.jpg) Spalletti in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luciano Spalletti[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1959-03-07)7 March 1959 (age 66) | ||
| Place of birth | Certaldo, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Juventus (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1985 | Castelfiorentino [it] | 50 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Entella | 27 | (2) |
| 1986–1990 | Spezia | 120 | (7) |
| 1990–1991 | Viareggio | 29 | (1) |
| 1991–1993 | Empoli | 60 | (3) |
| Total | 236 | (13) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1993–1994 | Empoli | ||
| 1995–1998 | Empoli | ||
| 1998 | Sampdoria | ||
| 1999 | Sampdoria | ||
| 1999 | Venezia | ||
| 1999–2000 | Venezia | ||
| 2001 | Udinese | ||
| 2001–2002 | Ancona | ||
| 2002–2005 | Udinese | ||
| 2005–2009 | Roma | ||
| 2009–2014 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||
| 2016–2017 | Roma | ||
| 2017–2019 | Inter Milan | ||
| 2021–2023 | Napoli | ||
| 2023–2025 | Italy | ||
| 2025– | Juventus | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Luciano Spalletti (Italian pronunciation:[luˈtʃaːnospalˈletti]; born 7 March 1959) is an Italianfootball manager and former player who is the manager ofJuventus. He started his managerial career withEmpoli in 1993 before coaching clubs in Italy, including two spells withRoma, where he won two consecutiveCoppa Italia titles. Spalletti managedZenit St. Petersburg from 2009 to 2014, winning twoRussian Premier League titles.
Following two seasons in charge atInter Milan, Spalletti was appointed manager ofNapoli in 2021, where he won theSerie A in the2022–23 season before leaving the club in June 2023. In August 2023, he was appointed as coach of theItaly national team and led the team to qualify forUEFA Euro 2024, where they were eliminated in the round of 16. He was sacked as Italy coach in June 2025. In October of that year, he returned to club management as head coach of Juventus.
Born inCertaldo,Metropolitan City of Florence, Spalletti started his career as a semi-professional footballer in his mid-20s. Despite a relatively old age for a professional debut, he played for severalSerie C teams such asEntella,Spezia,Viareggio andEmpoli. After nearly a decade of lower-tier football in Italy, he retired in 1993 and remained at Empoli as a coach.
Spalletti's early career in management led him to struggling Empoli, where he served as head coach from July 1993 to June 1998.[3] He led theTuscan side to consecutive promotions from Serie C1 to the top-flightSerie A. Spalletti then coachedSampdoria from July 1998 to June 1999,[4] andVenezia from July to October 1999.[5] He attended theFIGC coaching school, at theCentro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano in 1998–99, graduating with a maximum mark of 110 cum laude; his thesis was entitled "The3–5–2 playing system".[6]
Spalletti had two spells as head coach atUdinese. The first was between March 2001 and June 2001,[7] the second between July 2002[7] and June 2005.[8] There was a period atAncona in between spells.[9] At Udinese, he really began to make an impact as a manager. During the2004–05 season, Spalletti guided Udinese to a sensational fourth-placed finish in Serie A, exceeding expectations and securing a spot in theUEFA Champions League. Spalletti became head coach ofRoma in June 2005.[8]
Such success for a traditionally unexceptional side with limited resources attracted the attention of Roma. TheGiallorossi had come off a disappointing season in which four different coaches had spells in charge of the club. Spalletti was tasked with bringing order to this chaotic side. After an uninspiring first half of the2005–06 season, he changed the team's tactics to a more offensive style rather than a defensive one. As a result, Roma climbed from 15th to 5th place in the table.[10] However, by the end of the season, Roma failed to reach fourth place, therefore failing to qualify for the Champions League. Spalletti did manage to help Roma reach the2006 Coppa Italia fFinal, but ultimately lost out on the title toInter Milan. Nonetheless, as a result of theCalciopoli scandal, Roma qualified for the2006–07 UEFA Champions League, as league championsJuventus were relegated, whileFiorentina andMilan both received point deductions for their involvement.
