| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1967-08-19)19 August 1967 (age 58) | ||
| Place of birth | Fossano, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1977–1979 | Fossanese | ||
| 1979–1980 | Saviglianese | ||
| 1980–1981 | Centallo | ||
| 1981–1983 | Cuneo | ||
| 1983–1985 | Torino | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1987 | Torino | 19 | (1) |
| 1987–1988 | Messina | 29 | (2) |
| 1988–1989 | Taranto | 32 | (3) |
| 1989–1990 | Triestina | 29 | (6) |
| 1990–1991 | Chievo | 32 | (8) |
| 1991–1993 | Cesena | 74 | (25) |
| 1993–1994 | Brescia | 33 | (6) |
| 1994–1995 | Napoli | 12 | (0) |
| 1995–1996 | Brescia | 16 | (2) |
| 1996–1998 | Atletico Catania | 40 | (8) |
| 1998 | Alessandria | 8 | (1) |
| 1998–2002 | Cuneo | 115 | (73) |
| 2002–2003 | Canavese | 21 | (11) |
| International career | |||
| 1985–1987 | Italy U21 | 2 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2005–2006 | Saluzzo | ||
| 2006–2007 | Casale | ||
| 2007–2008 | Pescara | ||
| 2008–2009 | Pro Patria | ||
| 2009–2010 | Crotone | ||
| 2010–2011 | Torino | ||
| 2011 | Torino | ||
| 2012–2013 | Lecce | ||
| 2013–2014 | Lecce | ||
| 2016 | Vicenza | ||
| 2018 | Vicenza | ||
| 2019 | Partizani | ||
| 2021–2022 | Pro Vercelli | ||
| 2022–2023 | Crotone | ||
| 2023 | Potenza | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Franco Lerda (born 19 August 1967) is an Italian football manager and a former player who played as aforward, most recently in charge ofSerie C clubPotenza.
Lerda began his career with theTorino youth system, at the age of 16, joining the first team during the1985–86 season. He made his professional debut with the club on 6 November 1985, coming on forJúnior in Torino's 3–1 defeat toHajduk in the return leg of the round of 16 of theUEFA Cup. He made hisSerie A debut on 24 November, in a 4–1 home win overPisa, coming on forSchachner. He remained with the club for two seasons, collecting 19 appearances, and scoring 1 goal. He subsequently played in the lower divisions withMessina,Taranto,Triestina (inSerie B),Chievo Verona (inSerie C1),Cesena, andBrescia (in Serie B once again). He helped Brescia to earn Serie A promotion during the1993–94 Serie B season, also winning theAnglo-Italian Cup with the club in 1994.[1]
The following season, after making two appearances with Brescia, he moved toNapoli, without being able to find the net, and subsequently returning to Brescia for the1995–96 Serie B season. He later spent a season and a half with Serie C1 sideAtletico Catania, narrowly missing out on Serie B promotion. He ended his career after playing withAlessandria inSerie C2,Cuneo andCanavese, inSerie D, and finally, withSaluzzo, in thePiedmont Eccellenza League, retiring after the 2003–04 season.[1]
On 19 November 1986, Lerda made his debut for theItaly national under-21 football team, in a 1–1 home draw againstSwitzerland. He scored his first goal for the Italy under-21 side on 11 February 1987, in a 2–1 away win overPortugal; these were his only two appearances for the under-21 side.[2]
Lerda had been the manager of a few clubs in lower divisions. In June 2010, he became manager ofTorino.[3]
On 9 March 2011, he was sacked by the Torino board and replaced byGiuseppe Papadopulo.[4] However, eleven days later Papadopulo was sacked and Lerda was reinstated as manager.[5] On 29 May 2011, he was once again sacked following the club's failure to secure a spot in theSerie A-playoffs.[6]
In June 2012, he became new manager ofLecce.[7] On 21 January 2013, he was sacked following a 3–1 defeat againstSan Marino despite the team being in 2nd place in theLega Pro Prima Divisione.[8]
He was reinstated as Lecce head coach on 24 September 2013, after the dismissal ofFrancesco Moriero. He was sacked on 27 December 2014 and replaced byDino Pagliari.[9]
On 15 March 2016, he became new manager ofSerie B sideVicenza.[10] He was dismissed in October 2016.
On 26 March 2018, he returned toVicenza, this time in theSerie C.[11]
On 17 June 2019, he became the new manager ofAlbanian clubPartizani. He was sacked on 15 December 2019 following two consecutive defeats.
On 7 December 2021, he was hired byPro Vercelli inSerie C.[12] He left the club on 25 May 2022 by mutual consent, after completing the season in seventh place and being successively eliminated byJuventus U23 in the second round of the promotion playoffs.[13]
On 30 May 2022,Crotone announced to have hired Lerda, who had already coached the Calabrians during the 2009–10 season, as their new head coach on a one-year deal, following the club's relegation to Serie C.[14] He was dismissed on 13 February 2023, leaving Crotone in second place in the league table.[15]
On 19 October 2023, Lerda was named new head coach of Serie C clubPotenza.[16] His experience at Potenza however turned out to be short-lived, as he was dismissed on 7 December 2023 following a home loss toTaranto.[17]