Eusebio Di Francesco

Eusebio Di Francesco
Personal information
Full name Eusebio Di Francesco
Date of birth (1969-09-08) 8 September 1969
Place of birth Pescara, Italy
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Sassuolo (Manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1991 Empoli 102 (3)
1991–1995 Lucchese 139 (12)
1995–1997 Piacenza 67 (5)
1997–2001 Roma 168 (14)
2001–2003 Piacenza 61 (12)
2003–2004 Ancona 10 (0)
2004–2005 Perugia 30 (1)
Total 577 (47)
National team
1998–2000 Italy 12 (1)
Teams managed
2008–2009 Virtus Lanciano
2010–2011 Pescara
2011 Lecce
2012– Sassuolo

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Eusebio Di Francesco (born 8 September 1969) is a former professional Italian football player and current manager, who played as a midfielder. He currently works as head coach of Serie A club Sassuolo.

Club career

Di Francesco started his career with Tuscan teams Empoli and Lucchese. In 1995 he joined Piacenza, where he had the opportunity to play regularly in the top flight. In 1997 he was signed by A.S. Roma, winning an Italian championship title in 2001 with the giallorossi.[1] Following this triumph, he agreed to return to Piacenza, for 2 billion Italian lire[2] and then retired in 2005 following stints with Ancona and Perugia.[3][4]

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.[5] 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,[6][7] although he later turned down the offer in order to help Piacenza defeat Cagliari 3–1 relegation play-off in order to remain in Serie A.[8][9] He made his international debut on 05 September 1998, under Dino Zoff, in a 2–0 victory over Wales in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match.[10][11] 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.[12]

Style of play

Di Francesco was a hard-working and consistent midfielder, 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 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.[3][4]

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.[13] In 2008 he was appointed as head coach of Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Virtus Lanciano, being later sacked in January 2009 due to poor results.[14]

He then served as head coach of Pescara 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 club Lecce regarding the vacant head coaching post at the club from Salento.[15] He was removed from his managerial duties on 4 December 2011, after achieving only eight points in thirteen games, and leaving his side at the bottom of the league table.[16]

On 19 June 2012, Di Francesco was appointed the manager of Serie B side Sassuolo. 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,[17] only to be re-appointed to the post on March 3, 2014[18] after results did not improve in his absence. From March 2014 onwards, results improved and Di Francesco successfully managed 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.[19] Sassuolo finished the 2015–16 Serie A season in sixth place, sealing a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League.[20] The following season, Sassuolo managed to advance to the Europa League play-offs under Di Francesco, and eventually sealed a spot in the Europa League group stage.[21]

Managerial statistics

As of 28 November 2016
Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
Virtus Lanciano Italy 23 June 2008 27 January 2009 20 6 3 11 30.00
Pescara Italy 12 January 2010 22 June 2011 61 23 17 21 37.70
Lecce Italy 24 June 2011 4 December 2011 14 2 2 10 14.29
Sassuolo Italy 19 June 2012 28 January 2014 67 31 15 21 46.27
Sassuolo Italy 3 March 2014 Present 116 43 34 39 37.07
Total 278 105 71 102 37.77

Personal life

Eusebio Di Francesco has a son, Federico (born 1994), who followed his father's footsteps by becoming a football player too. He plays as a forward and made his Serie A debut in March 2013 at the age of 18.[22] Eusebio Di Francesco is named after the Portuguese Football legend Eusebio.[23]

Honours

Player

Roma[1]

Manager

Sassuolo[24]

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 Terry Daley (20 September 2015). "Francesco Totti reaches landmark but Roma icon is approaching the end". ESPN FC. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Lupatelli va al Chievo, Di Francesco a Piacenza". AS Roma (in Italian). 2001-06-29. Archived from the original on 2002-06-02. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  3. 1 2 "Di Francesco, Eusebio" (in Italian). enciclopediagiallorossa.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 "DI FRANCESCO EUSEBIO" (in Italian). tuttocalciatori.net. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Di Francesco, Eusebio" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "French feast to comfort soccer starved". irishtimes.com. 3 June 1997. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "TORNEO DI FRANCIA, TORNA PAGLIUCA CON 3 DEBUTTANTI" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 31 May 1997. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  8. ↑ Licia Granello (3 June 1997). "ITALIA IN TRAPPOLA MALDINI HA I NERVI" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "LO SPAREGGIO: CAGLIARI – PIACENZA 1-3" (in Italian). storiapiacenza1919. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "Eusebio Di Francesco: Le partite disputate con la maglia dell'Italia" (in Italian). Italia1910. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Galles-Italia 0-2" (in Italian). Rai Sport. 5 September 1998. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  12. ↑ Giancarlo Padovan; Franco Melli (17 December 1998). "L' Italia fa la festa al resto del mondo" (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  13. ↑ "Lo staff tecnico e la dirigenza" (in Italian). Polisportiva Val di Sangro. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  14. ↑ "Via Di Francesco, arriva Pagliari" (in Italian). Lanciano.it. 2009-01-27. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  15. ↑ "Il Pescara sceglie Zeman Di Francesco verso Lecce" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  16. ↑ "Serse Cosmi nuovo allenatore". US Lecce (in Italian). 4 December 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  17. ↑ "Sassuolo dispense with Di Francesco". UEFA.com. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  18. ↑ "Communicato Ufficiale". SassuoloCalcio.it. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  19. ↑ "Sassuolo, Di Francesco rinnova fino al 2016" (in Italian). Il Resto del Carlino. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Sassuolo: 'Italian success story'". Football Italia. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  21. ↑ Pietro Razzini (25 August 2016). "Europa League, Stella Rossa-Sassuolo 1-1, Berardi segna ancora" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  22. ↑ "DI FRANCESCO FEDERICO" (in Italian). tuttocalciatori.net. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  23. ↑ Elena Baiguera Beltrami (2 June 2016). "Eusebio Di Francesco operato all'anca a Tione" (in Italian). Il Trentino (Corriere delle Alpi). Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  24. ↑ "Serie B, Sassuolo e Verona promosse in A. Ascoli e Vicenza retrocesse" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "Panchina d'Oro, vince Conte, poi Montella e Mazzarri" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  26. ↑ "Football Leader 2013: premiato Di Francesco, tecnico Sassuolo" (in Italian). Calciomercato.com. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
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