Daniele Salvatore Ernest Dichio (; born 19 October 1974) is an English retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and the manager of

Detroit City FC Detroit City FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Detroit, Michigan, that competes in the USL Championship. The club played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2012 to 2019 and the National Independen ...

. Dichio scored the first goal in

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

history against the Chicago Fire on 12 May 2007. Later in that same game he became the first player in club history to be red-carded. After retiring from playing, Dichio coached at various levels of the Toronto FC organization, followed by a stint as an assistant at

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

, before moving into his current role.

Playing career

Europe

Born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London, to an English mother and an Italian father, Dichio began his career at

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

, joining as an apprentice in June 1991 and turning professional in May 1993. The sale of

Les Ferdinand Leslie Ferdinand (born 8 December 1966) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and television pundit. A striker, his playing career included notable spells in the Premier League with Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United, ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

in the summer of 1995 provided Dichio with the opportunity to break into QPR's first team in the 1995–96

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

season. He scored on his league debut for QPR against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, and forged a strike partnership with Kevin Gallen throughout the remainder of the season. Prior to his QPR debut, he played on loan at Barnet and

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The most prominent aspect of the club is its men's first team, who play in the , the seventh level of the E ...

. Dichio moved to Italy's

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

with

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

in the close season of 1996/97, and soon after had a loan spell at

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

. He returned to England to join

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in January 1998, helping them win promotion to the Premiership as Division One champions with 105 points in his first full season (1998–99), and finish seventh in the Premiership in the next two seasons. While at Sunderland, Dichio went on loan to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

at the start of the 2001–02 season. The spell was a successful one, with Dichio scoring on his debut away at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

on 25 August 2001 and again on his home debut in a 1–0 win against Gillingham two days later. He joined the Midlands side permanently in November 2001 in a £1.25 million deal, and helped them to achieve promotion. In Albion's first Premiership campaign the following season, Dichio was their joint top scorer in the league (with

Scott Dobie Robert Scott Dobie (born 10 October 1978) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a striker. Although born in England, Dobie played six times for Scotland at full international level in 2002. During a 16-year career he played for Carlisl ...

), though with just five Premiership goals, not enough to prevent relegation. He finished as top scorer overall by virtue of his

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

hat-trick against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

. The following season saw Dichio move himself and his family up to the Midlands, having previously commuted from London. Despite settling in the area, however, he failed to regain a starting place in the team and in October 2003, he joined

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

on loan, scoring once against Ipswich Town. He then had another loan spell, this time at

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

, whom he later joined on a permanent deal. Dichio was unable to play in the 2004 FA Cup final for Millwall, due to suspension. He scored 10 goals in 27 starts for Millwall in the 2004–05 season. In the summer of 2005, he moved to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

, but did not score in the league in his

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

season. In the summer of 2006, he was the subject of a bid from

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. Although a fee was agreed, Dichio chose to stay at Preston and fight for his place. On 14 October 2006, he scored his first league goal for Preston in a 4–1 win over

. Dichio, despite a difficult start to his Preston career, won over the fans at

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...

causing many to be greatly upset as the news broke that his move to Toronto was to be finalised.

Toronto FC

In April 2007, Dichio was released from his contract to let him join the newly created MLS club

. Over the next three seasons, Dichio made 59 league appearances for Toronto in the

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

and

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

games. He scored 14 goals, including the club's first ever goal and the club's last goal of its inaugural season. He managed five goals in five shots on target to start the

2008 Major League Soccer season The 2008 Major League Soccer season was the 13th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 96th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 30th with a national first-division league. The San Jose Earthquakes returned ...

. That same year, Dichio also cemented his association with the Thornhill Soccer Club, a non-profit club that organises soccer leagues for age groups 4 and up, including adult leagues. On 18 March 2009, he announced his intention to retire after the

2009 Major League Soccer season The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 97th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 31st with a national first-division league. The Seattle Sounders FC debuted ...

and to continue living in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

while also pursuing coaching opportunities. However, on 9 September 2009, Dichio officially announced his retirement with six games remaining on Toronto FC's season schedule. His new role with the team was Toronto FC Team Ambassador, participating in local community appearances, and Academy Coach, where he was assigned to "assist coaches on all three Toronto FC teams while beginning to learn about the nuances of MLS". He remains much beloved of Toronto fans, who sing a song in his honour in the 24th minute of each game, commemorating his inaugural goal for the franchise (scored at 23:13 on 12 May 2007 vs. Chicago Fire). He became a

permanent resident Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...

of Canada in April 2009. In mid-2009, he began working with the

Toronto FC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the Youth system, youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, which competes in MLS Next. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 ...

Managerial career

Following the firing of head coach

Preki Predrag Radosavljević ( sr-Cyrl, Предраг Радосављевић; born June 24, 1963), better known by the nickname Preki (), is a former soccer player and coach. He is currently an assistant coach with Seattle Sounders FC in Major Le ...

in September 2010, Nick Dasovic was named interim head coach, and Dichio became an assistant coach. With new management put in place during the off-season in 2011,

Aron Winter Aron Mohammed Winter (born 1 March 1967) is a Dutch football manager and former player who most recently managed Suriname. A midfielder, he played for Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and for Italian sides Lazio and Inter Milan. Born ...

as head coach and Bob de Klerk as his assistant named Dichio as the new head coach of the TFC Academy U-18 team that competed in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

's first division. Dichio replaced former coach Jason Bent, who was with the academy for three years before being promoted as Winter's second assistant. After the conclusion of the 2012 season, he was nominated for the division's coach of the year. In 2021, he served as an assistant coach with

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as we ...

and was also named to the coaching staff for the Canada national team. He announced his departure from the Toronto FC organization after the 2021 season. In 2022, he joined the coaching staff of

Mark Briggs Mark Jonathan Briggs (born 16 February 1982) is an English football coach and former player who is the head coach of Birmingham Legion FC in the USL Championship. Playing career England and Denmark Briggs began his career with West Bromwich A ...

as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Republic in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

. On November 29, 2023, Dichio was officially appointed as the new manager for USL Championship club

Detroit City Detroit ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, making it the 26th-most populous city ...

, replacing Trevor James, who remained with the club as the sporting director.

Honours

Sunderland *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 1998–99

References

External links

MLS player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dichio, Danny 1974 births Living people Men's association football forwards Barnet F.C. players English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in Italy Derby County F.C. players England men's under-21 international footballers English expatriate men's footballers English men's footballers English emigrants to Canada English Football League players English people of Italian descent Italian British sportspeople Sportspeople of Italian descent Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Major League Soccer All-Stars Major League Soccer players Millwall F.C. players Footballers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham People from Hammersmith Premier League players Preston North End F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Serie A players Sunderland A.F.C. players UC Sampdoria players US Lecce players Toronto FC players Welling United F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Toronto FC non-playing staff Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) coaches English football managers USL Championship coaches Detroit City FC coaches