Valerio Di Cesare (born 23 May 1983) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a centre-back.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 May 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Rome, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–2001 | Lazio | ||
| 2001–2003 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2004 | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
| 2004 | → Avellino (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | AlbinoLeffe | 16 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Catanzaro | 5 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Mantova | 49 | (2) |
| 2008–2010 | Vicenza | 46 | (2) |
| 2010–2013 | Torino | 59 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | Brescia | 62 | (7) |
| 2015–2017 | Bari | 47 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Parma | 32 | (2) |
| 2018–2024 | Bari | 168 | (18) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editDi Cesare moved his first footsteps into Lazio's youth system. During the summer of 2001, he accepted an offer from Chelsea, initially joining the Blues' reserve team.[1] However, he failed to break into the first team, and left England in January 2004 without making a single appearance, joining Avellino in temporary deal.[2] Di Cesare was suffered him serious knee injury;[3] before move to Avellino, he also went to Brentford[3] and Como for a trial.[4]
Di Cesare then went on to play in Serie B with AlbinoLeffe, Catanzaro and Mantova, joining the Virgiliani in January 2006.
Mantova
editDi Cesare only played twice for the Veneto side in 2005–06 Serie B. In the next two seasons, he played 46 times out of a possible 84 Serie B games.
Vicenza
editIn June 2008, Di Cesare moved to Vicenza along with Simone Calori for €1 million and €500,000 respectively.[5] However, co-currently, Mantova had to sign Mattia Marchesetti and Riccardo Fissore also for €1 million and €500,000,[5] thus made the deal a pure player swap without involvement of cash. All four players signed a three-year contract.[5][6] Di Cesare only briefly played again in the first season with his new club (13 times in Serie B); Di Cesare played 33 games in 2009–10 Serie B.
Torino
editIn his final year of the contract, Vicenza decided to sell him to Torino for €250,000 in a three-year contract (€750,000 short with the original price or €83,333 with the residual value of the contract), while Calori (who never played for the club) was released for free with a write-down of €166,667.[7][8][9] Di Cesare made 50 out of possible 84 Serie B appearances with the Toro, winning the promotion back to Serie A. Di Cesare played nine times in 2012–13 Serie A. In June 2013, Di Cesare also obtained a license as youth team coach.[10]
Brescia
editOn 8 August 2013, Di Cesare joined Serie B team Brescia.[11] In 2015–16 Serie B, he did not receive a shirt number on 5 August.[12] A week later he was sold to Bari.[13]
Bari
editDi Cesare signed a two-year contract with Bari on 12 August 2015.[14]
Parma
editOn 31 January 2017, Di Cesare was signed by Parma in a 2+1⁄2-year contract.[15][16]
Return to Bari
editIn September 2018, after being released by Parma, Di Cesare agreed to re-join Bari, following the club's refoundation in the Serie D league.[17] He captained Bari to two promotions, leading the club back to Serie B and narrowly missing on promotion to Serie A after losing to Cagliari in the 2022–23 Serie B playoff finals. He retired in June 2024 at the age of 41, after being instrumental in Bari's escape from relegation in a playoff match against Ternana, scoring the first goal in a 3–0 away win against the rossoverdi.[18]
Honours
editBari
References
edit- ^ "England – Who's who – Valerio Di Cesare". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
- ^ "Rosicky: Chelsea move was close". Sky Sports. 1 February 2004. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ a b "Blues duo handed Bees trial". Sky Sports. 10 September 2003. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Como invite Chelsea star". Sky Sports. 3 December 2003. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ a b c Vicenza Calcio SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2008 (in Italian)
- ^ "CALORI E DI CESARE AL VICENZA, FISSORE E MARCHESETTI AL MANTOVA" (in Italian). AC Mantova. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008.
- ^ Vicenza Calcio SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2011 (in Italian)
- ^ Torino FC SpA Report and Accounts on 31 December 2011 (in Italian)
- ^ "DI CESARE AL TORO" (in Italian). Torino FC. 16 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Comunicato Ufficiale N°331 (2012–13)" [Press Release N°331 (2012–13)] (PDF) (in Italian). FIGC Settore Tecnico. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Valerio Di Cesare al Brescia Calcio" (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
- ^ "Scelti i numeri di maglia per la stagione 2015/2016" (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ "Di Cesare al Bari a titolo definitivo" (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ "Mercato: biennale per Di Cesare" (in Italian). F.C. Bari 1908. 12 August 2015. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ "Di Cesare è del Parma" (Press release) (in Italian). Parma Calcio 1913. 31 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ "Mercato, ceduti Ichazo e Di Cesare" (Press release) (in Italian). F.C. Bari 1908. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- ^ "Ora è ufficiale: Di Cesare saluta il Parma e torna a Bari. Il comunicato" (in Italian). AlfredoPedullà.com. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
- ^ "Il capitano Valerio Di Cesare : "E' stata un'emozione grandissima, si chiude oggi la mia carriera da calciatore"" (in Italian). SSC Bari. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
External links
edit- La Gazzetta profile (2007–08 season) (in Italian)
- Lega Serie A profile (in Italian)
- Valerio Di Cesare at Soccerway