Alberto Malesani

Alberto Malesani (Italian pronunciation: [alˈbɛrto maleˈzaːni]; born 5 June 1954) is an Italian football manager and former player. As a manager, he is mostly remembered for his successful spell with Parma during the late 1990s, with whom they won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the Supercoppa Italiana.

Alberto Malesani

Malesani with Bologna in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Alberto Malesani
Date of birth	(1954-06-05) 5 June 1954 (age 69)
Place of birth	Verona, Italy
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Audace S. Michele
1970	Vicenza
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Audace S. Michele
Managerial career
1987–1990	Chievo (junior)
1990–1991	Chievo (youth)
1991–1993	Chievo (assistant)
1993–1997	Chievo
1997–1998	Fiorentina
1998–2001	Parma
2001–2003	Verona
2003–2004	Modena
2005–2006	Panathinaikos
2007	Udinese
2007–2008	Empoli
2009–2010	Siena
2010–2011	Bologna
2011	Genoa
2012	Genoa
2013	Palermo
2014	Sassuolo
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Early career and breakthrough at Chievo

Malesani career as player was mostly spent on a Veronese amateur team Audace S. Michele, where he obtained a promotion from Serie D to Serie C in 1976–77, appearing fourteen times on that season.^[1] He retired from playing football at the age of 24, and worked at Canon in Amsterdam, where he studied the Ajax Amsterdam total football training methods.^[2] His passion for coaching was so great, that on his honeymoon, he decided to go to Barcelona in order to watch Johan Cruyff's coaching sessions at FC Barcelona.

Malesani left his job at Canon in 1990 order to pursue a coaching career at Serie C1 team Chievo for the Allievi youth squad. In 1991, he is assistant of head coach Carlo De Angelis in the first team, and in 1993 he becomes head coach himself. His first season as head coach ended in a historical promotion to Serie B for then-unknown Chievo.

Fiorentina, Parma and UEFA Cup triumph

Malesani left Chievo in 1997, after three Serie B seasons and a narrowly missed promotion in the Serie A league in order to become Fiorentina's boss, in what was his first stint in the Italian top flight.

A good Fiorentina season convinced Parma to appoint Malesani as new head coach in 1998, where he won a Coppa Italia, a UEFA Cup, an Italian Super Cup and obtained two fourth places before being sacked during the 2000–01 season.^[3][4]

From Verona to Panathinaikos and Udinese

After losing his job at Parma, Malesani then coached Verona^[5] and Modena, failing to save the clubs from relegation in both cases; successively he moved abroad to coach Greek side Panathinaikos. Panathinaikos remains the club with the highest percentage of wins in Malesani's career to date (60%).

Malesani was appointed coach of Udinese in January 2007, as replacement for Giovanni Galeone. He led his side to tenth place in the 2006–07 Serie A final table, only seven points far from relegation, being not confirmed for the following season. On 27 November 2007 he was unveiled as Empoli's new head coach, replacing Luigi Cagni.^[6] He was axed on 31 March 2008 following a 2–0 home defeat to U.C. Sampdoria which left Empoli down in last place in the league table.^[7]

From Siena to Bologna

On 23 November 2009, he was appointed as the new head coach of Siena, replacing Marco Baroni.^[8] On 21 May 2010, was released by Siena.^[9]

On 1 September 2010, he signed a one-year contract for Bologna.^[10] After a successful season which saw his club finish in 16th place, six points clear of relegation, despite a three-point deduction for tax problems and running feuds over the club's ownership, Malesani was replaced by Pierpaolo Bisoli on 26 May 2011.^[11]

Genoa

On 19 June 2011, Genoa officially announced that Malesani would be the new first team head coach.^[12] However, after Genoa was defeated 6-1 by Napoli, Malesani was fired.^[13] He returned to Genoa on 2 April 2012, taking over from Pasquale Marino who had previously replaced him only to be sacked a few months later.^[14] His second stint as Genoa boss lasted however only twenty days, as he was sacked once again on 22 April after a 1–4 home loss to Siena that left Genoa one point shy of relegation, and led to massive protests from Genoa fans during the game.^[15]

Palermo

On 5 February 2013, Malesani was appointed as the manager of Palermo.^[16]

However, after three matches in charge, on 24 February 2013 Malesani was relieved from his duties as the manager.^[17]

Sassuolo

On 29 January 2014, it was announced Malesani had agreed to take over as new manager of Serie A team Sassuolo.^[18]

Controversy

Hellas Verona

On 18 November 2001, after winning the first historical Serie A derby between Hellas Verona F.C. and Chievo Verona with the result of 3–2, Malesani wildly ran and celebrated in front of the tiers reserved to Verona supporters, even getting on his knees.^[19] His behaviour was criticized, but Malesani fought back during Monica Vanali's post-match interview, arguing about his colleagues using stock phrases, claiming his managerial wins and defending his conduct, which he had anticipated to the opponent's manager Gigi Delneri.^[20]

