Luciano Spalletti

Born in Certaldo on 7 March 1959, Luciano Spalletti is the current Head Coach of the Men’s National Team. The announcement was made by the FIGC on 18 August, following Roberto Mancini’s resignation.

Spalletti’s rise up to lead the National side began at Empoli in the 1993/94 season, the club where he ended his playing career a year earlier, taking charge of one of the Youth teams. From the start, his talent was recognised by the board, who entrusted him to become the first team’s caretaker manager six games before the end of the Serie C1 season following the sacking of Adriano Lombardi. He eventually guided them to safety in the relegation play-out stages. Another season would pass before he returned to the dugout for the 1995/96 season (following a year with the youth team): under his stewardship, Empoli won the Serie C Coppa Italia, promotion to Serie B (1996) and Serie A (1997) in consecutive years, and then achieved safety in their first year in the top flight (1998).

He then changed cities going from Empoli to Genoa, meeting back up with one of his Empoli prodigies, Vincenzo Montella, at Sampdoria, who had left Genoa for the Blucerchiati. After being fired in December, he was back managing them two months later, but was unable to stop the side from relegation despite an excellent back end of the season (21 points in 15 games).

Between 1999 and 2002, he remained in Serie A as head coach of Venezia (relegated), Udinese and Ancona (newly-promoted finishing in 8th spot), before going back to Udine in the summer of 2003. For three years, his Udinese team excelled both in the league and in Europe: 6th and 7th-placed finishes earned them UEFA cup qualification, and then Champions League qualificaton after finishing 4th (1994/95).

 

Spalletti, though, said his goodbyes to Friuli after receiving the call from Roma: in his first season there, he led them to a record eleven straight Serie A wins, ending the season in 5th place, before the “Calciopoli” enquiry sentences moved them up to 2nd. From that moment on, a rivalry between Roma and Inter began: the Nerazzurri beat the Giallorossi in the final to win the 2006 Coppa Italia. It was the same result a year later in the Supercoppa Italiana (4-3 from 0-3 down), as well as in the league (Roma again finishing second, 22 points behind Inter). But in the 2007 Coppa Italia final, it was Roma, this time, who lifted the trophy, Spalletti’s first-ever triumph.

In the Champions league, a thrilling run ended in dramatic fashion in the quarter-final second leg at Old Trafford (7-1), following a 2-1 win at the Olimpico. A year later, another two trophies came: the 2008 Supercoppa Italiana and the Coppa Italia, again beating Inter both times, who did, though, come out on top in the league winning the title by three points. In the Champions League, after knocking out Real Madrid in the round of 16, it was Man Utd again who stopped their European dream. In his 4th year, a defeat in the Supercoppa Italiana and elimination from the Champions League at the last-16 stage by Arsenal brought an end to Spalletti’s stay in the capital in September 2009.

After a successful time in Russia between 2010 and 2014, where he won two titles, one domestic cup and a charity shield, he returned to Roma to replace Rudi Garcia six years later for the 2015/16 season in January 2016, leading them to a 3rd-placed finish and a last-16 defeat to eventual Champions League winners that year, Real Madrid. A second-placed finish in 2017, collecting a record number of points (87) and goals scored (90), was not enough to save him his job and in the summer of 2017 he went to take charge of Inter. For two years, they fought at the top end of the table and qualified twice for the Champions League after sealing a 4th-place finish.

Following a two-year sabbatical, he was back in the hotseat for the 2021/22 season, joining Napoli: in his first season, they earned a Champions League place after finishing 3rd, before a triumphant year ended with them being crowned champions on 4 May 2023 in Udine (1-1), five games before the end of the season; it was the Club’s third league title and a first in 33 years (led by Bigon and Maradona). Furthermore, over the course of the season, he became the coach with the most Serie A wins under his belt (276), in the three-points-for-a-win era, and reached his 1000th game in charge as a head coach.

His only disappointment was Napoli’s Champions League defeat in the quarter-finals to AC Milan; it was the first time the Neopolitans had reached that stage of the competition. At the end of the season, though, Spalletti announced he was to step down and not continue his term in Naples, despite the Club triggering an extension to his contract.

His trophy successes include: one Scudetto (Napoli 2023), two Coppa Italia (Roma 2007 and 2008), one Supercoppa Italiana (Roma 2008), one Serie C Coppa Italia (Empoli 1996); two league titles in Russia (Zenit in 2010 and 2012), one Russian cup (2010), and one Russian charity shield (Zenit 2011). On a personal level, he won the 2004/05 Panchina d’Oro award, the AlC best coach award (2006, 2007), the Enzo Bearzot National award (2023) and the best Serie A coach awarded by the League association.

PLAYING CAREER. Coming through the ranks at Fiorentina and Cuoiopelli, he made his debut at the semi-professional level for Castelfiorentino. A year later, he joined Entella Bacezza, under the leadership of Gian Piero Ventura, finishing 5th in Serie C2. He then moved on to Spezia in 1986 (C1) for three seasons, before hanging up his boots at Empoli at the end of the 92/93 season.