| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1958-06-10)10 June 1958 (age 67) | ||
| Place of birth | Montebelluna, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Full-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Triestina (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Montebelluna | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1976 | Montebelluna | 43 | (0) |
| 1976–1978 | Treviso | 63 | (6) |
| 1978–1980 | Napoli | 37 | (2) |
| 1980–1985 | Udinese | 100 | (6) |
| 1985–1986 | Perugia | 34 | (0) |
| 1986–1989 | Catania | 85 | (4) |
| 1989–1991 | Trento | 34 | (2) |
| Total | 396 | (20) | |
| International career | |||
| 1979–1980 | Italy U-21 | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1992–1994 | Sevegliano | ||
| 1994–1996 | Udinese (youth team) | ||
| 1996–2001 | Venezia (youth team) | ||
| 2001–2003 | Südtirol | ||
| 2003–2005 | Triestina | ||
| 2005 | Cagliari | ||
| 2006 | Ascoli | ||
| 2007–2008 | Mantova | ||
| 2009 | Padova | ||
| 2009–2012 | Novara | ||
| 2012 | Novara | ||
| 2013–2015 | Ternana | ||
| 2015–2016 | Avellino | ||
| 2016 | Avellino | ||
| 2016–2018 | Cremonese | ||
| 2018–2021 | Pordenone | ||
| 2021–2023 | Modena | ||
| 2023–2024 | Triestina | ||
| 2024–2025 | Triestina | ||
| 2025– | Triestina | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Attilio Tesser (born 10 June 1958) is an Italianfootball manager and former player, currently in charge ofSerie C Group A clubTriestina.
Afull-back, Tesser started his playing career withTreviso. He moved toNapoli in 1978, where he played two seasons. He then played forUdinese from 1980 to 1985, and later for lower-league teams, includingPerugia andCatania. He was also capped for theItalian U-21 side.
After his retirement, Tesser began a coaching career in 1992 forSerie D sideSevegliano, and successively became a coach at the youth level for Udinese andVenezia. His first professional coaching job came in 2001, forSerie C2 sideF.C. Südtirol. In 2003, he replacedEzio Rossi at the helm ofU.S. Triestina Calcio ofSerie B.
After an excellent season, followed by a poorer one, Tesser moved toCagliari Calcio ofSerie A in 2006, but was fired just after the first league match by team chairmanMassimo Cellino. In July 2006, he was named coach ofAscoli, replacingMarco Giampaolo. However, after a series of struggling results ended in a 1–0 home defeat toEmpoli F.C. in the 11th matchday, Tesser was fired and replaced byNedo Sonetti.
Tesser started the2007–08 season at the helm of Serie B sideMantova, with the aim to fight for a promotion spot; however, results did not confirm the initial goals, and he was sacked on 24 February 2008, leaving Mantova in seventh place, seven points far from the fourth playoff spot.[1]
In January 2009 he accepted a coaching offer fromLega Pro Prima Divisione clubPadova;[2] however, his stint with thepatavini lasted only one month, as he was sacked later on February.[3]
In June 2009, he was named manager ofNovara. His tenure proved highly successful, as he led his club to theLega Pro Prima Divisione title in his first season in charge.
In the2010–11 season, Tesser repeated himself as he guided Novara to third place in the final table, then won a second consecutive promotion toSerie A after defeatingReggina andPadova in the playoffs. The Serie A comeback however proved to be particularly difficult for Novara, who only won 12 points after the first 20 games: this cost Tesser the job, as he was removed from his managerial duties on 30 January 2012 following a 2–0 away loss againstPalermo; he was replaced by veteran coachEmiliano Mondonico.[4]
On 6 March 2012, he was recalled by Novara as head coach,[5] but on 31 October 2012 he was again sacked.[6]
On 13 June 2015, Tesser was appointed as the head coach ofAvellino, replacingMassimo Rastelli.[7]
In the summer of 2016, he was hired by theCremonese. He was dismissed from Cremonese on 23 April 2018.[8]
On 4 July 2018, Tesser has been appointed as the new head coach of Pordenone Calcio.[9] On his first season as Pordenone boss, he guided the small Friuli club to direct promotion to Serie B (the first in club history) asSerie C/B champions.
He was fired on 3 April 2021 after a 4–1 loss toBrescia that left Pordenone two points shy of relegation.[10]
Tesser was subsequently named new head coach of ambitious Serie C clubModena for the 2021–22 season; under his guidance, theCanarini won the Group B title by the end of thecampaign, thus ensuring themselves promotion to Serie B for the following season.[11] After a mid-table finish in the2022–23 Serie B campaign, Tesser was dismissed by the end of the season as Modena appointedPaolo Bianco at his replacement;[12] successively, Tesser was appointed in charge of Serie C clubTriestina.[13]
On 4 February 2024, following a home loss againstPro Patria, Tesser was dismissed from his coaching post with immediate effect.[14] On 27 November 2024, he accepted to return to Triestina, as the club was dead last in the league.[15]
After guiding Triestina to safety, Tesser was not confirmed as the club's manager, largely due to financial issues that eventually led to a 20-point deduction just before the start of the new season. On 24 October 2025, just a day after the removal of interim head coachGeppino Marino, Tesser was reinstated as Triestina head coach for his fourth stint in charge of theAlabardati.[16]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Südtirol |  | 1 July 2001 | 30 June 2003 | 86 | 37 | 31 | 18 | 125 | 85 | +40 | 043.02 |
| Triestina | | 1 July 2003 | 30 June 2005 | 96 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 106 | 113 | −7 | 033.33 |
| Cagliari | | 1 July 2005 | 29 August 2005 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 050.00 |
| Ascoli | | 20 May 2006 | 13 November 2006 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 007.69 |
| Mantova | | 11 June 2007 | 24 February 2008 | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 042.86 |
| Padova | | 13 January 2009 | 22 February 2009 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 020.00 |
| Novara | | 11 June 2009 | 30 January 2012 | 114 | 47 | 40 | 27 | 165 | 123 | +42 | 041.23 |
| Novara | | 6 March 2012 | 31 October 2012 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 030.77 |
| Ternana | | 31 December 2013 | 13 June 2015 | 65 | 21 | 20 | 24 | 68 | 83 | −15 | 032.31 |
| Avellino | | 13 June 2015 | 22 March 2016 | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 038.24 |
| Avellino | | 20 April 2016 | 31 May 2016 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 020.00 |
| Cremonese | | 31 May 2016 | 23 April 2018 | 83 | 35 | 25 | 23 | 119 | 97 | +22 | 042.17 |
| Pordenone | | 4 July 2018 | 3 April 2021 | 116 | 46 | 42 | 28 | 144 | 117 | +27 | 039.66 |
| Modena | | 22 June 2021 | 23 May 2023 | 84 | 45 | 18 | 21 | 136 | 90 | +46 | 053.57 |
| Triestina | | 11 July 2023 | 4 February 2024 | 27 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 47 | 25 | +22 | 059.26 |
| Total | 786 | 317 | 241 | 228 | 1,059 | 891 | +168 | 040.33 | |||