Walter Mazzarri (; born 1 October 1961) 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

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

, most recently in charge of

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 ...

club

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

. After a 14-year playing career with Italian clubs including Reggiana and

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 ...

, Mazzarri coached several smaller Italian sides and in 2007 took up a managerial position with

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

. With the help of the attacking partnership of

Antonio Cassano Antonio Cassano (; born 12 July 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A talented and technically gifted player, he was usually deployed as a supporting forward, but could also play as an attacking midfield ...

and

Giampaolo Pazzini Giampaolo Pazzini (; born 2 August 1984), nicknamed ''Il Pazzo'' ("The Madman") after his surname, is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his career in Serie A with Atalanta, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, ...

, he led the team to qualify for the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

in his first season, and subsequently reached the

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 ...

final the next year. In 2009, he joined

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 ...

, where he implemented a 3–4–3 formation with which he later became associated. With the attacking trio of

Ezequiel Lavezzi Ezequiel Iván Lavezzi (; born 3 May 1985) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward. During his career, his most important attributes were his pace, hardworking style of play, technique, creativity, and dribbling abi ...

Edinson Cavani Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...

and

Marek Hamšík Marek Hamšík (; born 27 July 1987) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. He formerly captained the Slovakia national team. After beginning his club career with Slovan Bratislava in 20 ...

, nicknamed ''I tre tenori'' ("The three tenors"), he helped the team qualify for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

for the first time in the club's history in 2011, and won the

the following season, the club's first trophy in over 20 years. In his final season with the team, he managed a second-place finish in

, the club's best league finish in over 20 years. In 2013, he moved to

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 ...

, but was sacked halfway through his second season with the club. He later managed

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 ...

in Serie A, and had one year in charge of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

in England's

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 ...

in 2016–17. As a manager in Italy, Mazzarri became known for the excuses for poor performances that he made during post-match interviews.

Playing career

Mazzarri, a midfielder and a product of

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

's youth system, made his professional debut in 1981 for

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 ...

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 played a short Serie A stint in

the following season, before being sold to Reggiana. He had his longest period at

, who won promotion to Serie A for the first time during his time with the Tuscan side. After several spells with mostly minor teams, including a two-year stint with

Acireale Acireale (; scn, Jaciriali, locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. ...

where he was part of the team who won a historic first promotion to Serie B, and then playing in the Italian second tier in 1993–94, Mazzarri ended his playing career in 1995 with

Sassari Torres Torres is an Italian football club based in the city of Sassari. It plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian football league system. Re-founded in 2017, the club is the continuation of the Società per l'Educazione Fisica Torres, bor ...

Managerial career

Early years

Mazzarri started his coaching career as

Renzo Ulivieri Renzo Ulivieri (born 2 February 1941) is an Italian association football manager. He is the current chairman of the ''Associazione Italiana Allenatori Calcio'' (Italian Football Managers' Association). Career After a very short playing career as ...

's assistant at

in 1998. His first spell in charge came in 2001–02 for Sicilian

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

team

, where he had been a player from 1992 to 1994. Subsequently, he returned to his native

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

to coach

Pistoiese Unione Sportiva Pistoiese 1921 is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany. Currently, Pistoiese plays in Serie D. Originally founded on 21 April 1921 and later restored after bankruptcy, the team plays their home games ...

of Serie C1 in 2002–03 and

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

in 2003–04, bringing the ''amaranto'' led by

Cristiano Lucarelli Cristiano Lucarelli (; born 4 October 1975) is an Italian football manager and a former player who played as a striker from 1992 until 2012. He was most recently the manager of Serie B club Ternana. Club career Lucarelli was born in Livorno, I ...

back to

. He was coach of

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are n ...

from 2004 to 2007, leading the

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

n side to Serie A survival in three consecutive seasons, the last obtained on the final day of the season despite an 11-point deduction. In May 2007, Mazzarri was made an honorary citizen of

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

, after helping the club avoid relegation during the

2006–07 Serie A The 2006–07 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 105th season of top-tier Italian football, the 75th in a round-robin tournament. It was scheduled to begin on 26 and 27 August, but was postponed to 2 September 200 ...

season.

Sampdoria

On 31 May 2007 he was announced as new

coach. He served as Sampdoria boss for two seasons, overseeing a considerable improvement in results, thanks to the likes of the attacking duo of

, who publicly praised Mazzarri's coaching abilities, and

. Sampdoria's 2007–08 campaign ended in an impressive sixth place, which ensured qualification for the

. Mazzarri's fortunes declined slightly in 2008–09, as the ''blucerchiati'' ended their campaign in 13th place; despite this, he managed to guide his team into the Coppa Italia Final, notably defeating champions

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...

3–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, before losing on penalties to

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in the final. Mazzarri left Sampdoria by mutual consent at the end of the 2008–09 season.

