Gianni De Biasi
Encyclopedia
Gianni De Biasi is an Italian
football
coach and former player, who last served as head coach of Udinese
.
, started his professional playing career for Inter Milan
; he was part of the first team squad but, despite this, never played for the nerazzurri and was then loaned to Serie C
team Reggiana
in 1975 and newly-promoted Serie A
club Pescara Calcio
one year later. He was sold to Brescia
in 1977 as partial compensation for the signing of Evaristo Beccalossi
by Inter. De Biasi played in Brescia for five seasons, only one of them in Serie A. He then moved to Palermo
in 1983, but abruptly left it three years later following the cancellation of the Sicilian club in the summer of 1986. This was followed by a single season with Vicenza
and two Serie C2 seasons for Treviso
. De Biasi retired from active football in 1990, after a Serie D
season with Bassano
.
; in 1991, he was appointed by Vicenza
to coach the allievi nazionali youth squad. In 1992, De Biasi made his debut as first team coach, being boss of Serie C2
club Vastese
(now Pro Vasto); this was followed by three seasons as Carpi
boss. In 1996, De Biasi was appointed coach of Serie B
club Cosenza
, but was fired on Christmas' eve day. After a two-year spell at SPAL
, De Biasi was contacted and hired by Serie C1 club Modena
on 2000; with the canarini, De Biasi obtained two consecutive promotions that brought Modena back in Serie A after 38 years. He left Modena in 2003, after having led his club to a good 13th place in the Serie A table, and signed for Brescia
, where he had the opportunity to coach Roberto Baggio
in his last playing season. He was sacked during the 2004/2005 season.
In 2005, Torino F.C.
of Serie B
appointed De Biasi as head coach, offering him a squad quickly built in a very few days following the cancellation of the old Torino Calcio club and the forming of a new society, owned by Urbano Cairo
. Under De Biasi, Torino obtained immediate Serie A promotion, after having defeated Mantova
on playoffs. De Biasi, initially confirmed as head coach also for the 2006/2007 Serie A campaign, was however sacked three days before the first matchday and replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni. On February 26, 2007 Torino FC chairman Cairo decided to sack Zaccheroni too and recall De Biasi at the helm of the granata, leading them to escape from relegation.
After several rumours regarding a possible move to La Liga
side Levante UD
, he was announced on October 9, 2007 to have reached an agreement with the Spanish
side, where he will join fellow Italians Damiano Tommasi
, Christian Riganò
, Marco Storari
and Bruno Cirillo
. He did not manage to save the club from relegation, mainly because of financial struggles which questioned the club's own survival and led to sell several key players during the January transfer window. Despite the lack of top-quality players and as the risk of bankruptcy loomed, he led the team to some unexpected victories, displaying linearity and tactical discipline that gained him the love of the Spanish fans and esteem of the critics: in one of its editions, the popular sports daily “As” declared him the best coach in the championship
On April 16, 2008 he was announced by Torino to replace Walter Novellino for the five final matchdays, with the aim to save the club from relegation once again. Once again, De Biasi saved the team. On December 8, 2008 he was sacked after fifteen matches, blamed by the team’s manager for the fact that Torino was once again struggling to avoid relegation. However, despite hiring and then dismissing a second and then a third coach, the team was still relegated at the end of the championship.
On December 22, 2009 Udinese
dismissed manager Pasquale Marino
and appointed De Biasi to take charge of the struggling team from North-Eastern Italy. However, results did not particularly improve under his tenure as head coach, and De Biasi himself was removed from his post on February 21, 2010 with Marino being named back at the helm of the club.
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 and former player, who last served as head coach of Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....
.
Playing career
De Biasi, a midfielderMidfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
, started his professional playing career for Inter Milan
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...
; he was part of the first team squad but, despite this, never played for the nerazzurri and was then loaned to Serie C
Serie C
The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico , commonly known as Lega Pro , is the governing body that runs the third and fourth highest football divisions in Italy, the Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione respectively. It also includes the sole professional club of San Marino...
team Reggiana
A.C. Reggiana 1919
Associazione Calcio Reggiana 1919 is an Italian association football club, based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1919 as A.C. Reggiana and refounded in July 2005 as Reggio Emilia F.C., but it was renamed A.C. Reggiana 1919 soon after the start of the 2005–06 season. The...
in 1975 and newly-promoted 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...
club Pescara Calcio
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...
one year later. He was sold to 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...
in 1977 as partial compensation for the signing of Evaristo Beccalossi
Evaristo Beccalossi
Evaristo Beccalossi is an Italian footballer best known for his career at Inter Milan. He was a left-footed playmaker.Originally from Brescia, he became a favorite of the Inter Milan fans, where he spent the majority of his career, from 1978–79 to 1983–84...
by Inter. De Biasi played in Brescia for five seasons, only one of them in Serie A. He then moved to 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...
in 1983, but abruptly left it three years later following the cancellation of the Sicilian club in the summer of 1986. This was followed by a single season with 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...
and two Serie C2 seasons for Treviso
Treviso F.B.C. 1993
Football Club Treviso is an Italian football club based in Treviso. The club was formed in 1909, and refounded in 1993 and in 2009. The club currently plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.Treviso's official colours are light blue and white.-History:...
. De Biasi retired from active football in 1990, after a Serie D
Serie 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...
season with Bassano
Bassano Virtus 55 S.T.
