Manuel Pascali (born 9 September 1981) is an Italian former professional 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 ...

or defender. He now works as a commentator for

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 ...

coverage on

FuboTV FuboTV, Inc., formerly known as the FaceBank Group, and its subsidiary FuboTV Media, Inc., which operates as FuboTV or Fubo, comprise an American over-the-top sports streaming television service that serves customers in Canada, Spain, and the US ...

. Pascali most famously captained

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

to a

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

title in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. However, he was unable to play in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

due to injury. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest ever players to represent Kilmarnock - even earning a commemorative plaque at

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football stadium which is the home of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock F.C. and is situated in the Scotland, Scottish town of Kilmarnoc ...

next to other club legends.

Club career

He started his career with Sant'Angelo before moving on to

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 ...

with

Pizzighettone Pizzighettone ( Pizzighettonese: ) is a ''comune'' of the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy. The main population centre is located on the river Adda and is divided into two parts: Pizzighettone on the east bank and Gera on the we ...

and Carpenedolo. He then earned a move to

with

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

in 2007, although he was loaned out to

Foligno Foligno (; Central Italian, Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennine Mountains, Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clit ...

of Serie C1/A for the entire 2007–08 season.

Kilmarnock

He initially joined

on trial in July 2008 with a view to a one-year loan deal. During this period however, his performances convinced

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Jim Jefferies to part with an undisclosed fee to acquire him on a three-year deal. Upon joining Kilmarnock, Pascali revealed that Sergio Porrini played a role of Pascali joining a Scottish club and says he might be successful there

n Scotland N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

which he did later on in his Kilmarnock's career. On 9 August 2008, Pascali made his debut for the club in a 1–0 win over Hibernian. On 23 August 2008, Pascali scored his first goal for the club in the 45th minute in a 1–0 win over

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

. His second goal came on 15 December 2008 in a 2–0 win over

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

. On 13 January 2009, Pascali provided an assist to an Allan Russell goal in a 2–1 defeat by

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. In his first season, Pascali made 35 appearances in all competitions and scored three goals (two in the league and one in the Scottish Cup against Ayr United in a 2–2 draw on 10 January 2009). Pascali started the 2009–10 season with a win in the 3–1 triumph over Morton in the League Cup after coming on as a substitute early in the second half. He played his first league match of the season in a 3–1 win over St Mirren on 29 August. He was sent off in the league match against

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

on 19 September, after a second bookable offence in a 0–0 draw. On 18 January 2010, Pascali scored his first of the season in a 1–0 win over

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

to advance Kilmarnock to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. On 30 January 2010, Pascali scored his second of the season in a thrilling 4–4 draw against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

. In his second season, Pascali made 26 appearances in total and scored two goals, one in the league and one in the Scottish Cup. Pascali played in the first league match of the 2010–11 season, a 2–1 defeat by Rangers. On 10 November 2010, Pascali provided an assist to

Conor Sammon Conor Sammon (born 6 November 1986) is an Irish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Alloa Athletic F.C., Alloa Athletic. Sammon started his professional career in the League o ...

in a 3–0 win over Hamilton, his first in almost two years. On 19 March 2011, Pascali scored his first goal of the season and also provided the assist for

Jamie Hamill Jamie Hamill (born 29 July 1986 in Irvine) is a Scottish football player and coach. He has managed Scottish League Two club Stranraer. In his playing days, Hamill was predominantly a right-back, although he has also played as a midfielder. Ha ...

to score the second goal in a 3–1 win over

. On 23 April, Pascali scored a header in the 87th minute in a 4–2 defeat against Dundee United. Pascali provided an assist for James Fowler in his next game on 30 April against Hearts in a 2–2 draw. Pascali received 3 one-match bans after he received 18 yellow cards over the course of the season. Pascali featured 39 times and scored twice. At the start of the season, Pascali started the 2011–12 campaign with a 1–1 draw against Dundee United on 24 July 2011 and soon became a temporary skipper for the club. After a match against Rangers on 27 September 2011, which Kilmarnock lost 2–0, Pascali was involved in an altercation in the tunnel with Rangers defender

Steven Whittaker Steven Gordon Whittaker (born 16 June 1984) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player, currently serving as the assistant manager of Ayr United. Whittaker played as a defender, primarily at right-back. He began his senior c ...

which Rangers' manager

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who has since worked as a Manager (association football), manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Jo ...

dismissed as 'handbags' and "like two boys in the playground" in his post-match press conference. Manager

Kenny Shiels Kenneth Shiels (born 27 April 1956)Marshall Gillespie, ''The Northern Ireland Football Yearbook 1996/97'', UTV Books, 1996, p. 59 is a Northern Irish football manager and former player who last managed NIFL Premier Intermediate side Moyola Park ...

wanted an end to the row that developed between

Kirk Broadfoot Kirk John Broadfoot (born 8 August 1984) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defender for Scottish League One club Kelty Hearts. Broadfoot started his senior career with St Mirren and he helped the club gain promotion to the Scottish Prem ...

and Pascali and referred to Broadfoot as "the ugly boy from Rangers" and "the male model from Ayrshire" in a radio interview. However, Broadfoot claimed Pascali made death threats and was "in my face saying he was going to kill me". In response to this, Pascali denied his roadfootclaim and branded Broadfoot a publicity-seeking coward. Four days after the incident on 1 October 2011, Pascali scored his first of the season in a 2–1 defeat by