Napoli

On 6 October 2009 he was appointed manager of

, replacing

Roberto Donadoni Roberto Donadoni (; born 9 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former midfielder. Donadoni was capable of playing on either flank, or in the centre. He began his career with Atalanta, and he later became a pillar of the powerhous ...

. He finished his debut season in sixth place in Serie A, and was handed a new three-year contract at the end of the campaign. In

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, Mazzarri's Napoli finished third in the league and qualified directly for the group phase of the

2011–12 UEFA Champions League The 2011–12 UEFA Champions League was the 57th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 20th season in its current Champions League format. As part of a trial that started in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa Lea ...

– their first time in Europe's premier competition in 21 years. His team were known for an attacking 3–4–3 formation with a frontline of

and

. They finished second in their Champions League group, behind

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

but ahead of

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

Villareal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

, to meet

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 ...

in the last 16. Napoli won 3–1 at home in the first leg; they were subsequently beaten 4–1 at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

after extra time, being eliminated by the eventual champions. Napoli won the

2012 Coppa Italia Final The 2012 Coppa Italia Final was the final match of the 2011–12 Coppa Italia, the 65th season of the top cup competition in Italian football. The match was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Sunday, 20 May 2012 between Juventus and Napoli. ...

over undefeated league champions Juventus on 20 May; this was Juventus's only loss of the season, and Napoli's first title in over 20 years. On 11 August that year, the club suffered a controversial 4–2 extra-time defeat to Juventus in the

2012 Supercoppa Italiana The 2012 TIM Supercoppa Italiana Final was the 25th edition of the Supercoppa, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Serie A and Coppa Italia competitions. It was the third instance in four years that the match ...

, which saw two Napoli players sent off as well as Mazzarri. He left the ''Azzurri'' on 19 May 2013, after leading them to a 2nd-place finish and a spot in the Champions League at the end of 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; this was the club's best league finish in over 20 years.

Inter

Mazzarri was officially appointed as the

manager on 24 May 2013, after

Andrea Stramaccioni Andrea Stramaccioni (; born 9 January 1976) is an Italian football manager and former player who last managed Qatari club Al Gharafa. A football coach with experiences as a youth coach of Roma and Inter Milan, he was put in charge of first tea ...

was dismissed for a poor performance in the 2012–13 season. On 2 July 2014, he signed a one-year extension to tie him to the team until 30 June 2016. He was sacked by Inter after a series of disappointing results on 14 November 2014, leaving the club in ninth place. He parted with the club before the 12th matchday, while they were five points below their season objective of the third position.

Watford

On 21 May 2016,

confirmed they had reached an agreement with Mazzarri to become Head Coach from 1 July 2016 on a three-year contract. He joined a club owned by his compatriot

Giampaolo Pozzo Giampaolo Pozzo (born 25 May 1941) is an Italian businessman, currently the owner of Udinese Calcio in Italy. His son Gino is the owner of Watford FC in England. Pozzo sold the family business, tool maker Freud, to Robert Bosch in 2008. Udinese ...

, and worked without being able to speak English. Mazzarri secured Watford's Premier League status that season, finishing one place above relegation in 17th, a four-place dip on their previous campaign. It was announced on 17 May 2017 that his contract would be terminated at the end of his first season at the club.

Torino

On 4 January 2018, Mazzarri was appointed manager of

, replacing

Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional Footballer, football player and Football coach (association football), manager. During his career as a football ...

. With a 7th-place finish in 2018–19 he led the ''Granata'' to the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

, where they were eliminated in the play-off round by

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. On 4 February 2020, Mazzarri was dismissed following back-to-back 7–0 and 4–0 defeats 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, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

and

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

, respectively.

Cagliari

On 15 September 2021, Mazzarri signed a three-year contract with

club

as their new head coach, replacing

Leonardo Semplici Leonardo Semplici (born 18 July 1967) is an Italian professional football coach who was most recently manager of Spezia. Playing career His playing career mostly consisted of amateur and minor league players with Tuscan teams such as Lucchese. ...

. During his tenure, Cagliari failed to improve performances and found themselves deep in relegation trouble with three games to go, leading to Mazzarri's dismissal from his position on 2 May 2022.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

;Sampdoria *

Runner-up: 2008–09 ;Napoli *

: 2011–12 *

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 ...

Runner-up:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Runner-up:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

; Individual * Enzo Bearzot Award: 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mazzarri, Walter 1961 births Living people Sportspeople from the Province of Livorno Association football midfielders Italian footballers Serie A players A.C. Reggiana 1919 players Modena F.C. players Delfino Pescara 1936 players Cagliari Calcio players ACF Fiorentina players Empoli F.C. players Italian football managers Serie A managers U.S. Pistoiese 1921 managers Reggina 1914 managers U.S. Livorno 1915 managers U.C. Sampdoria managers S.S.C. Napoli managers Torino F.C. managers Inter Milan managers Watford F.C. managers Cagliari Calcio managers Premier League managers Italian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in England S.E.F. Torres 1903 players Footballers from Tuscany