.JPG) Guidolin asUdinese manager in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francesco Guidolin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1955-10-03)3 October 1955 (age 70)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Castelfranco Veneto, Italy | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1975–1984 | Hellas Verona | 102 | (14) |
| 1977–1978 | →Sambenedettese (loan) | 35 | (3) |
| 1979–1980 | →Pistoiese (loan) | 35 | (5) |
| 1982–1983 | →Bologna (loan) | 24 | (1) |
| 1984–1986 | Venezia | 41 | (1) |
| Total | 237 | (24) | |
| International career | |||
| 1976–1977 | Italy U21[3] | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1986–1988 | Giorgione (youth team) | ||
| 1988–1989 | Giorgione | ||
| 1989–1990 | Treviso | ||
| 1990–1991 | Fano | ||
| 1991–1992 | Empoli | ||
| 1992–1993 | Ravenna | ||
| 1993 | Atalanta | ||
| 1994–1998 | Vicenza | ||
| 1998–1999 | Udinese | ||
| 1999–2003 | Bologna | ||
| 2004–2005 | Palermo | ||
| 2005 | Genoa | ||
| 2005–2006 | Monaco | ||
| 2006–2007 | Palermo | ||
| 2007 | Palermo | ||
| 2007–2008 | Palermo | ||
| 2008–2010 | Parma | ||
| 2010–2014 | Udinese | ||
| 2016 | Swansea City | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Francesco Guidolin (Italian pronunciation:[franˈtʃeskoɡwidoˈlin]; born 3 October 1955) is an Italianfootball manager and former player. He has coached various Italian club sides inSerie A, winning the1996–97 Coppa Italia withVicenza, while also competing in European competitions with Vicenza,Udinese,Bologna andPalermo, as well as managingLigue 1 clubMonaco.
Guidolin made his professional debut in 1975 with theSerie A clubHellas Verona, with whom he spent the majority of his career, save for loan moves to clubsSambenedettese,Pistoiese andBologna. After spending two seasons withSerie C2 clubVenezia, he retired in 1986.
Internationally, Guidolin played for theItaly national under-21 team between 1976 and 1977.
Guidolin's managerial debut came in 1988 as head coach ofSerie C2 teamGiorgione, the main club of his native city, Castelfranco Veneto. Between 1989 and 1993, he then coachedTreviso (Serie C2),Fano,Empoli andRavenna, all inSerie C1.
Leading Ravenna to promotion toSerie B earned Guidolin a move to become head coach ofSerie A clubAtalanta on 1 July 1993, although he was sacked after just ten matches.
The next season, Guidolin joined Serie B sideVicenza and restored them following a period of decline. After gaining promotion to Serie A at the end of the1994–95 Serie B, his club finished mid-table thefollowing Serie A season. During the1996–97 season, Vicenza led the league for a period, eventually achieving an eighth-place finish in Serie A, and won the1997 Coppa Italia, defeatingNapoli 3–1 on aggregate in thetwo-legged final. It was the club's first domestic trophy.[4]
As a result, the following season Guidolin had his firstEuropean campaign (and Vicenza's second ever), reaching the1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-final before losing to eventual winnersChelsea. However, inthe league season, Vicenza finished just one place above the relegation zone. The club was also defeated byJuventus in the1997 Supercoppa Italiana.[4]
After managing Vicenza, Guidolin accepted the head coach position at Serie A sideUdinese for the1998–99 season. Their previous third-place finish had qualified them the first round of the1998–99 UEFA Cup, but they did not progress beyond this stage, losing toBayer Leverkusen. In the remaining league campaign, Guidolin was only able to guide them to a mid-table finish and was fired only days before the start of the following season.
In the middle of the 1999–2000 season, Guidolin joined Serie A sideBologna, a former club as a player. Despite finishing ninth in the previous season, Bologna had qualified for the1999–2000 UEFA Cup after winning a tie-breaker againstInternazionale. Guidolin took them to the third round of the UEFA Cup, where they were eliminated byGalatasaray. In theSerie A season, they finished in 11th place. Thefollowing league campaign ended with another ninth-place finish, followed by another small improvement toseventh place and entry into in a summer tournament, the2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup, where they were defeated in the three-game final stage byFulham.
