Damiano Tommasi

Damiano Tommasi

Personal information
Date of birth	May 17, 1974 (1974-05-17)
Place of birth	Negrar, Italy
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
1991–1993	Verona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1996	Verona	77	(4)
1996–2006	Roma	262	(14)
2006–2008	Levante	44	(1)
2008	Queens Park Rangers	7	(0)
2009	Tianjin Teda	29	(1)
2009–2011	Sant'Anna d'Alfaedo	10	(2)
National team
1994–1996	Italy U21	4	(0)
1998–2003	Italy	25	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Damiano Tommasi (born 17 May 1974) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Tommasi was one of the key players in Roma's Serie A winning-squad in 2001. He also appeared with Italy at the 2002 World Cup. After a full decade representing the colours of the Giallorossi, he started an abroad career, going on to play for teams in three different countries until his retirement at the age of 37.

Club career

Born in Negrar, Province of Verona, Tommasi started his professional career with local Hellas Verona, in Serie B. He made his top division debut on 7 September 1996, with A.S. Roma, a 3–1 win over Piacenza Calcio, and would be an instrumental figure in the capital side's 2001 scudetto conquest.

During a summer friendly match against Stoke City in 2004, Tommasi suffered a horrible knee injury, caused by Gerry Taggart, and was out of action for a long time. In the summer of 2005 he accepted a one-year contract extension, with youth player wages (€1500 a month) - a contract which, astonishingly, Tommasi instigated himself in the name of fairness. On 30 October 2005, he finally returned to play, entering on the second-half in place of Olivier Dacourt, during a league match against Ascoli Calcio 1898, being even hailed with a long standing ovation by the Roma supporters.

On 27 November 2005, Tommasi scored after just two minutes, in an eventual 1–1 home tie against ACF Fiorentina, being an important first-team member as Roma finished runner-up. After 10 years with the same club, in July 2006, he joined Levante UD in Spain, spending two seasons with the La Liga strugglers, which eventually got relegated in 2007–08.

On 10 September 2008, Tommasi agreed a one-year deal with English second division team Queens Park Rangers. On 9 January 2009, his contract was terminated by mutual consent and, after advanced talks with Chinese League's Tianjin Teda, he signed for the club early in the following month, citing an interest in a third experience abroad as the main reason for it.

After one season, 35-year old Tommasi left Teda and decided to return to Italy, joining amateurs Sant'Anna d'Alfaedo (Seconda Categoria), where he played alongside his two brothers. He made his debut with the team on 13 December 2009.

International career

Tommasi played for the Italian U-21 team that won the 1996 UEFA European Championship, also being picked for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He made his first senior side appearance for the Azzurri on 18 November 1998, against Spain, but did not become a regular until 2001.

Picked for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Tommasi played in all four of Italy's matches, in a round of 16 exit.

Honours

Club

• Serie A: 2000–01
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2001
• Coppa Italia: Runner-up 2005–06

Country

• UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: 1996

Post-retirement

In January 2010, together with his agent Andrea Pretti and longtime friend Werner Seeber, Tommasi set up a company in China, called Tommasi Pretti Seeber Sports Culture & Exchange Co., Ltd (TPS), aimed at creating a reliable bridge between Europe and the Asian country in the field of football.

On 9 May 2011, he became the president of the Italian Footballers' Association, succeeding historical Sergio Campana, in office for 43 years.

Personal

• Married to Chiara, Tommasi has five children: Beatrice, Camilla, Susanna, Samuele and Emanuele.
• A philanthropist, he arranges for footballers' disciplinary fines to go to good causes.
• When first called-up by the national side, Tommasi said he didn't deserve the honour in that moment.

External links

• Stats at Tutto Calciatori (Italian)
• National team data (Italian)
• Damiano Tommasi at National-Football-Teams.com
• BDFutbol profile
• Damiano Tommasi career stats at Soccerbase
• QPR profile
• Official site (Italian)