David Di Tommaso

David Di Tommaso

Personal information
Date of birth	October 6, 1979(1979-10-06)
Place of birth	Échirolles, France
Date of death	November 29, 2005(2005-11-29) (aged 26)
Place of death	De Meern, Netherlands
Playing position	Central defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2000	AS Monaco	14	(0)
2000–2004	Sedan	77	(2)
2004–2005	FC Utrecht	44	(1)
Total		135	(3)
National team
?–2002	France U-21
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

David di Tommaso (October 6, 1979 — November 29, 2005) was a French football player.

Early life

Di Tommaso was born in Échirolles, Isère. His father Pascal Di Tommaso and uncle Louis Di Tommaso both played in Ligue 2 for Grenoble Foot 38 in the 1980s. His younger brother Yohan Di Tommaso is also a professional footballer.

Career

He started his career at French side AS Monaco, where he helped the club win the 2000 league title. He then played in the UEFA Champions League and was selected for the French national youth football team. In 2001, di Tommaso transferred to Sedan, which sold him to Dutch side FC Utrecht in 2004. In his first season there, the fans named him the club's player of the year.

His last match was on November 27, a 1–0 victory against Ajax Amsterdam, one of FC Utrecht's main rivals.

Death

Di Tommaso died after a cardiac arrest in his sleep at the age of 26 in De Meern, Netherlands. He is survived by his wife and son.

After the death

On December 1, a meeting of supporters at Stadion Galgenwaard was held, to honour Di Tommaso (DiTo for short). At least 14,000 fans showed up. Among the speakers were chairman Jan Willem van Dop, coach Foeke Booy and captain Jean-Paul de Jong. Besides Di Tommaso's relatives and FC Utrecht's main squad, all of the clubs' youth teams were among the visitors. They were told that number 4, the number worn by Di Tommaso, would be retired from use. Sedan, Di Tommaso's former club, had already announced that number 29, the number Di Tommaso used when he played for the club, would be retired.

Di Tommaso Trophy

Since 2006 FC Utrecht's player of the year award is called the Di Tommaso trophy in honour of David Di Tommaso. The trophy is voted for by the fans.

Winners

Season	Winner	Runner up	Third
2005/2006	Jean-Paul de Jong	Dave van den Bergh	Sander Keller
2006/2007	Michel Vorm	Francis Dickoh	Jean-Paul de Jong
2007/2008	Gregoor van Dijk	Robin Nelisse	Cedric van der Gun
2008/2009	Michael Silberbauer	Michel Vorm	Mihai Nesu
2009/2010	Dries Mertens	Mihai Nesu	Michael Silberbauer
2010/2011	Nana Asare	Kevin Strootman	Mihai Nesu

Persondata
Name	Di Tommaso, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 6, 1979
Place of birth	Échirolles, France
Date of death	November 29, 2005
Place of death	De Meern, Netherlands