Francesco Statuto

Francesco Statuto (born July 13, 1971 in Rome) is an Italian former football (soccer) player, being among the top midfielders for AS Roma during the 1990s.

He played with AS Roma over three periods, beginning from the 1989-90 season, in which he did not however play a single match for the "giallorossi". He then went on to join lower division club Casertana, before moving on to Cosenza in 1992 and Serie A hopefuls Udinese in 1993. With Udinese being relegated in the sommer of 1994, Francesco joined capital club AS Roma for the new season. The club ended in a good fifth place being thus qualified for the UEFA Cup. After another fifth place finish, the club disappointingly finished 12th in the 1996-97 season, and heads started to roll. Spending another half year in Rome, Statuto moved back to former club Udinese for the remainder of the 1997-98 season - finishing third with the Friuli-outfit - one spot ahead of Roma.

For the 1998-99 season, Statuto, who had played extraordinarily well for Udinese, was back with the "giallorossi", leading the club to another 5th place finish in the Serie A, playing alongside a young Francesco Totti. A memorable season for Statuto, which also included a short loanspell at Piacenza, the club he eventually joined fully in the sommer of 1999.

He played three seasons for Piacenza, which saw out his career. The three years offered both a relegation to the Serie B and a promotion back to the Serie A with the red and white outfit.

Statuto earned also three caps for the Italian national side.