Domenico Frare

The center back who also came through Parma’s youth team, Frare is impressing with Cittadella. Going into his fourth season, Frare is proving to be quite a pairing with Adorni and Perticone.

Frare, like fellow teammate and center back Davide Adorni, came through Parma’s youth team. He was born not far from Cittadella, in Conegliano on May 10th, 1996. Domenico started at Sacilese at the youth level until 2011. When he was 15, the center back transferred to Parma.

He was with the Parma squad for four years. The the fall of 2014, Frare captained his side in a Coppa Italia Primavera match against, coincidentally, Cittadella. He lead his side to victory after being down 2-0 in the first half. Through the two seasons with the U19’s, Frare played in 23 matches.

A free transfer in the summer of 2015 saw Frare land in Serie C with AC Tuttocuoio, his first professional club. At 19 years old, he made his pro debut on November 4, 2015 against Lucchese, in the Coppa Italia Lega Pro. His Serie C debut came not long after on January 17, 2016 in a 0-0 draw with Rimini.

The next season, Frare once again did not see the field as much. Towards the end, however, Frare got his chance, starting five of the remaining matches. In a relegation battle, Frare and Tuttocuoio were at risk of being dropped from the division.

They were in a playout with Prato, and despite being leveling them on the aggregate score, Tuttocuoio were relegated due to Prato finishing higher in the regular season.

That same summer, Frare was bought by Pontedera, another Serie C club, and was signed with a three year deal. The 17/18 season was his true breakout season. He was an immediate starter, playing 38 matches that season. Frare helped bring Pontedera to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia Lega Pro, falling to Alessandria on penalties. The young center back scored his first professional goal on November 5, 2017 in a 1-0 win against Pro Piacenza.

Despite a loss on the final day, it was enough to see Pontedera make the promotion playoffs. It was the end of the road for them, as they were defeated at Viterbese. Frare did not play in that match.

His breakout season was enough to catch the eye of Cittadella. A little under two months after Pontedera’s loss, Cittadella signed Frare. He proved to be a very good signing, helping Cittadella reach the Serie B promotion finals. Despite a 2-0 win in leg 1, a 3-0 loss in Verona saw Frare and Cittadella miss out on Serie A promotion.

Under Venturato, Frare looked very good in the center back position. Playing his best football of his career, the center back has come very close within Serie A. Although he rotated a lot in the 20/21 season for game time, he is a very important part in the Cittadella back line. Playing 72 matches in his three seasons, Frare could potentially play his 100th game for the club this season!