At the end of 2006, Spalletti was electedSerie A Coach of the Year.[10] In the following months, he led Roma until theChampions League quarter-final after a 2–0 victory overLyon at theStade Gerland in the first knockout round. The team succeeded in becoming the first team to defeatRoberto Mancini's Inter Milan in all competitions that year, emerging with a 1–3 result at theSan Siro, a match that theNerazzurri had to win to mathematically claim the2007Scudetto against the only credible rival they had in the championship. Roma would also win the2007 Coppa Italia final against Inter, with an aggregate score of 7–4; a resounding 6–2 in the first leg in Rome, followed by a narrow 2–1 defeat inMilan. It was the first important trophy in Spalletti's career, who had only won aCoppa Italia di Serie C with Empoli. But he was yet to add another piece of silverware to his cabinet, as Roma would again defeat Inter 0–1 in Milan in the opening fixture of the 2007–08 season to steal theirSupercoppa Italiana crown.[10]
In the 2007–08 Champions League first knockout round, Spalletti's Roma team became the first Italian team to defeatReal Madrid over two legs (2–1 in both ties inRome andMadrid) and consequently also became the first European side to record two victories over Real Madrid at theSantiago Bernabéu. In a repeat of the previous season's quarter-final, Roma were again eliminated from the Champions League by eventual winnersManchester United. However, they succeeded in their defence of the Coppa Italia, once again defeatingScudetto winners Inter in the2008 Coppa Italia final — a single match which Roma won 2–1.[10]
Spalletti faced a difficult2008–09 season with Roma, only managing to qualify for theUEFA Europa League with a sixth-place position in the league, after a struggling initial period that left theGiallorossi in the bottom half of the league for the first part of the Serie A season. The new season saw Spalletti struggling with a limited squad, weakened further by the sale ofAlberto Aquilani toLiverpool, and compounded by serious financial problems for the club. Roma started the season by taking part in two2009–10 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds, both easily won againstGent (10–2 on aggregate) andKošice (10–4 on aggregate). However, another poor start in the2009–10 Serie A season, with two consecutive defeats (2–3 toGenoa and 1–3, at home, to Juventus), prompted Spalletti to resign on 1 September 2009.[11][12]
In December 2009, it was confirmed Spalletti would joinRussian Premier League clubZenit Saint Petersburg on a three-year deal,[13] replacing interim coachAnatoli Davydov, with Italian coachesDaniele Baldini, Marco Domenichini and Alberto Bartali also joining the Russian club. In his first year, Zenit's board of directors expected Spalletti to win back the Premier League title, theRussian Cup, and progress past the group stage of the Champions League.
Zenit won theRussian Cup on 16 May 2010, defeatingSibir Novosibirsk in the final (having beatenVolga Tver in the quarter-final andAmkar Perm in the semi-final). After 16 matches in the 2010 Premier League, with 12 wins and four draws under Spalletti, Zenit reached 40 points, a new Russian Premier League record for points at that stage of the season. In the summer transfer window of 2010, Spalletti made his first signings: forwardAleksandr Bukharov and midfielderSergei Semak both came fromRubin Kazan, while defendersAleksandar Luković andBruno Alves joined from Udinese andPorto respectively. On 25 August 2010, Zenit lost its first match under Spalletti to French sideAuxerre and failed to advance to the2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage, though Zenit moved on to play in thegroup stage of the2010–11 UEFA Europa League.
On 3 October 2010, Zenit beatSpartak Nalchik to set another Russian Premier League record for most consecutive undefeated matches with 21 since the start of the league season. On 27 October 2010, Zenit suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of rivalsSpartak Moscow, seven matches short of finishing the championship undefeated. On 14 November, Zenit defeatedRostov and, two games before the end of the season, claimed the championship title, the first of Spalletti's coaching career. Additionally, Zenit advanced from the Europa League group stage in first place to the round of 16, where they defeated Swiss clubYoung Boys. On 6 March 2011, Zenit defeatedCSKA Moscow in theRussian Super Cup, winning Spalletti his third Russian trophy. On 17 March 2011, Zenit lost toTwente 2–3 on aggregate in the Europa League quarter-finals.
