Marco Donadel: The Last Italian Standing

There have been many different Italian players to wear le bleu, blanc et noir over the years.  One of whom is beloved former striker Marco Di Vaio, but this article is about another Italian Marco, that is Marco Donadel he may not be the biggest name on the club but he is the leader down the middle.   Marco Donadel came to the Montreal Impact on a trial basis back in 2014, after he was down on is luck on finding a professional contract in Italy.

From AC Milan youth to Montreal Impact

Marco Donadel started is professional career with Italian serie A giants AC Milan, we would play one serie A match with Il Diavolo after which he would spend the next three years on loan to three different clubs around Italy. It wasn't until January 2005 that Marco Donadel found his footing in professional soccer, he signed on to play for AFC Fiorentina and he became a regular in the starting 11 under former Italian national team head coach Cesare Prandelli.  For the next six years Marco Donadel would grow into becoming a top defensive midfielder in serie A and would acquire the leadership skills that the Impact find incredibly crucial.  After his stint with Napoli proved unsuccessful, Marco Donadel took a phone call from his friend Marco Di Vaio who insisted that he'd come to Montreal and train with the team and the rest is history.

A tough time in Canada

Even though the first few games of Marco Donadel's MLS career didn't go quite as planned after not playing a professional soccer game for over a year, he lack fitness to play the full 90, getting injured and adding to the fact that he lead the team in yellow cards for the year, once Marco got into the rhythm of the game he didn't look back, he proved to the team that he can be a leader in the middle for the Impact and is deserving of his pay.

The goal that changed everything

Who can remember Marco Donadel's 30 yard strike against the Columbus Crew, this moment mark the turning point on the season for Marco Donadel and proved that if the Impact return to singing Italian players it would be such a horrible idea, that if they were once again to search Italy for players looking for a change of scenery that by giving them a trail basis they can truly find some talent. Marco Donadel has a lot to prove this season in MLS, now that he's been in the league for a year and knows the format, this will be his year to prove his still got what it takes.