 Pioli managingAl Nassr in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stefano Pioli[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1965-10-20)20 October 1965 (age 60)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Parma, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1979–1982 | Parma | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1984 | Parma | 42 | (1) |
| 1984–1987 | Juventus | 35 | (0) |
| 1987–1989 | Hellas Verona | 42 | (0) |
| 1989–1995 | Fiorentina | 154 | (1) |
| 1995–1996 | Padova | 4 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | Pistoiese | 14 | (1) |
| 1997–1998 | Fiorenzuola | 21 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Colorno | 20 | (3) |
| Total | 312 | (6) | |
| International career | |||
| 1985–1987 | Italy U21 | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1999–2001 | Bologna (U18) | ||
| 2001–2002 | Bologna (U20) | ||
| 2002–2003 | ChievoVerona (U20) | ||
| 2003–2004 | Salernitana | ||
| 2004–2006 | Modena | ||
| 2006–2007 | Parma | ||
| 2007–2008 | Grosseto | ||
| 2008–2009 | Piacenza | ||
| 2009–2010 | Sassuolo | ||
| 2010–2011 | ChievoVerona | ||
| 2011 | Palermo | ||
| 2011–2014 | Bologna | ||
| 2014–2016 | Lazio | ||
| 2016–2017 | Inter Milan | ||
| 2017–2019 | Fiorentina | ||
| 2019–2024 | Milan | ||
| 2024–2025 | Al-Nassr | ||
| 2025 | Fiorentina | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Stefano Pioli (born 20 October 1965) is an Italianfootballmanager and formerplayer who played as adefender.
Pioli has managed several clubs in Serie A, includingBologna,Lazio,Inter Milan andFiorentina. He most notably led AC Milan, whose previousscudetto was accomplished over a decade earlier, to the Serie A title in the2021–22 season. He was later awarded thePanchina d'Oro for best coach of the season. In2022–23, he returned Milan to the semi-finals of theUEFA Champions League before leaving the club at the end of the 2023–24 season.
Pioli, a native of Parma, began his playing career with his hometown team,Parma. Successively, he was signed byJuventus, with whom he made hisSerie A debut in 1984, winning the league title, theEuropean Cup, theEuropean Super Cup and theIntercontinental Cup during his three seasons with the club. After being sold toHellas Verona in 1987, Pioli moved toFiorentina in 1989, where he spent six years of his career winning theSerie B in the1993–94 season, before spending two seasons withPadova. After successive season-long spells inSerie C withPistoiese andFiorenzuola, he ended his career in 1999 withColorno ofEccellenza Emilia-Romagna (the sixth-highest level of Italian football at that time; the top level of the Emilia-Romagna regional league system), playing alongside his brother Leonardo.[3]
An elegant, tenacious, physical, and mobile defender, Pioli was capable of playing anywhere along the back-line, although he performed best as a man-marking centre-back, or "stopper," in Italian. Considered to be a promising and consistent player in his youth, his career was affected by numerous serious injuries.[4][5][6]
From 1999 to 2002 Pioli coachedBologna's youth team (winning a championship with Allievi Nazionali's team),[citation needed] andChievo's in 2002–03.[citation needed] In 2003–04, he was appointed as head coach ofSerie B clubSalernitana.[citation needed] He moved toModena, still of Serie B, in 2004.[citation needed]
In 2006, Pioli was named as Parma's head coach,[citation needed] therefore returning to his home city and marking his Serie A debut as a manager. However, he was sacked on 12 February 2007[citation needed] after a 3–0 loss toRoma which brought Parma down to second-last place and replaced byClaudio Ranieri.
On 11 September 2007, Pioli was unveiled as new head coach ofSerie B clubGrosseto, replacingGiorgio Roselli, who was sacked after three consecutive defeats in the starting three league matches,[7] and managed to lead the Tuscan minnows to an impressive mid-table finish in their debut season in the Serie B. He then served as head coach ofPiacenza for their2008–09 Serie B campaign.[8] In July 2009, he left Piacenza to joinSassuolo as new head coach of theneroverdi.
