Massimo Donati (born 26 March 1981) is an Italian professional

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 ...

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 ...

, pundit and former player 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 ...

. He is the current head coach of club

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 ...

. Born in

San Vito al Tagliamento San Vito al Tagliamento () is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone, in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southeast of Pordenone. Main sights It is a me ...

, Italy, Donati made 314 appearances in

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 ...

for several clubs, including

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 ...

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, and

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, plus another 72 appearances 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 ...

with

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 ...

— where he won the league and

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. Donati represented Italy at Under-16, Under-18, Under-20 and Under-21 levels.

Playing career

Atalanta and Milan

Donati started his club career at

, before moving to

in June 2001 along with Cristian Zenoni for 60 billion lire in a cash-plus-player deal. However, due to the competition at the club, Donati was unable to retain a first team place after his first season, spending the 2002–03 season on loan at

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, ...

and then

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. The 2003–04 season, his third as a Milan player, saw him join

on loan, before enjoying a successful spell at

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

for the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons. Despite finding his form at Messina, Donati still found himself out of favour at Milan and was again sent on loan, this time returning to his first club Atalanta for the 2006–07 season. Donati was a youth international, representing Italy at under-16, under-18, under-20 and under-21 levels.

Celtic

On 29 June 2007, Celtic confirmed the signing of Donati on a four-year contract for a fee of €2 million. Donati was given the number 18 jersey, vacated by ex-captain

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...

and was unveiled at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. He made his Celtic debut in their first league game of the season on 5 August, a 0–0 draw with

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 ...

. In Celtic's next league game against

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 ...

, Donati was involved in his side's equaliser when his shot hit Kenny Milne and went into the net; Celtic won the game 4–1. The following week, Donati grabbed his first competitive Celtic goal with an equalising goal against

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 ...

and later added an assist for

Kenny Miller Kenneth Miller (born 23 December 1979) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player, and is currently the assistant coach of Major League Soccer club Atlanta United. Miller, who played as a striker, is one of only five post-war ...

as Celtic won 3–1. On 28 November, Donati won the match for Celtic in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

fixture against

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

, netting in the 92nd minute to win the match 2–1. This result meant Celtic only needed a point away to Donati's former club Milan at the

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

to qualify for the last 16 stage of the tournament. Celtic lost 1–0 to Milan, but still qualified for the last 16 as runners-up in their group after Benfica defeated Shakhtar in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. As the season went on, Donati's form began to dip, resulting in the central midfield positions being changed with

Barry Robson Barry Gordon George Robson (born 7 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is the manager of Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada an ...

and

Paul Hartley Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Scottish League One side Cove Rangers. As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts and C ...

in place of Donati and

Scott Brown Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State *Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, born ...

. In May 2008, it was reported that Donati wanted to go back to

. In the 2008–09 season, Donati made only a handful of appearances for Celtic, though he started in the home game against Kilmarnock on 12 November 2008 and won the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

award. After the appointment of

Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...

as Celtic manager, Donati won back his place in the Celtic midfield alongside new signing

Landry N'Guémo Landry may refer to: People * Landry (surname) Landry is a surname of French origin. Notable persons with the surname include: *Adolphe Landry (1874–1956), French demographer and politician *Ali Landry (born 1973), American actress and model * ...

. Donati played in most of the pre-season games and scored in a 5–0 win over

African Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual club football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) an ...

winners Al-Ahly in the Wembley Cup. He started the 2009–10 campaign in fine form and scored from a spectacular volley in Celtic's 3–1 loss to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the Champions League

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

Bari

On 27 August 2009, Donati left Celtic and signed a four-year contract with Serie A newcomers

Palermo

On 18 January 2012, Donati left Bari for

Hellas Verona

In June 2013, Donati was signed by

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

Bari

On 26 August 2014, Donati returned to Bari. He scored his first goal in the

2014–15 Serie B The 2014–15 Serie B was the 83rd season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams contested the league: 14 of which returning from the 2013–14 season, 5 of which promoted from Prima Divisione, and three relegated from Serie A. Th ...

season on 13 September 2014, during a 1–1 draw with

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

Hamilton Academical

On 18 July 2016, Donati returned to Scotland to sign for

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 ...

