Alessandro Diamanti (; born 2 May 1983) 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, rugb ...

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

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

club

Western United Western United Football Club is an Australian professional football club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Truganina, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the western suburbs of Melbourne; the region ...

. At club level, he has previously played for

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 ...

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

, Fucecchio,

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 fol ...

, AlbinoLeffe,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and '' comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily kno ...

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

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 ...

and

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

. At international level, he represented Italy at

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

, winning a runners-up medal, and at the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tour ...

, winning a bronze medal.

Club career

Prato

Diamanti spent his early career with

, Florentia and AlbinoLeffe.

Livorno

Having scored 15 goals in 31 outings during the 2006–07 season, Diamanti signed for

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 Cop ...

side

. He made 14 starts and 12 substitute appearances in his first season with the Tuscany side. He stayed with Livorno when they were relegated to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie 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 season. It had been ...

due to finishing last in the

2007–08 Serie A The 2007–08 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 106th season of top-tier Italian football, the 76th in a round-robin tournament. It started on 25 August 2007 and ended on 18 May 2008. Internazionale successfully ...

. On 23 August 2009, Diamanti played in Livorno's opening day fixture in Serie A, a 0–0 home draw against

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

West Ham United

The following week, however, Diamanti signed a five-year deal with

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 Fo ...

club

for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in ''the Hammers 1–0 defeat away to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

on 12 September. In the process, Diamanti became the 800th player in West Ham United's history. He scored his first West Ham goal from the penalty spot, albeit controversially as he fell over on run up and kicked the ball with both feet, on his home debut against

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

on 19 September 2009. Diamanti scored eight goals, though only three came from open play with most coming from penalty kicks. On 4 May 2010, he was voted runner-up as Hammer of the Year by the club's supporters, for the 2009–10 season, behind winner Scott Parker.

Brescia

On 24 August 2010, Serie A club

bought Diamanti for €2.2 million from West Ham with an additional €300,000 to be paid if Brescia secured their Serie A status for the coming campaign. Brescia also announced in its financial report that Diamanti had cost the club €3.85 million. Alessandro was unveiled at Brescia on 25 August 2010 and chose to continue wearing the number 32 shirt. Due to his popularity, ability and playing style, comparisons were drawn between Diamanti and former club icon

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pr ...

, which Diamanti played down, however. In his debut season at Brescia, Diamanti scored six

goals, behind only Andrea Caracciolo as the club's top scorer for the domestic season. Diamanti's sixth goal came in a 2–1 loss against

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

which confirmed Brescia's relegation to Serie B, just one season after promotion to the top-flight. In July 2011, West Ham called for Diamanti's registration at Brescia to be suspended by the

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...

(FIGC) claiming the latest instalment of his €2.2 million transfer fee from Brescia had not yet been paid.

Bologna

On 1 August 2011, Diamanti was signed by Serie A side

in a co-ownership deal with Brescia, for €1.5 million. Diamanti's first goal for the club came in a 3–1 home defeat to

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 t ...

on 24 September. On 11 December, Bologna played host to Inter's cross–city rivals

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

; Diamanti played inspired football and provided an assist for

Marco Di Vaio Marco Di Vaio (; born 15 July 1976) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. A prolific goalscorer, in his long club career, Di Vaio scored over 200 league goals ...

's opening goal and then netted a 73rd-minute goal to earn his side a 2–2 draw. Diamanti scored the winning goal of a 3–1 away victory over

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

on 11 March 2012 with a 30-yard strike over out-of-position goalkeeper

Federico Marchetti Federico Marchetti (; born 7 February 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Spezia. Marchetti began his professional club career with Torino in 2002, and was subsequently loaned out to Pro Verce ...

. On 12 April, Diamanti scored an incredible free-kick against

to move his side up to 40 points and six points clear of the relegation zone. On 16 September 2012, Diamanti scored in between strikes from

Alberto Gilardino Alberto Gilardino (; born 5 July 1982) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who played as a striker. He is currently in charge as caretaker of Genoa, a club he was contracted with on July 2022 as a youth coach. A p ...

to help Bologna to a 3–2 comeback victory over

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 ...

at the

Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...

. Diamanti put the finishing touches on a comfortable 3–0 defeat of

on 18 November, netting from the penalty spot in the 48th minute. On 2 December, Diamanti netted from a free-kick as Bologna earned a hard-fought 2–1 victory over

, courtesy of a second-half goal from teammate Manolo Gabbiadini. Two weeks later, on 16 December, Diamanti proved instrumental in Bologna's surprise 3–2 defeat of high-flying

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, providing the free-kick from which Daniele Portanova headed in a minute from time to secure the victory. During the 2012–13 Serie A season, Diamanti was the most fouled player in Serie A, having been fouled 147 times.

