Luigi Del Neri
Encyclopedia
Luigi "Gigi" Delneri, often incorrectly written as Del Neri (born August 23, 1950) is an Italian
football
manager and former player, whose last job was managing Juventus
.
, province of Udine
, Delneri made his professional debut as player at the age of 16 for Spal
, Ferrara
's football team, for which he had worked as storer. After playing for Foggia and Novara
, he moved to Udinese
, with whom he gained promotion to Serie A
, Italy
's top division. He was later traded to Sampdoria
, and then to Lanerossi Vicenza
, Siena
, Pro Gorizia and Opitergina, an amateur team from Oderzo
, where he ended his playing career at 34.
) as head coach. In 1986 he signed for Serie D
team Pro Gorizia. He then coached Partinicaudace, a minor Sicilian Serie D team, in 1989, Teramo
, Ravenna
, Novara
and Nocerina
of Serie C2
; with this last team he won the league and promotion to Serie C1
. He then moved to Ternana
of Serie C2
, guiding it to Serie B
after two consecutive promotions.
In 1998, after his second consecutive promotion, he was signed by Empoli
of Serie A, but was fired before starting the championship, and was then recalled by his former team Ternana
at the Serie B
level.
In 2000 he signed with Chievo Verona
of Serie B
, a team representing a small quarter of Verona
. It was the beginning of the so-called "Chievo miracle", in which the team was promoted for the very first time to Serie A
and then even qualified for the UEFA Cup
in its first season at the highest level of Italian football, after leading Serie A at the end of the winter break.
In the summer of 2004, Delneri was signed by Champions' League
holders FC Porto, but, as with Empoli, was fired before making his debut. He maintained that he wanted to return to Italy for personal reasons. Signed in October 2004 by AS Roma, replacing Rudi Völler
, he in turn left this position in March 2005 after a dismaying series of defeats, which were regarded as only partially the fault of Delneri.
In mid-2005 he accepted the offer of US Palermo
to coach the Sicilian
team, which had also qualified for the UEFA Cup
. After a good beginning, including a surprising 3–2 win against Inter Milan and qualification to the UEFA Cup
group stages, the team started producing poor results, slowly losing position in the Serie A table. After a 3–1 defeat at home against Siena
, Delneri was fired on January 28, 2006.
On 16 October 2006, Delneri returned to coach Chievo Verona, replacing Giuseppe Pillon
. Despite a good start, he did not manage to save his side from relegation, losing a spot in the following season's Serie A with a 2–0 loss to Catania
on the final match day. Following the relegation, Delneri announced he was going to leave Chievo. He was announced as new Atalanta
boss in June 2007. Delneri spent two successful seasons with Atalanta in which he led the team to 9th and 11th place, which can be seen as a great success since the team fell to 18th place and were demoted to Serie B
after his departure. After two seasons in Bergamo
,he left to take over at Sampdoria
on June 1, 2009, a team that had a disappointing season in which they finihsed 13th. He guided Sampdoria to a surprising fourth place in which they beat Italian teams F.C. Internazionale Milano
, AC Milan, Juventus F.C.
, and AS Roma, and as a result of the fourth-place finish, Sampdoria received a spot to the third qualifying round of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. Delneri left the blucerchiati the day after his team secured fourth place.
On 19 May 2010, Delneri was appointed as coach of Juventus after he quit as coach of Sampdoria on 17 May 2010. On the day of his appointment, Delneri stated,“I want to build a team with a definite identity, that doesn’t change depending on which team it is playing,” Delneri said. “We want to return to the level that Juventus has always played throughout its century and recreate a winning mentality. I’ve won some hard challenges and it isn’t easy, but it has allowed me to be considered by a big club,” Delneri said. “I know full well that we need a lot of quality to achieve our aims. But we need continuity and if we achieve that we might be able to reach our goals earlier. After a slow start to the new season, the Turin side kept their first clean sheet since October in a 4–0 over Udinese
. He guided Juventus to 3rd place in the league before the winter break, however since the new year Juventus have lost 7 of their 11 games. AC Milan beat Juventus 1-0 in Turin
on 5 March; this was the third straight defeat for Juventus, which has led to fans calling for his resignation.
At the end of the season Delneri was sacked http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13485535.stm.
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...
manager and former player, whose last job was managing 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...
.
Player
Born at AquileiaAquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...
, province of Udine
Province of Udine
The Province of Udine is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capital is the city of Udine....
, Delneri made his professional debut as player at the age of 16 for 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....
, 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...
's football team, for which he had worked as storer. After playing for Foggia and Novara
Novara
Novara is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With c. 105,000 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin...
, he moved to 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....
, with whom he gained 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...
, Italy
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...
's top division. He was later traded to Sampdoria
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...
, and then to Lanerossi 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...
, Siena
A.C. Siena
Associazione Calcio Siena is an Italian football club based in Siena.The club currently plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B at the end of the 2010-2011 season....
, Pro Gorizia and Opitergina, an amateur team from Oderzo
Oderzo
Oderzo is a town and comune in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy.It lies in the heart of the Venetian plain, about 66 km to the northeast of Venice...
, where he ended his playing career at 34.
Coach
After his retirement as a player, Delneri stayed at Oderzo, appointed by chairman Ettore Setten (now owner of TrevisoTreviso 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:...
) as head coach. In 1986 he signed for 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...
team Pro Gorizia. He then coached Partinicaudace, a minor Sicilian Serie D team, in 1989, Teramo
Teramo Calcio
Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Teramo Calcio is an Italian association football club, based in Teramo, Abruzzo. It is currently in the season 2011–12 playing in Serie D, the fourth division of Italian football...
