a goal for Monza in 2022

On 18 September 2021, Mota scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season: a 30-meter shot in the 5th minute against Ternana; the match ended in a 1–1 draw.^[23] He scored braces in consecutive home games – a 3–2 win against Como and a 4–1 win against Cosenza – equalling his previous season's league goal tally of six goals on 30 November.^[24][25] Mota was key in helping Monza gain promotion to the Serie A for the first time, scoring 12 goals and making 5 assists in 32 games throughout the season.^[26]

2022–23 season

Mota made his Serie A debut on 13 August 2022, as a substitute at home against Torino; he scored Monza's first-ever Serie A goal in stoppage time, with the match ending in a 2–1 defeat.^[27] He finished the season with five goals in 29 Serie A matches, scoring in wins against Salernitana (3–0),^[28] Juventus (2–0),^[29] Fiorentina (3–2)^[30] and Napoli (2–0).^[31] On 4 August 2023, Monza renewed Mota's contract until 30 June 2027.^[32]

International career

Youth

On 5 September 2019, Mota made his youth international debut for Portugal U21, scoring a brace against Gibraltar in a 4–0 win at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification.^[33] He scored four goals in the qualifiers,^[34] helping Portugal reach the final tournament.^[35] In the group stage, Mota scored a goal against England to help Portugal qualify to the knock-out stage.^[36] His brace, including a bicycle kick which was nominated Goal of the Tournament,^[37] against Italy in the quarter-finals enabled Portugal to win 5–3 after extra time and qualify to the semi-finals against Spain.^[38] Portugal finished the tournament as runners-up, losing the final 1–0 to Germany.^[39]

Senior

Mota was first called up to the Portugal senior national team in March 2024, ahead of two friendly matches against Sweden and Slovenia.^[40]

Style of play

A versatile and dynamic forward, Mota can play in a multitude of offensive positions, mainly as a second striker or winger.^[41] His main characteristics are his dribbling and ball control in narrow situations, alongside his pace and physical strength.^[42][41] Mota's attitude on the pitch, stamina, attacking positioning in the box and finishing are also of note.^[41][42]

Personal life

Mota speaks five languages: Portuguese, Italian, German, French, and Luxembourgish.^[2] His idol is compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo: indeed, while at Virtus Entella, Mota has been nicknamed "the CR7 of Chiavari" (Italian: il CR7 di Chiavari).^[2] Mota also follows the NBA, and is a fan of LeBron James.^[2]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 January 2025^[6][43]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
CS Pétange	2014–15	Luxembourg Division of Honour	14	2	—		—		14	2
Virtus Entella (loan)	2015–16	Serie B	2	0	—		—		2	0
Virtus Entella	2016–17	Serie B	6	1	0	0	—		6	1
	2017–18	Serie B	3	0	1	0	—		4	0
	2018–19	Serie C	35	13	4	1	0	0	39	14
	Total		46	14	5	1	0	0	51	15
Juventus U23 (res.)	2019–20	Serie C	20	7	—		4[b]	1	24	8
Monza (loan)	2019–20	Serie C	6	2	—		—		6	2
Monza	2020–21	Serie B	33	6	1	1	2[c]	0	36	7
	2021–22	Serie B	28	11	0	0	4[c]	1	32	12
	2022–23	Serie A	29	5	1	0	—		30	5
	2023–24	Serie A	34	4	1	0	—		35	4
	2024–25	Serie A	17	4	2	0	—		19	4
	Total		141	30	5	1	6	1	152	32
Career total			227	55	5	1	10	2	248	58

1. Includes Luxembourg Cup, Coppa Italia
2. Appearances in Coppa Italia Serie C
3. Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs

International

As of match played 6 June 2021^[34]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Portugal U21	2019	5	3
	2020	6	1
	2021	5	3
Total		16	7

Honours

Virtus Entella

• Serie C Group A: 2018–19

Monza

• Serie C Group A: 2019–20

Portugal U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2021

Individual

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship Squad of the Tournament: 2021^[44]
• UEFA European Under-21 Championship Goal of the Tournament: 2021^[37]
• Serie A Goal of the Month: March 2024^[45]
• Serie A Goal of the Season: 2023–24^[46]

