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Marco Di Vaio
Marco Di Vaio Montreal Impact.jpg
Di Vaio playing for the Montreal Impact in 2013
Personal information
Date of birth (1976-07-15) 15 July 1976 (age 48)
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Height 1.80m
Playing position Striker
Youth career
1991–1994 Lazio
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1993–1995 Lazio 8 (3)
1995–1996 Verona 7 (1)
1996–1997 Bari 27 (3)
1997–1999 Salernitana 67 (33)
1999–2002 Parma 83 (41)
2002–2004 Juventus 55 (18)
2004–2006 Valencia 35 (11)
2006–2007 Monaco 29 (8)
2007–2008 Genoa 44 (12)
2008–2012 Bologna 143 (65)
2012–2014 Montreal Impact 76 (34)
Total 575 (230)
National team
1993–1994 Italy U18 3 (0)
2001–2004 Italy 14 (2)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Marco Di Vaio (born 15 July 1976) is a former Italian professional footballer. He played as a striker, which means he was mainly focused on scoring goals. Throughout his long career, Di Vaio scored over 200 league goals. He played for many clubs, mostly in Italy, but also in France, Spain, and Canada. He also played for the Italy national football team at Euro 2004.

Playing Career

Starting Out

Marco Di Vaio began his football journey at his hometown club, Lazio, in Rome. He made his first appearance in Italy's top league, called Serie A, on 20 November 1994. After Lazio, he played for other clubs in Serie B (Italy's second division), like Verona and Bari. In 1997, he moved to Salernitana.

Becoming a Star in Italy

At Salernitana, Marco Di Vaio really shined. He helped them get promoted to Serie A in the 1997–98 season. He was the top goal scorer in Serie B that year!

Even though Salernitana went back down to Serie B the next season, Di Vaio stayed in Serie A. He was bought by Parma. He scored many goals for Parma and became the second-highest scorer in the league in his third season with the team.

Playing for Top Teams

In 2002, one of Italy's biggest clubs, Juventus, signed him. However, it was tough for Di Vaio to get a regular spot in the starting team because there were so many great players at Juventus. Even so, he helped Juventus win the Italian league title, known as the scudetto, and reach the 2003 UEFA Champions League final.

After Juventus, Di Vaio moved to Spain to play for Valencia in 2004. Valencia had just won the UEFA Cup and the Spanish league, La Liga. He scored eleven goals during his time in Spain. However, with new players joining, it became harder for him to play regularly.

Adventures in France and Back to Italy

In January 2006, Di Vaio went on loan to Monaco in France's top league, Ligue 1. He played alongside another Italian player, Christian Vieri. In his second season there, he became a third-choice striker, meaning he didn't play as much.

On 22 January 2007, Di Vaio returned to Italy, joining Genoa in Serie B. Genoa was trying hard to get promoted, and they succeeded! But once they were in Serie A, other players were preferred, and Di Vaio only played a few games.

Finding a Home at Bologna

Marcodivaio
Di Vaio at Bologna, 2011

On 21 August 2008, Marco Di Vaio signed with Bologna, a team that had just been promoted to Serie A. He had an amazing 2008–09 season, scoring 24 goals for Bologna. He ended up as the joint second-highest scorer in the league!

At Bologna, Di Vaio became a very important player and a favorite among the fans. He even became the team captain. He said he wanted to finish his career at Bologna. However, in May 2012, he announced that the 2011–12 season would be his last with the club.

Moving to Canada: Montreal Impact

After leaving Bologna, Marco Di Vaio signed with the Montreal Impact in Canada. This made him the club's first "Designated Player," which means he was a star player whose salary didn't fully count against the team's budget.

Di Vaio played his first game for the Impact on 27 June 2012. He scored his first goal a month later. On 25 October 2014, in his very last professional game, Di Vaio scored a goal in a 1–1 draw. He retired from football after the 2014 season.

Playing for Italy

Marco Di Vaio first played for the Italian national team on 5 September 2001, in a friendly match against Morocco. He scored his first goal for Italy on 11 October 2003, in a game against Azerbaijan.