On 10 June 2010, Pioli was named head coach of Serie A club Chievo on a 12-month contract.[9]
On 2 June 2011, Pioli was named head coach of Serie A clubPalermo, but he was relieved of his duties just 90 days later.[10]
On 4 October 2011, Pioli was named new head coach of Bologna in Serie A, replacing the sackedPierpaolo Bisoli.[11] After two troublesome seasons with Bologna, both ended with the team struggling in the bottom half of the Serie A table but always escaping relegation, he was removed from his managerial duties on 8 January 2014, withDavide Ballardini appointed as his replacement.
On 12 June 2014, it was confirmed Pioli's appointment as new head coach ofLazio in place ofEdoardo Reja.[12] In his debut season at the club, he led Lazio to a third-place Serie A finish. On 11 June 2015, he was offered a new 2-year contract with an additional year option.[13]
On 3 April 2016, Pioli was sacked after a 4–1 home defeat tocity rivals Roma.[14]
On 8 November 2016, Pioli was appointed as the new head coach ofInter Milan on an 18-month contract.[15] On 20 November, Inter drew 2–2 againstAC Milan in a Serie ADerby della Madonnina match, Pioli's first competitive match as head coach of the club. He was sacked on 9 May 2017. Inter had won 12 of the starting 16 Serie A matches that Pioli was in charge of (draw with Milan, losses toNapoli, Juventus and Roma), but this was followed by two draws and five losses in their last seven Serie A matches prior to his sacking.[16]
On 6 June 2017, Pioli was named new head coach ofFiorentina. He signed for two years with another optional year.[17] Pioli was in charge of the team when on 4 March 2018 central defender and captainDavide Astori died unexpectedly; to honour the memory of the player, Pioli got a commemorative tattoo.[18] On 9 April 2019, Pioli resigned as manager.[19]
The day afterMarco Giampaolo's sacking,[20] on 9 October 2019, Pioli was appointed as the new coach ofAC Milan, on a deal to the end of the season.[21] Pioli's Milan finished the season in sixth place in Serie A. The team scored 63 goals in the competition, their highest total since 2013.[22] On 7 July 2020, Milan defeated Juventus 4–2. Milan scored four goals against Juventus in Serie A, last accomplished in March 1989, when the score was 4–0.[23] Milan last defeated Juventus in 2016.[24]
On 21 July, Pioli reached an agreement with Milan to extend his contract as head coach by two years, to June 2022.[25] On 17 October, Milan won 2–1 against Inter. Milan's last defeat of Inter in Serie A was in 2016. Milan last won four consecutive season-starters in Serie A in1995–96, whenFabio Capello was in charge. Milan scored in 24 consecutive Serie A games, last accomplished in 1973 (29).[26] On 6 December Milan beat Sampdoria 2–1, setting a new club record for goals scored in successive Serie A matches (30).[27]
Following a 2–2 draw withGenoa on 16 December, AC Milan were unbeaten in 24 league games: their longest run since 1993.[28] On 23 December, Milan beat Lazio 3–2, becoming the second side in the history ofEurope's top five leagues to have scored two or more goals in more than 15 successive games in a single calendar year (after Barcelona, 18 in 1948).[29] On 9 May 2021, Milan had their an away win against Juventus (3–0), last accomplished in 2011.[30] Three days later, Pioli's side beatTorino 7–0 in an away game, winning by a seven-goal margin, last accomplished againstUdinese (7–0) in June 1959.[31]
A 2–0 away win againstAtalanta on 23 May confirmed that Milan would finish second in the league, securing a return to theChampions League, last accomplished seven seasons earlier. Milan also set a new all-time record for away wins in a Serie A season, with 16; no side has ever achieved more in Europe's top five leagues in a single campaign. Real Madrid in 2011–12 and Manchester City in 2017–18 also achieved 16 away wins.[32] In theUEFA Europa League, Milan reached the round of 16, where they were eliminated byManchester United.[33]
