 Novellino with Perugia in 1975 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alfredo Walter Amato Lenin Novellino | ||
| Date of birth | (1953-06-04)4 June 1953 (age 72) | ||
| Place of birth | Montemarano, Italy | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Torino | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1971 | Torino | 0 | (0) |
| 1971–1972 | Legnano | 37 | (1) |
| 1972–1973 | Torino | 1 | (0) |
| 1973–1974 | Cremonese | 30 | (2) |
| 1974–1975 | Empoli | 36 | (5) |
| 1975–1978 | Perugia | 81 | (11) |
| 1978–1982 | Milan | 120 | (10) |
| 1982–1984 | Ascoli | 59 | (12) |
| 1984–1986 | Perugia | 51 | (1) |
| 1986–1987 | Catania | 16 | (0) |
| Total | 431 | (42) | |
| International career | |||
| 1978 | Italy | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Perugia | ||
| 1993–1995 | Gualdo | ||
| 1995 | Perugia | ||
| 1996–1997 | Ravenna | ||
| 1997–1999 | Venezia | ||
| 1999–2000 | Napoli | ||
| 2000–2002 | Piacenza | ||
| 2002–2007 | Sampdoria | ||
| 2007–2008 | Torino | ||
| 2008–2009 | Torino | ||
| 2009 | Reggina | ||
| 2011 | Livorno | ||
| 2013–2015 | Modena | ||
| 2016 | Palermo | ||
| 2016–2018 | Avellino | ||
| 2019 | Catania | ||
| 2021 | Juve Stabia | ||
| 2022 | Juve Stabia | ||
| 2023 | Juve Stabia | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Walter Novellino (born 4 June 1953;Italian pronunciation:[ˈvalternovelˈliːno]), is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as amidfielder.
Novellino was born atMontemarano,province of Avellino. After spending his childhood inSão Paulo, Brazil, he later returned to Italy, and started his professional career withTorino, then obtaining his major successes withPerugia andAC Milan, and being nicknamedMonzon (after anArgentine boxer) due to both his physical resemblance to him and his determination on the pitch. Novellino announced his retirement in 1987. In his first season with Milan, he helped the club to their tenthSerie A title in1979. When the club was relegated following their involvement in theTotonero 1980 match-fixing scandal, he remained with the team and helped Milan win the Serie B title and immediately obtain promotion back to Serie A; during the1980–81 Serie B season, he notably scored the goal againstMonza which secured promotion for the club.[1]
Novellino won one cap for theItaly national football team in 1978.
Novellino was a talented yet tenacious and hard-working midfielder known for excellent technical ability, offensive capabilities, fighting spirit, anddribbling skills. Although he was usually played as anattacking midfielder, he was also capable of playing as awinger, as asecond striker, or as aforward.[1][2][3]
Novellino debuted in management in 1992 with Perugia ofSerie C1, but this was short-lived. Next season, he moved toGualdo whom he led in two years to win first Serie C2 and then to a spot in the Serie C1 promotion play-off finals which they eventually lost toAvellino. He then went on toSerie B sides Perugia,Ravenna and then inVenezia whom he led toSerie A for the first time in the club history.
In 2000, he ledNapoli to a Serie A promotion, and repeated the feat the following season withPiacenza. In 2002, he joined Sampdoria, immediately leading the team to a Serie A promotion, the fourth time he'd helped a team achieve this goal. In his first Serie A season with Sampdoria, they achieved a 5th place and aUEFA Cup qualification, but lost the battle withUdinese for the lastUEFA Champions League place. He left Sampdoria in 2007 to joinTorino, where he was fired on 16 April 2008 following disappointing results that left the team in the relegation zone; he was replaced byGianni De Biasi who ultimately managed to save thegranata from relegation.
On 8 December, only a few months after his dismissal, he was called back to Torino following the sacking of De Biasi, taking over the team in 18th place and 12 only points achieved in 15 games.[4] He was fired once again on 24 March 2009, after a sequence of negative results that left Torino in deep relegation zone, being replaced byGiancarlo Camolese.[5]
In July 2009 he was appointed new head coach ofReggina, with the aim to lead the Calabrians promptly back to the top flight. However, he managed to achieve only nine points in ten games, being ultimately dismissed on 24 October following a 0–2 loss to his former club Torino.[6]
On 14 February 2011, he was unveiled as new head coach ofSerie B clubLivorno, replacingGiuseppe Pillon at the helm of theAmaranto,[7] until 21 December 2011 when he rescinds the contract by mutual agreement with the company.[8]
On 10 March 2016, he was appointedPalermo manager.[9] He was sacked on 11 April 2016.[10]
On 29 November 2016, he was called in by struggling Serie B sideAvellino to replace the outcoming managerDomenico Toscano. Avellino dismissed him on 3 April 2018.[11]
On 1 July 2021, he was hired by Serie C'sJuve Stabia to be the club's new manager.[12] He was sacked on 17 October 2021 following a negative start in the2021–22 Serie C campaign.[13] On 28 February 2022, he was reinstated as Juve Stabia boss following the dismissal ofStefano Sottili, who had replaced him earlier during the season.[14] He left Juve Stabia once again after the 2021–22 season.
On 20 March 2023, Novellino returned to Juve Stabia, accepting to become the third manager of the season for theGialloblu.[15] After a lacklustre end of season, on 10 June 2023 Juve Stabia announced to have parted company with Novellino.[16]
Novellino favours a4–4–2 formation which makes use of azonal marking defensive system, adeep-lyingplaymaker in midfield, and a physicalcentre-forward fielded alongside a more mobile and talented second striker.[17]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Perugia |  | 3 December 1992 | 23 June 1993 | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 31 | 20 | +11 | 045.45 |
| Gualdo | | 23 June 1993 | 1 July 1995 | 87 | 42 | 29 | 16 | 120 | 55 | +65 | 048.28 |
| Perugia | | 1 July 1995 | 26 September 1995 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 8 | +0 | 025.00 |
| Ravenna | | 2 June 1996 | 18 June 1997 | 40 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 037.50 |
| Unione Venezia | | 18 June 1997 | 15 June 1999 | 80 | 31 | 26 | 23 | 99 | 85 | +14 | 038.75 |
| Napoli | | 15 June 1999 | 13 June 2000 | 48 | 22 | 14 | 12 | 69 | 54 | +15 | 045.83 |
| Piacenza | | 13 June 2000 | 4 June 2002 | 83 | 36 | 23 | 24 | 113 | 81 | +32 | 043.37 |
| Sampdoria | | 4 June 2002 | 31 May 2007 | 220 | 85 | 70 | 65 | 271 | 233 | +38 | 038.64 |
| Torino | | 6 June 2007 | 15 April 2008 | 36 | 8 | 16 | 12 | 38 | 49 | −11 | 022.22 |
| Torino | | 8 December 2008 | 24 March 2009 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 24 | −11 | 018.75 |
| Reggina Calcio | | 11 June 2009 | 24 October 2009 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 15 | −4 | 033.33 |
| Livorno | | 14 February 2011 | 21 December 2011 | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 031.58 |
| Modena | | 20 March 2013 | 28 February 2015 | 86 | 29 | 33 | 24 | 108 | 83 | +25 | 033.72 |
| Palermo | | 10 March 2016 | 12 April 2016 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 000.00 |
| Avellino | | 28 November 2016 | 4 April 2018 | 61 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 75 | 87 | −12 | 029.51 |
| Catania | | 27 February 2019 | 6 May 2019 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 040.00 |
| Career total | 851 | 321 | 279 | 251 | 1,050 | 885 | +165 | 037.72 | |||