.JPG) Zeman in 2006 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1947-05-12)12 May 1947 (age 78) | ||
| Place of birth | Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1974–1983 | Palermo (youth) | ||
| 1983–1986 | Licata | ||
| 1986–1987 | Foggia | ||
| 1987 | Parma | ||
| 1988–1989 | Messina | ||
| 1989–1994 | Foggia | ||
| 1994–1997 | Lazio | ||
| 1997–1999 | Roma | ||
| 1999–2000 | Fenerbahçe | ||
| 2000 | Napoli | ||
| 2001–2002 | Salernitana | ||
| 2003–2004 | Avellino | ||
| 2004–2005 | Lecce | ||
| 2006 | Brescia | ||
| 2006 | Lecce | ||
| 2008 | Red Star Belgrade | ||
| 2010–2011 | Foggia | ||
| 2011–2012 | Pescara | ||
| 2012–2013 | Roma | ||
| 2014 | Cagliari | ||
| 2015 | Cagliari | ||
| 2015–2016 | Lugano | ||
| 2017–2018 | Pescara | ||
| 2021–2022 | Foggia | ||
| 2023–2024 | Pescara | ||
Zdeněk Zeman (Czech pronunciation:[ˈzdɛɲɛkˈzɛman]; born 12 May 1947) is a Czech-Italianfootball manager.
Known for his exciting, offensive footballing tactics and use of the4–3–3 formation, Zeman has managed numerous teams over the years, mostly inItalian football. He has won theSerie B title twice, withFoggia and withPescara.
Zeman's football coaching career started in Sicily, where he resided since the late 1960s. His first coaching experiences were for amateur football teams from the outskirts of Palermo (Cinisi,Bacigalupo,Carini,Esacalza,Misilmeri). In 1974, thanks to his uncleČestmír Vycpálek's aid, he had his first notable experience as part of thePalermo youth coaching staff, which ended in 1983.
In 1975, he graduated with honours at theISEF of Palermo (a sports school) with a dissertation in sports medicine. In 1979, he finally obtained thepatentino (a license for coaching football at the professional level) at Coverciano's school for football coaches.[1]
His first opportunity as a professional head coach came fromLicata, a small-medium city in theprovince of Agrigento, where he wonSerie C2 with a team mainly composed of youngsters. In 1986, he then left Licata to joinFoggia ofSerie C1, but he was sacked before the end of the championship. In 1987, he became coach forParma of Serie B but was fired after seven matches. In 1988, he returned toSicily as coach ofMessina, finishing in eighth place at the end of the season, thanks to the goals ofSalvatore Schillaci.[2]
In 1989, the Foggia chairmanPasquale Casillo, having repented of firing him a few years before, re-appointed Zeman once again. It was to be the beginning of themiracle Foggia, also known asZemanlandia (after Zeman himself), a team of, in those days, unknown players; amongst them,Giuseppe Signori andFrancesco Baiano, who regularly punched above their weight in the league. In two years, the team got promoted toSerie A.[3]
The first appearances of Foggia in Serie A are still quite unimaginable, with a team considered extremely weak verging onUEFA Cup qualification for three consecutive years. This was achieved by playing an impressive, attacking style of play, with the4–3–3 module a clear trademark of Zdeněk Zeman's footballing views. During those years at Foggia, players likeRoberto Rambaudi,Luigi Di Biagio,Igor Shalimov,José Antonio Chamot,Dan Petrescu andIgor Kolyvanov came through. It is said that Zeman's tactics were inspired by his time playing, not football, but handball as a student.[4]
In 1994, Zeman left Foggia for the greater challenge ofLazio, leading theBiancocelesti to second and third place finishes, before being fired in January 1997.[5] He is credited with launching the career ofAlessandro Nesta whilst managingLazio, giving the young defender many first-team opportunities. In the next season, Zeman decided to stay in Rome, becoming the head coach ofRoma and the burgeoning talent ofFrancesco Totti.
