Gianluca Spinelli (born 29 October 1966) is an Italian professional

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 ...

goalkeeper coach. He is a goalkeeper coach for French club

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

and the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...

Coaching career

Spinelli began his career as a goalkeeper coach at local team

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

in 2002; as a player, he had previously served as a reserve

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for the club behind

Alex Brunner Alex Brunner (born 8 December 1973) is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently works as a goalkeeping coach. Football career Early career Brunner started his career at hometown club Triestina. After the club were ...

, and helped the team achieve promotion to Serie A in 2002, starting in his side's decisive 2–0 home win over

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 ...

at the

Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia is a multi-use stadium in Como, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Como 1907. The stadium holds 13,602 people. The stadium was completed in 1927 and was built on precise ...

, and keeping a clean sheet. After spending two years with the Lariani, he was picked up by

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 ...

team

Genoa C.F.C. Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to as Genoa (), is a professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria, Italy, that competes in , the second division of the Italian football league system. Established in 1893, Genoa is ...

He spent 12 years at Genoa, serving under 16 managers, and coaching several goalkeepers (in particular

Mattia Perin Mattia Perin (; born 10 November 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Juventus. He also represented the Italy national team. He began his career with Genoa in 2010, and, aside from two season-long loa ...

), and helping lead the club out of the Serie C, (Now

Lega Pro 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 ...

) to the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

; during his time with the club, he earned a reputation as one of the best goalkeeping coaches in Italy. From 2014 Spinelli joined manager

Antonio Conte Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later b ...

as part of the coaching staff of the

, maintaining the dual role of goalkeeping coach for both Genoa and Italy. After Italy's 6–5 penalty shootout loss to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

quarter-finals, Spinelli followed Conte to English club

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. He held the dual role of goalkeeping coach for both the Italy national football team and Chelsea. During the

2016–17 Premier League The 2016–17 Premier League was the 25th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the 118th season of top-flight English football overall. The season ...

season, Chelsea's starting goalkeeper

Thibaut Courtois Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois (born 11 May 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Belgium national team. He is considered one of the best goalkeepers in world football. Courtoi ...

praised Spinelli's abilities as a goalkeeping coach, and has credited Spinelli for helping him to improve his overall game and technique, in particular his foot-work and diving, which enabled him to be more explosive and get to ground more quickly. Chelsea finished the season as Premier League Champions. The following season, Chelsea won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. After Antonio Conte was sacked by Chelsea in July 2018, Spinelli joined

as the team's new goalkeeping, where he was re-united with former Italy goalkeeper

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...

. He continued to hold a dual role as both Paris Saint-Germain's goalkeeping coach, and the goalkeeping coach of the Italian national team, under manager

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Samp ...

Honours

Goalkeeping coach

Genoa *

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 ...

: 2006–07 (Promoted) *

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 ...

: 2005–06 (Runner-up) Chelsea *

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

: 2016–17 *

: 2017–18 Paris Saint-Germain *

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

: 2018–19 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Individual *Serie A Goalkeeping coach of the Year: 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinelli, Gianluca 1966 births Living people Italian footballers Sportspeople from Milan Association football goalkeepers Paris Saint-Germain F.C. non-playing staff Chelsea F.C. non-playing staff Association football goalkeeping coaches