David Di Michele

David Di Michele (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdaːvid di miˈkɛːle]; born 6 January 1976) is an Italian football manager and former player in the role of striker, last in charge as head coach of Serie C club Turris.

Throughout his playing career, he played for several Italian clubs, and also had a spell on loan with English side West Ham United. At international level, he played six matches for the Italy national football team from 2005 to 2006.

Di Michele, whose mother is from Casarano, began his career with Lodigiani in the Italian Serie C1 near to his hometown Guidonia Montecelio, and played for them from 1993 to 1996. He was then transferred to Foggia Calcio in the Italian Serie B.

He had a short stint in Foggia, playing just two seasons before being transferred to Salernitana. With Salernitana, he made his Serie A debut, however the following year Salernitana were relegated to Serie B.

After two seasons with Salernitana in Serie B, he was transferred to Udinese on an undisclosed fee for the 2001–02 season. After the 2001–02 season with Udinese, he played two seasons with Reggina, only to be transferred back to Udinese in 2004–05. In the 2005–06 season, he played half a season with Udinese and took part in the UEFA Champions League.

In a 2004–05 Coppa Italia match against Lecce, he scored two goals, before replacing keeper Samir Handanović in goal, after the latter was sent off. He stopped a key penalty in the final minutes of the game to ensure a 5–4 victory for Udinese.

Halfway through the 2005–06 season Di Michele's contract was sold to Palermo for €5.35 million, with Simone Pepe, Salvatore Masiello and Nicola Santoni moving to oppose direction in co-ownership deals. He made his debut for Palermo in a Serie A home match against Parma, in which he scored two goals in a 4–2 win. In his 2005–06 season, Di Michele played 19 matches, scoring seven goals.

In March 2007, Di Michele was found guilty of illegal betting and received a three-month ban from Serie A. He also received a $27,000 fine. Betting was not illegal for Italian players until November 2005, but Di Michele, along with three others, placed bets through an illegal bookmaker. However, he was allowed to play in friendlies, and to take part in training, so he was able to retain match fitness.