Damiano Tommasi

Born in Negrar, Province of Verona, Tommasi started his professional career with local club Hellas Verona, in Serie B. He made his Serie A debut on 7 September 1996 with AS Roma in a 3–1 win over Piacenza Calcio, and would be an instrumental figure in the side's 2001 conquest of the scudetto, with manager Fabio Capello even labelling him as the team's most important player. During a summer friendly match against Stoke City in 2004, Tommasi suffered a serious knee injury in a collision with Gerry Taggart, and was out of action long-term. In the summer of 2005 he accepted a one-year contract extension, with youth player wages (€1,500 a month) – a contract which he instigated himself in the name of fairness. He finally returned to play on 30 October 2005, coming on as a second-half substitute for Olivier Dacourt during a league match against Ascoli Calcio 1898 and being hailed with a long standing ovation by the Roma supporters. On 27 November 2005, Tommasi scored after just two minutes in an eventual 1–1 home draw against ACF Fiorentina, being an important first-team member as Roma finished runner-up. After ten years with the club, in July 2006 he joined Levante UD in Spain, spending two seasons with the La Liga strugglers, eventually ending in relegation in 2007–08. On 10 September 2008, Tommasi agreed a one-year deal with English Football League Championship team Queens Park Rangers. On 9 January 2009, his contract was terminated by mutual consent and, after advanced talks…

Tommasi played for the Italy under-21 team that won the 1996 UEFA European Championship, also being picked for that year's Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta where he made three appearances. He made his debut for the senior side on 18 November 1998, under Dino Zoff, in a 2–2 home draw against Spain, but did not become a regular team member until 2001. After featuring prominently during the Azzurri's 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Tommasi was picked by manager Giovanni Trapattoni for the squad that would take part at the finals in Japan and South Korea. He played in all four matches during the tournament, which ended in round-of-16 exit; in the decisive clash against co-hosts South Korea, he came close to scoring twice: first when Roma teammate Francesco Totti played him in only to have his shot blocked by Lee Woon-Jae. During extra time, referee Byron Moreno disallowed him a goal due to a controversial offside decision, and the Italians were eventually defeated by a golden goal. Tommasi made his last appearance for Italy on 16 November 2003, in a 1–0 home victory over Romania. He scored the first of two goals for his country on 5 September 2001, in a 1–0 friendly win over Morocco.

A quick, strong, tenacious, consistent, hardworking and versatile player, Tommasi primarily excelled at breaking down his opponents' plays and intercepting passes as a box-to-box or defensive midfielder, due to his stamina and hard-tackling style of play. He also possessed good technique, movement, intelligence and was an accurate passer, which enabled him to retain possession and start attacking plays after winning back the ball; these attributes allowed him to play anywhere in midfield, rather than being confined to a single position, and he was often deployed on the right flank earlier on in his career, as well as in the centre, or even as an offensive-minded midfielder, or in the mezzala role, due to his eye for goal. In his youth, he also played as a central defender.

In October 2021, it was announced Tommasi would run as the centre-left candidate for mayor of Verona for the 2022 election. After qualifying to the second round with around 40% of votes, on 26 June 2022 Tommasi won the runoff with over 54% of the vote over outgoing right-wing mayor Federico Sboarina in the traditionally right-wing city.