Danny Dichio

Dichio Poster (I made it)

My hero is Toronto FC striker Danny Dichio. Born in London, England on October 19th 1974 to mother Norma and father Gianni. His father is of Italian descent, and his full name is actually Daniele Dichio. He has a sister called Lucia. He began loving the sport of soccer when his dad took him to a match at the young tender age of two. He played for many youth teams but his main youth team was Forest United, where he came up against a player by the name of David Beckham, who at the time was only nine. His parents were strict but now he thanks his parents for this because it helped him develop into the player he is today. His first professional club was Queens Park Rangers, the club he supported since that first game he went to at the age of two. He scored on his premiership debut for the club, which is quite an accomplishment. After QPR he moved looked deep into his routes and moved to Italian giants Sampdoria. After two years in Italy he returned to England with Sunderland FC. Danny also had brief spells with Lecce, West Brom, Derby, Millwall and then finaly Preston North End. In 2007 he moved across the world to come to the newly formed Toronto FC.

Toronto FC were in their first ever season, and they were going into only their 5th ever game. It was also their 2nd home game and the team had still not scored a goal anywhere. The fans were getting restless as the team was struggling massively. Their world would change in the 23rd minute and 13th second in a game at home against Chicago Fire. Danny Dichio, in the box, receives a cross across the face of the goal and would slot the ball home to score Toronto FC's first ever goal. This moment was massive and it made him an instant hero with Toronto FC fans everywhere. To this day, every home game and even the away games with traveling fans, the crowd will sing the Danny Dichio song on the 23rd minute and 13th second in honor of their hero.

Danny still lives in Toronto with his wife Claire and his three children Luca, born 1998, Franco, born 2001 and Alessia, born 2005. As you can see his children have Italian names, Danny is very proud of his Italian roots. Danny still plays for the club and is still very much a key player despite being one of the older players at the club. He plans to retire at the end of this season and hopes he can help Toronto to their first playoffs. Although he is retiring from his playing career, Danny is nowhere near ready to leave the game altogether. He's working on his coaching licenses and he already has a soccer school here in Toronto to help develop the sport. Danny also wants to stay on in a coaching position at the club once his playing days come to an end, showing that Toronto FC and their fans mean a lot to Dichio.

Danny Dichio is a person who I think is important to me because I am a supporter of Toronto FC and that goal is one that will always live in my memory because it was the first ever goal for the club and also because it was scored in front of the home fans which is really important because it gave all the fans the chance to witness the moment on their home ground. Also Danny is the all time leading goal scorer at the club to date with 12 goals in all competitions and is still scoring vital goals for the club. Even at his older age, he still starts games and this season has played a full ninety minutes on more than one occasion, which is impressive because he is 35 and in the sport of soccer, most players are not able to play full games let alone full games at the top level. This is why I think Danny Dichio is a real hero.