Angelo Di Livio was born in Rome on 26 July 1966. He developed at Roma but never played for the first team. After, he spent time in the lower leagues at Reggiana, Nocerina, Perugia and Padova. At the age of 27, Giovanni Trapattoni gave him a chance to step up to Serie A when he was signed by Juventus. He never looked back, winning three Scudetti, one Coppa Italia, two Supercoppe Italiane, one Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and one Intercontinental Cup in the late 1990s. His career came to an end with six seasons at Fiorentina, where he became captain and a symbol of the club.

His brilliant displays for Juventus earned him an Italy call-up from Sacchi. On 6 September 1995, he made his international debut against Slovenia at the age of 29. He took part in EURO 96 under Sacchi and the 1998 World Cup under Cesare Maldini, along with EURO 2000 under Zoff. He also went to the 2002 World Cup with Trapattoni at the age of almost 36. On 18 June 2002, he played in his 40th and final Italy match as the Azzurri were unluckily knocked out by South Korea in the round of 16.