Marco Di Vaio

Marco Di Vaio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko di ˈvaːjo]; born 15 July 1976) is a retired Italian footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, in his long club career, Di Vaio scored over 200 league goals while playing for several clubs, mainly in Italy, as well as in Monaco, Spain, and Canada. At international level, Di Vaio represented the Italy national football team at Euro 2004.

Marco Di Vaio
Di Vaio playing for the Montreal Impact in 2013
Personal information
Full name Marco Di Vaio
Date of birth (1976-07-15) 15 July 1976
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1991–1994 Lazio
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1995 Lazio 8 (3)
1995–1996 Verona 7 (1)
1996–1997 Bari 27 (3)
1997–1999 Salernitana 67 (33)
1999–2002 Parma 83 (41)
2002–2004 Juventus 55 (18)
2004–2006 Valencia 35 (11)
2006–2007 AS Monaco 29 (8)
2007–2008 Genoa 44 (12)
2008–2012 Bologna 143 (65)
2012–2014 Montreal Impact 76 (34)
Total 575 (230)
National team
1993–1994 Italy U-18 3 (0)
2001–2004 Italy 14 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 October 2014

Club career

Early career

Di Vaio started his career at his hometown club Lazio. He made his Serie A debut on 20 November 1994 against Padova. He then played for Serie B clubs such as Verona and Bari before moving to Salernitana in 1997.

Salernitana

He was a revelation at Salernitana, leading them to their second promotion to the Serie A in 1997–98 as the top scorer in Serie B for that season.

Parma

Despite Salernitana's relegation the following season, Di Vaio remained in Serie A, after being purchased by Parma. He scored an impressive number of goals for the Gialloblu and he went on to become the 2nd highest scorer of the league in his third season for the team.

Juventus

Juventus won the race to sign him during the following summer (2002), by paying Parma €7million (€2million plus 50% registration rights of Brighi) for the loan.[2]

But Di Vaio never really reproduced the form he showed at Parma, mainly because of the immense competition for a first-team places at Juventus. Initially a loan signing, he was signed permanently in summer 2003 for €14 million.

During his stay with Juventus he managed to win one scudetto, and reached 2003 UEFA Champions League Final.

Valencia

Due to an early exit from the UEFA Champions League 2003–04 and coupled with the arrival of new coach Fabio Capello, Juventus began a restructuring of their first team squad. As a result, Di Vaio and his striking partner Fabrizio Miccoli were soon frozen out. Di Vaio moved to defending UEFA Cup and La Liga champions Valencia on a 5-year contract,[3] costing Valencia €10.5million,[4] joining up with fellow countrymen, coach Claudio Ranieri and new signing Bernardo Corradi. Di Vaio partnered Corradi up front in 10 La Liga matches, creating a total of 4 goals. He managed a mere eleven league goals during his spell in Spain.

His presence in the first team line-up of Valencia became restricted with the arrivals of Patrick Kluivert and David Villa, along with the sacking of Ranieri. New coach Quique Sánchez Flores preferred to use Miguel Ángel Angulo as Villa's strike partner or utilised a 4–5–1 formation, with Villa as the lone frontman. This restricted Di Vaio to only one league start during the 2005–06 season.

Monaco

In January 2006, Di Vaio was loaned out to Ligue 1 side AS Monaco with an option to make the deal permanent.[5] Along with Di Vaio, countryman Christian Vieri was also signed and partnered him for 7 French league matches, yielding 3 goals all of which were scored by Vieri. Initially an insurance signing for injured Javier Chevantón and to replace the departing Emmanuel Adebayor, the Italian duo created opportunities for Chevantón to score goals in the second half of the season.

In his second season Di Vaio became the 3rd choice striker behind new signings Jan Koller and Jérémy Menez, restricting him to just six first team appearances.

Genoa

On 22 January 2007, after an unsuccessful spell in Ligue 1, Di Vaio surprisingly returned to Italy by signing with Serie B club Genoa,[6] a side strongly pushing for promotion, for €1.8 million.[7] The club duly achieved promotion, but once in Serie A, the partnership of Marco Borriello and Giuseppe Sculli was preferred, leaving Di Vaio to make only 9 appearances.

Bologna
Di Vaio at Bologna, 2011

On 21 August 2008 it was confirmed that Di Vaio had signed for Serie A side Bologna FC,[8] recently promoted from Serie B. This reunited with former Genoa teammate Adaílton. Di Vaio was a surprise star in the 2008–09 season, scoring an impressive 24 goals for a mediocre Bologna side. He finished the season as joint second top-scorer alongside Genoa C.F.C. striker Diego Milito. At the end of season Bologna signed him on free transfer.[7]

In his period at Bologna, Di Vaio regained reputation as a key prolific striker, rapidly becoming a fan favourite, as well as team captain and one of the reference players during the two club takeovers in the 2010–11 season, ensuring himself a contract extension until June 2013; following the announcement, Di Vaio also state his desire to spend the rest of his footballing career as a Bologna player.[9] However, on 4 May 2012, Di Vaio confirmed that the 2011–12 season will be his last with Bologna, and that he would be considering various options for his future.[10]

Montreal Impact

After lengthy negotiations, Montreal Impact announced that Marco Di Vaio had signed as the Canadian club's first Designated Player.[11] Di Vaio made his Impact debut on 27 June 2012 against Toronto FC, and scored his first goal a month later on 28 July 2012 against New York Red Bulls. Marco scored his first goal of the 2014 season against Philadelphia Union on 29 March 2014. On 25 October 2014, in his last game as a professional, Di Vaio scored the opening goal in a 1–1 draw at home to D.C. United.[12] Di Vaio retired following the 2014 season.

