Raffaele De Vita (born 23 September 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian side Anagni. De Vita started his career with Blackburn Rovers, and has also played for Swindon Town, Bradford City, Cheltenham Town, Ross County, Partick Thistle, Falkirk, Edinburgh City, and Livingston.

Career Born in Rome, Italy, De Vita grew up supporting Lazio and idolised Paolo Di Canio, who later coached him when he joined Swindon Town. De Vita began his career at a boys club in Rome, it has previously been reported as being the Roma academy, which was ironic, due to the fact De Vita supported Roma's rivals, Lazio - De Vita himself set these rumours straight in an interview with The Athletic) until he was scouted by Blackburn Rovers, which he said came "out of nowhere".

De Vita began his career with Blackburn Rovers but did not make an appearance for the first team. He joined Scottish club Livingston in July 2008. At one point, De Vita considered quitting Livingston, as a result of the club entering administration, but continued to play for the club, after Gary Bollan had come in as manager and he had regained his fitness. He made his debut on 14 February 2009 against St Johnstone, and the following week scored his first goal against Dundee. At the end of the 2010–11 season, during which he helped the club win promotion to the Scottish First Division, De Vita was among seven players to be released by the club despite becoming a fans' favourite. During his career at Livingston, he made 67 league appearances and scored 22 goals.

Swindon Town

In June 2011, he signed for Swindon Town on a two-year contract.

He made his debut on 6 August, in a 3–0 win against Crewe Alexandra, ensuring new manager Paolo di Canio's first competitive game in charge of Swindon ended with a win. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 August, in a 1–0 win against Championship side Bristol City in the League Cup. He scored his first league goal for the club on 24 September, opening the scoring in a 4–0 win against Barnet."Swindon 4–0 Barnet" BBC Sport. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2013. He followed this up with goals against Hereford United,"Swindon 3–3 Hereford" BBC Sport. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2013. Plymouth Argyle,"Plymouth 0–1 Swindon" BBC Sport. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2013. Huddersfield Town"Swindon 4–1 Huddersfield" BBC Sport. 12 November 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2013. and Morecambe"Swindon 3–0 Morecambe" BBC Sport. 17 December 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2013. to finish his debut season with six goals,"Raffaele De Vita Football Stats Season 2011/2012" Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 July 2013. and helped Swindon to win the League Two title."Swindon 5–0 Port Vale" BBC Sport. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013.

He made his first appearance of the 2012–13 season on 14 August in a 3–0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion in the League Cup."Swindon 3–0 Brighton" BBC Sport. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013. He scored his first goal of the season a week later, with Swindon now in League One, in a 3–0 win against Crawley Town."Swindon 3–0 Crawley Town" BBC Sport. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013. After scoring in a defeat to Preston North End,"Preston 4–1 Swindon" BBC Sport. 2 September 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013. he then scored in back-to-back games in October, in a 2–1 defeat to Crewe and a 4–0 victory against Stevenage."Crewe 2–1 Swindon" BBC Sport. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013."Stevenage 0–4 Swindon" BBC Sport. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013. In December 2012, he then scored twice in a 2–0 win against Oldham Athletic,"Oldham 0–2 Swindon" BBC Sport. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013. before scoring again in the following game, a 5–0 win against Tranmere Rovers."Swindon 5–0 Tranmere" BBC Sport. 21 December 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013. He then scored his final goal of the season on 5 January 2013, in a 4–0 win against Carlisle United."Swindon 4–0 Carlisle" BBC Sport. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013. He helped Swindon to finish in the play-off positions, and played in the second leg of the semi-final against Brentford, which finished 3–3, leaving the tie 4–4 on aggregate, with Brentford then going on to win the penalty shoot-out 5–4."Brentford 3–3 Swindon (Agg 4–4)" BBC Sport. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013. He was then released by the club along with five other players, at the end of the season."Robins release retained list" Swindon Advertiser. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.

