Cristian Brocchi (; born 30 January 1976) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

. As a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

, Brocchi was rated for his durability and tackling. He began his career with hometown club

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

, but he struggled to break into the first team as a youngster. He was subsequently loaned to

Pro Sesto Pro Sesto 1913 S.r.l. (formerly ''Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Nuova Pro Sesto'' and initially ''Associazione Calcio Pro Sesto'') is an association football club, based in Sesto San Giovanni, Lombardy, Italy. Pro Sesto currently plays ...

and

Lumezzane Lumezzane (Brescian: ; locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. With a population of 22,255 () it is one of the largest towns in the province of Brescia. It is situated in the Gobbia Valley, which is a side val ...

, before being sold to

Hellas Verona 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 ...

in 1998. His performances for the club earned him a move to

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

in 2000, where he also struggled due to injury. He returned to Milan in 2001, and went on to represent the club for the next seven seasons, aside from a season on loan with

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 ...

, during a highly successful period for the club, which saw him win the

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 Cop ...

and two

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

titles, among other trophies. He ended his career in 2013, after five seasons with

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

, 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 ...

twice. At international level, he made his only appearance for the Italy national team in 2006. Brocchi began his senior managerial career at Milan in April 2016, after having been their

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future i ...

's head coach since 2014. After only one month, he was sacked, and was then appointed head coach of

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 ...

in the

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie 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 season. It had been ...

. Following a season as assistant coach of Chinese club

Jiangsu Suning Jiangsu Football Club (), later known as Jiangsu Sainty F.C. (2000–2016) and Jiangsu Suning F.C. (2016–2021), was a professional football club that participated in the Chinese Super League since 2009 until its dissolution in 2021. The tea ...

, in 2018 Brocchi became head coach of

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 ...

side Monza, helping them gain promotion to the Serie C for the first time in 19 years. He was dismissed in 2021, after failing promotion to the Serie A.

Club career

Early career

Starting his career at

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

, Brocchi was loaned to

and

in the early years. After struggling to find space in the first team, Brocchi was sold to

side

in 1998. He helped the club obtain promotion to

Inter Milan

After a year in the top-division,

coach Marcello Lippi signed Brocchi in 2000. However, Brocchi and Inter endured a difficult season, as Lippi was sacked after their opening

match, a defeat to

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are n ...

Marco Tardelli Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internaziona ...

was hired as Lippi's replacement, and he guided the ''Nerazzurri'' to a fifth-place finish in Serie A. The following season, new Inter manager

Héctor Cúper Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player. As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Club Ferro Carril Oeste, where played 463 games. His nickname was "Cabezón" ("Big ...

decided to sell Brocchi. Brocchi later described his time at Inter "as the worst experience eever had", citing the lack of support from the club while injured.

AC Milan (second spell)

In July 2001, Milan re-signed him in exchange for Andrés Guglielminpietro, who joined Inter. While at Milan, Brocchi had to compete with the likes of

Fernando Redondo Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri (; born 6 June 1969) is an Argentine retired footballer. A defensive midfielder with the ability to contribute offensively and creatively, he turned professional playing for Argentinos Juniors and played one full ...

Gennaro Gattuso Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (; born 9 January 1978) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, who currently serves as manager of La Liga club Valencia. He was born in Corigliano (Calabria). As a player, he mainly played in the cent ...

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his visio ...

Massimo Ambrosini Massimo Ambrosini (; born 29 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a defensive midfielder. At club level, he is mostly known for his successful time at Italian team AC Milan, where he spent eighteen years of ...

, and later

Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is regarded by many to be one of the best midfielders of his generation. Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in UE ...

Fiorentina

Brocchi was loaned to

in July 2005, with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season. However, at the end of 2005–06, he returned to Milan, partly as a result of the problems Milan faced in finding new recruits due to the

2006 Italian football scandal ''Calciopoli'' () was a sports scandal in Italy's top professional association football league Serie A and to a lesser extent Serie B. Involving various clubs and numerous executives, both from the same clubs and from the main Italian footbal ...

AC Milan (third spell)

Brocchi made a career high 29 Serie A appearances in the 2006–07 season. Although Emerson arrived in the 2007–08, Brocchi continued to appear regularly making 24 appearances, 10 as starter, effectively becoming manager

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

's first choice replacement in midfield.

Lazio

Milan and

reached an agreement for a permanent transfer for Brocchi on 29 August 2008. He signed a three-year deal with Lazio and just cost Lazio a nominal transfer fee. His first season was successful as he won the

, Lazio's fifth Coppa Italia title. Following the 2012–13 season, Brocchi and Lazio announced his retirement due to on-going injury problems.