After a good fourth place with some sparkling play, Zeman launched allegations about the abuse of pharmaceutical products in Italian football, citing formerJuventus playersGianluca Vialli (at the time atChelsea) andAlessandro Del Piero of unnatural muscle growth[6] in July 1998. As a consequence, courts began a round of trials over Juventus executiveAntonio Giraudo and sports doctorRiccardo Agricola, the latter were found guilty of administering drugs to players (including the use ofEPO)[7] between 1994 and 1998, and condemned to a one-year and ten months jail term in 2004, even though he was absolved the next year by a Court of Appeal.[8] The following appeal presented by the Public Prosecutor to the Italian Supreme Court against the second degree sentence, despite the fact that the illegitimate administration of drugs to footballers aimed at altering sports results was proven, the statute of limitations for the crime then came in 2006 due to exceeding the terms.[9][10]In the following 1998–99 season Zeman reached a fifth-place finish with AS Roma but was replaced byFabio Capello during the summer of 1999.[11]
His next coaching adventures, forFenerbahçe andNapoli, were not lucky; Zeman's coaching reputation quickly lost stock, leaving him unable to find a team willing to hire him. After threeSerie B years atSalernitana (two years, a sixth place finish, and a dismissal), andAvellino (second-last placed, with a youngVitali Kutuzov on team), in 2004Serie A teamLecce gambled on him. Zeman, who had one of the youngest Serie A rosters at his disposal, answered with a good season, leading the team to a mid-table position and giving talented youngsters likeValeri Bojinov andMirko Vučinić an opportunity. At the end of the season, Zeman resigned. After nine months without a team, Zeman was appointed on 5 March 2006 as the new head coach ofBrescia, taking in his first time a team in the half-season. However, Brescia, who were in third place in Serie B when Zeman was hired, suffered a heavy fall in terms of results, and the team could not maintain a place in the promotion playoffs, with eight points in eleven matches. After the end of the season, Zeman resigned from Brescia, criticizing his players for not having accepted his tactics.
On 21 June 2006, Zeman returned to Lecce, signing a one-year contract with thegiallorossi, who were relegated to Serie B in 2005–2006. Because of poor results, he was fired on 24 December and replaced byGiuseppe Papadopulo.
On 17 June 2008,Red Star Belgrade unveiled Zeman as their new head coach.[12] However, after only five competitive games as Red Star's head coach, on 6 September 2008 Zeman was sacked because of catastrophic results inSerbian League andUEFA Cup. During Zeman's management, Red Star hadn't managed to score in three domestic league matches, and the club found themselves at the bottom of the table for the first time in 24 years. Red Star were also eliminated in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup byAPOEL fromCyprus.[13]
On 20 July 2010, it was confirmed that Zeman would take over as the new head coach of his former clubFoggia, rejoining chairmanPasquale Casillo and director of footballGiuseppe Pavone as part of the trio who led theSatanelli into Serie A back in the 1990s.[14] He left the club at the end of May, after ending the regular season in sixth place, and failing to qualify for the promotion playoffs despite his Foggia team being the team with the highest goalscoring ratio among all Italian professional leagues.
On 21 June 2011, Zeman was announced as new head coach/technical director of Serie B clubPescara, signing a one-year contract with theAdriatici.[15][16] At Pescara, Zeman coached a team composed of promising youngsters, many of them re-joining him from his previous season at the helm of Foggia (among them,Simone Romagnoli,Ciro Immobile andLorenzo Insigne, and alsoMarco Verratti); under his tenure, theBiancoazzurri fromAbruzzo entered straight into the race for automatic promotion and provided a record goalscoring ratio for Italian standard (90 goals in 42 games, Serie B record). On 21 May 2012, Pescara won automatic promotion to Serie A following a 3–1 away win atSampdoria, thus ensuring Zeman a top-flight return at his first season as head coach. He went on to win the Serie B title in the season's final game.[17][18]
On 17 February 2013, Zeman was awarded thePanchina d'Argento to recognize his past season's successes as head coach of Pescara.
On 4 June 2012, it was confirmed that Zeman would be the new head coach of his former clubRoma, signing a two-year contract, effective from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014; his staff will be composed by assistant manager Vincenzo Cangelosi, technical collaboratorGiacomo Modica and fitness coach Roberto Ferola.[19] The agreement marked Zeman's return at theGiallorossi after thirteen years. His appointment also ledThe Wall Street Journal to unusually dedicate him an article, labelling him "Soccer's Jedi."[20]
His second stint as Roma head coach became controversial after he decided to sideline several key players, such asMaarten Stekelenburg,Pablo Osvaldo and, most significantly, vice-captain andone-club playerDaniele De Rossi.[21] A successive decline in results then led to rumours involving the future of Zeman, with director of footballWalter Sabatini explicitly confirming about a potential dismissal at the end of January.