Guangzhou Evergrande

On 7 February 2014, Bologna and

officially announced an agreement over transferring Diamanti to Guangzhou Evergrande with a transfer fee of €6.9 million. He made his debut appearance for Guangzhou in a 4–2 win over

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

on 26 February 2014 in the first group match of the 2014 Asian Champions League. He scored twice to change the course of the match after Guangzhou lagged 2–0 in the first half. He made his CSL debut at the CSL's opening match at

Tianhe Stadium Tianhe Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is currently used for football matches. History Construction of the stadium began on 4 July 1984 at the former site of Guangzhou Tianhe Airport. ...

on 8 March 2014; he did not score a goal, and was substituted off the pitch in the 67th minute.

Fiorentina (loan)

On 10 January 2015, Diamanti moved to

on loan from Guangzhou Evergrande. He scored his first goal for the club on 8 February in a 3–2 win over Atalanta.

Watford (loan)

On 17 August 2015, Diamanti signed for English Premier League club

, on loan from Guangzhou Evergrande, subject to international clearance.

Atalanta (loan)

On 13 January 2016, Diamanti signed a season-long loan with Atalanta. He scored his first goal for the club on 20 March in a 2–0 win over former club Bologna.

Palermo

On 29 August 2016,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Diamanti joined Palermo on a two-year deal. After the club's relegation at the end of the

2016–17 Serie A The 2016–17 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 115th season of top-tier Italian football, the 85th in a round-robin tournament, and the 7th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season, however, he cancelled his contract with the club on 31 August 2017.

Western United

On 24 July 2019, Diamanti joined new

club

on a one-year marquee deal. Diamanti was also named as the club's inaugural captain ahead of the

2019–20 A-League The 2019–20 A-League, also known as the 2019–20 Hyundai A-League for sponsorship reasons, was the 43rd season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 15th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The regular season commenced o ...

season. At the end of the season he won the

Johnny Warren Medal The Johnny Warren Medal is awarded to the best player of the Australian national soccer club competition. It was first awarded in the National Soccer League in 1990, and upon the NSL's demise in November 2004, was carried forward into the new na ...

as the best player of the year.

International career

Cole Diamanti and Gerrard England-Italy Euro 2012

Diamanti made his debut with the Italy national team on 17 November 2010, for manager Cesare Prandelli, in a friendly match against

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 played only the first half of his debut game before being substituted. In May 2012, he was named in the provisional, 32-man Italian squad for

and came on as a substitute in the final group match against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

on 18 June 2012, setting up

Mario Balotelli Mario Balotelli Barwuah (; ''né'' Barwuah; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Sion. Balotelli started his professional football career in 2005 at Lumezzane, before ...

's goal from a corner as Italy won the match 2–0 to advance to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-final against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 24 June 2012, Diamanti came on in the second half for

Antonio Cassano Antonio Cassano (; born 12 July 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A talented and technically gifted player, he was usually deployed as a supporting forward, but could also play as an attacking midfield ...

and scored the winning

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

to give Italy a 4–2

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

win. Diamanti was selected for Italy's squad at the

in Brazil. He scored one goal at the tournament, from a free kick in the bronze medal game against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, his first international goal; he was also involved in Davide Astori's opening goal, as the latter scored off the rebound after Diamanti's free kick had hit the crossbar. Italy went on to win the match 3–2 on penalties following a 2–2 deadlock after extra time.

Style of play

Nicknamed "Alino", Diamanti is a dynamic, creative and technically gifted left-footed

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...

, who usually plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...

; he has also been deployed as a winger or as a supporting striker on occasion, due to his ability to both create chances for teammates, and score goals with his accurate striking ability from outside the area, despite his lack of pace. He is predominantly known for his vision, passing, crossing, control, and

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

ability, as well as his accuracy from

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

; he is also a set-piece specialist, known for his delivery from dead ball situations, as well as his precise

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

direct free kicks, and has scored directly from

corner kick A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is taken ...

s throughout his career. In addition to his flair and playing ability, he is also known for his charismatic personality, tenacity, and leadership on the pitch; moreover, he is a player who wins a lot of fouls for his team.

Personal life

Diamanti's wife, Silvia Hsieh, is

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

. They married on 6 July 2008. On 18 December 2008, Silvia gave birth to their daughter, Aileen. On 17 July 2010, Silvia gave birth to a second girl, named Olivia. On 8 March 2013, the couple's third child, a boy named Taddeo, was born.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Diamanti goal.''

Honours

Fiorentina *

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 ...

: 2002–03 Livorno *

Play-offs: 2008–09 Guangzhou Evergrande *

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 ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Italy *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

runner-up:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

third place:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Individual * PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2019–20 *

: 2020

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamanti, Alessandro 1983 births Living people People from Prato Sportspeople from the Province of Prato Italian footballers Association football forwards Empoli F.C. players ACF Fiorentina players U.C. AlbinoLeffe players A.C. Prato players U.S. Livorno 1915 players West Ham United F.C. players Watford F.C. players Brescia Calcio players Bologna F.C. 1909 players Atalanta B.C. players Guangzhou F.C. players Palermo F.C. players A.C. Perugia Calcio players Western United FC players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Serie D players Premier League players Chinese Super League players A-League Men players Marquee players (A-League Men) Italy international footballers UEFA Euro 2012 players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players Italian expatriate footballers Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in China Italian expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate soccer players in Australia Footballers from Tuscany