Stefano Colantuono (born 23 October 1962) is an Italian

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 ...

professional football manager and former player, who played as a defender, currently in charge as youth system chief of

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

Playing career

Colantuono, a

centre back 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 ...

, started his playing career for

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 ...

side

Velletri Velletri (; la, Velitrae; xvo, Velester) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring com ...

in 1981. In 1983, he moved to

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 ...

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 ...

1, then

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

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 ...

, and finally 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 Coppa ...

debut for

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

. He played Serie A until 1990 for several teams. In 1991, he accepted to play in the national

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

league for BNL Roma, winning a ''scudetto''. Following this experience, Colantuono played mostly at lower levels, especially Serie C2 and Serie D, and even

Eccellenza The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football. It is a regional league, composed of 28 divisions divided geographically. All 20 regions are represented by at least one division except for Piedmont and Ao ...

for

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 ...

in 1994–95. After a long list of experiences in different Italian regions, Colantuono returned to play for Sambenedettese in November 2000, leading his team to an immediate promotion to Serie C2.

Managerial career

The 2001–02 Serie C2 season for Sambenedettese was going to be very hard, with two coaches fired throughout the season. After the sack of third coach

Enrico Nicolini Enrico Nicolini (born 16 January 1955) is an Italian professional former footballer and manager. He currently assists CFR Cluj coach Andrea Mandorlini. Playing career Nicolini grew up in U.C. Sampdoria youth team and made his debut in Serie A in ...

, Colantuono, a player for the team, was appointed to manage Sambenedettese together with Gabriele Matricciani for the last nine matches. Surprisingly, Colantuono managed to win all these nine matches, leading his team to a fifth place, qualifying and successively even winning the promotion playoffs. Colantuono's Serie C1 coaching debut, in 2002–03, ended in another fifth place, securing a place in the promotion playoff, then lost to

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 meanwhile,

Luciano Gaucci Luciano Gaucci (December 28, 1938 – February 1, 2020) was an Italian entrepreneur and sportsman. He was the owner of various clubs: * Perugia Calcio, a football club based in Perugia, Umbria. * Viterbese Calcio, a football club based in Viterbo, ...

, owner of Sambenedettese,

team

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

and

team

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

at the time, appointed Colantuono at the helm of the Sicilian side. Colantuono, again supported by Matricciani because of his lack of a regular coaching license, led Catania to a fairly good season in ninth place. In 2004–05, after Catania was sold by the Gaucci family, Colantuono, finally authorized to act as first team coach, signed for Perugia, just relegated to Serie B. He led the team to a spot in the promotion playoff, then lost to

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. After the cancellation of Perugia, in 2005–06 Colantuono accepted the offer of

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, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

, leading the ''nerazzurri'' to a clear

win. In the 2006–07 season, he led Atalanta to an eighth-place finish in the Serie A table. On 31 May 2007, he was announced as new

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

head coach to replace

Francesco Guidolin Francesco Guidolin (; born 3 October 1955) is an Italian football manager and former player, most recently the manager of Premier League team Swansea City. He has coached various Italian club sides in Serie A, winning the 1996–97 Coppa Italia ...

. However, after a number of unimpressive performances ended by a crushing 5–0 loss to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

persuaded club chairman

Maurizio Zamparini Maurizio Zamparini (9 June 1941 – 1 February 2022) was an Italian businessman. He was the owner and director of football club U.S. Città di Palermo between July 2002 – February 2017 and from July 2017 – December 2018. Biography Zampari ...

to sack him on 26 November 2007. He was once again recalled on 24 March 2008 to replace Guidolin as head coach of Palermo. However, Colantuono was sacked again after just one game of the 2008–09 season, and was replaced by Davide Ballardini on 4 September. On 15 June 2009, he was appointed as new head coach of

, replacing

Giancarlo Camolese Giancarlo Camolese (born 25 February 1961 in Turin) is an Italian Association football, football (soccer) manager, TV sports caster, ex footballer, university lecturer at SUISM in Turin and instructor at the Coverciano Training Centre for players ...

