Alberto Malesani (; born 5 June 1954) is an Italian
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
manager and former player. As a manager, he is mostly remembered for his successful spell with
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
during the late 1990s, where he won the
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
, the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
, and the
Supercoppa Italiana.
Career
Early career and breakthrough at Chievo
Malesani career as player was mostly spent on a
Veronese amateur team Audace S. Michele, where he obtained a promotion from
Serie D
The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...
to
Serie C
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega Pro ...
in 1976–77, appearing fourteen times on that season. He retired from playing football at the age of 24, and worked at
Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, where he studied the
Ajax Amsterdam total football training methods. His passion for coaching was so great, that on his honeymoon, he decided to go to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in order to watch
Johan Cruijff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a pr ...
's coaching sessions at
Barcelona FC.
Malesani left his job at Canon in 1990 order to pursue a coaching career at
Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...
team
Chievo
Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige.
It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...
for the ''Allievi'' youth squad. In 1991, he is assistant of head coach
Carlo De Angelis
Carlo De Angelis (born 12 March 1947) is an Italian football manager. He managed Chievoverona for many years in Serie C2 and Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided ge ...
in the first team, and in 1993 he becomes head coach himself. His first season as head coach ended in a historical promotion to
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
for then-unknown Chievo.
Fiorentina, Parma and UEFA Cup triumph
Malesani left Chievo in 1997, after three impressive Serie B seasons and a narrowly missed promotion in the Serie A league in order to become
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
's boss, in what was his first stint in the Italian top flight.
A good Fiorentina season convinced
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
to appoint Malesani as new head coach in 1998, where he won a
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
, a
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
, an
Italian Super Cup
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...
and obtained two fourth places before being sacked during the
2000–01 season.
From Verona to Panathinaikos and Udinese
After losing his job at Parma, Malesani then coached
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
and
Modena
Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
, failing to save the clubs from relegation in both cases; successively he moved abroad to coach
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
side
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
. Panathinaikos remains the club with the highest percentage of wins in Malesani's career to date (60%).
Malesani was appointed coach of
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...
in January 2007, as replacement for
Giovanni Galeone
Giovanni Galeone (born 25 January 1941) is an Italian football manager and former player.
Playing career
Galeone, born in Naples, moved to Northern Italy in his youth years, and played as a midfielder for Ponziana Trieste, Monza and Udinese, w ...
. He led his side to a not particularly impressive tenth place in the
2006–07 Serie A final table, only seven points far from relegation, being not confirmed for the following season. On 27 November 2007 he was unveiled as
Empoli
Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...
's new head coach, replacing
Luigi Cagni
Luigi "Gigi" Cagni (born 14 June 1950 in Brescia) is an Italian former football player, who played as a defender. He most recently served head coach of Brescia in the Serie B league in the final weeks of the 2016–17 Serie B season.
Playing ...
.
He was axed on 31 March 2008 following a 2–0 home defeat to
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
which left Empoli down in last place in the league table.
From Siena to Bologna
On 23 November 2009, he was appointed as the new head coach of
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
, replacing
Marco Baroni
Marco Baroni (born 11 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a defender. He is current manager of Serie A club Lecce.
Playing career
Baroni started his career with Fiorentina, and reached his football ...
.
[ ] On 21 May 2010, was released by Siena.
On 1 September 2010, he signed a one-year contract for
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
.
After a successful season which saw his club finish in 16th place, six points clear of relegation, despite a three-point deduction for tax problems and running feuds over the club's ownership, Malesani was replaced by
Pierpaolo Bisoli
Pierpaolo Bisoli (born 20 November 1966) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder, currently in charge as head coach of club Südtirol.
Career
Playing
Born in Porretta Terme, Bisoli started his professional career in 1984 with P ...
on 26 May 2011.
Genoa
On 19 June 2011,
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
officially announced that Malesani would be the new first team head coach. However, after Genoa was defeated 6-1 by Napoli, Malesani was fired. He returned to Genoa on 2 April 2012, taking over from
Pasquale Marino
Pasquale Marino (born 13 July 1962) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder. He most recently served as the manager of Crotone.