As of August 2021, Pioli held the second highest win percentage in Serie A among Milan coaches, behind onlyLajos Czeizler.[34] On 3 October, Milan defeated Atalanta atGewiss Stadium 3–2, recording? successive away wins against Atalanta in Serie A, last accomplished in 2013.[35] On 31 October, with a 2–1 win against Roma, Milan became the fourth team in Serie A history to win 10 of their 11 season starter games, after Roma, Juventus (twice) and Napoli (twice).[36] The win also endedJosé Mourinho's run of 43 home games unbeaten in Serie A.[37]
In November, Pioli reached an agreement with the club to extend his contract until June 2023.[38] In December, his Milan side became the second team in Serie A history to win at least 17 away league games in a single calendar year (after Napoli, 18 in 2017).[39] In theChampions League, the team was knocked out at the group stage, finishing bottom of Group B behindLiverpool,Atlético Madrid andPorto.[40]
On 6 January 2022, when Milan defeated Roma 3–1, they won three consecutive league games against Roma last done in 1996.[41] On 5 February, Milan came back to beat archrivals Inter 2–1 in theDerby della Madonnina after trailing by 0–1; comeback last accomplished by Milan in the derby in 2004.[42] On 13 February after defeatingSampdoria, Milan had picked up 55 points in the league: in the three points-per-win era, only in2003–04 had they earned as many points after 25 games (64).[43]
On 6 March, Milan beat Napoli 1–0 atStadio Diego Maradona, moving to the top of the league and winning two consecutive away games against Napoli in Serie A last done in 1981. Milan had also picked up at least 60 points from the 28 season starter matchdays of Serie A last done in2011–12.[44] On 12 March, Milan defeatedEmpoli 1–0, reaching 63 points on the top of league table.[45] Seven days later, Milan beat Cagliari 1–0; with that win, Milan had scored at least one goal in 15 consecutive away matches in a single top-flight season for only the second time in their history, also doing so in1967–68 in Serie A.[46] Pioli's side sealed theScudetto on 22 May, the last day of the season, with a 3–0 win againstSassuolo. It was Milan's last league title since 2011, and Pioli's first-ever trophy. The team amassed 86 points in total, their best tally since2005–06.[47]
Pioli's tenure at Milan has brought him the praise of several Italian football personalities and pundits, such asAlberto Zaccheroni,Fabio Capello,Claudio Ranieri,Arrigo Sacchi andAdriano Galliani.[48][49][50][51][52]
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On 13 August 2022, Milan defeatedUdinese 4–2, securing three consecutive wins at the start of thecompetition for the first time in 26 seasons, last accomplished in 1996.[53] On 31 October, Milan announced that Pioli extended his contract until 30 June 2025.[54] On 8 March 2023, Milan beatTottenham 1–0 on aggregate, reachingChampions League quarter finals last done in the 2011–12 season.[55]
On 2 April, Milan squashed Napoli 4–0 atStadio Diego Armando Maradona, inflicting their worst defeat since 2007.[56] With that win, Milan won three successive matches in Naples, last done in 1951.[57] On 18 April, Milan beat Napoli 2–1 on aggregate following a 1–1 draw, reaching the Champions League semi-finals, last done in the 2006–07 season.[58] Milan eventually lost to city rivals Inter 3–0 on aggregate in the semi-finals. On 28 May, he led Milan to qualify for the Champions League for a third successive season following a 1–0 win at Juventus.[59]
Milan started Pioli's final season with an away win againstBologna on 21 August.[60] On 7 October, after a difficult win against Genoa, Milan stood at the top of the league table.[61] However, the team lost the lead in the league table after a 0–1 loss against Juventus on 22 October.[62]
Milan was knocked out of theChampions League group stage on 13 December, finishing third in the group and qualifying to the UEFA Europa League instead.[63] On 20 January 2024, after 3–2 win against Udinese, Pioli reached a milestone of 100 wins for Milan in the league, becoming the fifth manager to achieve the feat afterCarlo Ancelotti, Fabio Capello,Nereo Rocco andNils Liedholm.[64]