International career

Brocchi made his international debut and only appearance for the Italy national team under

Roberto Donadoni Roberto Donadoni (; born 9 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder. Donadoni was capable of playing on either flank, or in the centre. He began his career with Atalanta, and he later became a pillar of the powerhous ...

, in a 1–1 friendly home draw against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, on 15 November 2006.

Managerial career

Early career

On 12 April 2016, Brocchi was appointed the head coach of Milan for his first senior managerial position, after previously serving as the coach of the AC Milan youth team, replacing

Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional football player and manager. During his career as a footballer, he played as a defender or midfielder. He won ...

after his sacking. On 28 June 2016, Brocchi was replaced by

Vincenzo Montella Vincenzo Montella (; born 18 June 1974) is an Italian retired footballer and current manager, who played as a striker. He is current manager of Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor. Montella's nickname during his playing career was "Aeroplanino", i ...

. Brocchi served as head coach of Serie B club

during the 2016–17 season, being removed from his managerial duties on 12 March 2017 due to poor results. He worked as Fabio Capello's assistant at

during the

2017 Chinese Super League The 2017 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () was the 14th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor is Ping An Insurance. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao won their seventh consecutive title ...

Monza

In October 2018, Brocchi was named new head coach of

club Monza, under the ownership of the former Milan duo of

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...

and

Adriano Galliani Adriano Galliani (born 30 July 1944) is an Italian entrepreneur and football executive who is the CEO of club Monza. He is known for being former vice-chairman and CEO of AC Milan from 1986 to 2017, a period in the club's history known as ...

. After failing promotion on play-offs on his first season in charge, he successfully guided Monza to win the

2019–20 Serie C The 2019–20 Serie C was the sixth season of the unified Serie C division, the third tier of the Italian football league system. The season was scheduled to run from 24 August 2019 to 26 April 2020, however, on 9 March 2020, the Italian governmen ...

title and was therefore confirmed for a third season at the helm of the club, with the explicit goal to bring the ''Brianzoli'' to Serie A for the first time in their history. In the

2020–21 Serie B The 2020–21 Serie B (known as the Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons) was the 89th season of the Serie B since its establishment in 1929. It started on 25 September 2020 and ended on 10 May 2021. On 5 November 2020, Serie B announced it would ...

season, Monza narrowly missed out on automatic promotion, finishing third, and was subsequently eliminated by sixth-placed

Cittadella Cittadella ( vec, Sitadeła) is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around ...

in the play-off semifinals. Following these results, Brocchi left Monza by mutual consent on 28 May 2021.

Vicenza

On 22 September, Brocchi was named as the new coach of

. Taking over with Vicenza in deep relegation trouble, he however failed to turn around the club's fortunes, and was dismissed on 11 April 2022.

Personal life

Outside of football, Brocchi opened a cafe in Milan along with former Milan teammate

Christian Abbiati Christian Abbiati (born 8 July 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Abbiati, who had been with AC Milan since 1998, started his career with Monza, and later played more than 300 official matches for Mil ...

, and started his own clothing brand (Baci & Abbracci) with close friend and footballer

Christian Vieri Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his p ...

and model

Alena Šeredová Alena Šeredová (; born 21 March 1978) is a Czech model and actress who lives and works in Italy. Career Šeredová was born Prague. Her modeling career began at the age of 15. Five years later, she was first runner-up of Miss Czech Republi ...

Career statistics

Club

Managerial

Honours

Player

Milan *

: 2003–04 *

: 2002–03 * Supercoppa Italiana: 2004 *

: 2002–03, 2006–07 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

: 2007 * FIFA Club World Cup: 2007 Lazio *Coppa Italia: 2008–09,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

*Supercoppa Italiana: 2009

Manager

Monza *

Group A: 2019–20

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20060509150619/http://www.cristianbrocchi.it/
Brocchi and Vieri's clothing lineProfile and stats. at Inter ArchiveProfile and stats. at ACmilan.com

Profile and stats. at Fiorentina official site

short bios.
stats. at Voetbal International
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brocchi, Cristian 1976 births Living people Footballers from Milan A.C. Milan players S.S.D. Pro Sesto players ACF Fiorentina players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Association football midfielders Inter Milan players Italian footballers Italy international footballers Hellas Verona F.C. players S.S. Lazio players F.C. Lumezzane V.G.Z. A.S.D. players Italian football managers Serie A managers Serie C managers A.C. Milan managers Brescia Calcio managers A.C. Monza managers L.R. Vicenza managers UEFA Champions League winning players