Career
Playing career
In his playing career, started for his home team, Marsala, Marino never played in ...
who had previously replaced him only to be sacked a few months later.
His second stint as Genoa boss lasted however only twenty days, as he was sacked once again on 22 April after a 1–4 home loss to
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
that left Genoa one point shy of relegation, and led to massive protests from Genoa fans during the game.
Palermo
On 5 February 2013, Malesani was appointed as the manager of
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
.
However, after three matches in charge, on 24 February 2013 Malesani was relieved from his duties as the manager.
Sassuolo
On 29 January 2014, it was announced Malesani had agreed to take over as new manager of Serie A team
Sassuolo
Sassuolo (; egl, label=Modenese dialect, Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna.
Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town ...
.
Controversy
Hellas Verona
On 18 November 2001, after winning the first historical
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
derby between
Hellas Verona F.C.
Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85.
His ...
and
Chievo Verona
Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo , is a former professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a ...
with the result of 3–2, Malesani wildly ran and celebrated in front of the tiers reserved to Verona supporters, even getting on his knees. His behaviour was criticized, but Malesani fought back during Monica Vanali's post-match interview, arguing about his colleagues using stock phrases, claiming his managerial wins and defending his conduct, which he had anticipated to the opponent's manager
Gigi Delneri.
Panathinaikos
On 16 December 2005, after a disappointing 2–2 draw against
Iraklis, Malesani held a roaring press conference. Tired of the criticisms he and
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
had received for some poor performances both from press and supporters, he defended his hard work and dedication, as well as the club's owner Giannis Vardinogiannis, in front of the journalists.
Siena
On 9 January 2010, after losing 4-3 a dramatic match at
San Siro
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...
stadium against the
Inter
Inter may refer to:
Association football clubs
* Inter Milan, an Italian club
* SC Internacional, a Brazilian club
* Inter Miami CF, an American club
* FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club
* FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club
* FK Inter Bratislava, a form ...
team which went on winning the
treble, Malesani contested the foul leading to the free-kick Inter scored for the temporary 3-3. In particular, Malesani claimed that small teams have no protection in
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
and big teams take advantage of that.
On 24 January 2010, after a 1–1 home draw against Cagliari, Siena President Massimo Mezzaroma declared his disappointment for the team performances in front of TV journalists. Following this statement,
RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
host Enrico Varriale welcomed Malesani in the post-match interview calling him "allenatore che sta un po' sulla graticola" (Italian for "manager risking his job") and anticipated that Mezzaroma would have phoned him later. Malesani was left surprised and deeply embittered, especially because the discussion had immediately focused on off-the-pitch topics. He then reminded that Mezzaroma had said good things about him and that he was doing everything he could for the team, underlining the upsides of the draw.
Genoa
On 1 December 2011, Malesani got very annoyed by the journalists calling him "mollo" (Italian for "limp"). Consequently, he focused his press conference on proving his motivation and skills.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Managerial
;Chievo (1993–1997)
*
Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...
:
1993–94
;Parma (1998–2001)
[
*]Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 1998–99
*UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
: 1998–99
* Supercoppa Italiana: 1999
See also
*List of UEFA Cup winning managers
The UEFA Cup was a European association football competition contested from 1972 to 2009. In the 2009–10 season its name was changed to UEFA Europa League.
English manager Bill Nicholson led Tottenham Hotspur to victory in the inaugural final ...
References
External links
Profile of Alberto Malesani on Hellastory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malesani, Alberto
1954 births
Living people
Footballers from Verona
Association football midfielders
UEFA Cup winning managers
Udinese Calcio managers
Parma Calcio 1913 managers
ACF Fiorentina managers
Modena F.C. managers
Panathinaikos F.C. managers
A.C. ChievoVerona managers
Empoli F.C. managers
A.C.N. Siena 1904 managers
Bologna F.C. 1909 managers
Genoa C.F.C. managers
Italian football managers
L.R. Vicenza players
Super League Greece managers
Palermo F.C. managers
U.S. Sassuolo Calcio managers
Serie A managers
Expatriate football managers in Greece
Italian footballers