Tony Dorigo
Encyclopedia
Anthony Robert Dorigo is a retired English football player who played for Aston Villa
, Chelsea
, Leeds United and the England national side
as a left-back
.
, Dorigo holds a British
passport
and during his playing career he represented the England team
on 15 occasions. He also made 7 appearances for the England B team
and 11 for the England under-21s.
He signed for Chelsea from Aston Villa
for £475,000 and he won the club's player of the year award in his first season, though they were also relegated. He helped the club win promotion back to the First Division
at the first attempt. He left Chelsea in somewhat acrimonious circumstances in the summer of 1991, having made and then withdrawn a transfer
request, and then seemingly fallen out with manager Bobby Campbell after being dropped from the side. He was sold to Leeds for £1.3m. He made 180 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 11 goals.
Dorigo won the First Division with Leeds in his first season at the club and stayed with the club until 1997, when he joined Italian
side Torino
. At Torino he helped the side reach the promotion play-offs being awarded the club's player of the year, although he missed a penalty in the play off final.
Due to financial reasons Torino were forced let him go, with Dorigo closing his career with two years at Derby County
. He scored three goals during his spell at Derby, with one in the league against Nottingham Forest and two in the FA Cup against Huddersfield Town, one in the original tie and again in the replay. He spent a final season at Stoke City
, where he was made club captain, before retiring in 2001 at the age of 35. In his final season he was playing in Division Two (the third tier of the English senior leagues).
He won 15 England caps
and made his debut in 1989 against Yugoslavia
. A year earlier he was a surprise inclusion in the squad for the European Championships as cover for Kenny Sansom
, after regular deputy Stuart Pearce
withdrew through injury. Dorigo was also part of the 1990 World Cup squad. He played in the third place play-off defeat to Italy
, crossing for David Platt to score an equaliser for 1-1. England lost 2-1.
Since retiring he has been a football pundit and has been commentating on Italian football on Bravo (2006–2007 season) and channel 5 (2007/2008 season. Now he commentates for the Al Jazeera TV network and has done games for ESPN too. Now he is involved in property developing. He received his qualifications required in order to hold a UEFA Pro Licence (the highest-level managerial qualification in association football) in 2002.
He appeared on the James Corden Show on the 16th June prior to the England and Germany second round match of the World Cup 2010. On the 14th of August, 2010 he appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk
and came in last. He also commentates for Absolute Radio as part of their live Barclays Premier League coverage.
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Leeds United and the England national side
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
as a left-back
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
.
Career
Despite being born in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Dorigo holds a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
and during his playing career he represented the England team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
on 15 occasions. He also made 7 appearances for the England B team
England B national football team
England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations...
and 11 for the England under-21s.
He signed for Chelsea from Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
for £475,000 and he won the club's player of the year award in his first season, though they were also relegated. He helped the club win promotion back to the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
at the first attempt. He left Chelsea in somewhat acrimonious circumstances in the summer of 1991, having made and then withdrawn a transfer
Transfer (football)
In professional association football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between professional clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one professional association football club to another. In general, the players can only be...
request, and then seemingly fallen out with manager Bobby Campbell after being dropped from the side. He was sold to Leeds for £1.3m. He made 180 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 11 goals.
Dorigo won the First Division with Leeds in his first season at the club and stayed with the club until 1997, when he joined Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
side Torino
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
. At Torino he helped the side reach the promotion play-offs being awarded the club's player of the year, although he missed a penalty in the play off final.
Due to financial reasons Torino were forced let him go, with Dorigo closing his career with two years at Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
. He scored three goals during his spell at Derby, with one in the league against Nottingham Forest and two in the FA Cup against Huddersfield Town, one in the original tie and again in the replay. He spent a final season at Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
, where he was made club captain, before retiring in 2001 at the age of 35. In his final season he was playing in Division Two (the third tier of the English senior leagues).
He won 15 England caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
and made his debut in 1989 against Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
. A year earlier he was a surprise inclusion in the squad for the European Championships as cover for Kenny Sansom
Kenny Sansom
Kenneth Graham Sansom is an English former footballer. Until overtaken by Ashley Cole in February 2011, he held the record for the number of caps for an England national football team full back, having appeared 86 times for his country between 1979 and 1988.- Crystal Palace :Sansom started out...
, after regular deputy Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...
withdrew through injury. Dorigo was also part of the 1990 World Cup squad. He played in the third place play-off defeat to Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
, crossing for David Platt to score an equaliser for 1-1. England lost 2-1.
Since retiring he has been a football pundit and has been commentating on Italian football on Bravo (2006–2007 season) and channel 5 (2007/2008 season. Now he commentates for the Al Jazeera TV network and has done games for ESPN too. Now he is involved in property developing. He received his qualifications required in order to hold a UEFA Pro Licence (the highest-level managerial qualification in association football) in 2002.
He appeared on the James Corden Show on the 16th June prior to the England and Germany second round match of the World Cup 2010. On the 14th of August, 2010 he appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk
Fighting Talk
Fighting Talk is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. Its first series aired in October 2003, and was presented by Johnny Vaughan. The second series featured Christian O'Connell. It is currently hosted by Colin Murray and is aired on Saturday...
and came in last. He also commentates for Absolute Radio as part of their live Barclays Premier League coverage.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder... |
1983–84 | | | |||||||||
| 1984–85 | | | ||||||||||
| 1985–86 | | | ||||||||||
| 1986–87 | | | ||||||||||
| Total | 111 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 135 | 1 | |
| Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
1987–88 | | | |||||||||
| 1988–89 | | | ||||||||||
| 1989–90 | | | ||||||||||
| 1990–91 | | | ||||||||||
| Total | 146 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 180 | 12 | |
| Leeds United | 1991–92 | | | |||||||||
| 1992–93 | | | ||||||||||
| 1993–94 | | | ||||||||||
| 1994–95 | | | ||||||||||
| 1995–96 | | | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | | | ||||||||||
| Total | 171 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 194 | 6 | |
| Torino Torino F.C. Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football.... |
1997–98 | 30 | 2 | 30 | 2 | ||||||
| Total | 30 | 2 | 30 | 2 | |||||||
| Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English... |
1998–99 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 |
| 1999–2000 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| Total | 41 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 3 | |
| Stoke City Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts... |
2000–01 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| Total | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| Career Total | 535 | 20 | 32 | 2 | 49 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 640 | 24 | |