Damiano Tommasi (; born 17 May 1974) is an Italian former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
and current Mayor of
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
.
A
defensive midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
during his footballing years, after a decade at
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
–
winning the 2001 Serie A title – he continued his career abroad, going on to play for teams in three countries until his retirement from professional football at the age of 37. He amassed
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
totals of 262 games and 14 goals.
Tommasi earned 25
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and was a member of the team that took part in the
2002 World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
.
He successively served as the president of the
Italian Footballers' Association
The Italian Footballers' Association (Italian: ''Associazione Italiana Calciatori''), also referred to by the acronym AIC, is the association for footballers in Italy. It was established in 1968 and currently has 4,500 members, of which 2,500 ar ...
between 2011 and 2020,
before starting a political career the following year and being elected Mayor of
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
in the 2022 local elections.
Club career
Born in
Negrar
Negrar di Valpolicella is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, about west of Venice and about northwest of Verona. Since 8 February 2019, the official name has been changed to "Negrar di Valpolicell ...
,
Province of Verona
The Province of Verona ( it, Provincia di Verona) is a province in the Veneto administrative region of Italy. On its northwestern border, Lake GardaItaly's largestis divided between Verona and the provinces of Brescia (Lombardy region) and Trenti ...
, Tommasi started his professional career with local club
Hellas Verona FC
Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in the 1984–85 se ...
, in
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
.
He made his
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
debut on 7 September 1996 with
A.S. Roma
' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...
in a 3–1 win over
Piacenza Calcio
Piacenza Calcio 1919, commonly referred to as Piacenza, is an Italian football club based in Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna. The club currently plays in Serie C.
Re-founded in 2012, Piacenza Calcio 1919 acquired the rights to use the brand of the ori ...
, and would be an instrumental figure in the side's
2001 conquest of the ''
scudetto
The ''scudetto'' (Italian language, Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in ...
'', with manager
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player.
As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...
even labelling him as the team's most important player.
During a summer
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
in 2004, Tommasi suffered a serious
knee
In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...
injury in a collision with
Gerry Taggart
Gerald Taggart (born 18 October 1970) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer. He played for Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City, Manchester City and Stoke City as well as the Northern Ireland national team.
A former defend ...
, and was out of action long-term. In the summer of 2005 he accepted a one-year contract extension, with youth player wages (
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
1,500 a month) – a contract which he instigated himself in the name of fairness. He finally returned to play on 30 October 2005, coming on as a second-half
substitute for
Olivier Dacourt
Olivier Yohan Dacourt (born 25 September 1974) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is also a former French international and is best known for his spells at English side Leeds United and Italian clubs Roma a ...
during a league match against
Ascoli Calcio 1898
Ascoli Calcio 1898 F.C., commonly referred to as Ascoli, is an Italian football club based in Ascoli Piceno, Marche. The club was formed in 1898 and currently plays in Serie B.
The team traditionally play in vertical black and white stripes.
H ...
and being hailed with a long
standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
by the Roma supporters.
On 27 November 2005, Tommasi scored after just two minutes in an eventual 1–1 home draw against
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...
, being an important first-team member as Roma
finished runner-up. After ten years with the club, in July 2006 he joined
Levante UD
Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community.
Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...
in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, spending two seasons with the
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
strugglers, eventually ending in relegation in
2007–08.
On 10 September 2008, Tommasi agreed a one-year deal with English
Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
team
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
. On 9 January 2009, his contract was terminated by mutual consent and, after advanced talks with
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
's
Tianjin Teda
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Tianjin, and their home stadium is t ...
, 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
The Seconda Categoria is a level of football in Italy. It is the 8th level (since 2014-15) in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Seconda Categoria level progresses to their closest regional league in the ...
), where he played alongside his two brothers. He made his debut with the team on 13 December 2009; he came out of retirement nearly six years later, with
S.P. La Fiorita
Società Polisportiva La Fiorita is a Sammarinese football club, based in Montegiardino. The club was founded in 1967. Fiorita currently plays in ''Girone A'' of Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio. The team's colours are blue, yellow and white.
Hon ...
of San Marino. He stated on his decision: "It's a challenge that La Fiorita have given me the chance to experience all over again. I've been looking forward to this Europa League draw for ages now. Let's hope it will be a beautiful adventure and that I can add another chapter to my football career", and went to feature in their
campaign
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed
*Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme
* Bl ...
in the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
campaign against
FC Vaduz
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...
.
International career
Tommasi played for the
Italy under-21 team that won the
1996 UEFA European Championship
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
, also being picked for
that year's
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
where he
made three appearances. He made his debut for the
senior side on 18 November 1998, under
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at the ...
, in a 2–2 home draw against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, but did not become a regular team member until 2001.
