Eusebio Di Francesco (; born 8 September 1969) is an Italian manager, and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Di Francesco started his career with Tuscan teams

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

and Lucchese. In 1995, he joined Piacenza, where he had the opportunity to play regularly in the top flight. In 1997, he was signed by A.S. Roma, winning an Italian championship title in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

with the ''giallorossi''. Following this triumph, he agreed to return to Piacenza, for 2 billion lire (€1.03 million by fixed exchange rate) and then retired in 2005 following stints with Ancona and Perugia.

International career

During his time with Roma, Di Francesco also made 12 appearances for the Italian national team between 1998 and 2000, and was called up for a total of 16 times. He received his first call-up while with Piacenza, under manager

Cesare Maldini Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender. Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Triestin ...

, when he was named in Italy's squad for

1997 Tournoi de France The 1997 Tournoi de France (; French, 'Tournament of France'), often referred to as Le Tournoi, was an international football tournament held in France in early June 1997 as a warm-up to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The four national teams participati ...

, although he later turned down the offer in order to help Piacenza defeat

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

3–1 relegation play-off in order to remain in Serie A. He made his international debut on 5 September 1998, under Dino Zoff, in a 2–0 victory over Wales in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match. In addition to his 12 official appearances with Italy, Di Francesco also made an additional appearance for the Italian national team in an unofficial friendly match against the

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

World Stars on 16 December 1998, held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the

Italian Football Federation 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 ...

; he scored his only international goal during the match, which ended in a 6–2 victory to the Italians.

Style of play

Di Francesco was a hard-working and consistent midfielder, who, despite not being the most technically gifted footballer, possessed a solid first touch, and an ability to make attacking runs into the area. Capable of playing both in centre or on the wing, he was known in particular for his leadership, versatility, and exceptional stamina, as well as his tireless runs up and down the flank.

Coaching career

After his retirement from football, he served as team manager for A.S. Roma. He then served as sports director (in charge of transfers) for

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club

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in 2007. In 2008, he was appointed as head coach of Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Virtus Lanciano, being later sacked in January 2009 due to poor results. He then served as head coach of Pescara in the

2010–11 Serie B The 2010–11 Serie B (known as the Serie bwin for sponsorship reasons) is the seventy-ninth season since its establishment in 1929, and the first one under the rule of the new Lega Serie B. A total of 22 teams contest the league, 15 of which ret ...

, guiding his team to an impressive season also thanks to glimpses of attractive football. In June 2011 it was revealed Di Francesco had left Pescara by mutual consent in order to hold talks with Serie A club

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

regarding the vacant head coaching post at the club from Salento. He was removed from his coaching duties on 4 December 2011, after achieving only eight points in thirteen games, and leaving his side at the bottom of the league table. On 19 June 2012, Di Francesco was appointed the head coach of Serie B side Sassuolo. At the end of 2012–13 season, he guided Sassuolo to the Serie B championship and promotion to the top-flight campaign. He was sacked on 28 January 2014 after a poor run of results, only to be re-appointed to the post on 3 March 2014 after results did not improve in his absence. From March 2014 onwards, results improved and Di Francesco successfully coached to save Sassuolo from relegation thanks to a run of positive results (13 points in the final seven games of the season). In June 2014, it was announced Di Francesco had signed an extension that will keep him contracted with Sassuolo until June 2016. He extended his contract again in April 2016, which would last until June 2019. Sassuolo finished the

2015–16 Serie A The 2015–16 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th season of top-tier Italian football, the 84th in a round-robin tournament, and the 6th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season in sixth place, sealing a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. The following season, Sassuolo managed to advance to the Europa League play-offs under Di Francesco, and eventually sealed a spot in the Europa League group stage. On 13 June 2017, Di Francesco was appointed as Roma head coach, replacing

Luciano Spalletti Luciano Spalletti (; born 7 March 1959) is an Italian football manager and a former player. He is currently the manager of Italian Serie A club Napoli. Playing career Born in Certaldo, Metropolitan City of Florence, Spalletti started his career ...

, who left for Inter. In his first season with the Serie A club, he finished third, qualifying for the

2018–19 UEFA Champions League The 2018–19 UEFA Champions League was the 64th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 27th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. For the first tim ...

. In the

2017–18 UEFA Champions League The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League was the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pla ...

, Roma qualified for the knockout round after topping a group including Chelsea and

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. In the quarter finals, Roma were able to overturn a 4–1 first leg deficit to defeat Barcelona to progress to the next round. They were eventually defeated by Liverpool in the semi finals (7–6 on aggregate). On 30 January 2019, Roma were knocked out of

2018–19 Coppa Italia The 2018–19 Coppa Italia, also known as TIM Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 72nd edition of the national cup in Italian football. Juventus were the defending champions having won the last four editions, but were eliminated by Atalanta in ...

after being beaten 7–1 by Fiorentina. On 7 March 2019, Di Francesco was sacked by Roma following a Champions League exit in the round of 16 against Porto. At the time of his sacking, Roma were 5th in Serie A. Jim Pallotta, club's president to Roma's official website: On 22 June 2019, he was appointed new head coach of Serie A club

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s ...

. On 7 October 2019, with Sampdoria in last place in Serie A table and with 6 losses in 7 league games, he left the club by mutual consent. Di Francesco was appointed manager of yet another Serie A club,

, on 3 August 2020. Di Francesco was sacked on 22 February 2021. On 7 June 2021, he was unveiled as the new Hellas Verona head coach, signing a two-year contract, until 30 June 2023, starting with the

2021–22 Serie A The 2021–22 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 120th season of top-tier Italian football, the 90th in a round-robin tournament, and the 12th since its organization under an own league committee, the Lega Serie ...

season. but following three defeats in the first three league games he was sacked on 14 September 2021.

Personal life

Eusebio Di Francesco has a son,

Federico Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. People with the given name Federico Artists * Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ. * Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, r ...

(born in 1994), who followed his father's footsteps by becoming a footballer too. He plays as a winger and made his Serie A debut in March 2013 at the age of 18. Eusebio Di Francesco was named after the Portuguese Football legend Eusébio.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

;Roma * Serie A: 2000–01

Manager

;Sassuolo * Serie B:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Individual

Panchina d'argento Panchina d'Oro ( en, Golden Bench) is a yearly award given to the best Italy, Italian association football coaches of the Serie A. The Golden Bench is also awarded to the best Serie C, men's Serie C and Serie A (women's football), women's Serie A co ...

: 2012–13 *Football Leader: 2013 (The First Serie B) *

Enzo Bearzot Award The Enzo Bearzot Award ( it, Premio Nazionale Enzo Bearzot) is a recognition given to Italian football managers annually. Established in 2011 and awarded by a jury composed of representatives of major Italian sports newspapers, the prize is sponso ...

: 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Francesco, Eusebio 1969 births Living people Italian footballers Italy international footballers Italian football managers Empoli F.C. players S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 players Piacenza Calcio 1919 players A.S. Roma players A.C. Ancona players A.C. Perugia Calcio players S.S. Virtus Lanciano 1924 managers Delfino Pescara 1936 managers U.S. Lecce managers Serie A players Serie B players Association football midfielders Serie A managers U.S. Sassuolo Calcio managers A.S. Roma managers U.C. Sampdoria managers Cagliari Calcio managers