On 24 May 2024, AC Milan announced that Pioli would depart after the end of the2023–24 season.[65]
On 18 September 2024,Al Nassr announced that Pioli had signed a deal to coach the team after they dismissedLuís Castro. On 25 June 2025, it was announced that Pioli had been released with immediate effect as manager of the club.[66][67]
On 12 July 2025, Pioli returned to Fiorentina as head coach, marking his second spell at the club.[68]
His second stint as Fiorentina manager proved to be difficult from the very beginning, with theViola failing to win any of the first ten league games, leading to Pioli's demise on 4 November 2025, two days after a 0–1 home loss at the hands ofLecce left Fiorentina dead last in the table.[69]
Pioli usually uses a4–2–3–1 formation, or a3–5–2 formation, withfull-backs orwing-backs who actively take part in the team's attacking plays. During his time at Lazio, he often used a4–3–3 formation. Due to his passion for basketball, he sought to incorporate strategic elements of the sport into his tactical approach as a football manager.[70][71][72][73]
As a head coach ofAC Milan, Pioli initially made use of an archaicWM formation, also known as 3–2–2–3. Although presented officially as a 4-3-3, the formation featured the left full-back,Théo Hernandez, in a more advanced position, whereas the right full-back,Davide Calabria's, attacking presence was significantly limited. Another key feature of this formation was in the center, where two pairs of holding and attacking midfielders formed a square, supporting each other offensively and defensively.[74]
However, with the arrival ofZlatan Ibrahimović in January 2020, Pioli switched Milan's formation to his long favored 4–2–3–1, primarily in order to accommodate for the Swedish ageing yet prolific goalscorer, in which he would play up front without much of a defensive work other than pressing, alternating between the roles of a classical striker, a target forward, and a false 9.[75] The switch of formation also allowedHakan Çalhanoğlu, an attacking midfielder in a number 10 role, to return to his preferred position as a playmaker behind the main striker, out of which he had been playing for years in various other formations.[76][77]Ante Rebić andIsmaël Bennacer, the two high-profile new arrivals struggling to fit into theprevious coach's system, were given a few more opportunities to prove themselves; as a result, the former got to play in his favorite position as aleft winger and quickly topped the club's seasonal goalscoring chart, while the latter formed an efficient double pivot withFranck Kessié, who also significantly improved the quality of his performances.[78][79][80]
During the 2022–23 season at AC Milan, Pioli switched from 4–2–3–1 to 3–4–2–1 formation, forming a back-three ofPierre Kalulu,Fikayo Tomori, andMalick Thiaw, which helped the team play with a high defense line.[81]
Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Pioli once again changed the formation, this time opting for a fluid 4–3–3. With the change of formation, he also brought in a number of tactical innovations, particularly the role of team captainDavide Calabria, who as a right full back began to move in front of the team's pair of center backs, alongside deep midfielderRade Krunić on the left, thus making the team's shape look like 2–2–3–3 while in possession, with six primarily attacking players.[82][83]
Through his management career, Pioli has built a reputation as a coach who works well with young players, is a good motivator and who displays tactical flexibility.[84]
On 14 November 2020, Pioli, alongside his assistant Giacomo Murelli, tested positive forCOVID-19 amid itspandemic in Italy.[85] While in quarantine, Pioli continued to be in charge of the team viaZoom and with the help of another member of his coaching staff,Daniele Bonera.[86] Despite these setbacks, Milan had a 3–1 away victory over Napoli in Serie A and a 1–1 away draw withLille in Europa League.
