Massimo Donati
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| Massimo Donati | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Massino Donati | |
| Date of birth | 26 March 1981 | |
| Place of birth | Sedegliano, Italy | |
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |
| Playing position | Central midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Celtic | |
| Number | 5 | |
| Youth career | ||
| 1998–1999 | Atalanta | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1999–2001 2001–2007 2002–2003 2002–2003 2003–2004 2004–2006 2006–2007 2007– |
Atalanta AC Milan → Parma (loan) → Torino (loan) → Sampdoria (loan) → Messina (loan) → Atalanta (loan) Celtic |
46 (2) 17 (0) 7 (1) 17 (4) 19 (0) 67 (2) 32 (1) 29 (3) |
| National team | ||
| 2000–03 | Italy U-21 | 26 (1) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Massimo Donati (born 26 March 1981 in Sedegliano, Italy) is an Italian football midfielder currently contracted to Scottish Premier League club Celtic.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Italy
Donati is a central midfielder and started his career at Atalanta and moved to AC Milan in 2001 for £10 million.[citation needed] However, due to the competition at the club, Donati was unable to claim a first team place, spending the 2002/03 season on loan at Parma and then Torino.
His second season (2003/04) at the San Siro saw him join Sampdoria on loan, before enjoying a successful spell at Messina for the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons.
Despite finding his form at Messina, Donati still found himself out of favour at Milan and was sent again on loan for the 2006/07 season, this time to his first club Atalanta.
[edit] Scotland
On Friday 29 June 2007, Celtic confirmed the €2 million signing of Massimo Donati on a 4 year contract and was unveiled at Celtic Park. Donati was given the number 18 jersey, vacated by ex-captain Neil Lennon.[1] In Celtic's Second League Game of the 2007/08 campaign, against Falkirk, Donati was involved in his side's equaliser when his shot came off Kenny Milne and into the net; Celtic won the game 4–1. The following week, Donati grabbed his first competitive Celtic goal with an equalising goal against Aberdeen; he added an assist later in the game which Celtic won 3–1.
Donati won the match for Celtic in the UEFA Champions League fixture on 28 November 2007 against FC Shakhtar Donetsk. He scored in the last minute of the game, it meant Celtic only needed a point away to A.C. Milan to qualify for the last 16 stage of the Champions League 2007. Celtic lost 1-0 to Milan in the San Siro but still qualified for the last 16 after SL Benfica defeated Shakhtar in Ukraine. However as the season went on his form began to dip, the midfield positions were changed with Barry Robson and Paul Hartley in place of Donati and Scott Brown. In May 2008, it was reported that he wanted to go back to the Serie A. [2] Donati has recently been in the Celtic team due to many of the starting players being injured. He started against Kilmarnock, a game for which he won the Man of the Match award.
Donati has been linked with a return to Italy, where Parma, Lecce and Atalanta are all thought to be keen on the midfielder.
[edit] References
- ^ Celtic F.C. (2007-06-28). "Massimo Donati passes Celtic medical". http://www.celticfc.net/news/stories/news_280607215526.aspx. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
- ^ Massimo Donati wants talks over Celtic future after Italian interest claims - The Daily Record
[edit] External links
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