. He scored on his debut as Hamilton won 3–0 against St Mirren in the

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 ...

. On 9 November 2016, Donati signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2019. In January 2018, Hamilton announced that they had agreed with Donati to cancel his existing playing contract, for him to begin a coaching career. Donati had also been coaching the Hamilton under-15 team.

St Mirren

Donati signed a short-term contract with St Mirren in February 2018. He was released by St Mirren at the end of this contract.

Media career

In 2018, Donati was unveiled as a new color commentator and pundit for

DAZN DAZN (; pronounced "da zone") is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top sports Sports broadcasting, streaming and entertainment platform. Founded in 2007 as Perform Group via the merger of Premium TV Limited and Inform Group, it is o ...

, a role he left in June 2021 following his appointment as Sambenedettese's new head coach. He briefly resumed his role at DAZN between August and September 2021, leaving again after Sambenedettese was successfully readmitted into Serie D.

Managerial career

Early career

In June 2019, Donati joined the coaching staff at

under

Angelo Alessio Angelo Alessio (born 29 April 1965 in Capaccio) is an Italian football manager and former player. Playing career A central midfielder, Alessio started his professional career with then-Serie A club Avellino in 1984. He was then signed by Ita ...

. On 25 June 2021, he was appointed as the new head coach of Sambenedettese. The club, originally scheduled to play

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 ...

in the 2021–22 season, was successively demoted to

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 ...

due to financial irregularities; nevertheless, in September 2021 Donati was confirmed he would stay at Sambenedettese also in the lower tier. On 31 October 2021, Donati was dismissed from his role following a negative start in the club's Serie D campaign.

Legnago Salus

On 16 June 2022, Donati was appointed as the new manager of Legnago Salus, who had just been relegated to

. After winning the Serie D Group B title and leading Legnago back to Serie C after one season, he was confirmed in charge of the club. In the

2023–24 Serie C The 2023–24 Serie C, officially known as Serie C Now (Sky), NOW for sponsorship, was the 65th season of the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system, organized by the Lega Pro. Changes The league comprises 60 teams, geograph ...

season, Legnago made a surprising sixth-place finish and qualified for the promotion playoffs. From 4 November, Donati's side would lose only two matches, including one to eventual champions Mantova. Until 13 April, Legnago were Italy's only unbeaten team in the calendar year 2024. In the 2023–24 Serie C promotion playoffs, Legnago defeated

Lumezzane Lumezzane (, locally ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Brescia, in the Italian region of Lombardy. With a population of 22,255 (), it is one of the largest towns in its province. It is situated in the Gobbia Valley, which is a s ...

in the first round but were eliminated in the second round with a 1–1 draw away to Atalanta U23, as a result of being the lower seed.

Athens Kallithea

On 12 June 2024, Donati was appointed as manager of newly promoted

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

side

Athens Kallithea Athens Kallithea Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, a city and a suburb in Athens. The club currently competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system. The club has finishe ...

. He was sacked on 13 December 2024 due to negative results.

Sampdoria

On 13 July 2025, Donati was unveiled as the new head coach of Serie B club Sampdoria.

Career statistics

Honours

Player

;Celtic *

: 2007–08 *

: 2008–09

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Donati, Massimo 1981 births Living people People from San Vito al Tagliamento Footballers from the Province of Pordenone Italian men's footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Atalanta BC players AC Milan players ACR Messina players Parma Calcio 1913 players Torino FC players UC Sampdoria players Celtic F.C. players SSC Bari players Palermo FC players Hellas Verona FC players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Serie A players Serie B players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players Men's association football midfielders Italian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Italian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Hamilton Academical F.C. non-playing staff St Mirren F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. non-playing staff 21st-century Italian sportsmen Italian football managers US Sambenedettese managers UC Sampdoria managers Serie B managers Italian expatriate sportspeople in Greece