Davide Chiumiento (born 22 November 1984) is a Swiss former

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 ...

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 ...

Early life

Chiumiento was born in Switzerland but spent most of his childhood abroad. His father, Gerardo Chiumiento, was a power tool salesman and plied his trade in Canada, Saudi Arabia and Japan before returning to his home country with his son.

Career

Juventus

Chiumiento began his career in 2004 at

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

and quickly made an impressive name for himself at the club on his debut coming on as a substitute against

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

at the age of 19. Chiumiento also played alongside his childhood hero Alessandro Del Piero, stating after the match "''This was my dream"''. In 2004, he was loaned out to

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 ...

club

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

to gain more experience. Chiumiento broke into the first-team with 14 apps and contributed to the second division side's

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

. The following year he was loaned out to French side

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

playing 27

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

matches scoring one goal. In 2006, he was loaned out to Swiss club

BSC Young Boys Berner Sport Club Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation, ) is a Swiss professional sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 17 Swiss league championships and eight Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss footbal ...

. After his performances in the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

, FC Lucerne showed interest in the player and signed him the following year.

Luzern

Chiumiento signed a three-year contract with

FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (). It is best known for its professional association football, football team, which plays in the Swiss Super League, Super League, the top tier of the ...

in the summer of 2007, for €150,000 transfer fee. Chiumiento scored his first goal for Luzern against

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

. Chiumiento scored his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against

FC Aarau FC Aarau is a Swiss professional football club based in Aarau. Founded in 1902, the club competes in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from the Swiss Super League. History FC Aarau was form ...

; the match ended 6–0.

Vancouver Whitecaps

Chiumiento signed with

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

of the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

in 2010. He made his USSFD2 debut for Vancouver on 24 September 2010 in a 1–0 loss to Montreal Impact. He signed an MLS contract with the club on 8 March 2011. Chiumiento made his

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, 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 sanc ...

debut for the Whitecaps on 19 March 2011 against

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 ...

, assisting on two goals in a 4–2 win. He scored only two goals in his time with the Whitecaps, a botched cross against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

on 11 May. His second goal was a cutback by Camilo where he chipped the ball up, spun 360 degrees, and went bar down with his right foot. It was a candidate for

MLS Goal of the Year The MLS Goal of the Year Award (currently commercially termed "AT&T MLS Goal of the Year") is handed out annually since its inception in 1996 to a player in Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association footbal ...

FC Zürich

On 11 July 2012, Chiumiento was transferred to

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal on 19 August, putting it bottom right, making it 1–1 against

Servette FC Servette FC is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Geneva, founded in March 1890 with rugby as its first sporting activity, and named after the Geneva district of the same name. The football section was created on ...

. He won the

2013–14 Swiss Cup The 2013–14 Swiss Cup was the 89th season of Switzerland's annual football cup competition. The competition started on 14 August 2013 with the first game of Round 1 and ended in May 2014 with the Final. The winners of the competition qualified f ...

and

2015–16 Swiss Cup The 2015–16 Swiss Cup is the 91st season of Switzerland's annual football cup competition. The competition started on 15 August 2015 with the first games of Round 1 and ended on 29 May 2016 with the Final, won by FC Zürich. As winners of the co ...

with Zürich. In June 2017 his contract was not renewed.

International

Chiumiento was called up as a replacement for

Johann Lonfat Johann Lonfat (born 11 September 1973) is a Swiss former professional Association football, footballer. A midfielder, he played Midfielder#Central midfielder, in the centre or Midfielder#Wide midfielder, on the right. Career Lonfat was born in M ...

in Switzerland's

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

squad. However, he turned the call-up down as he still had hope of appearing for

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In February 2010, Chiumiento decided to play for

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and made his first appearance for the Swiss national neam in a friendly match against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

after having declined many call-ups. Although his dream was to play for Italy he decided he would play for Switzerland as he has a chance to be a regular in the starting team. Chiumiento was not chosen for the Swiss

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

squad.

Playing style

Chiumiento is referred to as the Swiss

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

although he idolizes

Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit for ...

. He is recognized for his pace,

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

skills, and playmaking ability. Chiumiento plays preferably as a central attacking midfielder, but can play on both wings, or as a

second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

Personal life

Davide attended Heiden Primary School in his hometown before moving to Turin, Italy, to attend Scuola Privata Athenaeum. He has a mother, Manuela Chiumiento, and an older brother, Claudio Chiumiento. Davide is fluent in four languages, English, French, Italian, and German. These have all helped him have a successful career in many countries. Davide had a great friendship with former FC Zurich striker,

Eric Hassli Eric Hassli (born 3 May 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. Career Early career Hassli began his career at his hometown club Sarreguemines FC. In 2000 Hassli moved west to play for FC Metz. In 2002, h ...

, in his time in Vancouver, not just off the field, but on it, as many Hassli's goals were set up or created by Chiumiento. Davide was Hassli's best man at his wedding right before he transferred to

FC Zurich FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

. Some of his hobbies include spending time with his family and friends, and listening to Latin or Brazilian music, as well as surfing the internet. He is a dual citizen as his father was born in Italy.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiumiento, Davide 1984 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Swiss men's footballers Italian men's footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Switzerland men's under-21 international footballers Switzerland men's international footballers Juventus FC players Siena FC SSD players Le Mans FC players BSC Young Boys players FC Luzern players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players FC Zürich players Ligue 1 players Serie A players Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Swiss expatriate men's footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Canada Swiss Super League players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Major League Soccer players Swiss people of Italian descent Sportspeople from Appenzell Ausserrhoden 21st-century Italian sportsmen 21st-century Swiss sportsmen