, Ravenna
Ravenna Calcio
Ravenna Calcio is an Italian association football club, based in Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1913 and refounded in 2001....
, Novara
Novara Calcio
Novara Calcio is an Italian football club based in Novara, Piedmont.-History:In December 1908 the F.A.S. was created by eight students of Liceo Carlo Alberto, aged between 15–16 years; among them an engineer, Gianni Canestrini, and a lawyer, Piero Omodei Zorini...
and Nocerina
A.G. Nocerina 1910
Associazione Sportiva Giovanile Nocerina is an Italian association football club, based in Nocera Inferiore, Campania.Nocerina in the season 2011-12 plays in Serie B.- Games with Juventus :...
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...
; with this last team he won the league and promotion to 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....
. He then moved to Ternana
Ternana Calcio
Ternana Calcio is an Italian football club based in the city of Terni, Umbria.The team's colours are red and green.The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana have twice played in Serie A...
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...
, guiding it to 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...
after two consecutive promotions.
In 1998, after his second consecutive promotion, he was signed by Empoli
Empoli F.C.
Empoli Football Club is an Italian association football club located in Empoli, Tuscany, founded in 1920 and played its first official match in 1921.In recent years, the club has all too often been bouncing between Italy's two top divisions...
of Serie A, but was fired before starting the championship, and was then recalled by his former team Ternana
Ternana Calcio
Ternana Calcio is an Italian football club based in the city of Terni, Umbria.The team's colours are red and green.The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana have twice played in Serie A...
at 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...
level.
In 2000 he signed with Chievo Verona
A.C. ChievoVerona
Associazione Calcio Chievo Verona is a professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 2,800 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a cake company and the inspiration for their original name, Paluani Chievo...
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...
, a team representing a small quarter of Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. It was the beginning of the so-called "Chievo miracle", in which the team was promoted for the very first time 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...
and then even qualified for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
in its first season at the highest level of Italian football, after leading Serie A at the end of the winter break.
In the summer of 2004, Delneri was signed by Champions' League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
holders FC Porto, but, as with Empoli, was fired before making his debut. He maintained that he wanted to return to Italy for personal reasons. Signed in October 2004 by AS Roma, replacing Rudi Völler
Rudi Völler
Rudolf 'Rudi' Völler is a German former international football striker, and a former manager of the German national team...
, he in turn left this position in March 2005 after a dismaying series of defeats, which were regarded as only partially the fault of Delneri.
In mid-2005 he accepted the offer of US 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...
to coach the Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
team, which had also qualified for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. After a good beginning, including a surprising 3–2 win against Inter Milan and qualification to the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
group stages, the team started producing poor results, slowly losing position in the Serie A table. After a 3–1 defeat at home against Siena
A.C. Siena
Associazione Calcio Siena is an Italian football club based in Siena.The club currently plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B at the end of the 2010-2011 season....
, Delneri was fired on January 28, 2006.
On 16 October 2006, Delneri returned to coach Chievo Verona, replacing Giuseppe Pillon
Giuseppe Pillon
Giuseppe "Bepi" Pillon is an Italian association football and former manager of Empoli in Serie B.-Player:...
. Despite a good start, he did not manage to save his side from relegation, losing a spot in the following season's Serie A with a 2–0 loss to 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...
on the final match day. Following the relegation, Delneri announced he was going to leave Chievo. He was announced as new Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
boss in June 2007. Delneri spent two successful seasons with Atalanta in which he led the team to 9th and 11th place, which can be seen as a great success since the team fell to 18th place and were demoted to 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...
after his departure. After two seasons in Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
,he left to take over at Sampdoria
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...
on June 1, 2009, a team that had a disappointing season in which they finihsed 13th. He guided Sampdoria to a surprising fourth place in which they beat Italian teams F.C. Internazionale Milano
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...
, AC Milan, Juventus F.C.
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...
, and AS Roma, and as a result of the fourth-place finish, Sampdoria received a spot to the third qualifying round of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. Delneri left the blucerchiati the day after his team secured fourth place.
On 19 May 2010, Delneri was appointed as coach of Juventus after he quit as coach of Sampdoria on 17 May 2010. On the day of his appointment, Delneri stated,“I want to build a team with a definite identity, that doesn’t change depending on which team it is playing,” Delneri said. “We want to return to the level that Juventus has always played throughout its century and recreate a winning mentality. I’ve won some hard challenges and it isn’t easy, but it has allowed me to be considered by a big club,” Delneri said. “I know full well that we need a lot of quality to achieve our aims. But we need continuity and if we achieve that we might be able to reach our goals earlier. After a slow start to the new season, the Turin side kept their first clean sheet since October in a 4–0 over 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....
. He guided Juventus to 3rd place in the league before the winter break, however since the new year Juventus have lost 7 of their 11 games. AC Milan beat Juventus 1-0 in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
on 5 March; this was the third straight defeat for Juventus, which has led to fans calling for his resignation.
At the end of the season Delneri was sacked http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13485535.stm.
Managerial career
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Chievo A.C. ChievoVerona Associazione Calcio Chievo Verona is a professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 2,800 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a cake company and the inspiration for their original name, Paluani Chievo... |
 |
1 July 2001 | 1 July 2004 | 114 | 44 | 36 | 34 | |
| Roma A.S. Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s... |
|
1 July 2004 | 13 March 2005 | 37 | 12 | 9 | 16 | |
| Sampdoria U.C. Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria... |
|
1 June 2009 | 17 May 2010 | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | |
| 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... |
|
19 May 2010 | 23 May 2011 | 38 | 15 | 14 | 9 | |