A Milan youth product, D'Aversa spent most of his playing career with provincial Serie A clubs and in the lower divisions.

Stefano Bettarini, Antonio Marasco, Maurizio Caccavale, Alfredo Femiano and former Siena teammate Generoso Rossi were also banned.

He was sacked on 30 January 2016 after a 0–3 loss to Trapani, which left Lanciano in second-last place in the Serie B league table.

On 3 December 2016, he was named new head coach of Parma, following the sacking of Luigi Apolloni and a short caretaker spell of Stefano Morrone for two games.

[10] On 27 June 2023, D'Aversa returned to management as the new head coach of Serie A club Lecce, succeeding Marco Baroni, who joined Hellas Verona.