 Italiano with Bologna in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vincenzo Italiano[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1977-12-10)10 December 1977 (age 47) | ||
| Place of birth | Karlsruhe, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bologna (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–1996 | Trapani | 7 | (0) |
| 1996–2005 | Hellas Verona | 196 | (21) |
| 2005 | Genoa | 9 | (0) |
| 2005–2007 | Hellas Verona | 52 | (3) |
| 2007–2009 | Chievo | 49 | (7) |
| 2009–2012 | Padova | 83 | (9) |
| 2013 | Perugia | 3 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Lumezzane | 11 | (0) |
| Total | 410 | (40) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2016–2017 | Vigontina San Paolo | ||
| 2017 | Vigontina San Paolo | ||
| 2017–2018 | Union ArzignanoChiampo | ||
| 2018–2019 | Trapani | ||
| 2019–2021 | Spezia | ||
| 2021–2024 | Fiorentina | ||
| 2024– | Bologna | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Vincenzo Italiano (born 10 December 1977) is an Italian professionalfootball manager and former player who played as amidfielder. He is the head coach ofSerie A clubBologna.
Italiano was born inKarlsruhe,West Germany, to Sicilian parents originally fromRibera and later moved back to their hometown when he was six months of age.[2]
After starting his professional career withTrapani,[2] he played forHellas Verona (for most of his career), first inSerie A and later inSerie B. Italiano made his debut inSerie A withHellas Verona on 2 February 1997, under managerLuigi Cagni, in Serie A, at the age of 19, in a 6–1 away defeat toBologna; Verona were relegated at the end of the1996–97 Serie A season.[3][4] After helping his team earn promotion back to Serie A in1998–99,[3] he scored his first Serie A goal on 5 November 2000, in a 2–2 home draw againstInter Milan, but was later sent off for a double booking following his goal celebration.[5] Italiano then had a brief spell withGenoa in 2005, before returning to Verona the following season.[3][6]
Italiano then appeared in Serie A again, albeit briefly, withcross-city rivalsChievo on 14 January 2007[7] againstCatania; he helped them achieve promotion back to Serie A by winning the Serie B title thefollowing season, and later helping them avoid relegation theseason after that. He subsequently joinedPadova in 2009,[3] and later had spells withPerugia andLumezzane before retiring in 2014.[8]
Italiano's playing role was that of a versatile and dynamiccentralmidfieldplaymaker, known for his tackling and passing range, in particular his ability to play long balls. He often played in theregista role as adeep-lying playmaker in midfield, and was influenced byDemetrio Albertini andAndrea Pirlo.[9][10][11][12][13] In addition to his vision and ability to dictate the tempo of his teams' plays,[14] Italiano was also known for his powerful striking ability from outside the box.[2]
After his retirement as a player, he started a coaching career in Veneto for a number of amateur teams. In 2017, he joinedUnion ArzignanoChiampo,[15] which won him interest fromSerie C clubTrapani who hired him for the 2018–19 season.[16]
Under his guidance, Trapani concluded the 2018–19 season in second place behind championsJuve Stabia, and then successfully contested the playoff phase, winning promotion to Serie B after defeatingPiacenza 2–0 on aggregate.[17]
Following his successful season with Trapani, Italiano was subsequently hired by ambitious Serie B clubSpezia as the club's new head coach for the2019–20 season.[18]
In his first season in charge, Italiano immediately achieved promotion with Spezia toSerie A for the first time in the club's history after edgingFrosinone in the promotion play-offs.[19] He successively guided Spezia in their2020–21 Serie A campaign, succeeding in keeping the small Ligurian club in the top flight in his debut season in the Italian top division.[20]
Italiano's successes with Spezia won him the interest ofFiorentina, who ultimately signed him as their new head coach on a two-year deal.[21] In his first season in charge, Italiano led Fiorentina to win a spot for the2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League by finishing 7th inSerie A, thus marking a return into European football for theViola after several years.[22] Despite interest from other clubs, Italiano was confirmed as Fiorentina manager for two more seasons.[23]
Italiano then led Fiorentina to the2023 UEFA Europa Conference League Final the following season, the club's first European final since1990. Their memorable campaign ended with a narrow 2–1 defeat to Premier League sideWest Ham United in the final minute of regulation time.[24] Fiorentina finished 8th in the2022–23 season, in what seemed as though Fiorentina have missed out on European Competition but surprisingly qualified for the2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League due to seventh placed team, rivalsJuventus, being banned from Conference League and Europe altogether, so Fiorentina replaced Juventus as Italy's representative for the Conference League.[25][26] Fiorentina also reached the2023 Coppa Italia final, suffering a 2–1 defeat toInter Milan.[27]
