Alessandro Diamanti

Prato

Diamanti spent his early career with Prato, Empoli, Florentia and AlbinoLeffe.

Livorno

Having scored 15 goals in 31 outings during the 2006–07 season, Diamanti signed for Serie A side Livorno. He made 14 starts and 12 substitute appearances in his first season with the Tuscany side. He stayed with Livorno when they were relegated to Serie B due to finishing last in the 2007–08 Serie A. On 23 August 2009, Diamanti played in Livorno's opening day fixture in Serie A, a 0–0 home draw against Cagliari.

West Ham United

The following week, however, Diamanti signed a five-year deal with Premier League club West Ham United for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in the Hammers' 1–0 defeat away to Wigan Athletic on 12 September. In the process, Diamanti became the 800th player in West Ham United's history. He scored his first West Ham goal from the penalty spot, albeit controversially as he fell over on run up and kicked the ball with both feet, on his home debut against Liverpool on 19 September 2009. Diamanti scored eight goals, though only three came from open play with most coming from penalty kicks. On 4 May 2010, he was voted runner-up as Hammer of the Year by the club's supporters, for the 2009–10 season, behind winner Scott Parker.

Brescia

On 24 August 2010, Serie A club Brescia bought Diamanti for €2.2 million from West Ham with an additional €300,000 to be paid if Brescia secured their Serie A status for the coming campaign.…

Diamanti made his debut with the Italy national team on 17 November 2010, for manager Cesare Prandelli, in a friendly match against Romania. He played only the first half of his debut game before being substituted. In May 2012, he was named in the provisional, 32-man Italian squad for UEFA Euro 2012 and came on as a substitute in the final group match against the Republic of Ireland on 18 June 2012, setting up Mario Balotelli's goal from a corner as Italy won the match 2–0 to advance to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-final against England on 24 June 2012, Diamanti came on in the second half for Antonio Cassano and scored the winning penalty to give Italy a 4–2 penalty shoot-out win. Italy were defeated 4–0 by Spain in the final. Diamanti was selected for Italy's squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. He scored one goal at the tournament, from a free kick in the bronze medal game against Uruguay, his first international goal; he was also involved in Davide Astori's opening goal, as the latter scored off the rebound after Diamanti's free kick had hit the crossbar. Italy went on to win the match 3–2 on penalties following a 2–2 deadlock after extra time.

Nicknamed "Alino", Diamanti was a dynamic, creative and technically gifted left-footed playmaker, who usually played as an attacking midfielder; he had also been deployed as a winger or as a supporting striker on occasion, due to his ability to both create chances for teammates, and score goals with his accurate striking ability from outside the area, despite his lack of pace. He was predominantly known for his vision, passing, crossing, control, and dribbling ability, as well as his accuracy from penalties; he was also a set-piece specialist, known for his delivery from dead ball situations, as well as his precise curling direct free kicks, and has scored directly from corner kicks throughout his career. In addition to his flair and playing ability, he is also known for his charismatic personality, tenacity, and leadership on the pitch; moreover, he is a player who wins a lot of fouls for his team.

On 12 July 2023, Diamanti was announced as coach of Melbourne City FC Youth, taking charge from the 2024 season. He later obtained his UEFA A License in September 2024, and led the team to promotion to the NPL Victoria in 2025 via the play-offs. He left the club in November 2025 to return to Italy to pursue his UEFA Pro License, and on 1 July 2026 was appointed manager of Cesena in Serie B on a two-year contract.