| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1971-08-14)14 August 1971 (age 54)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bagnara Calabra, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Inter Milan U20 (head coach) | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Torino | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1994 | Torino | 35 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | →Reggina (loan) | 31 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | →Casertana (loan) | 32 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | →Ascoli (loan) | 28 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Napoli | 29 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Inter Milan | 32 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Sheffield Wednesday | 96 | (25) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Aston Villa | 24 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Bradford City | 42 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001 | →Derby County (loan) | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002 | →Middlesbrough (loan) | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Como | 22 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Parma | 19 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Catanzaro | 27 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Vicenza | 28 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | →Sydney FC (loan) | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | Pavia | 80 | (27) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 554 | (112) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Italy U21 | 8 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Pavia | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Varese | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Vallée d'Aoste | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Pro Sesto | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Ternana | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Pavia | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Emirates | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Inter Milan U20 | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Benito Carbone (born 14 August 1971) is an Italianfootball manager and former professional player. Since July 2025, he is the head coach ofInter Milan'sunder-20 side.
As a player, he was played as aforward,winger ormidfielder, notably playing in thePremier League withSheffield Wednesday,Aston Villa,Bradford City,Derby County andMiddlesbrough, and inSerie A forTorino,Napoli,Inter Milan andParma. He also played forReggina,Casertana,Ascoli,Como,Catanzaro,Vicenza andPavia. In 2006, he spent time on loan in theA-League withSydney FC. He also representedItaly under-21 eight times during his playing career.
Carbone started his career atTorino, who discovered him at a youth tournament while he played for A.S. Scilla Calcio, an amateur youth team ofScilla. He made his debut inSerie A with Torino on 15 January 1989 againstPisa and played a further three games that season. In that season, Torino were relegated toSerie B, and the following season, he played five games in the Italian second division without scoring any goals.
He was sent on loan toReggina the following season, also inSerie B, where he played 31 games and scored five goals. In the 1991–92 season, always in the lower division, he was loaned toCasertana (31 matches with four goals scored). The following season moved toAscoli and played a total of 28 games, scoring six goals.
Carbone returned to Turin in the 1993–94 season. He made 28 appearances in the league and scored three goals. In the summer of 1994, he was purchased byRoma,[2] but a few days later was involved in a transfer withNapoli that broughtDaniel Fonseca to theGiallorossi.[2] Carbone was valued at 7.5 billion lire.[2] With Napoli, he played 29 games and scored four goals in the league, plus five games and three goals in theUEFA Cup, wearing the number 10 shirt.
Benny Carbone fools his opponents with hisfeints, but also his team-mates!
— Carbone's Napoli managerVujadin Boškov on his flair and technical ability.[3]
In the summer of 1995, he transferred toInter for 6 billion lire.[4] In Milan, he played 31 games, scoring just two goals. He spent much of the following season, from 1996 to 1997, on the bench underRoy Hodgson.
Carbone signed for EnglishPremier League sideSheffield Wednesday for £3 million in October 1996. At Wednesday, Carbone played alongside his compatriotPaolo Di Canio; Carbone has spoken fondly of playing alongside the Italian striker. Carbone became the club's highest goalscorer for the1998–99 season, scoring nine goals, and was voted the fans' favourite player and player of the season.[5] After a contract dispute with Wednesday at the start of the1999–2000 season, he was linked with a move away from the club.
He joinedAston Villa for an undisclosed fee and played for a season atVilla Park; his most memorable moment came when he scored a hat-trick againstLeeds United in a 3–2 win in theFA Cup, including a spectacular long-range strike from 35 yards; the day before the match, Villa managerJohn Gregory had refused to let the homesick Italian return to his homeland, insisting he would feel better after scoring against Leeds.[6] This, added to his strikes against Darlington[7] and Everton,[8] meant he contributed five goals in Villa's cup run that season. Carbone started in theFA Cup final alongside strike partnerDion Dublin in a 1–0 loss to Chelsea in the 2000 final, with Chelsea winning the match 1–0 after a goal byRoberto Di Matteo; Carbone nearly scored when his goal-bound shot was cleared off the line byFrank Leboeuf.[9] Carbone earned anFA Cup runners-up medal.