After featuring prominently during the ''Azzurris
2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Tommasi was picked by manager
Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...
for the squad that would take part at
the finals in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. He played in all four matches during the tournament, which ended in
round-of-16 exit; in the decisive clash against co-hosts
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, he came close to scoring twice: first when Roma teammate
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for A.S. Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bim ...
played him in only to have his shot blocked by
Lee Woon-Jae
Lee Woon-jae (; born 26 April 1973) is a South Korean former football goalkeeper. He was part of South Korea's 1994, 2002, 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup campaigns. He was the only Asian player nominated for the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of ...
. During
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
,
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
Byron Moreno
Byron Aldemar Moreno Ruales (born November 23, 1969) is an Ecuadorian former football referee who served in the FIFA World Cup as an International Referee from 1996 to 2003.
Refereeing career
During the 2002 FIFA World Cup Moreno refereed the ...
disallowed him a goal due to a controversial offside decision, and the Italians were eventually defeated by a
golden goal
The golden goal or golden point is a rule used in association football, lacrosse, field hockey, and ice hockey to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the end of normal time. It is a type of sud ...
.
Tommasi made his last appearance for Italy on 16 November 2003, in a 1–0 home victory over
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. He scored the first of two goals for his country on 5 September 2001, in a 1–0 friendly win over
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
.
Style of play
A quick, strong, tenacious, consistent, hardworking and versatile player, Tommasi primarily excelled at breaking down his opponents' plays and intercepting passes as a
box-to-box
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
or
defensive midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, due to his stamina and hard-tackling style of play. He also possessed good technique, movement, intelligence and was an accurate passer, which enabled him to retain possession and
start attacking plays after winning back the ball; these attributes allowed him to play anywhere in
midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...
, rather than being confined to a single position, and he was often deployed on the
right flank earlier on in his career, as well as in the
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
, or even as an
offensive-minded midfielder, or in the ''
mezzala
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
'' role, due to his eye for goal.
In his youth, he also played as a central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
.
Post-retirement
In January 2010, together with his agent Andrea Pretti and longtime friend Werner Seeber, Tommasi set up a company in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
called ''Tommasi Pretti Seeber Sports Culture & Exchange Co., Ltd (TPS)'', aimed at creating a reliable bridge between Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and the Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
n country in the field of football.
On 9 May 2011, he became the president of the Italian Footballers' Association
The Italian Footballers' Association (Italian: ''Associazione Italiana Calciatori''), also referred to by the acronym AIC, is the association for footballers in Italy. It was established in 1968 and currently has 4,500 members, of which 2,500 ar ...
, succeeding historical founder Sergio Campana who had been in office for 43 years. He resigned from his role in 2020.
Political career
In October 2021, it was announced Tommasi would run as the centre-left candidate for mayor of Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
for the 2022 election. After qualifying to the second round with around 40% of votes, on 26 June 2022 Tommasi won the runoff with over 54% of the vote over outgoing right-wing mayor Federico Sboarina in the traditionally right-wing city.
Personal life
*Married to Chiara, Tommasi has six children: Beatrice, Camilla, Susanna, Samuele, Emanuele and Aurora.
*A philanthropist, he was heavily involved in charity work, and arranges for footballers' disciplinary fines to go to good causes.
*Tommasi first began his involvement with charitable organisations in 1994, when he chose to undertake civil service instead of military service, as he "did not want to serve his country by holding a rifle."
*For his charitable work, he received the "Altro-pallone" award in 2000.
*When first called up by the national side, Tommasi said he did not deserve the honour in that moment.
Honours
Club
;Roma[
*]Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 2000–01
*Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...
: 2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
*Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: Runner-up 2005–06
International
;Italy under-21
*UEFA European Under-21 Championship
The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...
: 1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
Individual
*Pallone d'Argento
The Pallone d'Argento – Coppa Giaime Fiumanò ''(Silver Ball)'' was an annual award instituted by the Unione Stampa Sportiva Italiana (Italian Sports Press Association) or USSI. It was presented to Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie ...
: 2000–01
*A.S. Roma Hall of Fame
This is a list of List of A.S. Roma players, A.S. Roma players who have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.
A.S. Roma's Hall of Fame has been launched in 2012 as part of the initiatives for the club's 85th anniversary.
Exceptionally for t ...
: 2015
References
External links
*
*
*
National team data
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tommasi, Damiano
1974 births
Living people
Sportspeople from the Province of Verona
Italian footballers
Association football midfielders
Serie A players
Serie B players
Hellas Verona F.C. players
A.S. Roma players
La Liga players
Levante UD footballers
English Football League players
Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
Chinese Super League players
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. players
Italy under-21 international footballers
Italy international footballers
2002 FIFA World Cup players
Olympic footballers of Italy
Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Italian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in China
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Italian expatriate sportspeople in England
Italian expatriate sportspeople in China
Footballers from Veneto