Massimo Donati

For the Italian cyclist, see Massimo Donati (cyclist).

Not to be confused with Massimo Donadi.

Massimo Donati

Donati playing for Celtic
Personal information
Full name	Massimo Donati
Date of birth	(1981-03-26) 26 March 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth	San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Athens Kallithea (head coach)
Youth career
1998–1999	Atalanta
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2001	Atalanta	46	(2)
2001–2007	Milan	17	(0)
2002–2003	→ Parma (loan)	7	(1)
2003	→ Torino (loan)	17	(4)
2003–2004	→ Sampdoria (loan)	19	(0)
2004–2006	→ Messina (loan)	67	(2)
2006–2007	→ Atalanta (loan)	32	(1)
2007–2009	Celtic	31	(3)
2009–2012	Bari	82	(4)
2012–2013	Palermo	46	(2)
2013–2014	Hellas Verona	20	(1)
2014–2016	Bari	51	(3)
2016–2018	Hamilton Academical	41	(2)
2018	St Mirren	1	(0)
Total		475	(25)
International career
1998	Italy U16	9	(1)
1999–2000	Italy U18	7	(0)
2000	Italy U20	1	(0)
2000–2004	Italy U21	26	(1)
Managerial career
2021	Sambenedettese
2022–2024	Legnago Salus
2024–	Athens Kallithea
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Massimo Donati (born 26 March 1981) is an Italian football coach, pundit and former professional player, who played as a central or defensive midfielder. He is the manager of Athens Kallithea in Greece's top division, the Super League. ^[2]

Born in San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy, Donati made 314 appearances in Serie A for several clubs including Atalanta, Milan, Bari, and Palermo, plus another 72 appearances in the Scottish Premier League with Celtic — where he won the league and Scottish Cup — and Hamilton.

Donati represented Italy at Under-16, Under-18, Under-20 and Under-21 levels.

Playing career

Atalanta and Milan

Donati started his club career at Atalanta, before moving to Milan in June 2001 along with Cristian Zenoni for 60 billion lire in a cash-plus-player deal. ^[3] However, due to the competition at the club, Donati was unable to retain a first team place after his first season, spending the 2002–03 season on loan at Parma and then Torino.

The 2003–04 season, his third as a Milan player, 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 again sent on loan, this time returning to his first club Atalanta for the 2006–07 season.

Donati was a youth international, representing Italy at under-16, under-18, under-20 and under-21 levels. ^[4]

Celtic

On 29 June 2007, Celtic confirmed the signing of Donati on a four-year contract for a fee of €2 million. ^{[5] [6]} Donati was given the number 18 jersey, vacated by ex-captain Neil Lennon and was unveiled at Celtic Park. ^[7] He made his Celtic debut in their first league game of the season on 5 August, a 0–0 draw with Kilmarnock. ^[8] In Celtic's next league game against Falkirk, Donati was involved in his side's equaliser when his shot hit Kenny Milne and went into the net; Celtic won the game 4–1. ^[9] The following week, Donati grabbed his first competitive Celtic goal with an equalising goal against Aberdeen and later added an assist for Kenny Miller as Celtic won 3–1. ^[10]

On 28 November, Donati won the match for Celtic in the UEFA Champions League fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk, netting in the 92nd minute to win the match 2–1. ^[11] This result meant Celtic only needed a point away to Donati's former club Milan at the San Siro to qualify for the last 16 stage of the tournament. Celtic lost 1–0 to Milan, ^[12] but still qualified for the last 16 as runners-up in their group after Benfica defeated Shakhtar in Ukraine. As the season went on, Donati's form began to dip, resulting in the central midfield positions being changed with Barry Robson and Paul Hartley in place of Donati and Scott Brown. In May 2008, it was reported that Donati wanted to go back to Serie A. ^[13]

In the 2008–09 season, Donati made only a handful of appearances for Celtic, though he started in the home game against Kilmarnock on 12 November 2008 and won the man of the match award. ^[14]

After the appointment of Tony Mowbray as Celtic manager, Donati won back his place in the Celtic midfield alongside new signing Landry N'Guémo. Donati played in most of the pre-season games and scored in a 5–0 win over African Champions League winners Al-Ahly in the Wembley Cup. He started the 2009–10 campaign in fine form and scored from a spectacular volley in Celtic's 3–1 loss to Arsenal in the Champions League play-off. ^[15]

Bari

On 27 August 2009, Donati left Celtic and signed a four-year contract with Serie A newcomers Bari. ^{[16] [17]}

Palermo

On 18 January 2012, Donati left Bari for Palermo in Serie A. ^[18]

Hellas Verona

In June 2013, Donati was signed by Hellas Verona. ^[19]

