Damiano Tommasi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mayor of Verona | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 29 June 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Federico Sboarina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1974-05-17)17 May 1974 (age 51) Negrar, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Centre-leftindependent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profession | Footballer, sports manager | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Damiano Tommasi (Italian pronunciation:[daˈmjaːnotomˈmaːzi]; born 17 May 1974) is an Italian politician and former professionalfootballer who is the mayor ofVerona.
Adefensive midfielder during his footballing years, after a decade atRoma –winning the 2001 Serie A title – he continued his career abroad, going on to play for teams in three countries until his retirement from professional football at the age of 37. He amassedSerie A totals of 262 games and 14 goals.
Tommasi earned 25caps forItaly, and was a member of the team that took part in the2002 World Cup.
He successively served as the president of theItalian Footballers' Association between 2011 and 2020,[1] before starting a political career the following year and being elected Mayor ofVerona in the 2022 local elections.[2][3]
Born inNegrar,Province of Verona, Tommasi started his professional career with local clubHellas Verona, inSerie B.[4] He made hisSerie A debut on 7 September 1996 withAS Roma in a 3–1 win overPiacenza Calcio, and would be an instrumental figure in the side's2001 conquest of thescudetto, with managerFabio Capello even labelling him as the team's most important player.[5]
During a summerfriendly match againstStoke City in 2004, Tommasi suffered a seriousknee injury in a collision withGerry Taggart,[6][7] 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.[8] He finally returned to play on 30 October 2005, coming on as a second-halfsubstitute forOlivier Dacourt during a league match againstAscoli Calcio 1898 and being hailed with a longstanding ovation by the Roma supporters.
On 27 November 2005, Tommasi scored after just two minutes in an eventual 1–1 home draw againstACF Fiorentina,[9] being an important first-team member as Romafinished runner-up. After ten years with the club, in July 2006 he joinedLevante UD inSpain,[10] spending two seasons with theLa Liga strugglers, eventually ending in relegation in2007–08.
On 10 September 2008, Tommasi agreed a one-year deal with EnglishFootball League Championship teamQueens Park Rangers.[11] On 9 January 2009, his contract was terminated by mutual consent and, after advanced talks withChinese Super League'sTianjin TEDA, he signed for the club early in the following month, citing an interest in a third experience abroad as the main reason for it.[12]
After one season, 35-year-old Tommasi left Teda and decided to return to Italy, joining amateurs Sant'Anna d'Alfaedo (Seconda Categoria), where he played alongside his two brothers.[13] He made his debut with the team on 13 December 2009;[14] he came out of retirement nearly six years later, withSP La Fiorita of San Marino. He stated on his decision: "It's a challenge that La Fiorita have given me the chance to experience all over again. I've been looking forward to this Europa League draw for ages now. Let's hope it will be a beautiful adventure and that I can add another chapter to my football career", and went to feature in theircampaign in theUEFA Europa League campaign againstFC Vaduz.[15]
Tommasi played for theItaly under-21 team that won the1996 UEFA European Championship, also being picked forthat year'sSummer Olympic Games inAtlanta where hemade three appearances.[16] He made his debut for thesenior side on 18 November 1998, underDino Zoff, in a 2–2 home draw againstSpain,[17] but did not become a regular team member until 2001.
After featuring prominently during theAzzurri's2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Tommasi was picked by managerGiovanni Trapattoni for the squad that would take part atthe finals inJapan andSouth Korea. He played in all four matches during the tournament, which ended inround-of-16 exit; in the decisive clash against co-hostsSouth Korea, he came close to scoring twice: first when Roma teammateFrancesco Totti played him in only to have his shot blocked byLee Woon-Jae. Duringextra time,refereeByron Moreno disallowed him a goal due to a controversial offside decision, and the Italians were eventually defeated by agolden goal.[18][19][20][21]
Tommasi made his last appearance for Italy on 16 November 2003, in a 1–0 home victory overRomania.[22] He scored the first of two goals for his country on 5 September 2001, in a 1–0 friendly win overMorocco.[23]
A quick, strong, tenacious, consistent, hardworking and versatile player, Tommasi primarily excelled at breaking down his opponents' plays and intercepting passes as abox-to-box ordefensive 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 andstart attacking plays after winning back the ball; these attributes allowed him to play anywhere inmidfield, rather than being confined to a single position, and he was often deployed on theright flank earlier on in his career, as well as in thecentre, or even as anoffensive-minded midfielder, or in themezzala role, due to his eye for goal.[4][5][24][25][26][27] In his youth, he also played as acentral defender.[28]
In January 2010, together with his agent Andrea Pretti and longtime friend Werner Seeber, Tommasi set up a company inChina calledTommasi Pretti Seeber Sports Culture & Exchange Co., Ltd (TPS), aimed at creating a reliable bridge betweenEurope and theAsian country in the field of football.
On 9 May 2011, he became the president of theItalian Footballers' Association, succeeding historical founderSergio Campana who had been in office for 43 years.[1] He resigned from his role in 2020.
He took part to the 2024 sports documentaryBootay: Untold - The art of losing.
In October 2021, it was announced Tommasi would run as the centre-left candidate for mayor ofVerona for the 2022 election.[2][29] 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 mayorFederico Sboarina in the traditionally right-wing city.[30]
Italy U21[36]
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| Preceded by | Mayor of Verona since 2022 | Succeeded by Incumbent |
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