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

. On 19 November 2011, Pascali scored his second goal of the season in a 1–1 draw against Hibernian, followed up by scoring the winning goal for

in a 1–0 win at

against

in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

on 27 November 2011. Following his goal against Rangers, Pascali spoke to BBC Scotland's Chick Young and said scoring against Rangers was the best day of his career. On 7 January 2012, Pascali scored the only goal for Kilmarnock in a 1–1 draw against

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Garry Hay and James Fowler. Pascali made his first appearance since his leg injury in a 0–0 draw against

in the opening game of the 2012–13 season on 4 August. Pascali then started Kilmarnock's next match, away to

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...

and scored his first goal of the new campaign in a 1–1 draw. On 24 November, Pascali received a straight red card in the fifth minute after a foul on Nigel Hasselbaink in a 2–1 defeat by St Johnstone. His sending off was criticised by

and after the match the club appealed the red card. However, the appeal was unsuccessful meaning Pascali would miss two matches. St Johnstone manager

Steve Lomas Stephen Martin Lomas (born 18 January 1974) is a Northern Irish football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, Lomas was a midfielder from 1991 to 2010. He had spells in the Premier League for both Manchester City and West Ham ...

spoke out about the sending off insisting the Kilmarnock supporters were wrong to jeer Hasselbaink after the winger was made the scapegoat by the home crowd. After the two match ban, Pascali returned to the squad in a 2–0 win over Aberdeen. On 19 January 2013, Pascali scored two goals in the 3–2 defeat by Dundee United. However the following month, Pascali suffered a hamstring injury during a match against Hearts. He went off in the 75th minute and missed the rest of the season, like the previous season. In the 2013–14 season, Pascali made his first team return, coming on as a substitute for Darren Barr in the 90th minute, in a 0–0 draw against St Johnstone, having been absent from the Matchday squad in the opening game of the season against Aberdeen. After regaining his fitness for the club's reserve match, Pascali returned to the first team as a captain, which under his leadership, Pascali helped the club finish ninth place after the club struggled to get their first win for the first-nine matches. Pascali finished his 2013–14 season, making 32 appearances in all competitions, which he continued from injury plagued and suspension. The 2014–15 season saw Pascali continued to remain captain for the club throughout the season. Pascali then scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–0 win over

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

on 27 September 2014. Unfortunately on 26 October 2014, Pascali was sent-off in the 34th minute after a foul on

Stefan Šćepović Stefan Šćepović ( sr-cyr, Стефан Шћеповић, ; born 10 January 1990) is a Serbian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for OFK Beograd. Formerly an Serbia national un ...

, as Kilmarnock lost 2–0 to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. After serving one game, Pascali made his return on 8 November 2014, in a 3–0 loss against Ross County, which he was disappointed with the performance. The next game against Dundee United on 22 November 2014, Pascali scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss. Two months later on 24 January 2015, Pascali scored against Partick Thistle for the second time this season, which was a 2–2 draw. Unfortunately, Pascali was soon on the sidelines after an ankle injury. Pascali made his return to the first team and went on to make 34 appearances and scoring three times in all competitions. Despite keen to stay at the club for a long time and hinted of earning a testimonial match, Pascali was offered a new contract by the club. However, Pascali was unhappy with the contract length while negotiation. As a result, there were further hints that Pascali could leave the club to move abroad. On 18 June 2015, Pascali announced that he was set to leave Kilmarnock in June 2015, ending his seven years association with the club and later criticised the club's chairman Michael Johnston for creating a negative atmosphere around the club.

Cittadella

On 1 July 2015, it was announced that Pascali returned to Italy after seven years in Scotland and had signed for

Cittadella Cittadella () is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around . There are fo ...

Lega Pro The Lega Italiano Calcio Professionistico (Italian for Professional Football Italian League), commonly known as Lega Pro (Pro League), is the governing body that runs the third tier of professional football competitions in Italy, the Serie C. I ...

, the league formally known as Serie C. He made the move to

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

in July 2017.

Casertana

On 31 January 2019, he joined Casertana.

Serie D

On 4 July 2019, he signed with

Fanfulla Luigi Visconti, better known by his stage name Fanfulla, (26 February 1913 – 5 January 1971) was an Italian actor and comedian. Life and career Born in Rome, Visconti debuted at very young age on stage alongside his mother, the actress Merc ...

. He left Fanfulla in the summer of 2021 to join newly formed Serie D club Sangiuliano City. In his first season with the club, he captained Sangiuliano City to a historical promotion to

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

Personal life

Pascali is married to Chiara, and has two sons. After having played for Kilmarnock for a number of years, Pascali commented that he never expected to live in the country for four years, and had begun to feel like a native. Pascali grew up supporting

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pascali, Manuel 1981 births Living people Footballers from Milan Italian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Serie B players Serie C players Lega Pro Seconda Divisione players Serie D players US Alessandria Calcio 1912 players AS Pizzighettone players FC Carpenedolo SSD players Parma Calcio 1913 players ASD Città di Foligno 1928 players AS Cittadella players Cosenza Calcio players Casertana FC players ASD Fanfulla players FC Sangiuliano City players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players Kilmarnock F.C. players Italian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Italian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland 21st-century Italian sportsmen