In Leamington Spa where he was born he is remembered playing for South Leam Gems as a striker, regularly scoring at ease and highlighted by local newspaper reports before Scimeca started his advanced career at Aston Villa, coming through the club's youth system, as a central defender and was largely a squad player until his move to Nottingham Forest in 1999 for £2.5 million.

[5] Scimeca then moved to West Bromwich Albion a year later by activating a get-out clause in his contract which allowed him to leave Leicester,[6] before his transfer to Cardiff City in early 2006.

[7] In his first year at Ninian Park, Scimeca became an important part of the Cardiff side under manager Dave Jones and also developed something of a goal scoring touch which he admitted surprised him.

[9] He again came close to a return in December 2007 after having an operation on his groin injury but suffered another setback after he contracted the MRSA bacteria after the incision failed to fully heal.

[11] He returned to the squad for the first time on 22 November 2008 when he was named on the bench for a 2–1 defeat against Plymouth Argyle but did not make an appearance until the following week when he came on as a late substitute in the South Wales derby against Swansea City on 6 December.

He returned to the starting line-up on 5 December in a 1–0 win over Preston North End and played in the following game against his former club West Bromwich Albion, where Cardiff won 2–0.