On 2 February 2013, Zeman was relieved from his coaching post after a 2–4 home loss toCagliari that left Roma in eighth position after 23 matches, and was replaced by the club's technique coachAurelio Andreazzoli.[22][23] After being sacked, playerMiralem Pjanić commented that hiring Zeman had been a good decision, believing that the club's athletic all-attacking style of play the team's main strength, albeit also being one of its most significant weaknesses.[24] Zeman initially stated that he was not bitter about being sacked by Roma[25] and played down the rumours of his retirement,[26] although he later said in an interview with Italian sports newspaperLa Gazzetta dello Sport that he was still critical towards the team over his sacking.[21]
In June 2014, Zeman returned to football management, being appointed the new head coach of Serie A clubCagliari after a successful takeover led by entrepreneurTommaso Giulini. In the fifth game of the season, Zeman got a surprising but deserved victory of 1–4 playing away against Internazionale, briefly staving off rumours of dismissal after a mediocre start of the season. However, he was sacked on 23 December 2014, following a poor run. Cagliari achieved only two wins in their sixteen league fixtures, leaving them eighteenth in the relegation zone.[27]
On 9 March 2015, just a few months after initially being sacked, Cagliari reappointed Zeman as head coach, the club having sackedGianfranco Zola.[28] Zeman resigned from the post after just five games, in which Cagliari picked up just one point from the available 15.[29]
In June 2015, Zeman signed a contract with newly promotedSwiss Super League clubLugano.[30] On 26 May 2016, Zeman helped the club avoid relegation with a 3–0 win overSt. Gallen. On 29 May, however, Lugano were defeated 1–0 by last placedZürich in the2016 Swiss Cup Final.[31] He left the club at the end of the season.[32]
On 17 February 2017, Zeman was confirmed as the new head coach of last-placedSerie A team Pescara in place ofMassimo Oddo, thus returning to coach the club he guided to the top flight back in 2012.[33] On 19 February, his debut return on the Pescara bench, Pescara won a 5–0 against Genoa, their first home victory since June 2016.[34] Zeman was fired from Pescara on 4 March 2018 after a 2–0 loss to Serie B sideCittadella and were left in 13th place in the table.[35]
On 27 June 2021, after days of speculation,[36]Foggia announced to have re-hired 74-year old Zeman, after three years of inactivity, on a one-year deal for the2021–22 Serie C campaign.[37] He teamed up again withGiuseppe Pavone in his new stint with theSatanelli.
On 25 January 2022, Zeman and Pavone extended their contracts for one more year.[38] He eventually guided Foggia to a spot in the promotion playoffs, in which they eliminatedTurris andAvellino before being eliminated byVirtus Entella in the third round. On 26 May 2022, Foggia announced that they had parted ways with Zeman after only one season.[39]
On 27 February 2023, the 75-year-old Zeman agreed to return to Pescara for a third time, taking charge of the Serie C club until the end of the season.[40] After guiding Pescara to the promotion playoffs, where they were eliminated byFoggia on penalties in the semi-finals, he was confirmed in charge of theDelfino for the 2023–24 campaign as well.[41]
On 12 December 2023, Zeman was admitted to a private clinic in Pescara after having suffered atransient ischemic attack before a scheduled training session.[42] He was released from the clinic three days later, being however forced to temporarily hand over coaching duties to his assistantGiovanni Bucaro.[43] On 19 December, Zeman regularly returned to his coaching duties.[44] On 17 February 2024, Zeman was again forced to hand over coaching duties to his assistant after being admitted to a hospital to undergo a surgery.[45] On 19 February 2024, it was confirmed Zeman had successfully undergone heart surgery.[46] Three days later, Zeman tended his resignations to the Pescara board, with his assistant Bucaro being appointed as the new permanent head coach until the end of the season.[47]
Son of amedician and a housewife, Zeman is also related toČestmír Vycpálek, formerJuventus player and coach, who was his uncle from his mother's side. In 1968, Zeman went toPalermo to visit him; however, at that same time, his country wasinvaded by Warsaw Pact troops, so he decided to stay indefinitely in Italy.[1]
He successively obtained Italian citizenship in 1975 and later married a woman from Palermo, Chiara Perricone, with whom he had two children namedKarel and Andrea; Karel successively went on into following his father's footsteps by becoming a football manager, starting at amateur level with teams such as Bojano andManfredonia[48] before taking over his first professional role atLega Pro Seconda Divisione outfitFano in March 2012.[49] He then served as head coach ofQormi in Malta before becoming boss of SardinianSerie D amateursSelargius in the summer of 2014, contemporaneously with his father's appointment at Cagliari.[50]
