Milena Bertolini (born 24 June 1966) is an Italian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and current

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 o ...

of the Italy women's national team. As the national team coach, she led Italy to qualify for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It ...

following a twenty-year absence.

Playing career

Bertolini began her youth career with U.S. Correggese, before moving to Reggiana in 1984. The team won the Serie B title in the 1985–86 season, therefore earning promotion to

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 ...

. After spells at Modena Euromobil and

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...

, she returned to Reggiana in 1990, helping the team to win the Serie A title. She later went on to play for Woman Sassari, A.S.D. Bologna, Aircargo Agliana and Fiammamonza. In 1996, she joined Modena Femminile, winning the league title in both her seasons at the club, along with the

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

in 1997. In 1998, she joined Pisa S.C.F., before moving to Foroni Verona where she played until her retirement in 2001. In 2018, she was the woman footballer inductee to the

Italian Football Hall of Fame The Italian Football Hall of Fame ( it, Hall of Fame del calcio italiano) is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football. It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Ital ...

Managerial career

Following her retirement in 2001, she became an assistant coach at Foroni Verona, the club she last played at, with the team winning the 2001–02 Coppa Italia. The following season, she was promoted as the team's head coach, leading them to Supercoppa Italiana and Serie A titles. In 2004, she returned to her former club Reggiana, winning the 2009–10 Coppa Italia during her tenure. In 2012, she joined

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. ...

, where she won two Serie A titles (2013–14 and 2015–16), two Coppa Italia titles (2014–15 and 2015–16) and three Supercoppa Italiana titles (2014, 2015 and 2016). During her managerial career in Serie A, she won the

Panchina d'Oro Panchina d'Oro ( en, Golden Bench) is a yearly award given to the best Italian association football coaches of the Serie A. The Golden Bench is also awarded to the best men's Serie C and women's Serie A coaches as well as the best coaches in men's ...

award as the best manager of the season on six occasions (2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016). At the end of the 2010–11 season, Bertolini obtained a

UEFA Pro Licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are iss ...

, allowing her to coach a high level men's team. In August 2017, she was appointed as the head coach of the Italy women's national team. In 2019 Women's World Cup qualification, she helped the team to win their qualifying group with only one loss, thus qualifying for the

in France. The tournament is Italy's third appearance at the

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

, and their first qualification after a twenty-year absence.

Controversy

Bertolini was involved in a dispute in February 2022 by telling

Nicolò Zaniolo Nicolò Zaniolo (; born 2 July 1999) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for club Roma and the Italy national team. Club career Early career Born in Massa, Tuscany, Zaniolo grew up in the Fiore ...

to "reeducate" himself after he was sent-off for dissent. She later apologised for her vulgar speech.

Honours

Player

Reggiana *

: 1990–91 *

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 ...

: 1988–89 * Serie B: 1985–86 Modena *

: 1996–97, 1997–98 *

: 1997 Individual *

, woman footballer: 2018

Manager

Foroni Verona *

: 2002–03 *

: 2002 Reggiana *

: 2009–10 Brescia *

: 2013–14, 2015–16 *

: 2014–15, 2015–16 *

: 2014, 2015, 2016 Individual *

of Serie A Femminile: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16

References

General references * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertolini, Milena 1966 births Living people People from Correggio, Emilia-Romagna Footballers from Emilia-Romagna Italian women's footballers Italy women's international footballers Women's association football defenders A.S.D. Reggiana Calcio Femminile players Torres Calcio Femminile players ASD Fiammamonza 1970 players Serie A (women's football) players Italian football managers Female association football managers Italy women's national football team managers 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup managers Sportspeople from the Province of Reggio Emilia A.C.F. Prato players C.F. Euromobil Modena players UEFA Women's Euro 2022 managers