Raffaele De Vita (born 23 September 1987) is an Italian professional

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 ...

who plays as 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 ...

for Italian side Anagni. De Vita started his career with

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

, and has also played for

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

, Ross County,

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

, Edinburgh City, and

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

Career

Born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, De Vita grew up supporting

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and idolised

Paolo Di Canio Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forward, ...

, who later coached him when he joined Swindon Town. De Vita began his career at a boys club in Rome, it has previously been reported as being the Roma academy, which was ironic, due to the fact De Vita supported Roma's rivals, Lazio - De Vita himself set these rumours straight in an interview with The Athletic) until he was scouted by

, which he said came "out of nowhere". De Vita began his career with Blackburn Rovers but did not make an appearance for the first team. He joined Scottish club

in July 2008. At one point, De Vita considered quitting Livingston, as a result of the club entering administration, but continued to play for the club, after

Gary Bollan Gary Bollan (born 24 March 1973) is a Scottish professional football player and coach. He played for Dundee United (two spells), Rangers, Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan), St Johnstone, Livingston, Motherwell, Clyde, Brechin City and Carnou ...

had come in as manager and he had regained his fitness. He made his debut on 14 February 2009 against

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

, and the following week scored his first goal against

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. At the end of the 2010–11 season, during which he helped the club win promotion to the

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

, De Vita was among seven players to be released by the club despite becoming a fans' favourite. During his career at Livingston, he made 67 league appearances and scored 22 goals.

Swindon Town

In June 2011, he signed for

on a two-year contract. He made his debut on 6 August, in a 3–0 win against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

, ensuring new manager

Paolo di Canio Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forward, ...

's first competitive game in charge of Swindon ended with a win. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 August, in a 1–0 win against

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. He scored his first league goal for the club on 24 September, opening the scoring in a 4–0 win against

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

. He followed this up with goals against

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

and

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

to finish his debut season with six goals, and helped Swindon to win the

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

title. He made his first appearance of the 2012–13 season on 14 August in a 3–0 win against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

in the League Cup. He scored his first goal of the season a week later, with Swindon now in

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

, in a 3–0 win against

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...

. After scoring in a defeat to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

, he then scored in back-to-back games in October, in a 2–1 defeat to Crewe and a 4–0 victory against

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

. In December 2012, he then scored twice in a 2–0 win against

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

, before scoring again in the following game, a 5–0 win against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

. He then scored his final goal of the season on 5 January 2013, in a 4–0 win against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. He helped Swindon to finish in the play-off positions, and played in the second leg of the semi-final against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, which finished 3–3, leaving the tie 4–4 on aggregate, with Brentford then going on to win the penalty shoot-out 5–4. He was then released by the club along with five other players, at the end of the season.

Bradford City

After training with the club for over two weeks, and scoring as a trialist in a 4–0 win in a pre-season game against

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in t ...

De Vita signed for

on a one-year contract on 30 July 2013. He made his debut on 3 August on the opening day of the season in a 2–2 draw against

, and assisted

Rory McArdle Rory Alexander McArdle (born 1 May 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for League Two club Harrogate Town. He has previously played for Sheffield Wednesday, Rochdale, Aberdeen, Bradford City and Scunthorpe United, and re ...

's later equaliser. He scored his first goal for the club on 26 October, opening the scoring in a 2–1 defeat 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 ...

. However, De Vita's first team opportunities were soon limited, due to a thigh injury that kept him out for months. After months on the sidelines, De Vita made his first team return on 11 April 2014, coming on as a substitute for Matthew Dolan in the 77th minute, in a 0–0 draw against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

. After making twenty-three appearances and scoring once in all competitions by the end of the 2013–14 season, De Vita's contract with the club expired and he was invited back for pre-season training in the hope of earning a new deal. However, it was made clear that De Vita would not return to Bradford City following the conclusion of the club's pre-season friendly matches.

Cheltenham Town

De Vita joined

on a three-month contract on 25 September 2014. De Vita made his Cheltenham Town debut two days later, coming on as a substitute for John Marquis in the 83rd minute, in a 1–0 loss against

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...

on 27 September 2014. After making thirteen appearances for the club during the first half of the season, De Vita was released by the club after the expiry of his contract in late-December.

Ross County

On 30 January 2015, De Vita signed for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

club Ross County. On his debut for the club, he scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

on 14 February 2015. Seven days later he scored again, this time against

Firhill Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as simp ...

, as the Staggies secured a 3–1 away victory. On 12 April 2015, De Vita was named as SPFL Player of the Month for March 2015. With his impressive displays helping Ross County avoid relegation, De Vita signed a new contract in May 2015, keeping him at the club until 2017. He scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season in a

match, as Ross County thrashed

7–0 on 22 September 2015. On 30 June 2016, De Vita was released by Ross County, despite his contract still having a year left.

Livingston return

After being without a club for four months, De Vita signed on for his second spell with

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was e ...

side

in October 2016.

Loans from Livingston

De Vita joined Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle on a season long Loan for the 2019/20 season. De Vita scored his first goal for Thistle in a 3-2 league defeat away to Morton. De Vita scored his second goal for the Jags in a 2–0 win at home to Welsh side Connah Quay Nomands in the Scottish Challenge Cup. Livingston recalled De Vita from his loan spell on New Year's Day 2020. The same day

announced they had signed him on loan until the end of the season; a season which ended early due to the

covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He was loaned to Edinburgh City in October 2020. De vita was released by Livingston at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Return to Italy

De Vita signed for Anagni in 2022.

Career statistics

Honours

;

Scottish Football League Third Division The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013. History The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fro ...

: 2009–10 *

Scottish Football League Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SF ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

: 2016–17 ;

: 2011–12 ; Ross County *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: 2015–16 ;Individual * League One Team of the Week: 17 December 2012 * League Two Team of the Week: 24 October 2011 * SPFL Player of the Month: March 2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Vita, Raffaele 1987 births Living people Footballers from Rome Italian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Livingston F.C. players Scottish Football League players Italian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Italian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Swindon Town F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Ross County F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Partick Thistle F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Edinburgh City F.C. players Italian expatriate sportspeople in England