Marco Donadel (born 21 April 1983) is an Italian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and a former

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 ...

. He is currently the interim head coach of

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 ...

club

CF Montréal Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...

Club career

Milan

Donadel is a youth product of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, playing for the youth side between 1998 and 2002, winning the

Torneo di Viareggio The Torneo di Viareggio (), officially named the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament Coppa Carnevale, is a youth association football tournament held annually in the commune of Viareggio, Italy and its surrounding areas. Established in 1949, t ...

in 1999 and 2001 before being promoted to the senior side. On 4 March 2001, he made his debut for Milan, coming on as a substitute for Andres Guglielminpietro in the 78th minute of a home Serie A game against

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, ...

. The following season, he made his debut appearances in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

and

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

. Having made just 4 appearances for the senior squad of Milan, Donadel was loaned out to

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

in July 2002. In June 2003 Donadel was sold to

in a co-ownership deal for €2 million. (with 50% rights of Roberto Massaro was purchased by Milan for €2 million) The deal made Milan making a profit of €3.897 million.A.C. Milan S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2003 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> In June 2004 Milan bought back 50% rights of Donadel for €800,000 in a four-year contract (Milan booked the contract value of Donadel was €4 million instead of €1.6 million, thus receiving €1.2 million financial incomeA.C. Milan S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2004 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> instead of costing Milan to write down the value of retaining 50% registration rights for €1.2 million.) In 2004–05 season Donadel was loaned to

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

for free and finally

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

in January 2005, for €200,000.ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2005 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref>

Fiorentina

After a successful half-season-long loan with Fiorentina, he was signed permanently for €1.2 million in a four-year contract. The deal also made Milan book a €1.8 million loss. as the residual value of Donadel's contract, after amortization, was €3 million. In 2005–06, he was a regular for coach

Cesare Prandelli Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian former football coach and former player. Playing career Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first game for Juventus was in the 1979–80 Eur ...

, who had already appreciated the skills of Donadel, as they were together at Parma. In June 2007, he was offered a new contract until June 2011.

Napoli

On 24 June 2011, he signed a four-year contract with

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

. During his stay with Napoli, he only appeared in four league matches and during the 2013–14 season, he was sent on loan to

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, where he was a regular starter for the club.

Montreal Impact

Once his loan spell with Verona concluded, Donadel went on trial with

side Montreal Impact. Donadel officially signed with the Montreal Impact on 1 December 2014. His 30-yard strike in a 3–0 home win against

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

, on 11 July 2015, was voted MLS goal of the week for the 19th week of the

2015 MLS season The 2015 Major League Soccer season featured 20 total clubs (17 based in the United States, 3 based in Canada). The regular season was held from March 6 through to October 25, whereas the MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 28 and ended with M ...

. On 25 October, he assisted one of Drogba's goals as the Montreal Impact came from behind to defeat domestic rivals

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 ...

2–1 at home; the win gave Montreal the home advantage for their knock-out fixture against Toronto in the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs. Donadel was waived by Montreal on 22 June 2018.

International career

Donadel was the captain of Italy under-21 team between 2004 and 2006 and won the 2004

European Under-21 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

, totalling 31 appearances and 1 goal. Donadel also won a bronze medal with Italy at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

football tournament.

Coaching career

On 17 December 2021, Donadel was announced as the new assistant coach of

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * ...

, following the appointment of

Paolo Vanoli Paolo Vanoli (; born 12 August 1972) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who played as a left back or left midfielder. He was most recently in charge of club Torino. Club career Vanoli played for many clubs, including ...

as the club's new head coach. On 11 April 2023, Donadel took on his first head coaching job in charge of

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 ...

club

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 ...

. He was dismissed on 23 October 2023 due to negative results. Donadel returned to Montreal in December 2024, joining

Laurent Courtois Laurent Courtois (; born 11 September 1978) is a French former professional footballer coach. He was the head coach of CF Montréal of Major League Soccer from 2024-25. Club career Laurent Courtois began his career in the youth ranks of top Fren ...

's staff at

as an assistant coach. On March 24, 2025, Donadel was named interim head coach after Courtois was fired after Courtois led the team to its worst start (1 point over 5 matches) since its inaugural MLS season in 2012.

Honours

Club

Napoli *

: 2011–12 Montreal Impact *

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

: 2014–15 (Runner-up)

International

Italy U21 *

Olympic Bronze Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

Orders

5th Class / Knight: ''

Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republic, it is awarded for ...

'': 2004

References

External links

*
stats. at Voetbal International

National Team stats. at FIGC official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Donadel, Marco 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Conegliano Men's association football midfielders Italian men's footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Olympic footballers for Italy AC Milan players US Lecce players Parma Calcio 1913 players UC Sampdoria players ACF Fiorentina players SSC Napoli players Hellas Verona FC players CF Montréal players Serie A players Serie B players Major League Soccer players Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Italy Olympic medalists in football Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Italian football managers Italian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Russia Italian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Italian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Footballers from the Province of Treviso SSC Ancona ASD managers Serie C managers 21st-century Italian sportsmen CF Montréal non-playing staff