Eusebio Di Francesco

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 Roma, winning an Italian championship title in 2001 with the giallorossi. Following this triumph, he agreed to return to Piacenza, for 2 billion lire (€1.03 million by fixed exchange rate) and then retired in 2005 following stints with Ancona and Perugia.

During his time with Roma, Di Francesco also made 12 appearances for the Italy 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, 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. He made his international debut on 5 September 1998, under Dino Zoff, in a 2–0 victory over Wales in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match. In addition to his 12 official appearances with Italy, Di Francesco also made an additional appearance for the Italy 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.

Di Francesco was a midfielder who was capable of playing both in centre or on the wing, he was known in particular for his leadership, versatility, and stamina, as well as his runs up and down the flank.

Early years

After he retired from football, Di Francesco served as team manager for his former club Roma. He then served as the sporting 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 club Virtus Lanciano, being later sacked in January 2009 due to poor results. 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 to hold talks with Serie A club Lecce regarding the vacant head coaching post at the club from Salento. 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.

Sassuolo

On 19 June 2012, Di Francesco was appointed the head coach 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, 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 season's final seven games). In June 2014, it was announced Di Francesco had…