Diego Fabbrini (; born 31 July 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.
He previously played for Empoli, where his career began, Udinese, Watford, Birmingham City, Botoșani, CSKA Sofia, Dinamo București, Ascoli and Lucchese, with loan spells at Palermo, Siena, Millwall, Middlesbrough, Spezia, Oviedo and Alessandria. He has been capped once for Italy.
Club career
Empoli
Born in San Giuliano Terme, Italy, Fabbrini began his career at Empoli when he signed for the club at 13 years old. He said in an interview, saying: "I took my first steps at the Zambra football school, where I grew up really well. I managed to show off with important performances and so came the right specimen The Empoli observers have noticed me, followed me and ... I am still in this very important club." After two years at Empoli, he was promoted to the first team.
He made his first team debut for Empoli on 21 August 2009, coming on as a substitute for Francesco Lodi, in a 2–0 win over Piacenza. In his first season as a professional player, at 19 years old, he became a regular and made 30 appearances, scoring a solitary goal in the 2009–10 Serie B campaign, which was against A.S. Cittadella on 6 March 2010.
His performance at Empoli attracted interests from top Serie A clubs throughout the 2009–10 season and in the summer transfer window. At one point, Empoli rejected a bid from Genoa and Napoli.
In the 2010–11 season, Fabbrini appeared the first three matches of the season for Empoli, including scoring in a 3–2 win over Frosinone on 22 August 2010. Fabbrini's first game after signing for the club on loan from Udinese for the 2010–11 season came on 11 September 2010, in a 1–1 draw against Triestina. He then scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–0 win over Siena on 18 October 2010. Despite being sidelined during the 2010–11 season, Fabbrini went on to make 28 appearances and scoring 2 times in all competitions.
Udinese
On 31 August 2010, Udinese signed Fabbrini and Gabriele Angella in a co-ownership deal for a total of €3 million. As part of the deal, Ricardo Chará and Flavio Lazzari joined Empoli, also in a co-ownership deal for a small fee, and Fabbrini would remain at Empoli for the 2010–11 season.
Fabbrini returned to Udine for the 2011–12 season and made his competitive debut on 24 August 2011, replacing Giampiero Pinzi after 63 minutes of the Champions League play-off round second leg at home to Arsenal; Udinese lost 2–1 and were eliminated. On 31 August 2011, Udinese bought the remaining 50% registration rights from Empoli and Daniele Mori in a co-ownership deal, also from Empoli for a total of €2.4 million. On 25 September 2011, Fabbrini made his Serie A debut, in an away match against Cagliari He then set up a goal for Medhi Benatia to score the opener, in a 2–0 win over Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Europa League Group Stage. Fabbrini spent the most of the 2011–12 season on the substitute bench, although he was feature in number of matches. However, in a 2–2 draw against Napoli on 18 March 2012, he was sent–off for a second bookable offence and missed one game as a result. He scored his first Serie A goal in a 1–0 win against Cesena on 2 May 2012. In the last game of the season, Fabbrini scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–0 win over Catania. Despite being sidelined with injuries during the 2011–12 season, he finished the season, making 25 appearances and scoring 2 times in all competitions.
In the 2012–13 season, Fabbrini was featured in the first team, where he mostly came on the substitute. But he started in number of UEFA Europa League matches. On 8 November 2012, Fabbrini scored his first UEFA Europa League goal, in a 3–2 loss against BSC Young Boys. Seven days later on 15 November 2012, he extended his contract with Udinese to 2017. However, despite signing a contract, Fabbrini's first team opportunities at Udinese became limited much further, leading him to leave the club in January to gain first team football.
On 31 January 2013, Serie A club Palermo announced the signing of Fabbrini from Udinese on loan until the end of the 2012–13 season. Fabbrini made his Palermo debut on 3 February 2013, starting the match and played 68 minutes before being substituted, in a 2–1 loss against Atalanta. Seven days later, on 10 February 2013, he scored his first Palermo goal, in a 1–1 draw against Pescara. However, towards the end of the season, Fabbrini soon have his playing time at Palermo reduced and finished the season, making 8 appearances and scoring once for the side. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he returned to his parent club.