Franco Semioli (; born 20 June 1980) is an Italian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player. A

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 ...

, he played as a

right winger 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 ...

. He was most recently head coach of

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

club

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

Club career

Early years with Torino and Inter and loan spells

Semioli, a Piedmontese, made his professional debut playing for local club

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

during the 1998–99 season. Semioli and his teammate

Riccardo Fissore Riccardo Fissore (born 18 February 1980) is an Italian former footballer who last played for A.C. Delta Calcio Rovigo as a defender. Club career Early career Born in Carmagnola, Piedmont, Fissore started his career with Torino. In June 2 ...

were then signed by

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

in June 2000, in a co-ownership deal for a total of 6 billion lire;F.C. Internazionale Milano S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2001, PDF purchased from C.C.I.A.A. (in Italian) as part of the deal,

Fabio Galante Fabio Galante (born 20 November 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He represented Italy at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Playing career Galante was born in Montecatini Terme, Province of Pistoia. He starte ...

moved to Turin for 5.1 billion lire. Semioli spent seasons back on loan with Torino, and on loan at

Ternana Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A (in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seas ...

and

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

, while Torino bought back Fissore for 2 billion lire in June 2001; in total, Inter received 1.1 billion lire in net cash from Torino for Galante.

Chievo

In June 2003 Internazionale bought the remain half from Torino, and then joint-owned with

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

in July for €1.05 million, as part of the loan fee of Luciano. Chievo got full ownership in June 2005 for €500,000 as part of Júlio César's deal. He became one of the most representative players for Chievo, and was one of the main protagonists of the very impressive 2005–06 season contributing 2 goals and 12 assists. One of the top assisters that season.

Fiorentina

In July 2007 Semioli signed for

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 ...

for a fee of €7.3 million on a four-year contract. He scored Fiorentina's first UEFA Cup goal against

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

and scored crucial goals against Atalanta and Parma which allowed Fiorentina to surpass AC Milan for the final Champions League spot. In the 2008–09 season Semioli was widely believed to be on his way out because of the tactic change and the arrival of players such as Stevan Jovetic. However, after season ending injuries to Adrian Mutu and Mario Santana, Semioli found his way back onto the first team, and was a valuable asset to Gilardino, providing him with many crosses and being a terror on the wings.

Sampdoria

Following the arrival of

Marco Marchionni Marco Marchionni (; born 22 July 1980) is an Italian professional football coach and former Italian professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the head coach of club Potenza. A versatile player, he was capable of playing in seve ...

to Fiorentina, in July 2009, for €4.5 million, it was confirmed that Semioli was transferred to

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

as a four-year deal, for €4 million fee in August, rejoining his former coach at Chievo,

Luigi Delneri Luigi Delneri (born 23 August 1950), often incorrectly written as Del Neri, is an Italian football manager and a former player. After a playing career as a midfielder including for several Serie A clubs, he began managing in the lower leagues, a ...

. Franco scored his first goal 13 February with a header against his former team Fiorentina which gave Bluecerchiati the lead.

Vicenza

After three years at Sampdoria, Semioli was transferred to former club

in a deal that included Sampdoria teammates

Marco Padalino Marco Padalino (born 8 December 1983) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Malcantone Agno, Catania, Piacenza, Sampdoria and Vicenza, and Lugano. A Swiss international from 2009 to 2014, he represe ...

and

Zsolt Laczkó Zsolt Laczkó (born 18 December 1986) is a Hungarian former professional footballer who last played as a left wing back or winger for III. Kerületi TVE. Club career Ferencváros Zsolt Laczkó was born in Szeged, Hungary. He debuted in the ...

moving in the same direction, all for free.

International career

Semioli represented the Italy Under-18 team at the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain and Englan ...

, where they reached the final, only to lose to the Portugal Under-18 side. In the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

he was one of the four backup players for the 23-men main squad chosen by manager

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional football player and manager, who led the Italian national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and 2 ...

to step in for any possible injuries. However, he was not called up to the final 23-man squad and thus never received a winners medal. On 16 August 2006, Semioli made his Italy national team senior debut in a 2–0 friendly defeat against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, in Livorno, under

Roberto Donadoni Roberto Donadoni (; born 9 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder. Donadoni was capable of playing on either flank, or in the centre. He began his career with Atalanta, and he later became a pillar of the powerhous ...

. Semioli was recalled to the Italy squad for the final Euro 2008 qualifier with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. In total he made 3 appearances for Italy between 2006 and 2007.

Coaching career

After retirement as a professional footballer, Semioli obtained the

UEFA A Licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are is ...

, which made him eligible to start his career as a head coach in

Lega Pro The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

clubs. After a short sting as assistant coach of

Chieri Chieri (; pms, Cher) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Torine ...

, in 2018 Semioli signed for

Pro Vercelli Football Club Pro Vercelli 1892, commonly referred to as Pro Vercelli, is an Italian football club based in Vercelli, Piedmont. The club is mostly renowned as one of the most successful teams in the early football era of Italy, with seven natio ...

as a youth coach for the Under-17 players. In 2019, he moved to

as a youth coach. On 28 July 2022, Semioli was announced as the new Under-19 Primavera coach of

. On 1 December 2022, he was promoted to head coach, taking charge of the first team in the

league. He was however dismissed on 16 January 2023.

Career statistics

International

References

External links

Official U.C. Sampdoria profile

FIGC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Semioli, Franco Living people 1980 births People from Cirié Men's association football midfielders Italian footballers Italy men's international footballers Italy men's youth international footballers Torino F.C. players U.S. Salernitana 1919 players L.R. Vicenza players A.C. ChievoVerona players ACF Fiorentina players Ternana Calcio players U.C. Sampdoria players Serie A players Serie B players Serie D players Italian football managers Serie C managers Novara F.C. managers Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Italy Mediterranean Games medalists in football Competitors at the 2001 Mediterranean Games Footballers from Piedmont Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Turin