At the start of the 2000–01 season, several clubs, includingFiorentina, Napoli,Perugia,Everton,Coventry City and Bradford City, showed an interest in Carbone's services. Carbone was especially strongly linked with a move to Fiorentina to return toSerie A as a replacement forplaymakerRui Costa, who was linked with leaving the club.[10]
Bradford City, who had just escaped relegation from the Premiership the previous season, and were aiming to establish themselves in the top flight, made the best offer to Carbone, and he joined the Yorkshire club on a free transfer. The club also signedStan Collymore to play alongside him. Despite some disillusionment over his wages, Carbone scored some memorable goals and endeared himself to theValley Parade faithful.[11] Bradford City were relegated and, although he played the start of the following season with them as well as pledging his future to them,[12] he later moved on loan to firstDerby County, where he scored once against former club Aston Villa,[13] and thenMiddlesbrough, where he again scored once in the league against Aston Villa.[14] In 2002, Bradford chairmanGeoffrey Richmond informed him that the club would fold if they continued to pay his £40,000-a-week wages. Carbone revealed in later years that he did not want to be known as the man who madeBradford City fold, and he gave up £3.2 million.[15]
Carbone left Bradford and returned to Italy withComo and played forParma from 2003 to 2005. At Parma, Carbone revitalised his career under the leadership ofCesare Prandelli. Parma were in financial trouble and had to sell star players during the season, such asAdrian Mutu,Adriano andHidetoshi Nakata. During the2003–04 season, Carbone andAlberto Gilardino became the two main strikers at the club.
After a one-year stint withVicenza, Carbone signed a four-game guest contract with the Australian teamSydney FC as a potential replacement forDwight Yorke, who was the club's previousmarquee player. He capped his debut againstAdelaide United with two assists and a goal. After his debut, many believed he would be better than Yorke,[16] but during his third guest game, he pulled a hamstring muscle that sidelined him for at least seven weeks. Carbone failed to reach an agreement with Sydney for a long-term contract, ending his short-lived career with Sydney.[17] In 2014, Carbone revealed his disappointment in the injury which ended his spell at the club, and he revealed that he would one day like to return to the club as a manager.[18]
Upon returning to Italy, Carbone joined northern sidePavia in August 2007, where he was appointed captain. In his first season back in the lower leagues, Carbone scored five goals in 29 appearances, as Pavia finished fourth from bottom. In total, he scored 31 goals in all competitions for the club, and his goals helped Pavia avoid relegation.[19]
Carbone was often accused of being a mercenary due to his frequent transfers between clubs. He was, however, very popular with the fans of his clubs, particularly atSheffield Wednesday andBradford City. He also waived much of the money owed to him—approximately £3.32 million—after he had moved toComo, which helped them survive going into administration in 2002.
Carbone was never capped forItaly at senior level, although he represented theunder-18 side in 1989, scoring four goals in seven appearances, and he made eight appearances with theunder-21 side between 1989 and 1994, scoring three goals; he was a member of the team that won the1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, notably scoring the decisive penalty in the semi-final shoot-out against hostsFrance.[20] In total, he made 15 appearances for the Italian youth squads, scoring seven goals.[21]
After his retirement, Carbone accepted to stay atPavia as youth coach, guiding theBerretti under-19 team.[22] In March 2011, he was then promoted as head coach to replace Gianluca Andrissi.[23] He guided Pavia to a safe place in the2010–11 Lega Pro Prima Divisione standings, leading the club out of the relegation zone in his two months in charge of the first team.[24] At Pavia, Carbone was given the nickname 'Harry Potter' with Pavia fans believing Carbone had worked 'magic' both as a player and Manager to help them avoid relegation.[25]
After impressing asPavia manager, On 16 June 2011 he was surprisingly announced as new head coach ofSerie B clubVarese, replacing local heroGiuseppe Sannino, who left to become new boss ofSerie A clubSiena, after guiding the club fromLega Pro Seconda Divisione to a spot in the promotion playoffs during his last season in charge.[26][24] Joining Carbone as part of Carbone's management team at Varese was ex-Internazionale playerMauro Milanese, who joined the club as Sporting Director.[27]
On 1 October 2011, he was sacked[28] and replaced byRolando Maran.[29]
On 29 October 2012, after being sacked byVarese, he was installed as the new coach ofSaint-Christophe Vallée d'Aoste inLega Pro Seconda Divisione in place of the sacked Giovanni Zichella. Saint-Christophe Vallée d'Aoste were bottom of the table before Carbone took charge, and he led them up the table. Carbone eventually resigned as Saint-Christophe Vallée d'Aoste head coach due to restrictions placed upon him.