Tutti là così, che fumano, che stanno fermi, che fanno "Attenti"! Ma dai, basta! (...) Il problema è questo: nel calcio - no? - oggigiorno, bisogna essere finti, bisogna essere fatti proprio con- di plastica, essere così, guarda! [Imitating a mannequin] Intervistami, Monica! Eccolo qua! Dai, fammi una domanda! (...) L'ultimo allenatore in Europa che son stato che ha vinto, dighelo, che se lo ricorda, nessuno lo dice! Mai uno, in due anni, Monica, mai uno che l'ha detto! (...) Mai 'na voce fora dal coro, mai una, mai una che dica: "Ma sì, Malesani, corri cazzo, correte allenatori!" Ma basta, è vergognoso! (...) Davanti a una platea gli ho detto: "Gigi, non arrabbiarti, se vinco, vado sotto la curva!"

— [Managers] are all like that, smokers, still, on their toes! Come on, stop it! (...) The problem is the following: in the football world - right? - nowadays, you need to be a pretender, you need to be made with- of plastic, to be like this, look at me! [Imitating a mannequin] Interview me, Monica! Here it is! Come on, ask me a question! (...) The last [Italian] manager winning in Europe, tell them, remind that, no one says that! No one, in two years, no one said that! (...) Never a lone voice, not a single one, never one saying: "All right, Malesani, fucking run, run you managers!" Stop it, it's a shame! (...) In front of an audience, I told him: "Gigi, don't get angry, if I win, I 'll go celebrating in front of the [Verona] tiers!"

Panathinaikos

On 16 December 2005, after a disappointing 2–2 draw against Iraklis, Malesani held a roaring press conference. Tired of the criticisms he and Panathinaikos had received for some poor performances both from press and supporters, he defended his hard work and dedication, as well as the club's owner Giannis Vardinogiannis, in front of the journalists.^[21][22][23]

Perché ci deve essere sempre un resp- un deficiente di turno qua, che paga per tutti cazzo? 12 anni, 24 allenatori: eh cazzo sarà mica sempre l’allenatore qua che deve pagare? Sempre l’allenatore? I tifosi diano una mano alla squadra oggi, invece di contestarla, che sono giovani, abbiamo fatto una squadra- diano una mano! Abbiano i coglioni di dare una mano alla squadra! Io son là 24 ore al giorno io, 24 ore al giorno sono là io, tutti i giorni cazzo! Non è possibile una roba del genere, vergognatevi cazzo! E sono arrabbiato non perché ho pareggiato, sono arrabbiato perché è uno schifo ‘sta roba qua! Io non ho mai visto una roba del genere! Ma come- dove siamo cazzo? Cos’è diventato il calcio, una giungla cazzo? No, no, no, calma! E ridono! Cosa ridete, cosa? Vi divertite a scrivere cosa dopo? Cosa ridete che? Cosa ridete cazzo? Cosa ridete? Cosa ridete? Abbiate rispetto della gente! Con voi bisogna dire bugie e fare i ruffiani, come coi tifosi: io non lo sono cazzo! Ok? Io guardo tutti in faccia, tutti, dal primo all’ultimo, perché sono serio cazzo, vado a lavorare con serietà! No, no, parlo io adesso, finita qua! Cazzo! Parole? Parole di che? Dopo quattro mesi che giochi a calcio, parole! Ma fatemi un piacere, dai, su, cazzo! Fatemi un piacere! È ora di finirla qua, state calme tutti cazzo, state calmi! Non ho mai visto una roba del genere! Tutti presuntosi, ironici, ridono: “Ah eccolo, arriva il scemo di turno!” Qua si fanno le cose seriamente cazzo! (...) A me non me ne frega neanche se m’ammazzano, perché la coscienza ce l’ho a posto cazzo, lavoro 24 ore al giorno, fatela finita cazzo! Fatela finita! E domande del cazzo sempre! E la pubblico e qua e là! Si lavora, lasciate Mr. Varidoianis [right spelling: Vardinogiannis], ringraziate Mr. Varidoianis! Ringraziatelo cazzo! ‘Na brava persona! E aiutatelo Mr. Varidoianis cazzo! Non contestarlo il pubblico, cosa contesta che il pubblico, cosa vuoi contestare cazzo? Cosa contesta? Varidoianis? Ma se se ne- dopo se se ne va vedremo dopo cosa succede cazzo! Cosa contestiamo, Varidoianis qua? Ma dai, su, figa, su, basta!

