Andrea Dossena (; born 11 September 1981) 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 ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and former player who played as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

left 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 ...

. He is the head coach of Renate. Dossena started his professional career at

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 ...

in 2001, having progressed through the club's youth ranks. Having made 99 league appearances for Verona, he joined

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Vene ...

in 2005, and made 21 league appearances for the club. He then joined

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 ...

in 2006, and had a successful two-year spell, which, after making 63 league appearances, saw him switch to English side

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in July 2008. However, he struggled to adapt to the English game, making just 18 league appearances in two seasons, and he returned to Italy in January 2010, when he signed for

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 ...

. Although he quickly established himself in the team, he fell out of favour during the 2012–13 season, and was loaned to

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

, where he made 11 league appearances. In September 2013, having made 83 league appearances for Napoli, Dossena returned to England when he joined Sunderland. In November 2014 it was announced that Dossena had joined Leyton Orient on a free until the end of the season. He joined Chiasso in 2015. He last played for

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

in 2017. He made his full international debut for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 2007, and was part of their team at the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Jo ...

, earning 10 caps in total.

Club career

Early career

Dossena began his career at

as a youth player before playing 4 seasons in their senior squad. 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 on 18 November 2001 in the city derby against

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

. Italian Serie A team

signed Dossena in a co-ownership deal in 2005. It was Treviso's first season in Serie A after they were promoted due to

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 ...

being denied this privilege as a result of their role in

Caso Genoa Caso Genoa was an Italian football scandal in 2005. In the 2004–05 Serie B season, Genoa won the Serie B championship and were set to be promoted to the Serie A for the first time in 10 years. Genoa went into their final match of the season aga ...

Udinese

signed him in 2006 in a co-ownership with Treviso, which became permanent in June 2007. He was given the number 2 jersey and made 63 appearances in the two seasons with Udinese, scoring 2 league goals there. In October 2007, he was awarded an improved contract which last until 30 June 2012.

Liverpool

On 4 July 2008,

confirmed the signing of Dossena on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £7 million, becoming the second Italian to play for the club, behind

Daniele Padelli Daniele Padelli (born 25 October 1985) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Serie A club Udinese Calcio, Udinese. Early life Padelli was born in Brescia, I ...

. Dossena was signed as a direct replacement for

John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a left back and a left midfielder. He is currently the manager of Toppserien club Avaldsnes. With 110 caps, Riise i ...

who left for

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

. On 10 July 2008, it was announced that Dossena would wear the number 2 shirt. His debut for Liverpool came on 16 August in the 1–0

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 Fo ...

win over

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

at the Stadium of Light. The start to his career at Liverpool was marked by poor form and he was unsatisfied with his performances, telling ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'':

"I am not fully happy with my level. I must now get to a high level and maintain that, but first I have to battle to win selection. I am learning all the time".

Dossena reinforced that he was committed to the club and explained that he was having difficulties adjusting because the pace of English football was significantly different from what he had experienced in

. Despite his largely unimpressive performances, he received more opportunities to prove himself in the first team as Fábio Aurélio, Liverpool's favoured left back, suffered an injury in late November. He lost his first team slot with Aurelio's return from injury combined with the emergence of Emiliano Insúa. He scored his first goal for Liverpool on 10 March 2009 against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in 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 competi ...

after coming on as a substitute. He scored his first goal in the

four days later, on 14 March in the 4–1 victory against

Manchester United 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 ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...

. He scored both goals playing as an auxiliary left-winger as a late substitute in both games.

Napoli

On 8 January 2010, Dossena signed for

S.S.C. Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Italian professional football club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Campania that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. Napoli has ...

in a four-year contract, and was given the number eight shirt The fee quoted was €4.25 million and

Andriy Voronin Andriy Viktorovych Voronin ( uk, Андрій Вікторович Воронін, born 21 July 1979) is a Ukrainian professional football manager and a former player. Voronin spent five full seasons in the Bundesliga of Germany, and last pla ...

left on the same day. He made his debut for Napoli on 13 January 2010 in a

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 ...

match against

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

. His

debut for

came on 17 January 2010 in the 0–0 against

at the San Paolo Stadium. Dossena netted a brace in the final game of the season against

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

on 13 May 2012, sending Napoli to a 2–1 win and guaranteeing Europa League football. In January 2013 Dossena went on loan to

. Following the return of Dossena's former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez to Napoli, Dossena was told he would be allowed to look for a new club.

Later years

On 2 September 2013, he moved to

on a free transfer. Dossena made his Sunderland debut on 27 October, playing at left back in a 2–1 victory over local rivals

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...

. However, Dossena was sent off in Sunderland's next game at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

for a stamp on David Meyler. He was released at the end of the 2013–14 season by Sunderland after losing out on first team action to Marcos Alonso. On 6 November 2014, it was announced that Dossena would be joining

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

team

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

on a free transfer until the end of the season. He played 15 games for Orient and scored one goal against Oldham Athletic. He was released by the club following their relegation to League Two. In February 2017 Dossena signed a contract until the end of the 2016–17 season with

Piacenza Calcio 1919 Piacenza Calcio 1919, commonly referred to as Piacenza, is an Italian football club based in Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna. The club currently plays in Serie C. Re-founded in 2012, Piacenza Calcio 1919 acquired the rights to use the brand of the ori ...

after training with the club. He was released at the end of his contract having made few appearances.

International career

Dossena played for the Italy U-20 team from 2000 to 2001, earning four caps. He made his first appearance for the Italy senior side in a friendly against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

on 17 October 2007. Dossena won his second international cap when he came on at half-time during Italy's 2–2 draw with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on 20 August 2008. He scored an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

to put Italy 3–0 down against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in a

Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEB ...

match on 21 June 2009, as Italy were eliminated in the first round of the competition.

Coaching career

On 27 November 2019, Dossena was hired as new head coach of

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 Dilettanti ...

club

Crema Crema or Cremas may refer to: Crema * Crema, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Cremona * Crema (coffee), a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso * Crema (dairy product), the Spanish word for cream * ''Cremà ...

. On 15 July 2021, he was hired by

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 c ...

, freshly relegated into

. On 13 June 2022, Dossena was unveiled as the new head coach of

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 P ...

club Renate on a one-year deal, with Samuele Olivi as his assistant.

Honours

Napoli *

: 2011–12 Sunderland *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by t ...

: Runner-up 2013–14

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dossena, Andrea 1981 births People from Lodi, Lombardy Living people Association football defenders Italian footballers Italy international footballers Italy youth international footballers Italian expatriate footballers Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Hellas Verona F.C. players A.C.D. Treviso players Udinese Calcio players Liverpool F.C. players S.S.C. Napoli players Palermo F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players FC Chiasso players Piacenza Calcio 1919 players Serie A players Serie B players Premier League players English Football League players Swiss Challenge League players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Switzerland 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Italy Mediterranean Games medalists in football Competitors at the 2001 Mediterranean Games Italian football managers Ravenna F.C. managers Serie D managers Footballers from Lombardy Sportspeople from the Province of Lodi