David di Michele had a one-year spell at West Ham during the 2008/09 season.
He arrived on loan from Torino, joining at a point when the Hammers had a lot of Italian involvement. The former striker has now spoken to Tuttomercatoweb about his time at West Ham and excitement at moving there.
He had been about to join AS Roma, before a last minute twist.
Di Michele is quoted as saying: “lt was a very dramatic move. That year. I was in Turin and was supposed to join Roma, coached by Spalletti himself. We had made all the necessary arrangements for the transfer with the clubs; all the agreements were in place.
“I wasn’t in the good graces of the manager and Torino, so I could certainly have left, but at the last minute [Torino owner] Cairo didn’t want to send me to Rome.”
The Italian said there was no chance of him staying at Torino. This is why West Ham’s approach was so welcome.
“I missed that train, but at that point I couldn’t stay in Turin anymore because I would have lost six months out of the squad.
“At a certain point, a few minutes before the transfer window closed at midnight, my agent called me and said, ‘David, West Ham are here.’ Without thinking, I said, ‘OK, let’s go.’ After all, I wanted to go and play, and the Premier League had always excited me'”
Di Michele then added more detail about his time at the London, making clear he enjoyed the spell.
“When I arrived at West Ham, they immediately sacked the manager, but for me it was a stroke of luck. Gianfranco Zola immediately took over the bench. The sporting director was Gianluca Nani, now in Udine, and Behrami, who had played in Serie A, was in the team. There was also a physiotherapist I knew from Palermo. It was a perfect environment for me.”
He expressed gratitude to Gianfranco Zola for helping him settle in, and also had praise for former teammates.
“Zola didn’t just help me, he really guided me in every way in English football. For this reason, I’ve always thanked him for what he did for me, trying to repay him on the pitch.
“I played a lot, I had fun, I had great teammates like Scott Parker, Mark Noble, Kieron Dyer, Lee Boyer, Carlton Cole, Rob Green, Matthew Upson, to name a few. All of them were players for the national team, they were all at full speed, training for them was a real match.”
Di Michele played 34 times for West Ham and scored four goals, assisting just as many times.
It was his only season in the Premier League and after that, he never quite got going in Serie A. The spell at West Ham proved to be the last impactful one of his career at the highest level.