Bassano Virtus 55 Soccer Team is an Italian association football club, based in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto.The club currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione...
.
Coaching career
In 1990, De Biasi became youth team coach for BassanoBassano Virtus 55 S.T.
Bassano Virtus 55 Soccer Team is an Italian association football club, based in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto.The club currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione...
; in 1991, he was appointed by 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...
to coach the allievi nazionali youth squad. In 1992, De Biasi made his debut as first team coach, being boss of Serie C2
Serie C
The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico , commonly known as Lega Pro , is the governing body that runs the third and fourth highest football divisions in Italy, the Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione respectively. It also includes the sole professional club of San Marino...
club Vastese
F.C. Pro Vasto
Football Club Dilettantistico Vasto Marina is an Italian association football club based in Vasto, Abruzzo. The club was founded in 1902 and subsequently refounded in 1981, 1995, and 2010...
(now Pro Vasto); this was followed by three seasons as Carpi
Carpi F.C. 1909
Carpi Football Club 1909 is an Italian football club located in Carpi, Emilia-Romagna.The club currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione.- A.C. Carpi :...
boss. In 1996, De Biasi was appointed coach of 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...
club 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:...
, but was fired on Christmas' eve day. After a two-year spell at SPAL
Spal 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....
, De Biasi was contacted and hired by Serie C1 club Modena
Modena F.C.
Modena Football Club is an Italian football club based in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. The club was formed in 1912 and currently plays in Italian Serie B, after being relegated from a two year period in Serie A in the year 2004. The team's previous stay in Italy's top division ended in 1964. The team...
on 2000; with the canarini, De Biasi obtained two consecutive promotions that brought Modena back in Serie A after 38 years. He left Modena in 2003, after having led his club to a good 13th place in the Serie A table, and signed for 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 had the opportunity to coach Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...
in his last playing season. He was sacked during the 2004/2005 season.
In 2005, Torino F.C.
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....
of 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...
appointed De Biasi as head coach, offering him a squad quickly built in a very few days following the cancellation of the old Torino Calcio club and the forming of a new society, owned by Urbano Cairo
Urbano Cairo
Urbano Cairo is an Italian businessman and chairman of Torino football club.Cairo is a native of Masio Alessandria, Piedmont. His principal business interest is in the Cairo Communications, a business which he founded and is today worth in excess of 230 million euros...
. Under De Biasi, Torino obtained immediate Serie A promotion, after having defeated Mantova
A.C. Mantova
Mantova Football Club is an Italian football club, based in Mantua, Lombardy. Mantova had played consecutively in the Italian Serie B from the 2005–06 season to 2009–10 as Associazione Calcio Mantova, when they were relegated after ending the season in 20th place.During the summer 2010, the club...
on playoffs. De Biasi, initially confirmed as head coach also for the 2006/2007 Serie A campaign, was however sacked three days before the first matchday and replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni. On February 26, 2007 Torino FC chairman Cairo decided to sack Zaccheroni too and recall De Biasi at the helm of the granata, leading them to escape from relegation.
After several rumours regarding a possible move to La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
side Levante UD
Levante UD
Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the namesake community.Founded in 1909, it plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadi Ciutat de València.-Early years:...
, he was announced on October 9, 2007 to have reached an agreement with the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
side, where he will join fellow Italians Damiano Tommasi
Damiano Tommasi
Damiano Tommasi is an Italian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current president of the Italian Footballers' Association ....
, Christian Riganò
Christian Riganò
Christian Riganò is an Italian football striker who is currently playing with Rondinella Calcio, the second team of Florence.-Career:...
, Marco Storari
Marco Storari
Marco Storari is an Italian professional footballer who plays for Juventus F.C. as a goalkeeper.After a lengthy spell in Italy's lower leagues, he arrived in Serie A aged 27. Steady performances for Messina prompted his signing by country giants A.C...
and Bruno Cirillo
Bruno Cirillo
Bruno "Brunillo" Cirillo is an Italian football player who plays as a centre back for PAOK FC.-Italy:...
. He did not manage to save the club from relegation, mainly because of financial struggles which questioned the club's own survival and led to sell several key players during the January transfer window. Despite the lack of top-quality players and as the risk of bankruptcy loomed, he led the team to some unexpected victories, displaying linearity and tactical discipline that gained him the love of the Spanish fans and esteem of the critics: in one of its editions, the popular sports daily “As” declared him the best coach in the championship
On April 16, 2008 he was announced by Torino to replace Walter Novellino for the five final matchdays, with the aim to save the club from relegation once again. Once again, De Biasi saved the team. On December 8, 2008 he was sacked after fifteen matches, blamed by the team’s manager for the fact that Torino was once again struggling to avoid relegation. However, despite hiring and then dismissing a second and then a third coach, the team was still relegated at the end of the championship.
On December 22, 2009 Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....
dismissed manager Pasquale Marino
Pasquale Marino
Pasquale Marino is an Italian football coach.-Playing career:In his playing career, started for his home team, Marsala, Marino never played in divisions higher than Serie C1, and ended his career for Catania in 1996/1997....
and appointed De Biasi to take charge of the struggling team from North-Eastern Italy. However, results did not particularly improve under his tenure as head coach, and De Biasi himself was removed from his post on February 21, 2010 with Marino being named back at the helm of the club.