David Di Michele (; born 6 January 1976) is an Italian football manager and former player in the role of striker, last in charge as head coach of

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

club Turris. Throughout his playing career, he played for several Italian clubs, and also had a spell on loan with English side

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. At international level, he played six matches for the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...

from 2005 to 2006.

Playing career

Club

Early years

Di Michele, whose mother is from

Casarano Casarano (Salentino: ) is a town and sixth most populous ''comune'' in the Italy, Italian Provinces of Italy, province of Lecce, in the Apulia region of South-East Italy. The town's economy is mostly agriculture-based, with olive oil being the main ...

, began his career with Lodigiani 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 Calcio Foggia 1920, commonly referred to as Foggia, is an Italian football club based in Foggia, Apulia. It currently plays in Serie C, having last been in the top level Serie A in 1995. The team gained nationwide popularity as Foggia Calcio ...

in the Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

. He had a short stint in Foggia, playing just two seasons before being transferred to

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

. With Salernitana, he made his

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

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 Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

on an undisclosed fee for the 2001–02 season. 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

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. In a

2004–05 Coppa Italia The 2004–05 Coppa Italia was the 58th edition of the Italian football tournament. A.S. Roma, Roma and Inter Milan, Internazionale were the finalists. Inter won the tournament by a score of 3–0 aggregate in the final. Group stage Group 1 Gr ...

match against Lecce, he scored two goals, before replacing keeper

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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.

Palermo

Halfway through the 2005–06 season Di Michele's contract was sold to Palermo for €5.35 million,US Città di Palermo Report and Accounts on 30 June 2007 with

Simone Pepe Simone Pepe (; born 30 August 1983) is an Italian former footballer who played as a winger, on either side of the pitch. After starting out at Roma, he went on to compete in Serie A for 12 seasons, spending most of his time at Udinese and Juve ...

Salvatore Masiello Salvatore Masiello (born 31 January 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Club career From Venezia to Palermo Masiello started his career at Venezia, he made one Serie B appearance before moving to Lumez ...

and

Nicola Santoni Nicola Santoni (born 18 January 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Santoni started his professional career at native club Cesena of Emilia-Romagna region. He was on loan to Chieti (Serie C1) ...

moving to oppose direction in co-ownership deals. He made his debut for Palermo in a Serie A home match against

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

, 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.

Torino and West Ham United loan

On 5 July 2007 Palermo announced they had sold him to

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

, for €3.5 millionUS Città di Palermo Report and Accounts on 30 June 2008 He signed a four-year contract. On 31 July

FIGC The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...

announced Di Michele was suspended until November. 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

, with an option for the English club to make the deal permanent. He made his debut for West Ham in the 3–2 defeat to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

on 13 September 2008, coming on as a substitute for the injured

Dean Ashton Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. 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 However, at the end of the season manager

Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a forward. He was most recently the assistant manager of Chelsea. He spent the first decade of his playing career playing i ...

did not take up the option of making the deal permanent. During 2009–10 season,

Ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...

of Torino attacked the players during Di Michele's birthday party. After the incident the players involved: Di Michele, Massimo Loviso,

Riccardo Colombo Riccardo Colombo (born 1 December 1982) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. Club career In the 2008–09 season, Colombo played three games in the 2008–09 Coppa Italiabr> During the 2009–10 season, ultras of Torino att ...

, Aimo Diana, Marco Pisano, Francesco Pratali,

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were transferred to other clubs and only

Rolando Bianchi Rolando Bianchi (; born 15 February 1983) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. With 77 total goals, he is Torino's 11th-highest all-time goal scorer. Bianchi was primarily known for his ability in the air. Cl ...

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and

Angelo Ogbonna Obinze Angelo Ogbonna (; born 23 May 1988) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club West Ham United. Ogbonna signed for Torino in 2002, having previously been a member of Nuova Cassino's youth set-up. Ogbonna ...

were remained.

Lecce

Di Michele signed for

U.S. Lecce Unione Sportiva Lecce, commonly referred to as Lecce (), is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia. The club play in Serie A in the 2022–23 season, the top level of the Italian football pyramid, having been promoted from Serie B. ...

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. In the

2011–12 Serie A The 2011–12 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM after its headline sponsors) was the 110th season of top-tier Italian football, the 80th in a round-robin tournament, and the second since its organization under a league committee separate from S ...

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 moved to

A.C. ChievoVerona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo , is a former professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, ...

Later years

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 Fabio Giovanni Ceravolo (born 5 March 1987) is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for club Padova. Career Ceravolo played twice for Reggina in the Coppa Italia before joining Atalanta on loan on 20 August 2009, two days before the sta ...

, who transferred to Ternana for €500,000. In 2015, he left Reggina to join newly promoted

Lega Pro The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

club Lupa Roma.

International

At international level, Di Michele made six appearances for the

between 2005 and 2006. He made his senior debut for Italy on 30 March 2005, at the age of 29, under coach Marcello Lippi, in a 0–0 friendly home draw against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. He made his final appearance for Italy on 6 September 2006, under

Roberto Donadoni Roberto Donadoni (; born 9 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder. Donadoni was capable of playing on either flank, or in the centre. He began his career with Atalanta, and he later became a pillar of the powerhous ...

, in a 3–1 away loss to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in a European qualifier.

Coaching career

Di Michele retired in December 2015 to switch to a non-playing staff role at his latest club Lupa Roma. In April 2016, he was named new joint head coach of the club, together with Angelo Quinzi, in place of Alessandro Cucciari. He was successively confirmed as head coach for the new season, but successively dismissed in October 2016 due to poor results. He was then re-hired one month later by a new club management who took over from former president Alberto Cerrai. He left the club by the end of the 2016–17 season after failing to save the team from relegation. In 2018, Di Michele joined

Frosinone Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the ...

as a youth coach in charge of the Under-17 team. He left Frosinone in July 2022. On 25 October 2022, Di Michele was hired as new head coach of

club Turris. He was however sacked on 23 December 2022, after failing to improve the results of the team.

Honours

Individual *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

top scorer: 1999–2000

References

External links

*
AIC profile

Lega Serie A profile

FIGC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Michele, David 1976 births Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Living people Association football forwards Italian footballers Italy international footballers Italian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in England A.S. Lodigiani players U.S. Salernitana 1919 players Calcio Foggia 1920 players Udinese Calcio players Torino F.C. players Palermo F.C. players Reggina 1914 players West Ham United F.C. players U.S. Lecce players A.C. ChievoVerona players Premier League players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Footballers from Lazio Italian football managers Serie C managers