— Why there always needs to be a resp- a moron here, being a fucking scapegoat? 12 years, 24 managers: will the manager always be the fucking scapegoat here? Always the manager? The supporters should give the team a hand instead of protesting, as [the players] are young, we built a team- help them out! Be so fucking brave to give the team a hand! I'm there 24 hours a day, I'm there 24 hours a day, every fucking day! Something like this is not possible, fucking shame on you! And I'm not angry because I tied the match, I'm angry because all of this is disgusting! I've never seen something like this! How- where are we? What has football become, a fucking jungle? No, no, no, be quiet! And they laugh! What are you laughing at, what? What do you enjoy writing then? What are you laughing at? What are you fucking laughing at? What are you laughing at? What are you laughing at? Respect people! One needs to tell lies and be a pander with you, I'm not like that, fuck! Ok? I look straight at everyone, everyone, from first to last, as I'm fucking serious, I go working seriously! No, no, now it's my turn, you're done! Fuck! Words? Words about what? After 4 months playing football, words! Don't be ridiculous, come on, fuck! Don't be ridiculous! It's time to cut it out, be quiet you all, be quiet! I've never seen something like this! Everyone being cocky, ironic, laughing: "Here he is, the new moron has come!" We do things fucking seriously here! (...) Should one even murder me, I don't care, because my conscience is fucking clear, I work 24 hours a day, fucking stop it! Stop it! And always idiot questions! The supporters, this way and that! We work, give a break to Mr. Varidoianis [right spelling: Vardinogiannis], give thanks to Mr. Varidoianis! Fucking give thanks to him! A nice person! And fucking help Mr. Varidoianis out! The supporters shouldn't blame him, what do they argue about, what the fuck do they argue about? What do they argue about? Varidoianis? If he leav- after he leaves we'll see what fucking happens then! What do we argue about here, Varidoianis? Come on, fuck, cut it out!

Siena

On 9 January 2010, after losing 4-3 a dramatic match at San Siro stadium against the Inter team which went on winning the treble, Malesani contested the foul leading to the free-kick Inter scored for the temporary 3-3. In particular, Malesani claimed that small teams have no protection in Serie A and big teams take advantage of that.^[24][25]

On 24 January 2010, after a 1–1 home draw against Cagliari, Siena President Massimo Mezzaroma declared his disappointment for the team performances in front of TV journalists. Following this statement, RAI host Enrico Varriale welcomed Malesani in the post-match interview calling him "allenatore che sta un po' sulla graticola" (Italian for "manager risking his job") and anticipated that Mezzaroma would have phoned him later. Malesani was left surprised and deeply embittered, especially because the discussion had immediately focused on off-the-pitch topics. He then reminded that Mezzaroma had said good things about him and that he was doing everything he could for the team, underlining the upsides of the draw.^[26][27]

Genoa

On 1 December 2011, Malesani got very annoyed by the journalists calling him "mollo" (Italian for "limp"). Consequently, he focused his press conference on proving his motivation and skills.^[28]

Demotivato, mollo, ma che mollo? Ma che- cosa dite? Mollo che? Ma che mollo? Ma quale mollo? Cioè cosa vuol dire "mollo" qua? Non capisco io. (...) Se uno resiste a 21 anni a questi livelli qua, non credo che sia tanto mollo. Un po' di rispetto anche lì! Che mollo? Siete molli voi quando dite quel- queste cose qua! Perché vi fa comodo dire 'ste cose qua, che uno è mollo! (...) Se sei mollo, non vai da nessuna parte, ok? Mollo non lo sono, mollo saranno gli altri! (...) Qual è il problema? Perché uno dice "mollo"? Ma mollo che? Ma siamo pazzi? (...) Avete vist- avete sentito una volta che mi son lamentato? "Il mollo"? Avete sentito "il mollo" che si lamenta? No, vuol dire che non son mollo. (...) Litigo a casa, litigo con tutti, non son mollo neanche qua. Anzi, sono più nervoso di tanti altri magari. (...) Io son fatto così, son un coraggioso, non sono un mollo.

— Demotivated, limp, me limp? Wha- What are you saying? Me limp? Me limp? Me limp? What does "limp" mean here? I don't get it. (...) If one manages to work for 21 years at this level, I don't think that he's so limp. A little bit of respect even there! Me limp? You are limp when you say things like thi- that! Because saying this kind of things, namely that I'm limp, is convenient for you! (...) If you're limp, you go nowhere, ok? I'm not limp, others could be limp! (...) What's the problem? Why does one say "limp"? Me limp? Are we crazy? (...) Have you see- have you heard me complaining once? "The limp one"? Have you heard "the limp one" complaining? No, you haven't, it means I'm not limp. (...) I fight at home, I fight with everyone, I'm not limp neither there. Actually, I'm more nervous than many others perhaps. (...) I'm like this, I'm brave, I'm not limp!