Bradford City After training with the club for over two weeks,"Bradford City close to deal for De Vita" Telegraph & Argus. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013. and scoring as a trialist in a 4–0 win in a pre-season game against Guiseley"City start with comfortable friendly win" Bradford City. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013. De Vita signed for Bradford City on a one-year contract on 30 July 2013.

He made his debut on 3 August on the opening day of the season in a 2–2 draw against Bristol City, and assisted Rory McArdle's later equaliser."Bristol City 2–2 Bradford" BBC Sport. 3 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013. He scored his first goal for the club on 26 October, opening the scoring in a 2–1 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers."Bradford City 1–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers" BBC Sport. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013. However, De Vita's first team opportunities were soon limited, due to a thigh injury that kept him out for months. After months on the sidelines, De Vita made his first team return on 11 April 2014, coming on as a substitute for Matthew Dolan in the 77th minute, in a 0–0 draw against Rotherham United.

After making twenty-three appearances and scoring once in all competitions by the end of the 2013–14 season, De Vita's contract with the club expired and he was invited back for pre-season training in the hope of earning a new deal. However, it was made clear that De Vita would not return to Bradford City following the conclusion of the club's pre-season friendly matches.

Cheltenham Town De Vita joined Cheltenham Town on a three-month contract on 25 September 2014. De Vita made his Cheltenham Town debut two days later, coming on as a substitute for John Marquis in the 83rd minute, in a 1–0 loss against Burton Albion on 27 September 2014.

After making thirteen appearances for the club during the first half of the season, De Vita was released by the club after the expiry of his contract in late-December.

Ross County On 30 January 2015, De Vita signed for Scottish Premiership club Ross County. On his debut for the club, he scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over Motherwell on 14 February 2015. Seven days later he scored again, this time against Partick Thistle at Firhill, as the Staggies secured a 3–1 away victory. On 12 April 2015, De Vita was named as SPFL Player of the Month for March 2015.

With his impressive displays helping Ross County avoid relegation, De Vita signed a new contract in May 2015, keeping him at the club until 2017. He scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season in a League Cup match, as Ross County thrashed Falkirk 7–0 on 22 September 2015. On 30 June 2016, De Vita was released by Ross County, despite his contract still having a year left.

Livingston return After being without a club for four months, De Vita signed on for his second spell with Scottish League One side Livingston in October 2016.

Loans from Livingston De Vita joined Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle on a season long Loan for the 2019/20 season. De Vita scored his first goal for Thistle in a 3-2 league defeat away to Morton. De Vita scored his second goal for the Jags in a 2–0 win at home to Welsh side Connah Quay Nomands in the Scottish Challenge Cup. Livingston recalled De Vita from his loan spell on New Year's Day 2020. The same day Falkirk announced they had signed him on loan until the end of the season; a season which ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was loaned to Edinburgh City in October 2020. De vita was released by Livingston at the end of the 2020–21 season.

Return to Italy De Vita signed for Anagni in 2022.

Career statistics

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLivingston2008–09Scottish First Division71000000712009–10Scottish Third Division2994Includes one appearance not recorded on Soccerbase or Soccerway. 2000033112010–11Scottish Second Division33121010103612Total69225210107624Swindon Town2011–12Football League Two3844111304662012–13Football League One368102020418Total74125131508714Bradford City2013–14Football League One2011010102312014–15Football League One0000000000Total201101010231Cheltenham Town2014–15Football League Two100200010130Ross County2014–15Scottish Premiership1430000001432015–16Scottish Premiership190412100252Total333412100395Livingston2016–17Scottish League One2332000212742017–18Scottish Championship3030062414062018–19Scottish Premiership30000000302020–21Scottish Premiership000000—00Total5662062627010Career total2624419413414230854

Honours Livingston Scottish Football League Third Division: 2009–10 Scottish Football League Second Division: 2010–11 Scottish League One: 2016–17

Swindon Town Football League Two: 2011–12 Football League Trophy runner-up: 2011–12

Ross County Scottish League Cup: 2015–16

Individual SPFL Player of the Month: March 2015

References

External links