Alessandro Calori (born 29 August 1966) 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 ...

coach and former player, last in charge as head coach of

Ternana Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A (in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seas ...

. As a defender, he is mostly remembered for his lengthy spell with

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 fo ...

during the 90s, where he also served as the club's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Playing career

Calori was born in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

. A product of

's youth system, Calori made his professional debut in 1985 with

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 ...

team

Montevarchi Montevarchi is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. History The town of Montevarchi sprang up around 1100, near to a fortified Benedictine monastery, founded by bishop Elempert (986–1010) of Arezzo. At first the cas ...

, where he spent four season. After two seasons with

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, in 1991 Calori joined

, where he spent eight seasons, all as a regular starter, gaining a reputation as a powerful and physically strong

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, with good leadership skills, and later also being named the club's captain. In 1999 Calori, then aged 33, signed for

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

, and gained space in the headlines as he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

in the final league week, a goal that unexpectedly let Juventus lose the Serie A title to

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. He retired in 2004, after spells with

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

and

Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

Coaching career

Following his retirement as a player, Calori initially stayed at Venezia, joining the managing staff that worked alongside head coach

Julio César Ribas Julio César Ribas Vlacovich (born January 8, 1957) is a Uruguayan association football manager and former footballer. He currently manages the Gibraltar national team. Career as manager Ribas was appointed the manager of Primera Division Uru ...

in the ''arancioneroverdis 2004–05 season, initially as team manager, and then as assistant coach. In 2005, he became joint coach of

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 ...

side

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to as Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally founded in 1918, the club has been re-established several times in its history. As of the ...

, alongside

Adriano Buffoni Adriano or Adrião is the form of the Latin given name ''Hadrianus'' commonly used in the Italian language; the form Adrian is used in the English language. Notable people with the name include: * Adriano Banchieri, Italian composer, music theori ...

, only to be sacked a few weeks later. In 2006, he was then appointed at the helm of

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

Sambenedettese A.S. Sambenedettese S.r.l. is an Italian association football club, based in San Benedetto del Tronto, Marche. Sambenedettese currently plays in Serie D. History Foundation The club was founded in 1923 as ''U.S. Sambenedettese''. In 1956 ...

, a spell which proved to be unsuccessful as he was sacked in October 2006. On 10 March 2008, he was unveiled as new

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

coach, replacing

Guido Carboni Guido Carboni (born 27 January 1963) is an Italian football manager most recently in charge of Olbia and a former player, who played as a forward. He is the brother of former Italian international footballer Amedeo Carboni, who also played for Sa ...

. He left his post in June, after having failed to save his team from relegation. In February 2009 he was unveiled as new head coach of

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest 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. Before the 1978� ...

club Portosummaga, replacing

Manuele Domenicali Manuele is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Manuele Blasi (born 1980), Italian footballer * Manuele Mori (born 1980), Italian professional road bicycle racer * Elena Manuele (born 2003), Italian singer See a ...

. He guided Portosummaga to win the Lega Pro Prima Divisione title in 2009–10, and automatic promotion to Serie B for his club, in a historical first time in the Italian second division for his club. On 2 July 2010, he was unveiled as new head coach of Serie B club

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. Despite a good first half of season, Calori was dismissed by Padova on 15 March 2011 following a string of negative results. On 12 December 2011, he was named new head coach of

side

, as a replacement for

Giuseppe Scienza Giuseppe Scienza (born 14 October 1966) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Playing career Scienza played Serie A level for Reggiana, Torino and Piacenza. He retired in 2002 to pursue a career as a coac ...

. He served as head coach of

Trapani Calcio S.S.D. F.C. Trapani 1905, commonly referred to as Trapani, is an Italian football club based in Trapani, Sicily. It currently plays in Serie D, after a year long hiatus following its exclusion from Serie C during the course of the 2020–21 seaso ...

from 2016 to 2018, witnessing a relegation to

and a failed promotion campaign the following season. On 20 January 2019, Calori was appointed as the manager of

. After less than one month, on 14 February, Calori was fired after he only managed to pick op two points in five league games.Ternana esonera Calori, arriva Gallo
ansa.it, 14 February 2019

Style of play

While not being particularly elegant or skilful defender, Calori was a powerful and physically strong centre back, who was known for his tenacity and his hard-tackling playing style, as well as his leadership.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calori, Alessandro 1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Arezzo Association football defenders Italian footballers Italian football managers Pisa S.C. players Udinese Calcio players A.C. Perugia Calcio players Brescia Calcio players Venezia F.C. players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players U.S. Triestina Calcio 1918 managers U.S. Avellino 1912 managers Calcio Padova managers Brescia Calcio managers Novara F.C. managers Footballers from Tuscany