[2] Following this triumph, he agreed to return to Piacenza, for 2 billion lire[3] (€1.03 million by fixed exchange rate) and then retired in 2005 following stints with Ancona and Perugia.

[11][12] In addition to his 12 official appearances with Italy, Di Francesco also made an additional appearance for the Italy national team in an unofficial friendly match against the FIFA World Stars on 16 December 1998, held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Italian Football Federation; he scored his only international goal during the match, which ended in a 6–2 victory to the Italians.

[13] Di Francesco was a hard-working and consistent midfielder who, despite not being the most technically gifted footballer, possessed a solid first touch and an ability to make attacking runs into the area.

[14] In 2008, he was appointed as head coach of Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Virtus Lanciano, being later sacked in January 2009 due to poor results.

[16] He was removed from his coaching duties on 4 December 2011, after achieving only eight points in thirteen games, and leaving his side at the bottom of the league table.

[21] Sassuolo finished the 2015–16 Serie A season in sixth place, sealing a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League.

[23] On 13 June 2017, Di Francesco was appointed as Roma head coach, replacing Luciano Spalletti, who had left for Internazionale.

In the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, Roma qualified for the knockout round after topping a group including Chelsea and Atlético Madrid.

[31] On 1 July 2023, Di Francesco was named the new head coach of newly-promoted Serie A club Frosinone, replacing outgoing manager Fabio Grosso.