International career

Di Vaio made his senior International debut for Italy under manager Giovanni Trapattoni, on 5 September 2001, in a friendly match in Piacenza against Morocco, which ended in a 1–0 home victory to Italy. He scored his first goal for Italy on 11 October 2003, in Reggio Calabria, in a 4–0 home win over Azerbaijan in a UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying match. Di Vaio played for Italy at Euro 2004 under Giovanni Trapattoni, appearing in Italy's final group match, which ended in a 2–1 victory over Bulgaria, although Italy were still eliminated in the first round of the competition. Di Vaio later received several call-ups from Marcello Lippi who had previously coached Di Vaio at Juventus. However, a loss of form whilst with Valencia, coupled with the emergence of Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino, led to Di Vaio losing his place with the national team. He made his final appearance for Italy with Lippi on 9 October 2004, in a 1–0 away loss to Slovenia, in a 2006 World Cup Qualifying match. In total, Di Vaio appeared 14 times with the national side, scoring two goals.

Post-retirement

Di Vaio joined Bologna as club manager after his retirement as a footballer.[13]

Style of play

A prolific goalscorer, Di Vaio was a quick, opportunistic, and versatile player, who was capable of playing anywhere along the front-line, as a striker, or even as a winger, due to his solid technique and distribution. His preferred role, however, was that of a centre-forward, where he could take advantage of his goalscoring ability in the area and skill in the air. He also had a powerful and accurate shot from distance, and was an accurate penalty taker.[14]

Career statistics

Club
As of 29 September 2013
Di Vaio vs. the Chicago Fire in September 2012
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
ClubSeasonLeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lazio Serie A 1993–94 00101020
1994–95 834011134
Total 835021154
Verona Serie B 1995–96 7100–71
Total 7100–71
Bari Serie B 1996–97 27300–273
Total 27300–273
Salernitana Serie B 1997–98 362120–3821
Serie A 1998–99 311210–3212
Total 673330–7033
Parma Serie A 1999–00 2361031277
2000–01 271573523920
2001–02 3320501024822
Total 834113318511449
Juventus Serie A 2002–03 267301144011
2003–04 291183734417
Total 55181131878428
Valencia La Liga 2004–05 301110833914
2005–06 500060110
Total 3511101435014
AS Monaco Ligue 1 2005–06 15530–185
2006–07 14330–173
Total 29860–358
Genoa Serie B 2006–07 22900–229
Serie A 2007–08 22321–244
Total 441221–4613
Bologna Serie A 2008–09 382421–4025
2009–10 301210–3112
2010–11 381910–3919
2011–12 371010–3810
Total 1436551–14866
Montreal Impact Major League Soccer 2012 17530–205
2013 332032–3622
2014 26940343313
Total 7634102348940
Career total 57422956105520685259

International

[15]

Italy national team
YearAppsGoals
200110
200240
200352
200440
Total142

International statistics

Honours
Di Vaio at the 2013 MLS All-Star Game.

Club

Salernitana[16]

Parma[16]

Juventus[16]

Valencia[16]

Montreal[16]

Individual

References
  1. "Player Profile: Marco Di Vaio". Montreal Impact. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  2. "Juventus F.C.: Agreements with Parma A.C." (PDF) (in Italian). Juventus.com 30 August 2002
  3. "Di Vaio adds to Italian connection". UEFA.com. 20 July 2004. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  4. "Disposal of the registration rights of the player Marco Di Vaio" (PDF). Juventus FC. 21 July 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  5. "Transfert : Marco Di Vaio prêté à Monaco" (in French). AS Monaco FC official site. 28 December 2005. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  6. "E' fatta per Marco Di Vaio al Genoa Cfc" (in Italian). genoacfc.it. 22 January 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  7. Genoa CFC Report and Accounts on 31 December 2008 (in Italian)
  8. "DI VAIO E' MOLTO VICINO AL BOLOGNA" (in Italian). Genoa CFC official site. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  9. "Di Vaio-Bologna, accordo "Chiuderò qui la carriera"" (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport – Stadio. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  10. "Di Vaio: I'm leaving Bologna and Montreal has made an offer". Goal.com. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  11. "IMPACT SIGN ITALIAN FORWARD DI VAIO AS FIRST DESIGNATED PLAYER". tsn.ca. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  12. http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2014-10-25-montreal-impact-vs-dc-united/feed
  13. "Marco Di Vaio Club Manager" (in Italian). Bologna F.C. 1909. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  14. "Marco di Vaio, una carriera passata a segnare goal" (in Italian). Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  15. "Marco Di Vaio". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  16. "M. Di Vaio". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  17. "Italy - Serie B Top Scorers". rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  18. "MLS All-Star Game Match Preview". mlssocer.com. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013.
  19. "MLS reveals 2013 Best XI, headlined by Portland Timbers trio". MLS Soccer. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
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