Born inCarrara,Massa-Carrara,Del Nero grew up in the youth system ofEmpoli.He played just four senior games in two years for the Tuscans before moving toBrescia.Upon joining the Rondinelle, Del Nero at first played with the youth team, developing as a player under the guidance of youth coach and former professional, Luciano De Paola.
Del Nero made fleeting appearances for the senior side, before a disappointing stint on loan with Scottish outfitLivingston.He returned to Brescia for the2002–03season, where he made three appearances before another loan spell, this time toSicilywithPalermo,at the time inSerie B.However, Del Nero did not play a game with the rosanero and returned north at the season's end.
Del Nero had a breakout year in2003–04,the first in which he established himself as a regular and consistently played in the senior side. In2004–05,he remained a regular, but did not manage to save his team from relegation.
Del Nero was one of the most talented young players at Brescia with his former coach,Mario Somma,a great admirer. He remained a regular under Rolando Maran andZdeněk Zemanin his last two years at the club,2005–06and2006–07,both of which were spent inSerie B.
In the summer of 2007, Del Nero was available on a free transfer as he was out-of-contract at Brescia and was quickly signed to a five-year deal by giantsLazio,who were preparing for a return to theUEFA Champions League,having just finished third inSerie A.[2]
Lazio were drawn to face Romanian championsDinamo Bucureștiin the Champions League qualifiers and, in the second leg, Del Nero proved decisive. Having only managed a 1–1 draw inRome,the biancocelesti travelled toBucharestneeding a win and Del Nero won an early penalty for the first goal before setting up the second, with Lazio going on to win 3–1 and qualify for the group stage. Unfortunately for theLigurian,he did not take any part in the group phase, and only managed fiveSerie Aappearances due to injury. At the end of the2007–08season, Del Nero underwent an operation in Finland forplantar fasciitis.[3]
That surgery had kept him out for much of the2008–09season as well, but he made a return to action on 14 December 2008, playing the first half of Lazio's draw againstUdinese.[4]Del Nero went on to make a handful more appearances towards the end of the season, including a substitute appearance in the2009 Coppa Italia Final,which Lazio won on penalties.[5]The Coppa was Del Nero's first title with the Roman club.
He joined Malaysia Super League club,Johor Darul Ta'zimin 2013. He bagged his first goal in2013 Malaysia Super Leaguewhen Johor Darul Ta'zim draw 2–2 againstLionsXIIatTan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadiumon 19 February 2013.[6]
Fitness and injury problems restricted his playing time at Johor, affecting his performance on the pitch, and he rejected an offer to be loaned to sister clubJohor FA,resulting in the end of his spell in Johor.[7][8]On 6 April 2013, together with fellow import playerDani Guiza,they played their last game for Johor Darul Ta'zim in aMalaysia FA Cupsemi final first leg match, which ended in 2–3 defeat toSelangor FA.
^"Comunicato Ufficiale N. 80"[Official Press Release No. 80](PDF)(in Italian). Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A. 13 October 2009. p. 5.Retrieved11 December2020.
