Edoardo Reja
Encyclopedia
Edoardo "Edy" Reja is an Italian
football
coach
and former player, currently managing Lazio
in the Italian Serie A
. Born in Italy to Slovenia
n parents, Reja speaks Slovene
and Italian
. He is also fluent in Friulan.
, playing in midfield alongside lifelong friend Fabio Capello
. Together, they helped the team to the 1963–64 Italian Youth Championship. In 1965–66, Reja joined Capello in Serie A
with the first team and also the Italian Under 23 side. Reja played for two more teams, U.S. Città di Palermo
and Alessandria
in a long career that lasted until 1975, playing a total of 124 Serie A
matches.
team Molinella. Next year he then coached Monselice of Serie C2
. In 1989 he coached his first Serie B
team, Pescara
, of which he was previously the youth squad boss. He successively gained good successes in the same league with Cosenza
, Lecce
and Brescia
, where he won the championship; however, he opted to give up the opportunity to coach Brescia in Serie A
, preferring to accept an offer from Torino
, another Serie B team, where he then missed promotion being defeated on the promotion playoffs to Perugia
after penalty shootouts.
club Vicenza
, thus making his debut in a top division team, but was unable to save the team from relegation. Next year he remained at Vicenza and led his team back to Serie A, but promptly relegated one more time on 2001. In 2001–2002, he replaced Franco Scoglio at the helm of Genoa
(Serie B), but to be fired himself only three months later. On 2002–2003, he was appointed in the mid-season by Catania
boss Luciano Gaucci
to replace John Toshack
. On November 2003, he replaced Giampiero Ventura
at Cagliari
and guided the rossoblu to second place in the Serie B
and promotion to Serie A
, but was not confirmed.
's boss, appointed at Giampiero Ventura's place (who was curiously replaced by Reja the previous year in Cagliari). He led Napoli to win Serie C1
and obtaining promotion to Serie B on 2006, and promptly guided his team to a second consecutive promotion to Serie A
in 2007, which meant the Serie A comeback for Napoli since 2001. In his first Serie A campaign with Napoli, Reja guided the azzurri to a 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup spot, also defeating Inter
in the first of their only three losses in the whole league.
He was confirmed at the helm of Napoli for the 2008–09 season. In the season start, Napoli were defeated by S.L. Benfica in the first round of the UEFA Cup
, but managed to rise up to first place in the Serie A
table also thanks to impressive wins against Fiorentina
and Juventus
, easily increasing fans' interest and support for the Neapolitan side. However, results quickly deteriorated in the second half of the season, with Napoli losing contact with the European Cup spots, with Reja being ultimately sacked on 10 March 2009 after a 0–2 home loss to S.S. Lazio
on Week 27, closing abruptly a five-year spell with the azzurri. He was replaced by former Italian team
boss Roberto Donadoni
.
from August 2009 to February 2010, Reja opted to quit his job in Split in order to become new head coach of Lazio. He was unveiled as new Lazio boss the following day, replacing Davide Ballardini
at the helm of the Rome club. He turned the fortunes of a club in dismay, guiding it out of the relegation zone and into a mid-table finish in the season.
The 2010–11 season for Lazio started in an astonishing way, with the team surprisingly heading Serie A with a four-point advantage to runners-up Inter after nine games, thanks to Reja's abilities in relaunching players such as Mauro Zárate
, Cristian Ledesma
and Stefano Mauri
, as well as introducing new key signings such as Brazilian international Hernanes
.
and Slovenia
. He was born into a Slovenian family and is a member of the Slovene minority in Italy. He is fluent in Slovene
, Italian
and Friulan.
Married to Livia in 1969, he met his wife while rooming with Fabio Capello
in Ferrara
. Livia was close friends with Capello's future wife Laura but the romance only started when he discovered the guy he assumed was her boyfriend was actually her twin brother.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
and former player, currently managing Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
in the Italian Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
. Born in Italy to Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n parents, Reja speaks Slovene
Slovenian language
Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. He is also fluent in Friulan.