His appeal has stretched outside the football world, with singer/songwriter (and well-known AS Roma fan)Antonello Venditti, dedicating a song calledLa coscienza di Zeman (Zeman's conscience, a play-on-words on the famous Italian novelLa coscienza di Zeno) to him. Zeman was also the "guru" who inspired the character Frengo by Italian comedianAntonio Albanese. He was also the subject of several biopics, mostly covering his early Foggia years, such asZemanlandia.[51] Zeman is also known for being a heavy smoker and an iconic man of very few words with a cult following throughout Italy that goes across all football rivalries.[52][53]
In 2022, Zeman published his autobiography, titledLa bellezza non ha prezzo (English:Beauty has no price), written together withLa Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Andrea Di Caro.[54]
On 18 October 2024, it was reported Zeman was admitted to a private health clinic in Pescara after having suffered abrain ischemia in his residency in Rome, just a few months after having suffered a transient ischemic attack that had forced him to quit his football activities.[55]
Based onDutchTotaal Voetbal, Zdeněk Zeman has described the concept of his4–3–3 system as "geometry", and his teams also known for approaching a football philosophy clearly based on lively, quick, attacking play, theoffside trap, and zonal marking. His teams are well known for their fast, spectacular, aggressive, and offensive style of play, as well as their ability to score many goals, but also for the corresponding tendency to concede them.[56][57][58][59][60] His tactics were also influenced by his time playing handball in his youth.[4]
A respected and experienced manager, his coaching techniques, especially regarding athletic preparation, fitness, and training (a field in which he has a particular interest), are also proverbial for their effort and diligence. Notable features of his system are the use of a high defensive line, the offside trap, high pressing, zonal marking, short first-touch passes, and one-twos played on the ground. However, the deep-lying playmaker in his formation must also be competent at providing long passes and switching the play. The wingers in his system are set to move inside the channels, and usually play a free creative role. All of these elements combined made Zeman's tactics solid, spectacular and highly versatile: they are effective against top teams as well as weaker ones.[56][57][58] Despite his reputation, he has also been criticised by other figures in the sport for his outspokenness and lack of major title victories throughout his career.[61][62][63][64]
Having the right players for his tactical system is essential; usually the characteristics needed by his players are:[56][65][66]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Licata | 7 June 1983 | 2 June 1986 | 128 | 51 | 41 | 36 | 039.84 |
| Foggia | 3 June 1986 | 6 April 1987 | 33 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 036.36 |
| Parma | 23 June 1987 | 26 October 1987 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 033.33 |
| Messina | 22 June 1988 | 19 June 1989 | 43 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 032.56 |
| Foggia | 19 June 1989 | 3 May 1994 | 196 | 72 | 59 | 65 | 036.73 |
| Lazio | 4 May 1994 | 27 January 1997 | 118 | 60 | 25 | 33 | 050.85 |
| Roma | 18 June 1997 | 6 June 1999 | 86 | 39 | 26 | 21 | 045.35 |
| Fenerbahçe | 12 October 1999 | 12 January 2000 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 027.27 |
| Napoli | 13 June 2000 | 15 November 2000 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 000.00 |
| Salernitana | 20 June 2001 | 29 December 2002 | 60 | 18 | 16 | 26 | 030.00 |
| Avellino | 30 June 2003 | 15 June 2004 | 49 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 016.33 |
| Lecce | 15 June 2004 | 3 June 2005 | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 028.57 |
| Brescia | 5 March 2006 | 22 June 2006 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 018.18 |
| Lecce | 22 June 2006 | 4 January 2007 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 031.58 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 17 June 2008 | 7 September 2008 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 000.00 |
| Foggia | 21 July 2010 | 10 June 2011 | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 047.62 |
| Pescara | 22 June 2011 | 4 June 2012 | 43 | 26 | 6 | 11 | 060.47 |
| Roma | 4 June 2012 | 2 February 2013 | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 050.00 |
| Cagliari | 2 July 2014 | 23 December 2014 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 016.67 |
| Cagliari | 9 March 2015 | 21 April 2015 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 000.00 |
| Lugano | 1 July 2015 | 4 June 2016 | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 033.33 |
| Pescara | 17 February 2017 | 4 March 2018 | 45 | 13 | 12 | 20 | 028.89 |
| Foggia | 1 July 2021 | 26 May 2022 | 43 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 041.86 |
| Pescara | 27 February 2023 | 22 February 2024 | 47 | 23 | 10 | 14 | 048.94 |
| Total | 1,132 | 431 | 306 | 395 | 038.07 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