In the2011–12 UEFA Champions League, Zenit started thegroup stage in Group G alongside Porto,Shakhtar Donetsk andAPOEL. On 6 December 2011, Zenit finished the group stage in second place and, for the first time in club history, qualified for the springknockout phase of the Champions League. In the first leg againstBenfica, Zenit won 3–2 at home through two goals fromRoman Shirokov and one fromSergei Semak. However, Zenit lost 2–0 in the second leg and were eliminated from the competition. On 9 February, Spalletti signed a three-and-a-half-year contract extension to stay at Zenit until 2015. In April 2012, Zenit won their second-straight Premier League championship after defeatingDynamo Moscow.[14][15][16] After two trophy-less seasons, Spalletti was sacked on 10 March 2014.[17]
Spalletti was appointed manager of Roma for his second spell on 13 January 2016, after ex-managerRudi Garcia was sacked due to poor team performances.[18] On 21 February, Francesco Totti publicly criticized Spalletti due to his own lack of playing-time since returning from injury. As a result, Spalletti dropped Totti for Roma's 5–0 win overPalermo, causing an uproar among fans and the media.[19] After their initial disagreements, Spalletti began to use Totti as an immediate impact substitute, which proved to be an effective decision, as Totti rediscovered his form and contributed with four goals and an assist after coming off the bench in five consecutiveSerie A matches.[20][21] As a result, Spalletti was able to lead Roma from a mid-table spot to a third-place finish in Serie A, clinching theChampions League play-off spot.[22] On 30 May 2017, two days after finishing the2016–17 season in second place, Roma confirmed Spalletti had decided to leave the club by mutual consent. During his second stint with Roma, the team qualified for the Champions League for two consecutive seasons.[23]
On 9 June 2017, Spalletti was confirmed as the new manager of Inter after signing a two-year contract.[24][25] This came after he travelled toNanjing, China, to hold talks withZhang Jindong, managing director ofSuning Holdings Group, majority owner of Inter.[26][27] On 29 July, Spalletti won theInternational Champions Cup friendly tournament inSingapore after defeating Lyon,Bayern Munich andChelsea.[28] On 20 August, Spalletti won his first league match with Inter after defeating Fiorentina 3–0 at the San Siro.[29] On 26 August, he won his second match with Inter against his former club Roma, 1–3.[30] On 3 December, Inter took first place, after twelve victories and three draws, with a 5–0 win over Chievo Verona.[31] Inter retained their first place after a 0–0 draw against Juventus, thus becoming the only Italian team still undefeated after the first 16 weeks.[32]
On 20 May 2018, at their last game of the season, Inter defeatedLazio 2–3 to finish the league in fourth place, and therefore qualify for theUEFA Champions League for the first time in six years.[33][34] In August 2018, the club extended the contract of Spalletti, adding two more years to 2021.[35] In the 2018–19 season, the club again secured a hard-foughtUEFA Champions League finish on the last day of the competition. However, Spalletti was sacked on 30 May 2019,[36] following speculation of his future.
