For the best part of twenty years, indeed, since Zdenek Zeman threw him in at the deep end for Lazio, Marco Di Vaio has been a predatory striker around not just Europe but the world, taking in clubs in France, Spain and Canada as well as a number in Italy. After announcing his retirement from the game at the end of the current MLS season, the time is ripe to look back on some of the more eventful seasons in Di Vaio’s illustrious career; he was, as the saying has it, a great scorer of goals rather than a scorer of great goals, and he has had some times to remember.
1997/98 – Salernitana; 36 games, 21 goals – The Arrival
Perhaps the best player in perhaps the best Salernitana side there ever was, Di Vaio was a machine, particularly in the early part of the season – fifteen games in, he had fifteen goals, as the Delio Rossi’s side raced ahead in a Serie B they were destined to win. Alongside Eduardo Artistico, Di Vaio enjoyed his most prolific season to date, scoring a monstrous eight braces (though never a hat-trick), including a spell of eight goals in five games early on. The following year, he made double figures for Salernitana in Serie A – Marco Di Vaio had arrived.
2001/02 – Parma; 33 goals 20 goals – The Bright Spot
Following the departures of Gianluigi Buffon and Lilian Thuram, expectations around Parma were low going into the Autumn of 2001; indeed, seeing a team who finished above AC Milan and Inter the season before drop into the relegation zone suggested something was awry, but Di Vaio, scorer of 15 goals in 2000/01, stepped up to the plate as his teammates faded away – a run of 9 goals in 9 games his best spell as he helped Parma to the Coppa Italia title, their last major crown to date.
2004/05 – Valencia; 30 games 11 goals – The Losing Battle
Rather continuing his trend of arriving at clubs just after their peak, Di Vaio moved to Spanish and UEFA Cup champions Valencia to accompany Mista, who had scored 19 goals in the previous campaign. In his first game for Valencia, he scored the winning goal in the European Super Cup against Porto yet, once more in league, the Rome born striker’s best scoring runs came in patches – five in his first five games – as he went on to tally 11 goals as Barcelona romped to the title. Valencia finished 7th, their lowest position since 1998.
2008/09 – Bologna 38 games 24 goals – The Saviour
Newly promoted Bologna saw the very best of Di Vaio after he moved to the Rossoblu from Genoa; though after the opening goal of the season for Daniele Arrigoni’s side, he failed to find the target in the next five games, all defeats. Though his brace helped Bologna past Lazio, they only earned six points from their first 10 games. Coaches came and went, as a run of 14 goals in 14 games during the Autumn earned Di Vaio hero status during Bologna’s nine game unbeaten run. In the end, Di Vaio’s 24 goals was not just his best ever haul, but accounted for 55% of Bologna’s goals as they stayed up by a measly 3 points.
2013 – Montreal Impact – 34 games 20 goals – The Heroic Veteran
Montreal have never been the biggest or best team in MLS, but in 2013 and in Di Vaio, they had one of the standout performers in the league. Twice voted MLS Player of the Week, 37 year old Di Vaio enjoyed a standout swansong that was so impressive there was talk of a return to Serie A with Bologna at the end of the campaign. A hat-trick against Philadelphia Union in Week 13 was followed by three braces in four games (coincidentally, the blank was against Philadelphia) as Impact enjoyed their best ever season. Instead of a return to Italy, he stayed in Canada, scoring another 11 goals before announcing his retirement.