References

1. "Dany Mota". AC Monza. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
2. "Mota, il 'CR7 di Chiavari' che parla 5 lingue: "Se arrivo a 20 gol..."". gianlucadimarzio.com (in Italian). Retrieved 20 January 2020.
3. "Dany Mota s'éloigne des Roud Léiwen". Wort.lu (in French). 29 August 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
4. "Ufficiale, Virtus Entella: ecco Dany Mota Carvalho". Calcio News 24 (in Italian). 17 September 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
5. "Virtus Entella 4-0 Avellino". ZeroZero. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
6. Dany Mota at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
7. "B Side: Hellas in formato super, l'Entella scopre Dany Mota Carvalho". Eurosport. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
8. "Entella-Salernitana 2-0, Currarino e Mota Carvalho affondano i granata". La Città di Salerno (in Italian). 12 August 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
9. "Serie C, Gozzano-Entella 1-3. La Virtus vola grazie a Nizzetto e alla doppietta di Mota". www.tuttosport.com (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2020.
10. Bufalino, Michele (4 November 2018). "Virtus Entella-Pisa 2-0: Mota Carvalho e un rigore di Diaw decidono la partita". SestaPorta.News Pisa (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2020.
11. "Entella-Pistoiese 3-1, doppietta di Mota Carvalho". TuttoEntella.com (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2020.
12. Baridon, Marco (5 August 2019). "Chi è Mota Carvalho, il neo acquisto della Juventus U23". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 20 January 2020.
13. "Novara vs. Juventus II - 26 August 2019 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
14. "Juventus II vs. Robur Siena - 1 September 2019 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
15. "Juve U23-Monza 1-4, le pagelle. Mota solita nota lieta. Che fatica in difesa". Tutto Juve (in Italian). Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
16. "Dalla Juventus un grande colpo: ecco Dany Mota - Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A." www.monzacalcio.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
17. "La corazzata Monza non fa sconti, la Pro Patria sbatte sulla traversa: al "Brianteo" è 2-0". MALPENSA24 (in Italian). 22 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
18. "Monza in B, la B è in Brianza! - Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A." www.monzacalcio.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
19. "Monza vs. SPAL - 25 September 2020 - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
20. "Monza-Frosinone 2-0". sport.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 6 January 2021.
21. Zei, Francesco (17 April 2021). "Dany Mota: "Gol e assist, meglio di così non poteva andare"". Forza Monza (in Italian). Retrieved 17 April 2021.
22. "Dany Mota show: la Serie A lo chiama, il contratto col Monza..." Calciomercato.com | Tutte le news sul calcio in tempo reale (in Italian). Retrieved 18 September 2021.
23. "Serie B, Monza-Ternana 1-1: brianzoli beffati nel finale, Dany Mota non basta a vincere il match all'U-Power Stadium". MilanoToday (in Italian). Retrieved 18 September 2021.
24. Zei, Francesco (23 November 2021). "Dany Mota cecchino: contro il Como due tiri e due gol". Forza Monza (in Italian). Retrieved 30 November 2021.
25. "Monza-Cosenza, Dany Mota: "Dobbiamo continuare così, la squadra sta facendo molto bene. Il mio obiettivo? La doppia cifra"" (in Italian). 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
26. "L'affermazione di Dany Mota: uomo copertina del Monza promosso in A | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
27. Papaccio Napoletano, Andrea (15 August 2022). "Dany Mota nella storia del Monza: è suo il primo gol dei Bagai in Serie A". Monza-News (in Italian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
28. Sport, Sky (13 November 2022). "Monza-Salernitana LIVE". sport.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
29. "FINALE Juve-Monza 0-2: scivolone Allegri, Palladino show. Decidono Ciurria e Mota Carvalho". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 29 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
30. "Monza, che rimonta con la Fiorentina: da 0-2 a 3-2, di Pessina il gol decisivo". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 23 April 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
31. "Napoli già in vacanza: Mota e Petagna stendono gli azzurri, il Monza non molla l'ottavo posto". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 14 May 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
32. "Mota Carvalho rinnova fino al 2027: il comunicato del Club - Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A." www.acmonza.com (in Italian). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
33. "Seleção Sub-21 - Ficha de Jogo, resultados e equipas | FPF". www.fpf.pt. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
34. "Dany Mota". FPF (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 6 January 2021.
35. "Who has qualified for U21 EURO?". UEFA.com. 23 November 2020. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
36. "Portugal aiming for first European U21 Championship in Slovenia". portugoal.net. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
37. "Dany Mota leads top five goals of U21 EURO". UEFA.com. 7 June 2021. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
38. "Europei Under 21, l'Italia è commovente ma si arrende: il Portogallo vola in semifinale dopo i supplementari". CalcioWeb (in Italian). 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
39. "Highlights, report: Germany beat Portugal for third U21 EURO title". UEFA.com. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
40. "Calcio, Nazionali: la prima "da grande" di Dany Mota col Portogallo". Il Cittadino MB (in Italian). 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
41. "Tutto su Dany Mota Carvalho, una punta completa dal grandissimo potenziale: la presentazione del nuovo bomber biancorosso". Monza-News (in Italian). 30 January 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
42. "L'ascesa di Dany Mota, il prototipo dell'attaccante moderno". Monza-News (in Italian). 20 January 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
43. "Dany Mota (Dany Mota Carvalho)". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
44. "Under-21 EURO Squad of the Tournament". UEFA.com. 7 June 2021. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
45. "Dany Mota Wins March's Goal of the Month Presented by Crypto.com". Serie A. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
46. "Dany Mota Wins 2023/24 Goal of the Season Presented by Crypto.com". Serie A. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.

External links

• Profile at AC Monza (in Italian)
• Dany Mota national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)
• Dany Mota at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Dany Mota at Soccerway