The2002–03 season began with good results but ended in a disappointing 11th-place finish and resulted in heavy criticism of Guidolin, which became more intense after Guidolin was heard insulting the city ofBologna during a match.[5]
Guidolin returned to management withPalermo in January 2004, midway through theSerie B season. PlayingLuca Toni as a lone striker among experienced players and those cast off from larger teams, he won the division, taking the Sicilians back to the top flight for the first time since 1973.[6] In the subsequentSerie A campaign, he guided Palermo to a sixth-place finish, earning their first ever UEFA Cup qualification. However, he opted to leave the club at the end of the season.
For the start of the next season, Guidolin had agreed to joinGenoa, who had gained promotion to Serie A from the2004–05 Serie B.[7] However, after amatch fixing scandal over their final league match was discovered, theItalian Football Federation instead placed Genoa last in Serie B, thereby relegating them to Serie C1. As a result, Guidolin rescinded his contract.
In October 2005, Guidolin succeededDidier Deschamps atLigue 1 clubMonaco. He signed a two-year contract in his first managerial post outside Italy.[8] The club finished 10th in hisonly season.
On 30 May 2006, in a surprise move, Guidolin was re-hired by his former club Palermo.[9] In his absence, they had reached the round of 16 in their inaugural UEFA Cup run, and had also qualified for the2006–07 UEFA Cup despite finishing eighth in the league, due to Italian match fixing scandals costing other clubs their places. Guidolin'sSerie A campaign started well, but after losing star playerAmauri to injury in December, the team went over two months without a win. In the UEFA Cup, they progressed to the group stage but failed to qualify for the knockout stages, ending their campaign in December.
The season was also disrupted when the club was one of the two teams involved in theSicilian derby of 2 February 2007 whichled to riots and a police fatality, resulting in various safety restrictions being imposed on the league. Having dropped out of theUEFA Champions League qualification places, Guidolin was sacked on 23 April following a 4–3 home defeat to relegation-threatenedParma. After his assistant Renzo Gobbo failed to halt the club's slide, the sacking was revoked on 14 May after two further defeats.[10] After finally finishing fifth and therefore qualifying for the2007–08 UEFA Cup, Guidolin was sacked again, being replaced by Atalanta coachStefano Colantuono.[11]
In October 2007, Guidolin declined to take up an offer to coach struggling EnglishChampionship sideQueens Park Rangers after failing to agree personal terms.[12][13]
On 26 November 2007, with Palermo having been eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the first round and slipping to ninth place in Serie A, Guidolin was unexpectedly re-appointed by Palermo for a record fourth time, replacing Colantuono.[14] After only gaining 18 points in 17 matches, he was sacked again on 24 March 2008 at the end of a run of three defeats, the latter followed by controversial criticism from him of the fans.[15]
On 30 September 2008, Guidolin signed a contract with Serie B side Parma, guiding them to second place in the2008–09 campaign, earning promotion back into the top flight. A good start to the followingSerie A season saw the team constantly in the top ten for the first half, before finally ending mid-table. Despite the manner of his departure from Palermo, he is still today hailed as one of the club legends and was warmly welcomed during his return as Parma manager, albeit suffering a late defeat to his old side.[16]
After two seasons at Parma, Guidolin resigned in order to take up the head coach position at Serie A side Udinese for a second time, who despite having recent history of European football, had recently finished in 15th place, nine points and three places clear of the relegation zone.[17]
After a poor start to the2010–11 Serie A season, the team went on to record their highest points total in history and finished in fourth place, earning themselves a spot in the2011–12 UEFA Champions League qualifying round on the final Serie A matchday. Guidolin kept his promise of "dancing like Boateng" if they qualified, and did a little jig in the middle of the pitch. Later that year, he was awarded thePanchina d'Oro as the best coach of the league.[18]
In the next season, the club were unable to qualify for the Champions League proper after losing toArsenal, but progressed as far as the round of 16 in the2011–12 UEFA Europa League, being eliminated by Dutch sideAZ. They finished the2011–12 Serie A in third place, the best result in the club's history, equallingAlberto Zaccheroni's 1996–97 season, again achieving a place in the qualifying round for the2012–13 UEFA Champions League. In his third season at Udinese, Guidolin again failed to reach the Champions League proper, losing on penalties toBraga,[19] but this time also finished bottom of their group in the2012–13 UEFA Europa League. In theSerie A table, the club finished fifth, reaching the Europa League qualifying round for a third time.