Di Vaio played for Italy at Euro 2004. He appeared in Italy's last group match, which they won, but Italy was still knocked out of the tournament early. Later, he didn't play for the national team as much because other new strikers became very good. He played his last game for Italy on 9 October 2004. In total, he played 14 times for Italy and scored two goals.

After Football

After he retired as a player, Marco Di Vaio joined Bologna again, but this time as a club manager. This means he helps run the club from behind the scenes.

How He Played

Marco Di Vaio was known as a "prolific goalscorer," meaning he scored many goals. He was quick and good at finding chances to score. He was also a "versatile" player, which means he could play in different positions along the front of the field. He could play as a main striker or even on the wing. He had good "technique" (skill with the ball) and could pass well. His favorite role was as a "centre-forward," where he could use his goalscoring ability and his skill in heading the ball. He also had a powerful and accurate shot from far away and was good at taking penalty kicks.

Career Numbers

Club Stats

Marco Di Vaio 2013 Montreal Impact
Di Vaio playing against the Chicago Fire in 2012
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lazio 1993–94 Serie A 0 0 1 0 – 1 0 – 2 0
1994–95 8 3 4 0 – 1 1 – 13 4
Total 8 3 5 0 – 2 1 – 15 4
Verona 1995–96 Serie B 7 1 0 0 – – – 7 1
Bari 1996–97 Serie B 27 3 0 0 – – – 27 3
Salernitana 1997–98 Serie B 36 21 2 0 – – – 38 21
1998–99 Serie A 31 12 1 0 – – – 32 12
Total 67 33 3 0 – – – 70 33
Parma 1999–2000 Serie A 23 6 0 0 – 10 7 2 0 35 13
2000–01 27 15 7 3 – 5 2 – 39 20
2001–02 33 20 6 1 – 10 2 – 49 23
2002–03 – – – – 1 1 1 1
Total 83 41 13 4 – 25 11 3 1 124 57
Juventus 2002–03 Serie A 26 7 3 0 – 11 4 – 40 11
2003–04 29 11 7 3 – 7 3 1 0 44 17
Total 55 18 10 3 – 18 7 1 0 84 28
Valencia 2004–05 La Liga 30 11 0 0 – 7 2 2 1 39 14
2005–06 5 0 0 0 – 6 0 – 11 0
Total 35 11 0 0 – 13 2 2 1 50 14
Monaco 2005–06 Ligue 1 15 5 1 0 2 0 – – 18 5
2006–07 14 3 1 0 2 0 – – 17 3
Total 29 8 2 0 4 0 – – 35 8
Genoa 2006–07 Serie B 22 9 0 0 – – – 22 9
2007–08 Serie A 22 3 2 1 – – – 24 4
Total 44 12 2 1 – – – 46 13
Bologna 2008–09 Serie A 38 24 2 1 – – – 40 25
2009–10 30 12 1 0 – – – 31 12
2010–11 38 19 1 0 – – – 39 19
2011–12 37 10 1 0 – – – 38 10
Total 143 65 5 1 – – – 148 66
Montreal Impact 2012 Major League Soccer 17 5 3 0 – – – 20 5
2013 33 20 3 2 – – – 36 22
2014 26 9 4 0 – 3 4 – 33 13
Total 76 34 10 2 – 3 4 – 89 40
Career total 574 229 50 11 4 0 61 25 6 2 695 267

International Stats

Italy
Year Apps Goals
2001 1 0
2002 4 0
2003 5 2
2004 4 0
Total 14 2

What He Won

Marco di Vaio MLS AllStar 2013
Di Vaio at the 2013 MLS All-Star Game

Salernitana

Parma

Juventus

Valencia

Montreal Impact

Individual Awards

  • Serie B top scorer: 1997–98
  • MLS All-Star: 2013
  • MLS Best XI: 2013
  • Montreal Impact Most Valuable Player: 2013
  • Montreal Impact Top Scorer: 2013, 2014

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Marco Di Vaio para niños

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