David Di Michele

David Di Michele
Personal information
Date of birth (1976-01-06) 6 January 1976
Place of birth Guidonia Montecelio, Italy
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Playing position Second Striker
Club information
Current team
 Reggina
Number 10
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1993–1996 Lodigiani 43 (6)
1996–1998 Foggia 68 (14)
1998–2001 Salernitana 92 (40)
2001–2006 Udinese 78 (23)
2002–2004 → Reggina (loan) 62 (15)
2006–2007 Palermo 48 (16)
2007–2010 Torino 43 (10)
2008–2009 → West Ham United (loan) 30 (4)
2010 → Lecce (loan) 19 (3)
2010–2012 Lecce 52 (19)
2012–2013 Chievo 11 (1)
2013– Reggina 71 (19)
National team‡
2005–2006 Italy 6 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 July 2012.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 October 2006

David Di Michele (born 6 January 1976 in Guidonia Montecelio, Italy) is an Italian footballer who currently plays as a striker for Reggina.

He played six matches for the Italy national football team from 2005 to 2006.

Club career

Di Michele, whose mother is from Casarano, began his career with Lodigiani (now Cisco Roma) in the Italian Serie C1 near to his hometown Guidonia Montecelio, and played for them from 1993 to 1996. He was then transferred to Foggia Calcio in the Italian Serie B.

He had a short stint in Foggia, playing just two seasons before being transferred to Salernitana. With Salernitana, he made his Serie A debut, however the following year Salernitana were relegated to Serie B.

Udinese

After two seasons with Salernitana in Serie B, he was transferred to Udinese on an undisclosed fee for the 2001–02 season.[2] After the 2001–02 season with Udinese, he played two seasons with Reggina, only to be transferred back to Udinese in 2004–05. In the 2005–06 season, he played half a season with Udinese and took part in the UEFA Champions League.

In a 2004–05 Coppa Italia match against Lecce, he scored two goals, before replacing keeper Samir Handanović in goal, after the latter was sent off. He stopped a key penalty in the final minutes of the game to ensure a 5–4 victory for Udinese.[3]

Palermo

Halfway through the 2005–06 season Di Michele's contract was sold to Palermo[4] for €5.35 million,[5] with Simone Pepe, Salvatore Masiello and Nicola Santoni moving to oppose direction in co-ownership deals. He made his debut for Palermo in a Serie A home match against Parma, in which he scored two goals in a 4–2 win. In his 2005–06 season, Di Michele played 19 matches, scoring seven goals.

In March 2007, Di Michele was found guilty of illegal betting and received a three-month ban from Serie A. He also received a $27,000 fine. Betting was not illegal for Italian players until November 2005, but Di Michele, along with three others, placed bets through an illegal bookmaker. However, he was allowed to play in friendlies, and to take part in training, so he was able to retain match fitness.[6]

Torino and West Ham United loan

On 5 July 2007 Palermo announced they had sold him to Torino,[7] for €3.5 million[8] He signed a four-year contract.[9] On 31 July FIGC announced Di Michele was suspended until November.[10] He made 25 appearances with the granata, scoring a total of six goals in the 2007–08 season.

On 2 September 2008, Di Michele was loaned to West Ham United, with an option for the English club to make the deal permanent.[11] He made his debut for West Ham in the 3–2 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on 13 September 2008, coming on as a substitute for the injured Dean Ashton.[12] In his second game for West Ham, on 20 September 2008, he scored his first goals in English football, and for West Ham, in the 3–1 home win against Newcastle United[13] However, at the end of the season manager Gianfranco Zola did not take up the option of making the deal permanent.[14]

During 2009–10 season, Ultras of Torino attacked the players during Di Michele's birthday party.[15][16] After the incident the players involved: Di Michele, Massimo Loviso, Riccardo Colombo, Aimo Diana, Marco Pisano, Francesco Pratali, Paolo Zanetti were transferred to other clubs and only Rolando Bianchi, Matteo Rubin and Angelo Ogbonna were remained.

Lecce

He was signed by U.S. Lecce in January 2010. Having gained a place in the starting eleven, he was one of the decisive men in Lecce's successful Serie B campaign. In his first season back in Serie A with Lecce, he scored 8 goals in 23 appearances. On 24 June 2011, he renewed his contract for one more year.[17] In the 2011–12 Serie A season, he led the team with 11 goals scored in league play. However, at the end of the season Lecce were relegated back to Serie B after a 17th place finish.

Chievo

On 13 July 2012, Di Michele was officially signed by A.C. ChievoVerona.[18]

Reggina

In January 2013, Di Michele rescinded his contract with Chievo and was signed by his former club Reggina, eight years after leaving them. He joined the Serie B club to cover the loss of Fabio Ceravolo, who transferred to Ternana for €500,000.[19]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.chievoverona.it/en/users/31/david-di-michele
  2. ↑ "Udinese sign Di Michele". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 6 August 2001. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  3. ↑ uefa.com (6 June 2007). "David Di Michele UEFA Euro 2008 Profile". Archived from the original on 27 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
  4. ↑ "Di Michele heads south to Palermo". UEFA.com. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  5. ↑ US Città di Palermo Report and Accounts on 30 June 2007 (Italian)
  6. ↑ Reuters (31 July 2007). "Serie A – Di Michele banned in betting scandal". Retrieved 2008-04-05.
  7. ↑ US Città di Palermo (5 July 2007). "Di Michele ceduto al Torino" (in Italian). Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  8. ↑ US Città di Palermo Report and Accounts on 30 June 2008 (Italian)
  9. ↑ "Il Torino acquista Di Michele". Torino FC (in Italian). 5 July 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  10. ↑ "Di Michele accepts FIGC ban". UEFA.com. 31 July 2007. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  11. ↑ "Di Michele al West Ham" (in Italian). Torino FC. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  12. ↑ Keen hails new recruits
  13. ↑ West Ham 3–1 Newcastle
  14. ↑ BBC Sport (3 June 2009). "Neill turns down new Hammers deal". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  15. ↑ Fabrizio, Turco (7 January 2010). "Il Torino è senza pace Ora si parla di sciopero". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  16. ↑ "Torino fans in player restaurant attack". Soccernet. 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  17. ↑ "Rinnovo per Di Michele". US Lecce (in Italian). 24 June 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  18. ↑ "Ufficiale: Di Michele firma con il Chievo". A.C. ChievoVerona (in Italian). 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  19. ↑ UFFICIALE: Di Michele alla Reggina |date=1 January 2013

External links

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