Managerial statistics

As of 2 March 2014^[29]

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Chievo		1 June 1993	17 June 1997	161	56	66	39	182	149	+33	034.78
Fiorentina		17 June 1997	30 June 1998	40	18	15	7	74	41	+33	045.00
Parma		30 June 1998	8 January 2001	126	63	33	30	213	130	+83	050.00
Verona		4 July 2001	10 June 2003	77	23	23	31	88	101	−13	029.87
Modena		10 June 2003	22 March 2004	30	6	10	14	25	39	−14	020.00
Panathinaikos		17 February 2005	15 May 2006	52	31	9	12	82	52	+30	059.62
Udinese		16 January 2007	4 June 2007	19	6	5	8	30	32	−2	031.58
Empoli		26 November 2007	31 March 2008	20	5	4	11	22	32	−10	025.00
Siena		23 November 2009	21 May 2010	26	6	7	13	29	47	−18	023.08
Bologna		1 September 2010	26 May 2011	40	13	11	16	42	56	−14	032.50
Genoa		19 June 2011	22 December 2011	18	8	3	7	26	29	−3	044.44
Genoa		2 April 2012	23 April 2012	3	0	2	1	3	6	−3	000.00
Palermo		5 February 2013	24 February 2013	3	0	3	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Sassuolo		29 January 2014	3 March 2014	5	0	0	5	3	9	−6	000.00
Total				620	235	191	194	821	725	+96	037.90

Honours

Managerial

Chievo (1993–1997)

• Serie C1: 1993–94

Parma (1998–2001)^[3]

• Coppa Italia: 1998–99
• UEFA Cup: 1998–99
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1999

See also

• List of UEFA Cup winning managers

References

1. (in Italian) HELLASTORY.net | La Scheda di Alberto Malesani
2. Alberto Malesani – l'antipersonaggio (la biografia)
3. Sumeet Paul (7 October 2015). "Malesani bids for UEFA Cup in Parma auction" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
4. Dave Taylor (5 March 2015). "When Parma ruled Europe". Football Italia. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
5. (in Italian). Hellas Verona FC. 8 February 2002. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
6. "Empoli axe Cagni". Football Italia. 26 November 2007. from the original on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
7. "L'Empoli licenzia Malesani. In panchina torna Cagni" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
8. "Raggiunto l'accordo con Alberto Malesani" (in Italian). AC Siena. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2009. ^{[dead link]}
9. "SportReggio | Recensioni, Prezzi, Classifiche e News". SportReggio (in Italian). Retrieved 15 September 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}
10. Malesani: “Finalmente sulla panchina del Bologna”
11. Serie A - Bologna dump Malesani for Bisoli
12. "ALBERTO MALESANI NUOVO ALLENATORE" (in Italian). Genoa C.F.C. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
13. http://www.chron.com/sports/article/Genoa-fires-coach-Malesani-hires-Marino-2420033.php ^{[dead link]}
14. "COMUNICATO STAMPA". Genoa CFC. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
15. . Città di Genova. 22 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
16. "Official: Malesani joins Palermo | Football Italia". football-italia.net. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
17. [MALESANI SACKED, GASPERINI RECALLED] (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 24 February 2013. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
18. "Malesani tasked with reviving Sassuolo fortunes". UEFA.com. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
19. "18 Novembre 2001, Hellas Verona-Chievo 3-2. Il primo derby in Serie A ai gialloblù di Malesani" (in Italian).
20. "18 NOVEMBRE 2001 – VERONA-CHIEVO, MALESANI E QUEL 'DIGHELO MONICA!'" (in Italian). 18 November 2020.
21. "Malesani, una furia scatenata" (in Italian).
22. "Storie: Malesani, nel suo storico sfogo, aveva completamente ragione" (in Italian).
23. "La controversa odissea greca di Alberto Malesani al Panathinaikos" (in Italian).
24. "Inter-Siena 4-3, Malesani sbotta in diretta tv: "Siete sempre dalla parte del più forte"" (in Italian).
25. "Samuel salva l'Inter, il Siena ko 4-3 a San Siro. Highlights" (in Italian).
26. "Siena-Cagliari 1-1: Per i toscani il viaggio dal paradiso al purgatorio dura solo UN MINUTO" (in Italian).
27. "Quando Malesani rischiò di farsi esonerare in diretta" (in Italian).
28. "Genoa, Malesani si sfoga: io 'mollo'? Lo sarà qualcun altro" (in Italian).
29. "Alberto Malesani career sheet". footballdatabase. footballdatabase. Retrieved 31 December 2020.

External links

  Media related to Alberto Malesani at Wikimedia Commons

• Profile of Alberto Malesani on Hellastory.net