Davide Bombardini (born 21 June 1974) is a retired Italian footballer who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Faenza Faenza (, ; ; or ; ) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed earthenware pottery, known ...

, Emilia–Romagna, 50 km southeast of Bologna, Bombardini started his senior career at

Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

side Imolese Calcio, located at

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

, The Province of Bologna. He then briefly played for Serie B side

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

which is located in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

region. He then signed by league rival

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

of Emilia–Romagna. He then played for several

Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...

Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...

and Serie D clubs before signed by southern Italy side Reggina. He was loaned to Serie C1 side

Atletico Catania Unione Sportiva Dilettantistica Atletico Catania, commonly known as Atletico Catania (), is an Italian football club based in Catania, Sicily, who compete in Promozione, the sixth tier of the Italian football league system. Throughout its histo ...

in October and

Acireale Acireale (; , locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. It is home to ...

in January 1999.

Palermo and Roma

Bombardini made his major breakthrough in 1999–2000 in

when he signed for

U.S. Città di Palermo Palermo Football Club () is an Italian professional football club based in Palermo, Sicily, that currently plays in Serie B. It is part of the City Football Group. Founded for the first time on 1 November 1900 as Anglo Palermitan Athletic and F ...

, where he won the

championship in 2001. During the team's next season, in

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as 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 b ...

, he scored 7 league goals. In June 2002, he signed a 3-year contract for

A.S. Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: ) is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its exis ...

worth around €0.95 million in gross annually and made his Serie A debut there, whose Roma chairman

Franco Sensi Francesco Sensi, Cavaliere del lavoro (29 July 1926 – 17 August 2008) was an Italian oil tycoon. He was born in Rome, where he lived throughout his entire life, though he also served time as mayor of Visso, the city where his family came fro ...

was the owner of Palermo until July 2002. Bombardini cost Roma €11 million, but paid via the transfer of 50% registration rights of

Franco Brienza Franco Brienza (; born 19 March 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward or attacking midfielder. Throughout his career, he played for several Italian clubs, but is mainly known for his time with Palermo. At in ...

who tagged for "€5.5 million", and €5.5 million cash. In 2002–03 financial year, both clubs write-down the value of its player asset, which Bombardini was valued for €540,000 at that time. The co-ownership deal also terminated during the season. However it was not truly write-down, as the residual €10.46 million was included in a special amortise fund along with other toxic player asset, and slowly amortise in 10-year period, which "worth" €80.189 million as asset on 30 June 2006. In 2006–07 financial year, as the club adopted IFRS as accounting standard, the fund was removed from the balance sheet and co-currently the net equity was re-calculated.

Salernitana & Atalanta

In summer 2003 he left for Serie B side

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional 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 recently in 2011. The current ...

for free. He played until the bankrupt of the

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

club. In summer 2005 he joined Serie B side

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

, which he played only 10 starts in 23 Serie A appearances at 2006–07 season.

Bologna and AlbinoLeffe

In summer 2007, he joined the team he supported from the childhood

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, played 16 starts in 30 Serie B appearances, won the Serie B runner-up with club and gained promotion. In the next season, he played 20 starts in 22 league appearances in the new role of Left Full-Back for the Serie A club, which successfully maintained their place in Serie A. Despite offered a 1-year extension, In 2009–10 season, he only played 9 league matches before joined Serie B side AlbinoLeffe on 1 February 2010. He signed a contract until 30 June 2011. Bombardini wore no.3 and no.10 in his first and second season for Albino. After he was sent off on 19 March 2011, he was banned 8-matches and fined €1,500.

Personal life

Bombardini was engaged to Italian television personality and professional model

Giorgia Palmas Giorgia Palmas (born 5 March 1982) is an Italian television personality, actress and model. She became famous following her appearances on the Italian television show ''Striscia la notizia''. Biography Palmas was born in Cagliari. She began he ...

, from 2004 to 2011.

Honours

;Palermo *

: 2001 ;Atalanta *

: 2006

References

External links

Archive of notable Atletico Catania players, including Bombardini's full career profile

gazzetta.it 2007gazzetta.it 2008
*
albinoleffe.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bombardini, Davide 1974 births Living people Italian men's footballers Serie A players Serie B players Pisa SC players SS Virtus Lanciano 1924 players Benevento Calcio players AS Reggina 1914 players Palermo FC players AS Roma players ACD Castel di Sangro Cep 1953 players US Salernitana 1919 players Atalanta BC players Bologna FC 1909 players UC AlbinoLeffe players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from the Province of Ravenna Imolese Calcio 1919 players