Eusebio Di Francesco (; born 8 September 1969) is an Italian

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, and former 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 ...

who played 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 ...

Club career

Di Francesco started his career with Tuscan teams Empoli and Lucchese. In 1995, he joined

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

, where he had the opportunity to play regularly in the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

. In 1997, he was signed by

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

, winning an Italian championship title in 2001 with the ''giallorossi''. Following this triumph, he agreed to return to Piacenza, for 2

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

lire (€1.03 million by fixed exchange rate) and then retired in 2005 following stints with

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

and

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 pa ...

International career

During his time with Roma, Di Francesco also made 12 appearances for the Italian national team between 1998 and 2000, and was called up for a total of 16 times. He received his first call-up while with Piacenza, under manager Cesare Maldini, when he was named in Italy's squad for

1997 Tournoi de France The 1997 Tournoi de France (; French, 'Tournament of France'), often referred to as Le Tournoi, was an international football tournament held in France in early June 1997 as a warm-up to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The four national teams participati ...

, although he later turned down the offer in order to help Piacenza defeat Cagliari 3–1

relegation play-off In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

in order to remain in Serie A. He made his international debut on 5 September 1998, under

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at th ...

, in a 2–0 victory over

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

in a

UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2000 final tournament, took place throughout 1998 and 1999. Forty-nine teams were divided into nine groups. All teams played against each other, within their groups, on a home-and-away basis. The winner of each group ...

match. In addition to his 12 official appearances with Italy, Di Francesco also made an additional appearance for the Italian national team in an unofficial friendly match against the FIFA World Stars on 16 December 1998, held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Italian Football Federation; he scored his only international goal during the match, which ended in a 6–2 victory to the Italians.

Style of play

Di Francesco was a hard-working and consistent

, who, despite not being the most technically gifted footballer, possessed a solid first touch, and an ability to make attacking runs into the area. Capable of playing both in

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

or on the wing, he was known in particular for his leadership, versatility, and exceptional stamina, as well as his tireless runs up and down the

flank Flank may refer to: * Flank (anatomy), part of the abdomen ** Flank steak, a cut of beef ** Part of the external anatomy of a horse * Flank speed, a nautical term * Flank opening, a chess opening * A term in Australian rules football * Th ...

Coaching career

After his retirement from football, he served as team manager for A.S. Roma. He then served as sports director (in charge of transfers) for Serie C2 club Val di Sangro in 2007. In 2008, he was appointed as head coach of

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1. Before the 1978 ...

club

Virtus Lanciano S.S. Virtus Lanciano 1924 is an Italian association football club, based in Lanciano, Abruzzo. It last played in Serie B in 2015–16 as Virtus Lanciano. Virtus Lanciano now competes in youth football only. History The club was founded in ...

, being later sacked in January 2009 due to poor results. He then served as head coach of

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

in the 2010–11 Serie B, guiding his team to an impressive season also thanks to glimpses of attractive football. In June 2011 it was revealed Di Francesco had left Pescara by mutual consent in order to hold talks with

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 ...

club Lecce regarding the vacant head coaching post at the club from

Salento Salento (Salentino: ''Salentu'', Salentino Griko: ''Σαλέντο'') is a cultural, historical and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apulia in Southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, ...

. He was removed from his coaching duties on 4 December 2011, after achieving only eight points in thirteen games, and leaving his side at the bottom of the league table. On 19 June 2012, Di Francesco was appointed the head coach of

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 ...

side

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; egl, label= Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known f ...

. At the end of 2012–13 season, he guided Sassuolo to the Serie B championship and promotion to the top-flight campaign. He was sacked on 28 January 2014 after a poor run of results, only to be re-appointed to the post on 3 March 2014 after results did not improve in his absence. From March 2014 onwards, results improved and Di Francesco successfully coached to save Sassuolo from relegation thanks to a run of positive results (13 points in the final seven games of the season). In June 2014, it was announced Di Francesco had signed an extension that will keep him contracted with Sassuolo until June 2016. He extended his contract again in April 2016, which would last until June 2019. Sassuolo finished the

2015–16 Serie A The 2015–16 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th season of top-tier Italian football, the 84th in a round-robin tournament, and the 6th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season in sixth place, sealing a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. The following season, Sassuolo managed to advance to the

Europa League play-offs 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 ...

under Di Francesco, and eventually sealed a spot in the Europa League group stage. On 13 June 2017, Di Francesco was appointed as Roma head coach, replacing Luciano Spalletti, who left for

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a form ...

. In his first season with the Serie A club, he finished third, qualifying for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League. In the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, Roma qualified for the knockout round after topping a group including

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and Atlético Madrid. In the quarter finals, Roma were able to overturn a 4–1 first leg deficit to defeat

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

to progress to the next round. They were eventually defeated by

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in the semi finals (7–6 on aggregate). On 30 January 2019, Roma were knocked out of

2018–19 Coppa Italia The 2018–19 Coppa Italia, also known as TIM Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 72nd edition of the national cup in Italian football. Juventus were the defending champions having won the last four editions, but were eliminated by Atalanta in ...

after being beaten 7–1 by

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 ...

. On 7 March 2019, Di Francesco was sacked by Roma following a Champions League exit in the round of 16 against Porto. At the time of his sacking, Roma were 5th in Serie A. Jim Pallotta, club's president to Roma's official website: On 22 June 2019, he was appointed new head coach of

club

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, ...

. On 7 October 2019, with Sampdoria in last place in Serie A table and with 6 losses in 7 league games, he left the club by mutual consent. Di Francesco was appointed manager of yet another Serie A club, Cagliari, on 3 August 2020. Di Francesco was sacked on 22 February 2021. On 7 June 2021, he was unveiled as the new

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. His ...

head coach, signing a two-year contract, until 30 June 2023, starting with the 2021–22 Serie A season. but following three defeats in the first three league games he was sacked on 14 September 2021.

Personal life

Eusebio Di Francesco has a son, Federico (born in 1994), who followed his father's footsteps by becoming a footballer too. He plays as a winger and made his Serie A debut in March 2013 at the age of 18. Eusebio Di Francesco was named after the Portuguese Football legend

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

;Roma *

: 2000–01

Manager

;Sassuolo *

2012–13 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 ...

Individual

* Panchina d'argento: 2012–13 *Football Leader: 2013 (The First Serie B) * Enzo Bearzot Award: 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Francesco, Eusebio 1969 births Living people Italian footballers Italy international footballers Italian football managers Empoli F.C. players S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 players Piacenza Calcio 1919 players A.S. Roma players A.C. Ancona players A.C. Perugia Calcio players S.S. Virtus Lanciano 1924 managers Delfino Pescara 1936 managers U.S. Lecce managers Serie A players Serie B players Association football midfielders Serie A managers U.S. Sassuolo Calcio managers A.S. Roma managers U.C. Sampdoria managers Cagliari Calcio managers