On 29 May 2021, after two years of inactivity, Spalletti was announced as the new head coach ofNapoli, replacingGennaro Gattuso.[37] In hisfirst season in the club,[38] he led Napoli to finish 3rd in Serie A table, securing Champions League qualification for the first time in 2 years.[39] In the summer of 2022, many experienced players left the team, including veteran defenderKalidou Koulibaly, club's all-time top goalscorerDries Mertens, midfielderFabián Ruiz and team captainInsigne.[40] To supplant their losses, the team in return brought in players such asGiacomo Raspadori,Khvicha Kvaratskhelia,Giovanni Simeone, andKim Min-jae.[41]
On 7 of September, Napoli began their Champions League season by defeating2021–22 finalists Liverpool 4–1.[42] On 4 October 2022, Napoli routedAjax 6–1 at theJohan Cruyff Arena, inflicting the worst defeat ever to the Dutch giant in European competitions.[43] Despite recording their first loss of the season away to Liverpool, on 1 November, Spalletti led Napoli to finish first in their group and qualify for the knockout rounds.[44] On 23 October, Napoli beat Roma 1–0, marking their eleventh straight victory across all competitions to match the club record set in 1986 withDiego Maradona, also going three points clear on top of the Serie A table.[45] On 13 January 2023, Napoli crushed rivals Juventus 5–1, the worst defeat for Juventus in Serie A since 1993, as well as Napoli's tenth consecutive home win in all competitions.[46]
On 21 January, Napoli defeated Salernitana 2–0, ensuring a twelve-point lead on the top of the Serie A table, and becoming the third side in the three points for a win era to have reached 50+ points in the first half of a single Serie A season, after Juventus in2013–14 and Inter in2006–07.[47] On 15 March, Napoli defeated German sideEintracht Frankfurt 3–0 (5–0 on aggregate) to advance to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in the club's history.[48] Napoli were eliminated in the next round by Milan following a 2–1 aggregate loss.[49] On 4 May, Spalletti led Napoli to win their third Serie A title ever, and their first since1990.[50] Afterwards, he requested a year-longsabbatical from Napoli, which the club granted him.[51][52]
On 18 August 2023, following the unexpected resignation ofRoberto Mancini, Spalletti was appointed manager of theItaly national team, formally effective from 1 September 2023, signing a three-year contract until 2026.[53] Italy had failed to qualify for the2022 FIFA World Cup under Mancini after a2022 World Cup qualification play-off defeat almost 18 months earlier.[54] On 9 September 2023, Spalletti coached his first match for Italy, a 1–1 away draw in aUEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match againstNorth Macedonia.[55] On 20 November 2023, he secured his first success in the new position, by coaching Italy to qualify forUEFA Euro 2024, after holdingUkraine to a goalless draw on neutral ground in Leverkusen; Italy advanced in their place by superior head-to-head record after finishing second in theirgroup behindEngland.[56]
On 15 January 2024, Spalletti placed second in the2023Best FIFA Men's Coach award, behind winnerPep Guardiola.[57] In their opening match at Euro 2024, Italy defeatedAlbania 2–1, then lost 1–0 toSpain, before securing a late 1–1 draw againstCroatia, which saw them advance to the round of 16 in second place behind group winners Spain, with four points.[58] Italy were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 following a 2–0 loss toSwitzerland, with Spalletti taking "responsibility" for Italy's early exit, commenting: "We failed because of my team selection, it is never down to the players." He also cited the limited time he had to prepare the team as a difficulty after taking over the role from Mancini in August 2023.[59] Although Spalletti was criticised by managers and pundits for Italy's poor performance throughout the competition,[60] with rumours of dressing room tensions, lack of leadership, and disagreements over training, tactics, and squad selection also negatively impacting the squad according toLa Repubblica,[61] Spalletti did not step down from his position following the tournament, and was later confirmed as Italy coach by the chief of the FIGC Gabriele Gravina.[62][63]
On 8 June 2025, following a 3–0 away loss againstNorway in Italy's first2026 World Cup qualification match, which considerably reduced the chances of direct qualification for the tournament, Spalletti held a press conference to announce he had been sacked from his role, but would stay in charge of Italy for the 9 June qualifier againstMoldova.[64][65]
On 30 October 2025, Spalletti was announced as head coach of Serie A sideJuventus until 30 June 2026 with option to extend the contract.[66]
