Michele Di Piedi (born 21 December 1980) is an Italian professional

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 ...

former player and manager, currently head coach of Glacis United.

Biography

Early career and Sheffield Wednesday (1997–2003)

Di Piedi was born in

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 ...

, Sicily, and began his career at U.S. Siracusa before signing for

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

in 1999. However, he made no league appearances in his only season at the club. In summer 2000, he moved to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

, as Paul Jewell's first acquisition for the

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

club after their relegation from the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

the previous season. Di Piedi made his debut for Wednesday in their first game since relegation from The Premiership against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

at The Molineux on 13 August 2000, at the age of 19 as a 60th-minute substitute for

Gilles De Bilde Gilles De Bilde (born 9 June 1971) is a retired Belgian footballer who played as a striker. He played club football for Eendracht Aalst, Anderlecht, PSV, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, Lierse and Willebroek-Meerhof. He was capped by Be ...

, with

Andy Booth Andrew David Booth (born 6 December 1973) is a retired professional footballer. Whilst at Huddersfield he announced his retirement on 22 April 2009, but remains at the club as an ambassador, he also played for Sheffield Wednesday and Tottenham ...

scoring a 79th-minute equaliser after

Kevin Pressman Kevin Paul Pressman (born 6 November 1967) is an English football coach and former professional goalkeeper, who is the current goalkeeping coach for Grantham Town. As a player he made over 500 appearances in both the Premier League and Footb ...

was sent off in the first minute. Di Piedi was immediately welcomed by the Wednesday fans who saw echoes of recent Italian heroes; Paolo Di Canio and Benito Carbone. He showed signs he was full of energy, chasing lost causes and what he lacked in skill he made up for with his effort. His first goal for the club was a spectacular strike on his first start and was the only goal in a game away at Grimsby on 26 August.Donny Online • View topic – Michele di Piedi Signs for Rovers
He scored some wonderful goals for ''The Owls'', his last-minute strike at Birmingham City is well remembered by those who saw it, as he tore his shirt off, placed it on the corner flag and waved it in the air in front of the thousands of travelling Owls fans at St Andrews. His debut season was a big success with some great goals and performances which won him a four-year contract. His second season was ruined by injuries and he never fulfilled his earlier impact, although he did wow the crowds with a fantastic long-range overhead kick against Sunderland in the League Cup that saw the team progress against Premiership opposition. He scored seven goals in ten starts and thirty four substitute appearances for Wednesday.

Cyprus, Italy and return to England (2004–2007)

After spending time on loan at Norwegian side Odd Grenland in 2002 and Bristol Rovers in 2003 he was released by the club due to his child being ill and he returned to Italy to play for A.S. Sora but returned the next year for a trial at Bournemouth, after he had been recommended to them by Efan Ekoku. However, he failed to earn a permanent contract after breaking his neck in training. He then had a short spell at Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia in which he won the Cypriot Super Cup, before moving to Sicily to play for

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

side Gela FC. He would again return to England in the summer of 2006, signing for Doncaster Rovers after having trials at Gillingham and

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

. Unfortunately he only made three appearances and did not score before returning to his native country again.

Back in Italy (2007–2010)

After leaving England, he returned to Italy to play at lower level leagues, including

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

with Nuorese and

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

with Calabrians

Castrovillari Castrovillari ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Geography Castrovillari lies in the north of Calabria, close to the border with Basilicata and within the Pollino National ...

and

Vigor Lamezia Vigor Lamezia is an Football in Italy, Italian association football club, based in Lamezia Terme, Calabria. Vigor Lamezia currently plays in Promozione, 6th level of the Italian football league system. History The club was founded in 1919 and ...

throughout the 2009–10 season. On August 2010 he was signed by Western Sicilian club Mazara on a free transfer. He left the club by mutual consent on 29 November 2010.

Journeyman years and Gibraltar (2012–present)

After several years playing across eastern Europe, Asia and South America, Di Piedi signed for newly promoted

Gibraltar Premier Division The Gibraltar Premier Division was a football league established by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) in 1905, and the top tier of football in Gibraltar. It originally contained eight member clubs, but it has grown over the years. In 19 ...

team

Mons Calpe The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

in August 2016, in order to help the ambitious club challenge the top two teams of Lincoln Red Imps and

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

. Despite a mid-season spell out with injury, Di Piedi proved a crucial figure Mons Calpe's first season in the top flight of Gibraltarian football, contributing along with fellow marquee player Hugo Colace to guide them to a comfortable top half finish, after a winter dip in form during his absence saw their

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 ...

aspirations fade. He then served as player-manager of Glacis United.

References

External links

Di Piedi's profile from Nuorese official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Di Piedi, Michele 1980 births Living people Footballers from Palermo Italian footballers Italian expatriate footballers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Mons Calpe S.C. players APOEL FC players Nuorese Calcio players Odds BK players Serie C players English Football League players Cypriot First Division players Eliteserien players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Norway Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Lithuania Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Italian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Italian expatriate sportspeople in Lithuania Association football forwards U.S. Castrovillari Calcio players Gibraltar National League managers Gibraltar National League players Italian expatriate sportspeople in Gibraltar Italian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Gibraltar Expatriate footballers in Gibraltar