. He guided the ''granata'' through their

2009–10 Serie B The 2009–10 Serie B season is the seventy-eighth edition since its establishment in 1929. Serie B is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega ...

campaign, with the aim to promptly lead the historical Turin club back into the top flight. He was however fired on 29 November due to poor results and replaced by

Mario Beretta Mario Beretta (born 30 October 1959 in Milan) is an Italian association football manager and former football player. He most recently served as head coach of Serie B club Latina. Career Playing career Beretta had a short career as footballer, p ...

. On 10 January 2010 he was then reappointed as head coach to replace Beretta himself. He announced his resignation after losing the promotion playoff finals to

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. ...

, contemporaneously confirming he was in talks for the vacant coaching post at his previous club Atalanta. Colantuono's comeback at Atalanta was officially announced the next day. Under his tenure, Atalanta promptly won the "Cadetti" and promotion back to Serie A in his first season in charge during the

2010–11 Serie B The 2010–11 Serie B (known as the Serie bwin for sponsorship reasons) is the seventy-ninth season since its establishment in 1929, and the first one under the rule of the new Lega Serie B. A total of 22 teams contest the league, 15 of which ret ...

season. Colantuono led Atalanta's successful return to the top flight during the 2011–12 Serie A season, resulting in a comfortable 12th-place finish, despite the club beginning the season with a six-point deduction for its involvement in the 2011–12 Italian football scandal. An additional deduction of 2 points followed before the

2012–13 Serie A The 2012–13 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 111th season of top-tier Italian football, the 81st in a round-robin tournament, and the 3rd since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season; however, Colantuono still managed to guide Atalanta to safety with a 15th-place finish. Keeping with their manager for the 2013–14 Serie A campaign, Coulantuono secured 11th place and some impressive performances, including victories of local rivals

Internazionale 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 t ...

and

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

. Before the start of the 2014–15 Serie A season, Coulantuono committed his future to Atalanta, however, the season did not go well and after a poor run of form he was dismissed on 4 March 2015 and replaced by

Edy Reja Edoardo Reja (born 10 October 1945) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who last manages the Albania national football team. After a career as a midfielder spent mostly with SPAL and Palermo, he began working as a mana ...

, leaving Atalanta only 3 points above the relegation zone. He took up the head coach position soon after at

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...

. He then guided

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

from November 2016 until June 2017, only achieving twelfth place with one of the clubs that was more widely expected to fight for a promotion spot. He was subsequently appointed head coach of

in December 2017, taking over from

Alberto Bollini Alberto Bollini (born 16 June 1966) is an Italian football manager, who is in charge of the Italy national under-20 football team. Career On 3 February 2015 he replaced Dino Pagliari as manager of Lecce. From to 2016 to 2017 he was in charge of ...

, guiding the club to a mid-table finish. After being confirmed in charge of Salernitana for the 2018–19 season, Colantuono resigned on 18 December 2018 after three consecutive defeats which left the promotion hopefuls in a mid-table position in the league table. In September 2020 he accepted a non-coaching managerial role at his former club

, being appointed as technical director. He was removed from his role on 11 January 2021. On 17 October 2021, he was appointed new head coach of his former team Salernitana, 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 ...

and taking over with the club being at the bottom of the

2021–22 Serie A The 2021–22 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 120th season of top-tier Italian football, the 90th in a round-robin tournament, and the 12th since its organization under an own league committee, the Lega Serie ...

table. He was removed from his managerial duties on 15 February 2022, a few weeks after a club takeover, after failing to improve the club's fortunes. On 8 August 2022, he was re-hired by Salernitana as the club's new youth system chief.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Atalanta

: 2005–06, 2010–11

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colantuono, Stefano 1962 births Living people Footballers from Rome Italian footballers Italian football managers Ternana Calcio players S.S. Arezzo players Pisa S.C. players U.S. Avellino 1912 players Como 1907 players Ascoli Calcio 1898 F.C. players Frosinone Calcio players A.S. Sambenedettese players Fermana F.C. players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Serie D players Palermo F.C. managers Atalanta B.C. managers A.C. Perugia Calcio managers Catania S.S.D. managers Torino F.C. managers Udinese Calcio managers Serie A managers Men's association football defenders F.S. Sestrese Calcio 1919 players S.S. Maceratese 1922 players