During the 2013–14 season, Guidolin's Udinese reached the semi-finals of theCoppa Italia, but were eliminated byFiorentina.[20]
On 20 May 2014, Guidolin took the decision to leave coaching, but maintained a link with Udinese by becoming the technical supervisor for the club's chairmanGiampaolo Pozzo, thereby also overseeing his two other clubs, Spanish sideGranada and English teamWatford.[21]
On 18 January 2016, Guidolin was named head coach ofSwansea City, at that point struggling in the2015–16 Premier League, only two points above the relegation zone,[22] to work alongside interim managerAlan Curtis, who took the post of first team coach.[23] While the decision baffled some pundits, the Swansea chairman argued that Guidolin's achievements at Udinese on a relatively small budget were similar to what the club was trying to achieve.[24] At the time of his appointment, Guidolin was virtually unknown to the English game and club captainAshley Williams later admitted that he had to "Google" his new manager.[25]
Guidolin took charge of his first game on 24 January 2016, an away fixture atGoodison Park which Swansea City won 2–1, recording the club's first-ever league win overEverton.[26] On 1 May, Guidolin mathematically secured Swansea's place in the Premier League for thefollowing season, as the club defeatedLiverpool 3–1 atLiberty Stadium.[22] On 11 May 2016, and despite intense speculation and betting that former managerBrendan Rodgers would replace him, Guidolin was invited to sign a new two-year-contract with Swansea after impressing the club's board of directors with his achievements in the late winter and spring of the 2015–16 season.[27]
After a poor start in the Premier League thefollowing season, Guidolin was sacked on 3 October 2016, his 61st birthday, and replaced with immediate effect by formerUnited States national team managerBob Bradley.[28][29]
After his short-lived experience at Swansea, Guidolin moved out of management for good. Since 2018, he is working withDAZN as a football pundit and color commentator.[30]
Having won thePanchina d'oro award in 2011,[31] Guidolin was considered one of the best Italian and Serie A coaches of his generation.[19][32] He was initially known for using aSacchi-inspired4–4–2 formation (or its variant, the4–4–1–1) towards the beginning of his coaching career. Later, he became known for his versatility and tactical prowess, as well as his ability to adopt systems which were most suitable to his players. He has also made use of4–3–2–1,3–4–1–2,4–3–3,4–5–1,3–4–3 (or 3–4–2–1), 3–1–4–1–1, or3–5–2 (or 3–5–1–1) formations throughout his career.[33][34][35]Giovanni Cornacchini, who played under Guidolin at Vicenza, described him as the best coach he ever had, and as the manager who was the most prepared on the pitch.[36]
At Vicenza, Guidolin used several systems, but predominantly fielded a fluid 4–4–2 formation with overlapping full-backs, and switches of play to utilise the width of the pitch. Hiswingers were not only required to beat opponents in one on one situations and cross from the touchline, but also cut inside and shoot on goal. He favoured a more defensive approach at the club, and a gameplay in which his players often played the ball first-time, taking few touches when attacking. His team would occasionally bypass the midfield, with thedefenders, or thedefensive midfielderDomenico Di Carlo, who would often drop deep, playing long balls to look forcentre-forwardPasquale Luiso.Second strikerLamberto Zauli would often play in a more withdrawn central role, dropping deeper into midfield to help give his team an extra player in the middle of the pitch; in this role, he could create chances for Luiso, create space with his movement, or make runs from deep with or without the ball. As such, the team's set-up appeared to be a 4–4–1–1 at times, or even a 