Giovanni Mei (born 15 October 1953) is an Italian former football player and who now works as the technical director of Italian club

Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the '' Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by po ...

Playing career

Mei played as a

central defender 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 ...

, often used as a full-back, spending his youth career with

, for which he made his debut in the first team in

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 ...

at 18 years old. He signed for

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

, where he made his

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 ...

debut. However he struggles to find space, then he played first in Brindsi and then in Modena. In 1976 he moved to

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

, with which he obtained the promotion in Serie A at the first attempt (1976–77 season) and contested four championships, two in Serie A and two in

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 ...

. Identical curriculum he obtained with

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. ...

, to which he was sold in the summer 1980. In 1984 he finally moved to the newly promoted Cremonese in Serie A, with which he obtained the last four appearances in the top flight. During his career he scored 1 goal and total of 109 appearances in Serie A and 197 appearances and in Serie B.

Managerial career

Mei began his coaching career at

Vis Pesaro Vis Pesaro dal 1898 S.r.l., commonly referred to as simply Vis Pesaro, is an Italian association football club located in Pesaro, Marche. The club currently plays in Serie C. History Vis Pesaro was founded in 1898 and refounded in 2008. Th ...

in 1990 and later Suzzara in 1991. Category rooms where in the seasons 1992–93 and 1993–94 he trained

Barletta Barletta () is a city, '' comune'' of Apulia, in south eastern Italy. Barletta is the capoluogo, together with Andria and Trani, of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. It has a population of around 94,700 citizens. The city's territory be ...

. In 1995–96 he directed the Baracca Lugo. In 1996–97 he took over from Angelo Busetta on the Catania bench, from which he was removed during the 1997–98 season. In 2000–01 he was on the bench of the

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 195 ...

promoted in Serie C2. The following year he was soon replaced by Paolo Beruatto. In 2003 he accepted the offer of Iranian club

Saipa SAIPA ( fa, سایپا, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'') was established in 1965 as with 75% Iranian ownersh ...

which played in

Persian Gulf Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

. In 2006–07 he returned to

as an observer. He later became assistant coach of Bologna and

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

joining Franco Colomba's technical staff. On 17 December 2012, he became the assistant coach of

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 ...

alongside Franco Colomba. On 20 March 2013, following Franco Colomba's release from office, he was released from office. On 22 July 2014, he became assistant coach of the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club Pune City. After the season club cannot make playoffs and Colomba left the club with his coaching staff. After long time absence in football management he return to his former club

as a technical direction in July 2019.

References

External links

* * :it:Giovanni Mei# {{DEFAULTSORT:Mei, Giovanni 1953 births Living people Italian footballers Italian football managers Expatriate football managers in Iran Bologna F.C. 1909 players Atalanta B.C. players Association football defenders Serie A players Serie B players