Inaugural Western United captain and 2020 Johnny Warren Medalist Alessandro Diamanti has called time on his illustrious career, confirming his he will retire at the end of the 2022-23 Isuzu UTE A-League campaign.
The 39-year-old former Italian international arrived in Australia in mid-2019 ahead of Western’s first A-League Men campaign; four years on, he retires as a club legend, accruing just over 80 league appearances in green and black across four seasons and contributing to last season’s Championship triumph.
It’s common knowledge in Australian football circles that Diamanti translates to “diamonds” in Italian; it’s the fact that has come to light so often as he’s sparkled through his Western tenure.
He’s showcased the same expressive, creative and at times magical approach to football all the way through his career which has spanned 23 years and more than 550 games, beginning at his hometown club AC Prato.
As he prepares to bid farewell to the professional game, Diamanti says the love he’s received from supporters throughout his career is what he defines as his “greatest victory.”
“I am a happy man,” Diamanti said. “I have always tried to be a footballer of the people, for the people. I have always followed the true values of football.
“I haven’t been a 100 trophy player, but I have been a player who felt loved, by my loved ones first and by all the thousands of people who have been following me for more than 20 years.
“The love that you fans have constantly always given me has been and is my greatest victory.”
Diamanti rose through the lower divisions in Italy to play for Livorno in Serie A, before earning a move to Premier League club West Ham United in 2009. Following his stint in England he represented Italian clubs Atalanta, Brescia, Bologna, Fiorentina and Palermo, as well as Chinese club Guangzhou and a brief loan stint at Watford in the Premier League.
In 2012 Diamanti ventured to the UEFA European Championship with Italy, scoring a famous winning penalty in a quarter-final shootout against England. He played 17 times for the Azzurri throughout his career.
In July of 2019, Diamanti joined Western United – the Australian club he would call home for the last four years of his career.
He captained the club through its inaugural A-League Men season, finishing the 2019-20 campaign with seven goals and seven assists to his name through 25 regular season games, helping Western to a Semi Final finish.
It was a brilliant introduction to life Down Under; Diamanti was recognised as the league’s best player as a result, winning the Johnny Warren Medal ahead of Milos Ninkovic, Jamie Maclaren Diego Castro and Ulises Davila.
Diamanti has gone on to play 81 A-League Men games for Western, scoring 11 goals. Injuries have curtailed his last two seasons in the competition; Diamanti made just 10 appearances in Western’s 2021-22 Championship campaign, and has made just one start from 20 appearances in 2022-23.
Despite playing just under 400 minutes of game time this season, Diamanti has scored two incredible goals to remind all watching on of his eternal talent, and craftiness with the ball at his feet.
The first came in the form of a stoppage-time free-kick that earned Western three points in a 3-2 win over Wellington Phoenix in November. The second came against Sydney FC in early January: another winner, this time in a 1-0 triumph, scored from roughly 45 yards out with an audacious lob. It will go down as one of the goals of the season.
Western United general manager of football Mal Impiombato praised Diamanti for his contribution since the club’s inception.
“Alessandro has had an incredible career as a footballer and will be deserving of all the applause and recognition that he receives,” he said.
“For us as a football club, Dia has been the catalyst for so much of our growth both on and off the pitch and has contributed to each of our most special memories.
“As the inaugural captain of our club, Dia helped create the successful foundations here and will go down as a Western United legend and one of the greatest players to grace the A-Leagues.
“Italian football fans and supporters of all his clubs will celebrate and remember him fondly, and we are grateful and privileged to have had Alino represent the Green and Black of Western United FC.”
Diamanti will bid farewell to professional football at the conclusion of the 2022-23 A-League Men season. Western face Perth Glory on the road in the final round of the regular season on Saturday, April 29.
