Former Celtic midfield Massimo Donati has made his move into management with A.S. Sambenedettese of Serie C, the third division side in Italy. The 40-year-old midfielder made 47 appearances for the club, assisting 4 and scoring 5 times. Gordon Strachan signed the player for £1.5m at the end of June 2007 but fourteen years later, he is making a name for himself as a manager. Donati will be joined by Sandro Porchia as Sporting Director on a deal until 2022, with an option of a further year.
The player spent two years at Celtic but became a favourite at the club after signing from AC Milan. He is fondly remembered for scoring the winner versus Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2007/08 Champions League group-stage match. Although, it appears that Celtic left a lasting impression on Donati, who has a tattoo of the club crest on his body.
The player had spells with Hamilton Accies and St Mirren and even started out in coacjongh with Accies before joining Angelo Alessio at Killie as a first team coach.