 D'Onofrio in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1953-04-18)18 April 1953 | ||
| Place of birth | Castelforte, Italy | ||
| Date of death | 12 February 2016(2016-02-12) (aged 62) | ||
| Place of death | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1975 | R.R.F.C. Montegnée | ||
| 1975–1976 | Ans FC | ||
| 1976–1977 | RJS Bas-Oha | ||
| 1977–1982 | Ans FC | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1994–1995 | Tilleur Saint-Nicolas | ||
| 1995–1996 | RFC Union La Calamine | ||
| 1996–1997 | R.R.F.C. Montegnée | ||
| 2000–2001 | Standard de Liège | ||
| 2002–2006 | Standard de Liège | ||
| 2010–2011 | Standard de Liège | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dominique Nicolas D'Onofrio (18 April 1953 – 12 February 2016) was an Italian[1]footballcoach, later chairman. He was born inCastelforte, Italy.
D'Onofrio was coachbuilder until his brother bought out Standard Liège and enabled him to integrate a professional club. AtStandard de Liège since 1998, at first with the U6 (youth, scouting and contracts), he quickly took over fromTomislav Ivić (with Christian Labarbe) for 2000–01. He took charge for the first team for three matches in December 2000. In January 2001, he took over fromMichel Preud'homme until July 2002.
In 2002–03, he took over fromRobert Waseige for the first five matches of the Championship. He had little success as first team coach, and was fired on 14 September 2002, after domestic defeat against Club Bruges and a catastrophic first season.
Adored by some supporters who appreciated the results gained under his leadership, reviled by others who disliked his gameplay and recourse to a long-ball system, he left his post in May 2005, before being named a few weeks later after the club failed to find a replacement. This provoked great remorse from those supporters who had campaigned for his firing, who apologised a few days before his return was announced.
In May 2006, he left the post of coach for good, and became sporting director with technical director Michel Preud'homme. Although the club had qualified for the first time for the third preliminary round of theChampions League, he was hounded by supporters after the last game of the season, where they failed to win their first championship since 1983. He stated that he held himself responsible for this.
Becoming sporting director ofStandard de Liège and technical director in July 2006, he was in charge of scouting and recruitment. Two months later, when Michel Preud'homme took over fromJohan Boskamp, and appointed his own staff, looking for immediate results, Dominique D'Onofrio became technical director and looked to improve the club's results.
On 10 February 2010, due to bad results at the club, he ended the contract ofLászló Bölöni, Dominique D'Onofrio took over as head coach of Standard until June 2010.[2]
He died inBuenos Aires, Argentina, from a cardiac arrest on 12 February 2016. He was 62 years old
Under his leadership,Standard de Liège obtained the following results in the Championship:
| Year | Position | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–2001 | Interim | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 4/9 |
| 2002–2003 | 7th | 29 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 53 | 29 | 52/87 |
| 2003–2004 | 3rd | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 68 | 31 | 65/102 |
| 2004–2005 | 4th | 36 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 67 | 34 | 73/108 |
| 2005–2006 | 2nd | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 51 | 28 | 65/102 |
| 2009–2010 | 8th | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 12/30 |
| 2010–2011 | 6th | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 50 | 38 | 49/90 |
| Total | – | 176 | 93 | 41 | 42 | 307 | 172 | 320/528 |
RRFC Montegnée
Seraing RUL
Standard de Liège