Player
Reja started his career with the youth team of SPALSpal 1907
SPAL 1907 is an Italian football club, based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1907 as Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor and was refounded in 2005....
, playing in midfield alongside lifelong friend Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
. Together, they helped the team to the 1963–64 Italian Youth Championship. In 1965–66, Reja joined Capello in Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
with the first team and also the Italian Under 23 side. Reja played for two more teams, U.S. Città di Palermo
U.S. Città di Palermo
Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...
and Alessandria
U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912
Unione Sportiva Alessandria Calcio 1912 is the professional Italian football club based in Alessandria, Piedmont.In the current season, it plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione group A.- Brief history :...
in a long career that lasted until 1975, playing a total of 124 Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
matches.
Early career
Reja started his coaching career in 1979 serving as boss of Serie DSerie D
Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...
team Molinella. Next year he then coached Monselice of Serie C2
Serie C2
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...
. In 1989 he coached his first Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
team, Pescara
Pescara Calcio
Delfino Pescara 1936 is an Italian football club based in Pescara, Abruzzo.The club was formed in 1936 and currently plays in Italian Serie B. Pescara has competed in 5 seasons in Serie A...
, of which he was previously the youth squad boss. He successively gained good successes in the same league with Cosenza
A.S. Cosenza Calcio
Nuova Cosenza Calcio is an Italian football club, based in Cosenza, Calabria. The team's official colours are red and blue.-Early times and Serie B:...
, Lecce
U.S. Lecce
Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply U.S. Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia who play in the Italian Serie A. After being crowned Serie B champions in 2009–10, the team successfully managed to avoid relegation in 2010-11....
and Brescia
Brescia Calcio
Brescia Calcio , known simply as Brescia, is the largest football club in the Lombard city of Brescia, where it was founded in 1911.In the 2009–10 season, in the return leg of the Serie B playoff final, they defeated Torino 2-1 at home , returning to Serie A after a 5-year absence...
, where he won the championship; however, he opted to give up the opportunity to coach Brescia in Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
, preferring to accept an offer from Torino
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
, another Serie B team, where he then missed promotion being defeated on the promotion playoffs to Perugia
Perugia Calcio
Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio is an Italian association football club based in Perugia, Umbria, direct heir of the old Perugia Calcio and A.C. Perugia, excluded from Italian football because of financial troubles....
after penalty shootouts.
Serie A debut at Vicenza, Genoa, Catania and Cagliari
During the 1998–1999 season, he was appointed coach of Serie ASerie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
club Vicenza
Vicenza Calcio
Vicenza Calcio is an Italian football club based in Vicenza, Veneto. The club was formed in 1902 and currently plays in Italy's Serie B, having spent the entire 1960s and a large part of the 1990s in Serie A...
, thus making his debut in a top division team, but was unable to save the team from relegation. Next year he remained at Vicenza and led his team back to Serie A, but promptly relegated one more time on 2001. In 2001–2002, he replaced Franco Scoglio at the helm of Genoa
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...
(Serie B), but to be fired himself only three months later. On 2002–2003, he was appointed in the mid-season by Catania
Calcio Catania
Calcio Catania is an Italian football club founded in 1908 and based in Catania, Sicily. The club has spent much of its history in Serie B, gaining promotion to Italy's top league Serie A five times...
boss Luciano Gaucci
Luciano Gaucci
Luciano Gaucci is an Italian entrepreneur and sportsman. He was the owner of various clubs:* Perugia Calcio, a football club based in Perugia, Umbria.* Viterbese Calcio, a football club based in Viterbo, Lazio.* S.S...
to replace John Toshack
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...
. On November 2003, he replaced Giampiero Ventura
Giampiero Ventura
Giampiero Ventura is an Italian football manager and the current manager of Torino.-Career:After a short playing career started with Sampdoria, Ventura was forced to retire from active football at the age of 25 because of a serious back injury...
at Cagliari
Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B....
and guided the rossoblu to second place in the Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
and promotion to Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
, but was not confirmed.
