Marco Di Vaio

Club

As of 29 September 2013

International

International statistics

A prolific goalscorer, Di Vaio was a quick, opportunistic, and versatile player, who was capable of playing anywhere along the front-line, as a striker, or even as a winger, due to his solid technique and distribution. His preferred role, however, was that of a centre-forward, where he could take advantage of his goalscoring ability in the area and skill in the air. He also had a powerful and accurate shot from distance, and was an accurate penalty taker.

Early career

Di Vaio started his career at his hometown club Lazio. He made his Serie A debut on 20 November 1994 against Padova. He then played for Serie B clubs such as Verona and Bari, before moving to Salernitana in 1997.

Salernitana

He was a revelation at Salernitana, leading them to their second promotion to the Serie A in 1997–98 as the top scorer in Serie B for that season.

Parma

Despite Salernitana's relegation the following season, Di Vaio remained in Serie A, after being purchased by Parma. He scored an impressive number of goals for the Gialloblu and he went on to become the 2nd highest scorer of the league in his third season for the team.

Juventus

Juventus won the race to sign him during the following summer (2002), by paying Parma €7 million (€2 million plus 50% registration rights of Brighi) for the loan. But Di Vaio never really reproduced the form he showed at Parma, mainly because of the immense competition for a first-team places at Juventus. Initially a loan signing, he was signed permanently in summer 2003 for €14 million. During his stay with Juventus, he managed to win one scudetto, and reached 2003 UEFA Champions League final.

Valencia

Due to an early exit from the UEFA Champions League 2003–04 and coupled with the arrival of new coach Fabio Capello, Juventus began a restructuring of their first team squad. As a result, Di Vaio and his striking partner Fabrizio Miccoli were soon frozen out. Di Vaio…

Di Vaio made his senior International debut for Italy under manager Giovanni Trapattoni, on 5 September 2001, in a friendly match in Piacenza against Morocco, which ended in a 1–0 home victory to Italy. He scored his first goal for Italy on 11 October 2003, in Reggio Calabria, in a 4–0 home win over Azerbaijan in a UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying match. Di Vaio played for Italy at Euro 2004 under Giovanni Trapattoni, appearing in Italy's final group match, which ended in a 2–1 victory over Bulgaria, although Italy were still eliminated in the first round of the competition. Di Vaio later received several call-ups from Marcello Lippi who had previously coached Di Vaio at Juventus. However, a loss of form whilst with Valencia, coupled with the emergence of Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino, led to Di Vaio losing his place with the national team. He made his final appearance for Italy with Lippi on 9 October 2004, in a 1–0 away loss to Slovenia, in a 2006 World Cup Qualifying match. In total, Di Vaio appeared 14 times with the national side, scoring two goals.