He never started the same starting eleven in consecutive games during a 141-match run that ended on 2 March 2024, when he finally selected the same starting line-up against bothLazio at home andTorino away in the league.[28]Italiano made even more history with Fiorentina as they qualified for the2024 UEFA Europa Conference League Final, eliminatingClub Brugge 4–3 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the competition; Italiano became the first manager of Fiorentina to reach back to back European finals and the first to reach back to back Conference League finals.[29] However, on 29 May, Fiorentina lost out toOlympiacos 1–0, conceding late in the second half ofextra-time, their second consecutive final defeat in the competition.[30] Following the final match of the Serie A season on 2 June, in which Fiorentina managed a 3–2 away win overAtalanta, finishing in eighth place with 60 points and qualifying for theConference League for the third consecutive season,[31][32] Italiano confirmed that he would be leaving the club in the summer.[33]
On 5 June 2024, Italiano was officially appointed as the head coach of Serie A sideBologna, signing a two-year contract with the club.[34][35] On 14 May 2025, he led the club to a 1–0 victory overMilan in theCoppa Italia final, clinching their first title in the competition in 51 years.[36]
Italiano is known for his pragmatic offensive playing style as a manager.[37][38][39] Tactically, he used the4–3–3 formation during his time as head coach of Spezia, with adeep-lying playmaker flanked by twobox-to-box midfielders, ormezzali, who were capable of making late attacking runs off the ball. His team was capable of defending either in a deep or mid-block, with a compact shape, restricting spaces for his opponents, while also incorporating aspects ofman-to-man marking off the ball. After winning back possession, his Spezia side were known for moving the ball quickly with their passing to initiate counter-attacks, and utilised the wings without resorting to traditional wing-play. In a similar manner toArrigo Sacchi, Italiano believes that all players should be involved in the build-up of attacking plays, regardless of their roles on the pitch.[9][40] At Fiorentina, he demonstrated his versatility, shifting between different formations such as the4–4–2 and the4–2–3–1 to suit his players, although he continued to use his favoured 4–3–3 when possible, in particular following the signing ofregistaArthur Melo in midfield in 2023. His team was known for alternating between high-intensity attacking play and a slower possession-based style. He also placed more importance on the plays of his attackingfull-backs.[37][38] His team were known for their hard-working, aggressive, and disciplined approach, which made them a difficult opponent even for larger sides, and he made use of heavypressing and a high defensive line.[41][42][43] His striker usually functions in a more creative role, dropping deep to receive the ball and link-up with teammates, or provides depth to the team with his runs.[44]
While Italiano has earned praise in the media as promising manager,[41] he has also been criticised by certain pundits for his overly predictable possession-based style, and for his teams' inability to convert their chances or score many goals despite controlling the ball.[38] Others have instead criticised him for his game-plans, as his Fiorentina side often lost game in seemingly preventable manners,[43] which has led the press to question his teams' mentality, in particular following their three consecutive final defeats between 2022 and 2024.[45] Italiano believes in the importance of striking balance between attack and defence, as well as dressing room-management, motivation, and communication as coach.[46] Italiano has cited the offensive styles and formations ofPep Guardiola,Maurizio Sarri,Jürgen Klopp,Luis Enrique, andZdeněk Zeman as his inspirations as a manager;[47] a former director of his likened him to Guardiola, describing him as "un piccolo Pep" ("a little Pep," in Italian).[48]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Vigontina San Paolo |  | 18 June 2016 | 3 January 2017 | 19 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 34 | −13 | 010.53 |
| Vigontina San Paolo | | 28 February 2017 | 31 May 2017 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 16 | +0 | 022.22 |
| Union ArzignanoChiampo | | 31 May 2017 | 28 July 2018 | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 88 | 51 | +37 | 055.26 |
| Trapani | | 28 July 2018 | 19 June 2019 | 47 | 27 | 11 | 9 | 73 | 43 | +30 | 057.45 |
| Spezia | | 19 June 2019 | 30 June 2021 | 86 | 32 | 22 | 32 | 126 | 123 | +3 | 037.21 |
| Fiorentina | | 30 June 2021 | 2 June 2024 | 162 | 77 | 36 | 49 | 263 | 194 | +69 | 047.53 |
| Bologna | | 1 July 2024 | present | 67 | 30 | 22 | 15 | 96 | 68 | +28 | 044.78 |
| Total | 428 | 191 | 115 | 122 | 683 | 529 | +154 | 044.63 | |||
Hellas Verona
Chievo Verona
Trapani
Spezia
Fiorentina
Bologna
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)