Pioli has a son, Gianmarco, who is part of his coaching staff at Milan, working as a match analyst.[87]
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| Season | Club | League | National Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comp | Apps | Goals | Comp | Apps | Goals | Comp | Apps | Goals | Comp | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 1982–83 | Parma | Serie C | ? | ? | CI-C | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | ? | ? |
| 1983–84 | Serie C | ? | ? | CI+CI-C | ?+? | ?+? | - | - | - | - | - | - | ? | ? | |
| Total | 42 | 1 | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | 42+ | 1+ | |||||
| 1984–85 | Juventus | Serie A | 14 | 0 | CI | 7 | 1 | EC | 3 | 0 | USC | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| 1985–86 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | CI | 3 | 0 | EC | 4 | 0 | IC | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 1986–87 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | CI | 3 | 0 | EC | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 57 | 1 | |||||
| 1987–88 | Hellas Verona | Serie A | 10 | 0 | CI | ? | ? | UC | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 11+ | 0+ |
| 1988–89 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | CI | 9 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 41 | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 0 | 9+ | 0+ | 1 | 0 | - | - | 52+ | 0+ | |||||
| 1989–90 | Fiorentina | Serie A | 26 | 1 | CI | ? | ? | UC | 10 | 0 | - | - | - | 36+ | 1+ |
| 1990–91 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | CI | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14+ | 0+ | |
| 1991–92 | Serie A | 30 | 0 | CI | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 30+ | 0+ | |
| 1992–93 | Serie A | 31 | 0 | CI | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 31+ | 0+ | |
| 1993–94 | Serie B | 31 | 0 | CI | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 31+ | 0+ | |
| 1994–95 | Serie A | 24 | 0 | CI | 6 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 30 | 0 | |
| Total | 156 | 1 | 6+ | 0+ | 10 | 0 | - | - | 172+ | 1+ | |||||
| 1995–96 | Padova | Serie A | 1 | 0 | CI | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| 1996–97 | Serie B | 3 | 0 | CI | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3+ | 0+ | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | 4+ | 0+ | |||||
| 1996–97 | Pistoiese | Serie C | 14 | 1 | CI-C | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14+ | 1+ |
| 1997–98 | Fiorenzuola | Serie C | 21 | 0 | CI-C | ? | ? | - | - | - | - | - | - | 21+ | 0+ |
| Career total | 314+ | 3+ | 28+ | 1+ | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 362+ | 4+ | |||||
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Salernitana |  | 8 June 2003 | 13 June 2004 | 51 | 16 | 14 | 21 | 42 | 58 | −16 | 031.37 |
| Modena | | 15 June 2004 | 22 January 2006 | 71 | 26 | 25 | 20 | 88 | 74 | +14 | 036.62 |
| Modena | | 8 February 2006 | 5 June 2006 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 10 | +14 | 062.50 |
| Parma | | 5 June 2006 | 12 February 2007 | 32 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 31 | 51 | −20 | 028.13 |
| Grosseto | | 11 September 2007 | 11 June 2008 | 39 | 10 | 19 | 10 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 025.64 |
| Piacenza | | 11 June 2008 | 5 June 2009 | 43 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 48 | 49 | −1 | 032.56 |
| Sassuolo | | 12 June 2009 | 9 June 2010 | 47 | 20 | 16 | 11 | 66 | 46 | +20 | 042.55 |
| Chievo | | 10 June 2010 | 2 June 2011 | 41 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 031.71 |
| Palermo | | 2 June 2011 | 31 August 2011 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 000.00 |
| Bologna | | 4 October 2011 | 7 January 2014 | 97 | 32 | 28 | 37 | 116 | 129 | −13 | 032.99 |
| Lazio | | 12 June 2014 | 3 April 2016 | 91 | 44 | 20 | 27 | 148 | 103 | +45 | 048.35 |
| Inter Milan | | 8 November 2016 | 9 May 2017 | 27 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 051.85 |
| Fiorentina | | 6 June 2017 | 9 April 2019 | 74 | 27 | 25 | 22 | 115 | 92 | +23 | 036.49 |
| AC Milan | | 9 October 2019 | 25 May 2024 | 240 | 130 | 58 | 52 | 421 | 270 | +151 | 054.17 |
| Al-Nassr |  | 18 September 2024 | 25 June 2025 | 49 | 29 | 8 | 12 | 115 | 55 | +60 | 059.18 |
| Fiorentina | | 12 July 2025 | 4 November 2025 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 18 | +0 | 028.57 |
| Career Total | 934 | 396 | 260 | 278 | 1,383 | 1,085 | +298 | 042.40 | |||
Parma
Juventus[88]
Fiorentina
AC Milan
Individual
