David Di Tommaso
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| Personal information | |||
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| Position(s) | Central defender | ||
David di Tommaso (October 6, 1979 — November 29, 2005) was a French football player.
Early Life
Di Tommaso was born in Échirolles, France.
Career
He started his career at French side AS Monaco, where he helped the club win the 2000 league title. He then played in the UEFA Champions League and was selected for the French national youth football team. In 2001, di Tommaso transferred to Sedan, which sold him to Dutch side FC Utrecht in 2004. In his first season there, the fans named him the club's player of the year.
His last match was on November 27 against Ajax Amsterdam (1-0 victory), one of FC Utrecht's main rivals.
Death
The celebrations after this win didn't last long. Di Tommaso died after a cardiac arrest in his sleep at the age of 26 in De Meern, The Netherlands. He is survived by his wife and son. The couple were expecting another child.
After the Death
On December 1, a massive meeting of supporters at Stadion Galgenwaard was held, to honour Di Tommaso (DiTo for short). At least 14,000 fans showed up. Among the speakers were chairman Jan Willem van Dop, coach Foeke Booy and captain Jean-Paul de Jong. Besides Di Tommaso's relatives and FC Utrecht's main squad, all of the clubs' youth teams were among the visitors. They were told that number 4, the number worn by Di Tommaso, would be retired from use. Sedan, Di Tommaso's former club, had already announced that number 29, the number Di Tommaso used when he played for the club, would be retired.
Di Tommaso Trophy
Since 2006 the player of the year award is called the Di Tommaso trophy to honour Di Tommaso further. Since then the trophy, which is voted for by the fans, has been won by Jean-Paul de Jong and Michel Vorm.