After leavingSaint-Christophe Vallée d'Aoste, Carbone, who was a highly rated young manager, revealed he had turned down three to four job offers to manage in Italy due to his wanting to pursue a management career in England.[30] Carbone had also revealed that currentItaly national football team managerCesare Prandelli had endorsed Carbone to become a top manager.
After being linked with the managerial vacancy atSheffield Wednesday in December 2013, Carbone proclaimed that he wanted to manage the club. On 10 January 2014, Carbone appeared onSky Sports programmeThe Fantasy Football Club, presented by his ex-Aston Villa teammatePaul Merson, and revealed that he was still interested in the role.[31] However, the club appointed caretaker managerStuart Gray as full-time manager on 25 January, after a string of impressive results.[32]
In April 2014,Massimo Cellino announced he was giving Carbone the opportunity to help rebuild the academy atLeeds United, and Carbone joined the youth team set up atThorp Arch as a sporting director.[33]
On 14 May 2014, Carbone announced on his officialTwitter page that his job title was "Special Consultant to the board of directors for sport matters, including Facilities & Academy".[34] The club confirmed Carbone's position at the club in a statement on the club's official website on 15 May, they confirmed that Carbone "will be involved with all football matters, including both the first team and the academy."[35][36][37][38] On 11 July, ownerMassimo Cellino revealed Carbone would also manage Leeds' Under 21 team.[39] Cellino announced Carbone's departure in an August 2014 press interview, citing "family reasons."[40]
On 12 March 2015, he was installed as the new coach ofPro Sesto.
On 14 August 2016, Carbone was appointed manager ofTernana.[41] Hired as a replacement toChristian Panucci, he resigned in January 2017, after a negative string of results that left Ternana in second-to-last place in the league.[42]
On 8 December 2017, Carbone was appointed as assistant manager atCrotone.[43]
In 2020, he joinedGianni De Biasi's coaching staff in charge of theAzerbaijan national football team. In 2024, Carbone was appointed as assistant manager atEmirates Club. On 27 April 2024, he was installed as the new coach of Emirates Club.
On 1 August 2024, he was unveiled as the new under-18 coach ofInter Milan.[44]
A quick, mobile, talented, and creativesupporting forward with an eye for goal, Carbone was known primarily for histechnical skills, his use offeints, and for his ability to provideassists for team-mates as an offensiveplaymaker. A versatileforward, although his preferred role was that of a second striker, he was capable of playing in several positions along the front line or inmidfield, and was also deployed as astriker, as awinger, and as anattacking midfielder throughout his career.[3][45] Despite his ability, he was also known to be inconsistent.[46]
When Carbone was at Napoli, due to his admiration for the number 10 shirt and also of his idolsDiego Maradona andRoberto Baggio, Carbone had specially made shin pads for the rest of his career, which featured a picture of Maradona on the left shin pad, and a picture of Baggio on the right shin pad.[47]
On 8 July 2014, Carbone played in a team for his former clubInter Milan vs aReal Madrid Legends team for the 2014 Corazón Classic Match for charity.[48][49][50]
Torino[51]
Aston Villa[53]
Italy U21
