Danny Racchi

Daniel Craig Racchi (born 22 November 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender or a midfielder. He currently plays for Grantham Town.

Racchi started his career with Huddersfield Town in their youth system, signing a professional contract with the club in 2006. He made his first-team debut in 2007, and having made six appearances he was released by Huddersfield in 2008. He was signed by Bury and played for them in the League Two play-offs in his first season. After being released in 2010, Racchi joined Conference Premier side Wrexham on non-contract terms, but after failing to make an appearance joined divisional rivals York City. He spent the remainder of the 2010–11 season with York, and after being released in 2011 signed for Kilmarnock of the Scottish Premier League. He was part of the squad that won the 2012 Scottish League Cup playing in the earlier rounds and semi final at Hampden park.

Career

Huddersfield Town

Born in Elland, West Yorkshire, Racchi joined the Huddersfield Town youth system at the age of eight and signed a professional contract on 1 July 2006. He continued to train with the academy before getting his first call-up to the first team for Huddersfield's game against Port Vale on 31 March 2007, in which he replaced John McAliskey as a substitute with 10 minutes remaining.

On 15 May 2007, Racchi signed a new one-year contract with Huddersfield. Although he had yet to make his first start for Huddersfield, manager Andy Ritchie said at the time that he and some of the other academy players such as Lucas Akins and Mitchell Bailey still had a good future at the club. After three appearances during the 2007–08 season, he was released from the club in May 2008 by new manager Stan Ternent.

Bury

On 28 July, Racchi signed for League Two side Bury. In his first season at the club, Racchi made 24 appearances in all competitions mainly as back up to on-loan winger Elliott Bennett, helping the club reach the play-offs. At the end of the 2009–10 season, he was released by the club.

Wrexham

Racchi joined Conference Premier club Wrexham on trial and appeared in their pre-season friendly matches against Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City, hoping to win a contract for the coming season. On 16 August, he signed with the Welsh club on a non-contract basis.

York City

Racchi had a trial with fellow Conference Premier team York City in September 2010 and played for the reserve team in a 1–1 draw against Chesterfield. He eventually signed on a one-month contract on 18 September and made his debut that day after starting in a 2–0 victory over Hayes & Yeading United before being substituted in the 52nd minute. Racchi's contract was extended on 19 October by new manager Gary Mills, who said "I have been impressed with his enthusiasm and qualities". His first goal for the club came with the opener in a 2–0 victory at Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round on 23 October. He scored his first league goal with the opener from a 25-yard free kick in a 4–0 victory at Rushden & Diamonds on 20 November. He left the club on 17 December after his contract expired, although Mills said he wanted to re-sign him once the January transfer window opened. Racchi accepted a contract with York that would last until the end of the 2010–11 season on 27 December, which was signed on 1 January 2011. After requesting a transfer he was released from his contract with immediate effect on 7 April, having been unable to hold down a regular place in the team.

Kilmarnock

Following a trial, Racchi was offered a two-year contract by Scottish Premier League club Kilmarnock in May. He signed for them on 21 June 2011.

Racchi made his debut for Kilmarnock on 10 September in a 3–2 victory home to Dunfermline Athletic, coming on as a second-half substitute. He scored his first goal for Kilmarnock in a 2–1 defeat to Celtic at Celtic Park on 24 December, after coming on as a substitute. Racchi then started nine days later on 2 January 2012 and scored an 89th-minute winner against St Mirren with the game finishing 2–1 to Kilmarnock. After the match, Rachhi says: ''"It has been a little bit frustrating and there's definitely more to come from me. I can provide goals for Killie but you need to be on the pitch to do that."'' In April, Racchi continues to be in and out in the first team, but he would score the opening game before making an assist, in a 4–3 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. In his first season at Kilmarnock, Racchi made nineteen appearances and scored three times.

Racchi's second season started when he made three appearances, mostly coming on as a substitute. He scored his first goal of the season on 15 September 2012, in a 2–1 loss against Hibernian. Following this, Racchi began making assists in two matches. Despite described as a star player in the 2012–13 season by Manager Kenny Shiels, his first team opportunities was limited furthermore, as he soon sustained a knee injury during a match against Aberdeen in a 3–1 loss. He made his return in late-November, in a 2–1 loss against St Johnstone. Afterwards, Racchi expressed happiness to be back on the pitch, though sitting out made him feel miserable. However, he was absent again after suffering a serious illness.

Towards the end of the 2012–13 season, Racchi was fined four weeks wages and released by the club early. After being released, Racchi took the board of the Scottish Professional Football League in a preliminary hearing over a contractual dispute.

Valur

After being released by Kilmarnock, Racchi moved to Iceland, joining Icelandic club Valur for the second half of the season in the 2013 Úrvalsdeild. Racchi made his debut two days later, where Valur lost 3–1 against Fylkir and Racchi played 90 minutes. Racchi next appearance came on 29 July 2013, where he scored twice in a 6–4 victory over Keflavík. Since then, Racchi became the first team regular, though he made eight appearances this season, though he began to have discipline issue. It started when he received a second yellow card in a 2–2 draw against Þór Akureyri on 25 August 2013. After meeting with the Discipline and Complaints Committee, Racchi would miss the match towards the end of the season.

Ahead of the 2014 Úrvalsdeild season, Racchi was linked with a move back to Scotland, with a proposed move to Scottish Championship side Dundee. The move never happened and Racchi returned to Valur.

Return into non-League football

On 7 January 2015, Racchi returned to England to sign for Conference North club Hyde. He went on trial with his former club Wrexham for pre-season training, in the hope of winning a contract for the 2015/16 season.

On 31 August 2015, Racchi signed for his hometown team, National League club F.C. Halifax Town. Racchi, who grew up as a supporter of Halifax and used to be a ballboy at The Shay, made his debut in a 3–1 home win over Barrow. He signed for National League North club Tamworth in October 2015. He scored twice from five appearances, but was released by Tamworth on 1 December 2015 because of the long commute to the club.

On 1 February 2016, Racchi signed for National League team Torquay United on a contract until the end of the season, after impressing on trial. Despite helping Torquay avoid relegation, he was released by the club in May 2016.

On 22 February 2019, Racchi joined Hednesford Town. Three months later, he joined Grantham Town. On 18 November 2019, he moved to Ilkeston Town. In January 2020, he returned to Grantham Town. On 27 February 2020, Racchi was appointed joint-caretaker manager. The duo was replaced on 3 March 2020 after one game in charge, which they won, and Racchi continued as a player.

In October 2020, Racchi joined Brighouse Town where he remained until the club announced his retirement on 11 January 2022.

Personal life

Racchi is of Italian heritage.

Career statistics

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Racchi, Danny
1987 births
Living people
People from Elland
Sportspeople from Calderdale
Footballers from West Yorkshire
English men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Men's association football midfielders
Men's association football utility players
Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players
Bury F.C. players
Wrexham A.F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Kilmarnock F.C. players
Valur (men's football) players
Hyde United F.C. players
FC Halifax Town players
Tamworth F.C. players
Torquay United F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Scottish Premier League players
Úrvalsdeild karla (football) players
English people of Italian descent
Italian British sportspeople
Sportspeople of Italian descent
F.C. United of Manchester players
Curzon Ashton F.C. players
Hednesford Town F.C. players
Grantham Town F.C. players
Ilkeston Town F.C. players
21st-century English sportsmen