Federico Di Francesco (born 14 June 1994) is an Italian professional
footballer who plays as a
winger or
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
for club
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
.
Club career
Pescara
Di Francesco began his career on
Pescara's youth categories. In the 2012–13 season, he was the captain of the Primavera team, and was subsequently called up by manager
Cristian Bucchi
Cristian Bucchi (born 30 May 1977) is an Italian football manager and former player who is the head coach of Serie B club Ascoli. A forward, he was best known for his goal-scoring ability in Serie B during the peak of his career.
Club career Ea ...
to the first team.
On 30 March 2013, Di Francesco made his professional debut, playing the last three minutes in a 3–0 away loss against
Parma.
Parma
In August, Di Francesco joined
Parma in a
co-ownership deal for €500, and was subsequently loaned to
Gubbio. Parma subsidized Gubbio €100,000.
In January 2014, he returned to Pescara on loan. In June 2014, Parma signed him outright for an undisclosed fee.
On 8 August 2014, he left for
Cremonese
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...
.
On 25 June 2015, Di Francesco became a free agent after the bankruptcy of Parma.
Lanciano
He was signed by
Virtus Lanciano in a three-year contract on 8 July 2015.
Bologna
On 23 June 2016,
Bologna signed Di Francesco from Lanciano for a reported €1.5 million.
Sassuolo
On 4 July 2018, Di Francesco signed a contract with Italian club
Sassuolo.
Loan to SPAL
On 26 July 2019, Di Francesco joined
SPAL on loan with an obligation to buy.
Lecce
On 31 July 2022, Di Francesco signed a three-year contract with
Lecce
Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=LoupÃai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
.
Palermo
On 31 August 2023, Serie B club
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
announced the signing of Di Francesco from Lecce on a three-year deal. Just two days later, Di Francesco scored on his debut, marking the final goal in a 3–0 home win against
Feralpisalò.
International career
On 2 September 2016, Di Francesco made his debut with
Italy U21 as a substitute in a 1–1 home draw against
Serbia in a
2017 European Championship qualification match. On 6 September, he scored a brace in a 3–0 win over
Andorra in his nation's subsequent European qualifier.
Style of play
Di Francesco is a small, quick and agile right-footed player, with an eye for goal; he usually plays as a right
winger, but can also play on the left. He has also been deployed as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
, or as a
second striker.
Personal life
Federico Di Francesco is the son of former professional player and manager
Eusebio Di Francesco
Eusebio Di Francesco (; born 8 September 1969) is an Italian manager, and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
Di Francesco started his career with Tuscan teams Empoli and Lucchese. In 1995, he joined Piace ...
.
Career statistics
Club
References
External links
AIC profile
*
Profile at FIGC Mercato, il Bologna prende Di Francesco e Boldor€š ilrestodelcarlino.it, 23 June 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Francesco, Federico
1994 births
Living people
Italian men's footballers
Men's association football wingers
Serie A players
Serie B players
Serie C players
Delfino Pescara 1936 players
AS Gubbio 1910 players
US Cremonese players
SS Virtus Lanciano 1924 players
Bologna FC 1909 players
US Sassuolo Calcio players
SPAL players
Empoli FC players
US Lecce players
Palermo FC players
Italy men's youth international footballers
Italy men's under-21 international footballers
Footballers from Pisa