Giovanni Vavassori (born 16 January 1952) is an Italian
football manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
and former player who last managed
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
.
Playing career
Born in
Arcene,
Bergamo, Vavassori started his playing career with
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 ...
, 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 in the 1971–72 season. A
centre-back he played five consecutive Serie A seasons with
Napoli
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
from 1972 to 1977, before returning to Atalanta. He left Atalanta in 1982 to join
Cagliari, and retired one year later. He also made five appearances for the
Italian U21 national team.
Coaching career
Vavassori started his coaching career in 1990 as
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 ...
youth team boss. During his stay with the club he won several tournaments and trophies, including a
Primavera national title and a
Torneo di Viareggio
The Torneo di Viareggio ( en, Viareggio Tournament), officially named the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament Coppa Carnevale, is a youth association football tournament held annually in the commune of Viareggio, Italy and its surrounding are ...
in 1993. In 1999, he was called to coach Atalanta's first team, and promptly led the team into Serie A.
In his first Serie A season as head coach, Vavassori obtained an impressive seventh place at the helm of Atalanta, followed by a ninth place in the next season.
However, in his fourth season as Atalanta boss he did not manage to keep his side away from the relegation battle, being sacked on 21 April 2003 in a desperate attempt by the club management to save the team from falling into Serie B and replaced him with
Giancarlo Finardi.
In 2004, Vavassori was appointed head coach of Serie B team
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 ...
, but resigned two weeks later, citing a falling-out with his players.
In 2005, Vavassori was signed by
Serie C1 club
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, with the goal to lead the ''grifone'' back to Serie B. He was however sacked later and replaced by
Attilio Perotti, and then reappointed at Perotti's place; after ending the
regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...
in second place, Genoa then won the promotion playoffs under Vavassori and achieved promotion to Serie B.
On 18 April 2007, Vavassori was appointed at the helm of
Avellino, another Serie C1 club, to fill the position left vacant by the sacking of
Giuseppe Galderisi
Giuseppe Galderisi (; born 22 March 1963) is an Italian football manager and a former footballer who played as a forward, most recently in charge as head coach of Serie C club Mantova.
Club career
At club level, Galderisi played for several ...
. In his tenure at Avellino, Vavassori was not able to overtake first-placed
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...
, ending the regular season with a second place; however, he was able to lead the ''biancoverdi'' to win the promotion playoff and achieve his second consecutive Serie B promotion. Originally confirmed as Avellino manager also for their
2007-08 Serie B campaign, Vavassori surprisingly tended his resignations on 16 July 2007. However, Vavassori found a Serie B job just a few months later, as he was appointed as
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. ...
boss on 12 November, replacing
Fabrizio Castori
Fabrizio Castori (born 11 July 1954) is an Italian football coach. He is currently in charge of club Perugia.
Career
Castori was born in San Severino Marche, but grew up in Tolentino. He started his coaching career in 1980 at the age of 26 ...
.
On 25 February 2008, following a 3–0 home loss to
AlbinoLeffe, Vavassori was dismissed from his role as Cesena's manager.
In May 2010, he was appointed at the helm of
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
to replace
Gian Marco Remondina, who was sacked after he failed to guide his side to win direct promotion to Serie B following a shock 1–0 home loss to
Portosummaga. Vavassori would serve as head coach for the promotions playoffs, with the aim to guide Verona back into the Italian second division,
though eventually failed in winning the promotion playoff tournament: his side was defeated by
Pescara
Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...
in the finals, and he was therefore not confirmed in charge of Verona.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vavassori, Giovanni
1952 births
Living people
Sportspeople from the Province of Bergamo
Italian footballers
Italian football managers
Atalanta B.C. players
S.S.C. Napoli players
Cagliari Calcio players
Association football defenders
Serie A players
Atalanta B.C. managers
Ternana Calcio managers
Genoa C.F.C. managers
U.S. Avellino 1912 managers
A.C. Cesena managers
Hellas Verona F.C. managers
Footballers from Lombardy