4–5–1 when defending. Balance was also an important part of his system; as such he complemented the attacking play of wingerGabriele Ambrosetti with the use of a defensivefull-backLorenzo Stovini, who would cover for the former. Guidolin also utilised his players' versatility (such asGustavo Méndez, Zauli,Davide Belotti, andMassimo Beghetto), deploying them in different positions throughout the course of the season, depending on their opponent. When playing off the ball, Guidolin employed the use of heavy, aggressive pressing, like his main influence Sacchi; however, he did not imitate Sacchi's use of theoffside trap, preferring a deeperzona mista orgioco all'Italiana system defensively, which was a cross betweenman-to-man marking strategies – such as Italiancatenaccio – andzonal marking systems – such as the Dutchtotal football.[37]
During his time as head coach of Udinese, Guidolin was instead known for playing an aggressive, and attractive attacking style of football, primarily based on possession;[34][38][39][40][41][42] however, his team were also capable of creating chances and scoring from counter-attacks with few touches.[38][43] Despite being fast–paced, physical, and attacking-minded in their approach, his team were also known for their defensive solidity and flexibility (adopting several different formations, including the 3–4–1–2, 3–4–3, 3–4–2–1, 3–5–2, and 3–5–1–1), as well as their effective use ofwing-backsMauricio Isla andPablo Armero, the attacking play ofAntonio Di Natale andAlexis Sánchez, andGökhan Inler as adeep-lyingplaymaker, dictating play in midfield.[34][44][45] Udinese's performances and gameplay under his tenure drew praise in the media, and earned his side comparisons withPep Guardiola'sBarcelona.[46][47]
At Swansea, Guidolin also maintained an energetic, free–flowing approach based on ball possession and passing, in a similar manner to that used by several of his predecessors at the club,Roberto Martínez,Brendan Rodgers, andMichael Laudrup.[48][49][50][51]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Giorgione | 1 November 1988 | 7 June 1989 | 28 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 017.86 | |
| Treviso | 7 June 1989 | 10 June 1990 | 40 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 035.00 | |
| Fano | 10 June 1990 | 1 July 1991 | 40 | 13 | 16 | 11 | 032.50 | |
| Empoli | 1 July 1991 | 1 July 1992 | 40 | 12 | 21 | 7 | 030.00 | [52] |
| Ravenna | 1 July 1992 | 1 July 1993 | 44 | 24 | 15 | 5 | 054.55 | [53] |
| Atalanta | 1 July 1993 | 2 November 1993 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 033.33 | [54] |
| Vicenza | 1 July 1994 | 1 July 1998 | 165 | 65 | 52 | 48 | 039.39 | [55] |
| Udinese | 1 July 1998 | 1 July 1999 | 44 | 19 | 11 | 14 | 043.18 | [56] |
| Bologna | 30 October 1999 | 22 June 2003 | 148 | 49 | 44 | 55 | 033.11 | [57] |
| Palermo | 26 January 2004 | 1 July 2005 | 64 | 24 | 25 | 15 | 037.50 | [58] |
| Genoa | 1 July 2005 | 31 July 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | |
| Monaco | 4 October 2005 | 29 May 2006 | 40 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 040.00 | [59] |
| Palermo | 29 May 2006 | 23 April 2007 | 41 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 039.02 | [58] |
| Palermo | 15 May 2007 | 7 June 2007 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | [58] |
| Palermo | 26 November 2007 | 24 March 2008 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 026.32 | [58] |
| Parma | 30 September 2008 | 24 May 2010 | 75 | 32 | 26 | 17 | 042.67 | [60] |
| Udinese | 24 May 2010 | 20 May 2014 | 185 | 80 | 45 | 60 | 043.24 | [56] |
| Swansea City | 18 January 2016 | 3 October 2016 | 25 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 036.00 | [24][61] |
| Total | 1,012 | 389 | 310 | 313 | 038.44 | |||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