Napoli
From January 2005, he is NapoliS.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
's boss, appointed at Giampiero Ventura's place (who was curiously replaced by Reja the previous year in Cagliari). He led Napoli to win Serie C1
Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1....
and obtaining promotion to Serie B on 2006, and promptly guided his team to a second consecutive promotion to Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
in 2007, which meant the Serie A comeback for Napoli since 2001. In his first Serie A campaign with Napoli, Reja guided the azzurri to a 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup spot, also defeating Inter
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
in the first of their only three losses in the whole league.
He was confirmed at the helm of Napoli for the 2008–09 season. In the season start, Napoli were defeated by S.L. Benfica in the first round of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup 2008–09
The UEFA Cup 2008–09 was the 38th edition of the UEFA Cup football tournament. The final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe, in Istanbul, Turkey, on 20 May 2009. This season was the final one to use the UEFA Cup format; starting in 2009, the event is known as the...
, but managed to rise up to first place in the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
table also thanks to impressive wins against Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...
and Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, easily increasing fans' interest and support for the Neapolitan side. However, results quickly deteriorated in the second half of the season, with Napoli losing contact with the European Cup spots, with Reja being ultimately sacked on 10 March 2009 after a 0–2 home loss to S.S. Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
on Week 27, closing abruptly a five-year spell with the azzurri. He was replaced by former Italian team
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
boss Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni is an Italian football manager and former player, last in charge of Serie A club Cagliari.An attacking midfielder or winger known for pace and technique, he was a pillar of the powerhouse AC Milan teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s and one of the pioneers of Major League...
.
Lazio
After a short spell as head coach of Croatian side Hajduk SplitHNK Hajduk Split
HNK Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian football club founded in 1911 and based in the city of Split. The club's home ground since 1979 is the 35,000-seater Poljud Stadium and the team's traditional home colours are white shirts with blue shorts and...
from August 2009 to February 2010, Reja opted to quit his job in Split in order to become new head coach of Lazio. He was unveiled as new Lazio boss the following day, replacing Davide Ballardini
Davide Ballardini
Davide Ballardini is an Italian association football manager who is currently the head coach at Serie A club Cagliari...
at the helm of the Rome club. He turned the fortunes of a club in dismay, guiding it out of the relegation zone and into a mid-table finish in the season.
The 2010–11 season for Lazio started in an astonishing way, with the team surprisingly heading Serie A with a four-point advantage to runners-up Inter after nine games, thanks to Reja's abilities in relaunching players such as Mauro Zárate
Mauro Zárate
Mauro Matías Zárate is an Argentine footballer who plays for Serie A club Internazionale on loan from Lazio.Zárate started his career with Vélez Sársfield in his native country, playing three years for the team and winning the Primera División title in the 2005 Clausura tournament...
, Cristian Ledesma
Cristian Daniel Ledesma
Cristian Daniel Ledesma is a footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Lazio. A dual citizen of Argentina and Italy, he represents the latter at international level since November 2010....
and Stefano Mauri
Stefano Mauri
Stefano Mauri is an Italian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Lazio. An attacking midfielder/winger, his key attributes are dribbling and passing. He is predominantly left-footed but is also skilled with his right.-Club career:Mauri started his career at 16 years of age with...
, as well as introducing new key signings such as Brazilian international Hernanes
Hernanes
Anderson Hernanes de Carvalho Andrade Lima , commonly known as Hernanes is a Brazilian midfielder who currently plays for Lazio.Hernanes can be used as a playmaker in the centre attacking midfield role...
.
Personal
Reja was born in the village of Lucinico near the border between ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. He was born into a Slovenian family and is a member of the Slovene minority in Italy. He is fluent in Slovene
Slovenian language
Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Friulan.
Married to Livia in 1969, he met his wife while rooming with Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
. Livia was close friends with Capello's future wife Laura but the romance only started when he discovered the guy he assumed was her boyfriend was actually her twin brother.