Bari

On 26 August 2014, Donati returned to Bari. ^[20] He scored his first goal in the 2014–15 Serie B season on 13 September 2014, during a 1–1 draw with Frosinone. ^[21]

Hamilton Academical

On 18 July 2016, Donati returned to Scotland to sign for Hamilton Academical. ^[22] He scored on his debut as Hamilton won 3–0 against St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup. ^[23] On 9 November 2016, Donati signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2019. ^[24]

In January 2018, Hamilton announced that they had agreed with Donati to cancel his existing playing contract, in order for him to begin a coaching career. ^[25] Donati had also been coaching the Hamilton under-15 team. ^[26]

St Mirren

Donati signed a short-term contract with St Mirren in February 2018. ^[27] He was released by St Mirren at the end of this contract. ^[28]

Media career

In 2018, Donati was unveiled as a new color commentator and pundit for DAZN, a role he left in June 2021 following his appointment as Sambenedettese's new head coach. ^[29]

He briefly resumed his role at DAZN between August and September 2021, leaving again after Sambenedettese was successfully readmitted into Serie D. ^{[30] [31]}

Coaching career

Early career

In June 2019, Donati joined the coaching staff at Kilmarnock under Angelo Alessio. ^[32]

On 25 June 2021, he was appointed as the new head coach of Sambenedettese. ^[33] The club, originally scheduled to play Serie C in the 2021–22 season, was successively demoted to Serie D due to financial irregularities; nevertheless, in September 2021 Donati was confirmed he would stay at Sambenedettese also in the lower tier. ^[34] On 31 October 2021, Donati was dismissed from his role following a negative start in the club's Serie D campaign. ^[35]

Legnago Salus

On 16 June 2022, Donati was appointed as the new manager of Legnago Salus, who had just been relegated to Serie D. ^{[36] [37]} After winning the Serie D Group B title and leading Legnago back to Serie C after one season, he was confirmed in charge of the club.

In the 2023–24 Serie C season, Legnago made a surprising sixth-place finish and qualified for the promotion playoffs. From 4 November, Donati's side would lose only two matches, including one to eventual champions Mantova. Until 13 April, Legnago were Italy’s only unbeaten team in the calendar year 2024. In the 2023–24 Serie C promotion playoffs, Legnago defeated Lumezzane in the first round but were eliminated in the second round with a 1–1 draw away to Atalanta U23, as a result of being the lower seed. ^[38]

Athens Kallithea

On 12 June 2024, Donati was appointed as manager of newly promoted Super League Greece side Athens Kallithea. ^[38]

Career statistics

As of match played 17 April 2018 ^[39]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Atalanta	1999–00	Serie B	20	1	1	0	–		–		–		21	1
	2000–01	Serie A	26	1	7	1	–		–		–		33	2
	Total		46	2	8	1	–		–		–		54	3
Milan	2001–02	Serie A	17	0	3	0	–		7	0	–		27	0
Parma (loan)	2002–03	Serie A	7	1	2	0	–		2	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	12	1
Torino (loan)	2002–03	Serie A	17	4	0	0	–		0	0	–		17	4
Sampdoria (loan)	2003–04	Serie A	19	0	4	0	–		–		–		23	0
Messina (loan)	2004–05	Serie A	34	1	1	0	–		–		–		35	1
	2005–06	Serie A	33	1	0	0	–		–		–		33	1
	Total		67	2	1	0	–		–		–		68	2
Atalanta (loan)	2006–07	Serie A	32	1	2	1	–		–		–		34	2
Celtic	2007–08	Scottish Premier League	25	3	2	0	0	0	10	1	–		37	4
	2008–09	Scottish Premier League	4	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	–		7	0
	2009–10	Scottish Premier League	2	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	–		6	1
	Total		31	3	3	0	1	0	15	2	–		50	5
Bari	2009–10	Serie A	32	1	0	0	–		–		–		32	1
	2010–11	Serie A	31	1	1	0	–		–		–		32	1
	2011–12	Serie B	19	2	3	1	–		–		–		22	3
	Total		82	4	4	1	–		–		–		86	5
Palermo	2011–12	Serie A	18	2	0	0	–		0	0	–		18	2
	2012–13	Serie A	28	0	2	0	–		–		–		30	0
	Total		46	2	2	0	–		0	0	–		48	2
Hellas Verona	2013–14	Serie A	20	1	2	0	–		–		–		22	1
Bari	2014–15	Serie B	35	2	0	0	–		–		–		35	2
	2015–16	Serie B	16	1	1	0	–		–		–		17	1
	Total		51	3	1	0	–		–		–		52	3
Hamilton Academical	2016–17	Scottish Premiership	31	2	4	0	4	1	–		1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	40	3
	2017–18	Scottish Premiership	10	0	1	0	2	1	–		–		13	1
	Total		41	2	5	0	6	2	–		1	0	53	4
St Mirren	2017–18	Scottish Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Career total			477	25	37	3	7	2	24	2	2	0	547	32

1. Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
2. Appearance in SPFL play-offs

Honours

Club

Celtic ^[39]

• Scottish Premier League: 2007–08
• Scottish League Cup: 2008–09

References

1. "Scheda anagrafica di Massimo Donati" (in Italian). AIC.football.it. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
2. "Athens Kallithea FC appoint Massimo Donati as manager". Athens Kallithea FC. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
3. Antonello Capone, Andrea Masala (3 June 2001). "Il Milan ha in pugno Thuram e Inzaghi". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 27 April 2010.
4. "Nazionale in cifre" [National Figures] (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
5. AC Milan Spa 2007 Annual Report Archived 25 April 2011 at WebCite (in Italian)
6. "Celtic sign Donati from Milan". UK. Reuters. 25 June 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
7. Celtic F.C. (28 June 2007). "Massimo Donati passes Celtic medical". Archived from the original on 23 August 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
8. Moffat, Colin (5 August 2007). "Celtic 0–0 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport.
9. Conaghan, Martin (11 August 2007). "Falkirk 1–4 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
10. McGuigan, Thomas (19 August 2007). "Aberdeen 1–3 Celtic". BBC Sport . Retrieved 19 August 2007.
11. Lindsay, Clive (28 November 2007). "Celtic 2–1 Shakhtar Donetsk". BBC Sport . Retrieved 28 November 2007.
12. Moffat, Colin (4 December 2007). "AC Milan 1–0 Celtic". BBC Sport.
13. "Massimo Donati wants talks over Celtic future after Italian interest claims". The Daily Record. 28 May 2008.
14. Murray, Keir (12 November 2008). "Celtic 3–0 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport . Retrieved 12 November 2008.
15. McNulty, Phil (26 August 2009). "Arsenal 3 – 1 Celtic (agg 5 – 1)". BBC Sport . Retrieved 5 June 2010.
16. "Donati al Bari: è fatta". asbari.it (in Italian). AS Bari. 27 August 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
17. "Bari secure Donati transfer deal". BBC Sport. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
18. "Official: Palermo sign Massimo Donati from Bari". Goal. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
19. "Ufficiale: Massimo Donati in gialloblù" (in Italian). Hellas Verona FC. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
20. "Massimo Donati torna a Bari, a titolo definitovo dal Verona". FC Bari 1908 (in Italian). 26 August 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
21. "Serie B: Perugia da favola, incubo Catania. Bari, pari con il Frosinone". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 13 September 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
22. "Massimo Donati: Hamilton Accies sign former Celtic midfielder". BBC Sport. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
23. Berry, Gavin (23 July 2016). "Hamilton 3 St Mirren 0: Former Celtic ace Massimo Donati grabs debut goal in comfortable Accies win". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
24. "Massimo Donati signs contract extension with Hamilton". Sky Sports. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
25. Mackenzie, Alasdair (29 January 2018). "Former Celtic and AC Milan midfielder Massimo Donati hangs up his boots to take up Hamilton Accies coaching role". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
26. "Massimo Donati: Hamilton Academical midfielder has contract cancelled". BBC Sport. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
27. Coyle, Andy (20 February 2018). "St Mirren complete signing of midfielder Massimo Donati". STV Sport. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
28. "Players Depart Club". St Mirren FC. 30 April 2018. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
29. "Da DAZN alla panchina: Donati allenerà in Serie C" (in Italian). Il Rompipallone. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
30. "Dalla Samb a Dazn con la Leotta: la nuova vita di Massimo Donati" (in Italian). YouTVRS. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
31. "SAMBENEDETTESE, mister Donati da "Dazn" alla panchina "Da domenica sarò a San Benedetto"" (in Italian). Tuttocampo. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
32. "Massimo Donati joins Angelo's coaching team". Kilmarnock FC. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
33. "Samb, il ds è Sandro Porchia. Panchina a Massimo Donati" (in Italian). Noi Samb. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
34. "La Samb riparte da Donati e Sabbadini" (in Italian). Il Resto del Carlino. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
35. "As Samb, esonerato Massimo Donati e il suo staff" (in Italian). Riviera Oggi. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
36. "Benvenuto, mister Donati!". FC Legnago Salus (in Italian). 16 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
37. Walton, David (19 June 2022). "Former Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati restarts managerial career in Serie D". 67 Hail Hail. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
38. "Athens Kallithea FC appoint Massimo Donati as manager". Athens Kallithea FC. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
39. "M. Donati". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 February 2017.

External links

• Massimo Donati at Soccerway
• Massimo Donati at Soccerbase
• Massimo Donati at ESPN FC