David Di Tommaso

David di Elias Alemu Tommaso (6 October 1979 – 29 November 2005) was a French professional footballer who played as a central defender.

David Di Tommaso
Di Tommaso with Utrecht in 2005
Personal information
Full name David di Elias Alemu Tommaso
Date of birth (1979-10-06)6 October 1979
Place of birth Échirolles, France
Date of death 29 November 2005(2005-11-29) (aged 26)
Place of death De Meern, Netherlands
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2001 Monaco 14 (0)
2001–2004 Sedan 77 (2)
2004–2005 Utrecht 44 (1)
Total 135 (3)
National team
1996–1997 France U17 5 (0)
1999–2002 France U21 8 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Di Tommaso was born in Échirolles, Isère. His father Pascal Di Tommaso and uncle Louis Di Tommaso both played in Ligue 2 for Grenoble Foot 38 in the 1980s. His younger brother Yohan Di Tommaso is also a professional footballer.

Career

Monaco

Di Tommaso was promoted to the first team of Monaco during the 1998–99 season. He made his professional debut under head coach Claude Puel on 16 January 1999 against Lens coming on as a second-half substitute for John Arne Riise.[2] After this match, he won a starting place for four matches alongside Julien Rodriguez against Paris Saint-Germain, Le Havre and Stade Rennais. He was part of the team that won the 2000 Ligue 1 title.[3] He then played in the UEFA Champions League and was selected for the French national youth football team.

Sedan

Di Tommaso moved to Sedan in 2001. He made 24 appearances during the 2001–02 season. In 2002, he received a call-up for the France national under-21 team to replace the injured Julien Escudé for a match against the French team against Portugal.[4] He was a finalist in the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with the France.

The 2002–03 season started off well for Di Tommaso, scoring the first goal of his career in an away match against Bordeaux, the 1–1 equaliser on 6 October 2002 in a match that ended in a 2–2 draw. The season quickly turned into a relegation battle which Sedans did not win, ending in nineteenth place of the Ligue 1 table and suffering relegation.[5] In Ligue 2, Di Tommaso maintained his position as a regular starter, appearing in 26 games and receiving one direct red card in a match against Chamois Niortais.[6] He scored the second goal of his career against Amiens on 27 March 2004 in a match with three red cards. At the end of the season, Di Tommaso left the club after helping them to fifth place in the table.

Utrecht

In 2004, Di Tommaso joined Dutch Eredivisie club FC Utrecht, where he was seen as a successor to Patrick Zwaanswijk who had moved to Japanese club Ōita Trinita.[7] Di Tommaso immediately featured in the starting lineup, making 31 appearances in the 2004–05 season. Di Tommaso also started regularly during the 2005–06 season after having been named Player of the Year by the supporters in his first season.[8]

His last match was on 27 November 2005, a 1–0 win over Ajax, one of Utrecht's main rivals.[9]

Death

On 29 November 2005, Di Tommaso died in his sleep in his home in De Meern, Netherlands, proven to be caused by cardiac arrest determined from an autopsy conducted two days later.[10] He is survived by his wife and son.[11]

Legacy

On 1 December 2005, a meeting of supporters at Stadion Galgenwaard was held, to honour Di Tommaso (DiTo in short). At least 14,000 fans showed up. Among the speakers were chairman Jan Willem van Dop, coach Foeke Booy and captain Jean-Paul de Jong. Besides Di Tommaso's relatives and FC Utrecht's main squad, all of the clubs' youth teams were among the visitors. They were told that number 4, the number worn by Di Tommaso, would be forever retired from use. Sedan, Di Tommaso's former club, had already announced that number 29, the number Di Tommaso wore when he played for the club, would be retired.

In the first league match of FC Utrecht after his death, on 11 December against FC Groningen, Di Tommaso was again remembered. Most of the people present in the stadium, including the accompanying away supporters of Groningen, wore black clothing that day. The game started with a moment of silence.[12]

On 23 March 2007, the David di Tommaso Memorial Match was played in Stadion Galgenwaard, where Utrecht took on French club AS Monaco. The net proceeds from the competition went to the relatives of Di Tommaso.[13] Monaco also contributed, as Gaël Givet collected football shirts from players such as Fabien Barthez, Samuel Eto'o and Alessandro Del Piero, to then auction them via the club website.[14]

On 12 May 2013, Di Tommaso was immortalised on the Bunnikside – the famous stand on Stadion Galgenwaard – with a bust above the entrance to the supporters home.

Since 2006, FC Utrecht's player of the year award is called the Di Tommaso Trophy in honour of David Di Tommaso. The trophy is voted for by the fans.[15]

Honours

Club

Monaco

Utrecht

References
  1. "David di Tommaso". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  2. "Feuille de match - RC Lens - AS Monaco". Ligue de Football Professionnel. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  3. "Monaco 1999-00". bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  4. "La mort inexpliquée de David Di Tommaso" (in French). RFI. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  5. de Biolley, Frédéric (17 July 2003). "Matthieu Verschuere revient à Gand ...pour son plaisir". dhnet.dk (in French). La Dernière Heure. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  6. "Feuille de match - Chamois Niortais - CS Sedan" (in French). LFP. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  7. "FC Utrecht legt opvolger Zwaanswijk vast" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 2 June 2004. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  8. "'David Di Tommaso was een geweldige gozer'" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 30 November 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2020. Hoewel de Fransman pas aan zijn tweede seizoen in Utrecht bezig was, was hij immens populair. De supporters riepen hem naar aanleiding van zijn prestaties in het afgelopen seizoen uit tot speler van het jaar.
  9. "FC Utrecht – Ajax, 27 november 2005: Het laatste duel van Di Tommaso" (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 26 September 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  10. "Di Tommaso overleed aan acute hartstilstand" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  11. "Utrecht mourn Di Tommaso's death". BBC Sport. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  12. "Een stille dag in Utrecht, met heel veel zwart" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. 12 December 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  13. "FC Utrecht speelt memorial tegen Monaco" (in Dutch). NU.nl. 1 February 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  14. "Vente en ligne pour la famille de David di Tommaso". asm-fc.dk (in French). AS Monaco FC. 14 March 2007. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  15. "FOOTBALLSCARVES News" (in Dutch). footballscarves.nl. November 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
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