David Di Michele is not a name which will go down much in the history books of West Ham United, but the Italian forward had a reasonable impact in the short period his was with the English side.
He joined the Hammers on a loan deal from Torino in 2008, and the London club had an option to make the move permanent. Gianfranco Zola was the manager at the time, and decided against using the buying clause, which meant Di Michele had to return to Italian football.
Following the West Ham loan, he moved to Lecce on the same basis, however, they did use the chance to make the move permanent. That stay still didn’t last long, and Di Michele, who has represented Italy six times, went on to play for Chievo, Reggina and Lupa Roma, before hanging up his boots in 2016.
Speaking to Italian radio, and asked about his period in English football, Di Michele is quoted by Il Napoli Online as saying: “West Ham? I could have done much better at West Ham in terms of scoring, I scored four goals and made 15 assists. I helped them do it, so it compensates for the situation: it was a wonderful experience, if I had done it earlier it would have been better.”
A nice period in his career, if tinged with a little regret.
