Luciano Spalletti has won the 32nd edition of the Panchina d’oro. The Azzurri Head Coach was voted by his colleagues as the Best Coach of 2022/23 for guiding Napoli to their third-ever Scudetto victory.

“I’ll begin with the inevitable thank yous: firstly, to my players, then to all the collaborators, Napoli as a club and as a city that helped us to win this Scudetto” commented Spalletti when receiving the award from FIGC President, Gabriele Gravina, and the President of the Technical Sector, Demetrio Albertini. After the voting was held this morning, the Head Coach came out with the most votes from his colleagues (42 votes). Behind him was Simone Inzaghi with 6 votes and in third place was Stefano Pioli with 3 votes. The Azzurri Head Coach concluded, addressing the coaches in the audience: “I have to say thank you to all of you who are sources of inspiration. I started out going to work with my brother who brought me my bag and I exchanged it for school books, now I am in paradise coaching the Italian National team. In a difficult moment for Italian football, we can always boast coaches of the highest level, also in the top European leagues. Receiving the Panchina d’Oro from top-level colleagues means receiving recognition from some of the best coaches in the world, it’s the highest award I could aspire to, and I wish everyone could win. This pushes me to be a better coach in the future”. For Luciano Spalletti, it is the second Panchina d’Oro of his career after winning 18 years ago for his work at Udinese in 2004/05.

Opening the ceremony, Gabriele Gravina spoke following a screening of a video tribute to Gigi Riva: “This is a huge loss that has touched the entire football family. Gigi Riva was an honest and determined man. In his memory, we should all take inspiration, especially from his great ability to be present and determined without ever taking credit for himself, because his friends, teammates, and squad always came first”. Gravina then emphasised: “It is a great pleasure to see you all here today for this occasion of friendship and exchange. This is the spirit of the Panchina d’Oro: I will never tire of repeating it, the coach plays a central role in our system, but he has become even more complex. It is a guiding role that must show leadership and responsibility in every moment, not just on the pitch”.

Host and president of the Technical Sector, Demetrio Albertini, then added: “This is Renzo Ulivieri’s home and it will always be, we await him with warmth. Today we have my old coaches and other players who were my teammates present: over these years, as a Technical Sector, we have widened the selection criteria for entering the coaching courses, aiming to enrich each area with the course from the Head of the Youth Sector. Our world must continue to widen and come into contact with others: this is the oly way to improve our football. And for this reason, I am happy that Cucinelli is here as a professor today”.

NOT JUST SERIE A. In the morning, ahead of the course for coaching professionals that saw an excellent set of teachers such as the entrepreneur and stylist Brunello Cucinelli, followed by Spalletti’s lesson in the afternoon, the technical staff were asked to vote on the best coach of last season from the Men’s Serie B and Serie C (all the other categories were voted for online in the last few days).

GROSSO. Fabio Grosso won the Panchina d’Argento for the best Men’s Serie B coach last season.

VIVARINI. The best coach for the Men’s Serie C went to Vincenzo Vivarini.

SPECIAL AWARD. Alberto Bollini received a special Panchina d’Oro award for his work with the Azzurri U19 champions of Europe after 19 years.

Emiliano Del Duca will also receive a special Panchina d’Oro award in the coming months.

WOMEN. Alessandro Spugna received the Panchina d’Oro for the Women’s Serie A for his work at Roma. 

The Panchina d’Argento went to Salvatore Colantuono.

Manuele Tesse also collected her Panchina d’Argento award from 2020/21.

It was a moving moment when AIAC Vice President, Pierluigi Vossi, upon awarding the Panchina d’Argento, spared a thought for Renzo Ulivieri who has been hospitalised for over two months.

FUTSAL. The Men’s Panchina d’Oro went to Salvatore Samperi. The women’s award went to Gianluca Marzuoli, his third-ever.

FAVINI AWARD. Roberto Samaden won the award for best head of a Youth Sector.

DETAILS OF THE VOTE

Panchina d’Oro
Luciano Spalletti (Napoli, 42 votes)
Simone Inzaghi (Inter, 6 votes)
Stefano Pioli (Milan, 3 votes)

Panchina d’Argento
Fabio Grosso (Frosinone, 22 votes)
Claudio Ranieri (Cagliari, 16 votes)
Alberto Gilardino (Genoa, 6 votes)

Panchina d’Oro Serie C
Vivarini (Catanzaro, 35 votes)
Luciano Foschi (Lecco, 8 votes)
Aimo Diana (Reggiana, 5 votes)

Panchina d’Oro women
Alessandro Spugna (Roma, 18 votes)
Gianpiero Piovani (Sassuolo, 4)
Rita Guarino (Inter, 3)

Panchina d’Argento women
Salvatore Colantuono (Cittadella, 8 votes)
Biagio Seno (Napoli, 3)
Massimiliano Catini (Lazio, 3)

Panchina d’Oro men– Futsal*
Salvatore Samperi (Feldi Eboli)

Panchina d’Oro women– Futsal*
Gianluca Marzuoli (Bitonto)

*Voting handled by the Divisione Calcio a 5

‘Mino Favini’ Award – Best head of a Youth Sector
Roberto Samaden (Inter, 5 votes)
Vincenzo Vergine (Roma, 3)
Francesco Palmieri (Sassuolo, 3)
Angelo Carbone (Milan, 3)

NOTE FOR THE MEDIA: at the following links it is possible to download images from the Panchina d'Oro awards ceremony and backstage, as well as the video of Spelletti receiving his award.