Angelo Di Livio

Angelo Di Livio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈandʒelo di ˈliːvjo]; born 26 July 1966) is an Italian former professional football midfielder and defender. He played for several Italian clubs in Serie A throughout his career, coming to prominence with Juventus, where he won several domestic and international titles. At international level he also played for the Italian national side in two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships, reaching the final of UEFA Euro 2000.

Angelo Di Livio
Di Livio in Italy colours, 2018
Personal information
Full name Angelo Di Livio[1]
Date of birth (1966-07-26) 26 July 1966
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1985 Roma 0 (0)
1985–1986 Reggiana 13 (0)
1986–1987 Nocerina 31 (1)
1987–1989 Perugia 72 (4)
1989–1993 Padova 138 (13)
1993–1999 Juventus 186 (3)
1999–2005 Fiorentina 169 (8)
Total 609 (29)
National team
1995–2002 Italy 40 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

During his playing career he was known as soldatino (toy soldier) or soldatino Di Livio, a nickname his Juventus teammate at the time Roberto Baggio gave him because of Di Livio's characteristic way of running up and down the flank.[2][3]

Club career

Born in Rome, Di Livio began his career with Roma in 1984. Having failed to make an appearance in his only season for the club, Di Livio played for Reggiana (1985–86), Nocerina (1986–87), Perugia (1987–89), Padova (1989–93), Juventus (1993–99) and Fiorentina (1999–2005).

His tireless running and quality crossing made him an important element in the dominant Juventus starting lineup from 1993 to 1999, during one of the most successful periods in the club's history. With Juventus, he won three scudetti (Italian A League; 1995, 1997, 1998) and one Champions League title (1996), in addition to two Italian Supercups (1995, 1997), a Coppa Italia, an UEFA Supercup (1996), and an Intercontinental Cup (1996); he also reached the final of the 1994–95 UEFA Cup.

In 1999, he moved to Fiorentina, where he captained the team to win the Coppa Italia during the 2000–01 season. In 2002, when AC Fiorentina went bankrupt and was reborn as Florentia Viola in Serie C2, Di Livio showed his dedication by being the only player to stay with the team, as he played through the depths of Italian football on the climb back to Serie A in 2004, finally retiring after the conclusion of the 2004–05 Serie A season.

International career

Di Livio was capped 40 times for Italy. He played for Italy at Euro 96, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 (where Italy finished in 2nd place), and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. His first cap came on 6 September 1995 against Slovenia; his last on 18 June 2002 against South Korea. At Euro 1996, he set-up Pierluigi Casiraghi's first goal in the team's 2–1 win in the opening group match against Russia.[4] For Italy, he was often used as a holding player to shut down games when the team was ahead, thus sealing the win.

After retirement

After retiring, Di Livio worked as a coach in the A.S. Roma Youth System (Allievi "Coppa Lazio").[5]

Style of play

A quick, experienced, energetic, combative, reliable, and tactically versatile player, Di Livio was usually deployed on the right wing, although he was capable of playing on either flank, as a wide midfielder, or as a full-back or wing-back; he was also capable of playing in the centre, as a box-to-box or defensive midfielder, or even in defence. Although he was not the most naturally talented or skilled footballer, he was a highly consistent player, who was known for his pace, stamina, work-rate, strength, tenacity, mentality, man-marking ability, and crossing accuracy, as well as his ability to make attacking runs down the flank, but also track back, which enabled him to cover the wing effectively, and have a successful career.[2][3][6][7][8][9][10][11]

Personal life

Angelo's son, Lorenzo, is also a footballer;[12] a Roma youth product, he currently plays for Catanzaro.

Endorsements

As one of the most popular footballers from his generation, Di Livio has kept his public influence and positive reputation till today. In 2011, Angelo Di Livio was named as "Brand ambassador" for SKS365's brand planetwin365.[13]

Career statistics

Club
Source:[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coppa Italia Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Roma1984–85Serie A00
Reggiana1985–86Serie C1130
Nocerina1986–87Serie C1311
Perugia1987–88Serie C2343
1988–89Serie C1331
1989–9050
Padova1989–90Serie B292
1990–91363
1991–92363
1992–93363
Juventus1993–94Serie A330
1994–95271
1995–96322
1996–97321
1997–98300
1998–99331
Fiorentina1999–00Serie A301
2000–01331
2001–02321
2002–03Serie C2210
2003–04Serie B434
2004–05Serie A120
Total 61128

International
Source:[15]
Italy national team
YearAppsGoals
199520
199670
1997100
199860
199920
200050
200150
200230
Total400

Honours

Club

Juventus[16]

Fiorentina[16]

Perugia[16]

International

Italy[17]

Orders
5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000[18]

References
  1. "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 352" [Official Press Release No. 352] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 24 May 2005. p. 4. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  2. "Io, "Soldatino" Di Livio". Pianeta-Calcio.it. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  3. Maria Elena Ribezzo; Giorgio Dell'Arti (17 January 2014). "Biografia di Angelo Di Livio" (in Italian). www.cinquantamila.it. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  4. "Instinctive Casiraghi helps Italy sink Russia". UEFA.com. 6 October 2003.
  5. Official AS Roma's site
  6. "Euro 2000 Profile: Angelo Di Livio". BBC. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  7. "Di Livio: "Capello non mi volle alla Roma"" (in Italian). TuttoMercatoWeb.com. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  8. Stefano Bedeschi. "Gli eroi in bianconero: Angelo DI LIVIO" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  9. "Italy squad at a glance". BBC. 14 November 2000. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  10. Phil Cole (13 July 2000). "Profile: Angelo Di Livio". ESPN FC. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  11. Germano Bovolenta; Nicola Cecere (3 July 1998). "Niente paura, noi siamo l' Italia" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  12. Mason, Joshua (12 September 2016). "Serie A- Keeping in it in La Famiglia | IFD". www.italianfootballdaily.com. Italian Football Daily. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  13. planetwin365 renews cooperation with Angelo Di Livio: sks365 - planetwin365 renews cooperation with Angelo Di Livio, accessdate: 26 August 2015
  14. "Angelo Di Livio". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "Angelo Di Livio". Eurosport. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  17. "A. Di Livio". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  18. "ONORIFICENZE". quirinale.it (in Italian). 12 July 2000. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
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