Spalletti's favoured formation while in charge of Roma was the4–2–3–1 system, which used four defenders, two defensive midfielders, two wingers (both sides of the three), one attacking midfielder and one striker (Francesco Totti), who typically functioned also as an attacking midfielder in previous seasons. As such, the team played without any real striker, as Totti occupied what later came to be described as afalse-9 role, in a 4–6–0 formation.[67][68][69] This system proved effective for Roma upon its introduction during the 2005–06 season, as on 26 February 2006, Roma broke the Serie A record for most consecutive wins with a 2–0 victory overcity rivalsLazio, following an eleven-match winning streak that started in December 2005.[70] In this formation, he also usedSimone Perrotta – normally abox-to-box midfielder – in the unorthodox role of an atypicalfalseattacking midfielder, due to his energy and ability to make late runs, which complemented Totti's ability to provide throughballs to teammates; this decision also proved to be effective, with Perrotta scoring eight goals in the league during the2006–07 season, while Totti finished as thegolden boot winner with 26 goals.[71][72][73] The team's offensive play was based on fluid movement and quick passing to build-attacks, centred around the distribution of midfieldersDavid Pizarro andAlberto Aquilani.[74][75][76][77][78][79]
With Napoli, Spalletti also implemented an attacking-minded style, but instead used a4–3–3 formation. Regarding his tactical approach, he commented in October 2022: "Systems no longer exist in football; it's all about the spaces left by the opposition. You must be quick to spot them and know the right moment to strike, have the courage to start the move even when pressed."[80] In addition to his tactical prowess, Spalletti drew praise in the media for his ability to instill a positive team mentality and unity in the dressing room upon being appointed Italy manager.[81] In the lead-up to Euro 2024, he often used a fluid 4–3–3 formation, which could become a 4–2–3–1 formation, as well as the 3–4–2–1 and4–4–2 formations on occasion.[82][83][84] Prior to Italy's final warm-up games before the tournament, he expressed his desire to put together a team that had a fluid shape tactically, and versatile players who were capable of pressing opponents, building plays, and exploiting spaces, in contrast to Italy's historic reputation for defending well and then counter-attacking. In the final tournament, as was the case during qualifying, he used a fluid 4–2–3–1 formation in the opening two matches against Albania and Spain, which became a 3–4–2–1 at times, before switching to a 3–5–2 formation in the final group match against Croatia.[85][86] Following Italy's early exit from the tournament, however, certain pundits and managers questioned whether Spalletti's style was more suited to club football rather than international football.[87]
Spalletti and his wife Tamara have three children.[88] He owns a family farm inTuscany, on a ridge outsideMontaione.[89]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | Ref. | |||
| Empoli | 18 April 1994 | 14 June 1994 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 025.00 | [90] |
| 1 July 1995[3] | 30 June 1998[3] | 128 | 57 | 37 | 34 | 163 | 127 | +36 | 044.53 | [91][92] [93][94] | |
| Sampdoria | 1 July 1998[4] | 14 December 1998[4] | 23 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 32 | −9 | 034.78 | |
| 1 February 1999 | 30 June 1999 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 040.00 | ||
| Venezia | 1 July 1999[5] | 31 October 1999[5] | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 020.00 | |
| 29 November 1999 | 7 February 2000 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 030.77 | ||
| Udinese | 19 March 2001[7] | 30 June 2001[7] | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 19 | −6 | 018.18 | |
| Ancona | 28 December 2001[95] | 30 June 2002[95] | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 25 | +2 | 040.00 | [96] |
| Udinese | 1 July 2002[7] | 6 June 2005[8] | 122 | 53 | 32 | 37 | 165 | 142 | +23 | 043.44 | |
| Roma | 17 June 2005[8] | 1 September 2009[12] | 224 | 122 | 53 | 49 | 414 | 262 | +152 | 054.46 | |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 11 December 2009[13] | 10 March 2014[17] | 184 | 105 | 47 | 32 | 325 | 176 | +149 | 057.07 | |
| Roma | 13 January 2016 | 30 May 2017 | 75 | 50 | 11 | 14 | 171 | 83 | +88 | 066.67 | |
| Inter Milan | 9 June 2017 | 30 May 2019 | 90 | 45 | 26 | 19 | 141 | 75 | +66 | 050.00 | |
| Napoli | 29 May 2021 | 1 July 2023 | 96 | 62 | 16 | 18 | 198 | 89 | +109 | 064.58 | |
| Italy | 1 September 2023 | 9 June 2025 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 40 | 29 | +11 | 050.00 | |
| Juventus | 30 October 2025 | present | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 39 | 18 | +21 | 059.09 | |
| Total | 1,065 | 551 | 259 | 255 | 1,769 | 1,141 | +628 | 051.74 | |||
Empoli
Roma
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Napoli
Individual
|  | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
