Nevio Scala
Encyclopedia
Nevio Scala is an Italian
football coach and former player, mostly famous as head coach of Parma
during the club's golden age of the 1990s, leading them from Serie B
to several European triumphs.
, Province of Padua
, Veneto
, Scala enjoyed a successful playing career a midfielder for several Italian top flight teams Roma
, Milan
, Vicenza
and Internazionale
, then playing for lower rank clubs Foggia
, Monza
and Adriese
in the final years of his career.
to Serie B
in 1988, and was later called to replace outgoing Arrigo Sacchi
(who later went on to become internationally popular with AC Milan) as manager of Serie B club Parma
. He held that position for six years, leading the Emilian club to its first promotion in the Italian top flight and then turning the team into a major one in the Italian Serie A
, thanks also to the relevant financial backing from chairman and Parmalat
founder Calisto Tanzi
, and winning a Cup Winners' Cup in 1993 together with the European Super Cup
the same year and a UEFA Cup
in 1995. He left Parma in June 1996.
During the 1996–97 season, Scala accepted an offer from Luciano Gaucci
to become head coach of struggling Perugia
, but did not manage to escape relegation to Serie B for his side.
He successively pursued a number of experiences abroad, becoming head coach of German
club Borussia Dortmund
in 1997, with whom he won the Intercontinental Cup
. He left the club in 1998. In 2000 he became another Italian coach after Giuseppe Meazza
, Sandro Puppo
to manage a Turkish
team by accepting an offer from Beşiktaş
, and then went on to serve as head coach for Ukrainians
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
and Russia
ns Spartak Moscow
in 2004, the latter being his last head coaching experiences to date.
He currently lives in his hometown city of Lozzo Atestino, where he is member of the local city council since 2007, after running unsuccessfully as mayor in 2007. He is currently active as a football pundit
for Rai Radio 1, where he regularly comments Serie A games and gives his answers to live phone comments and questions on Sunday late night show Domenica sport.
Scala has expressed a desire to return to coaching, being linked with Motherwell F.C.
and later with A.S. Roma
in 2010.
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 coach and former player, mostly famous as head coach of Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
during the club's golden age of the 1990s, leading them from 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...
to several European triumphs.
Playing career
Born in Lozzo AtestinoLozzo Atestino
Lozzo Atestino is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 60 km southwest of Venice and about 25 km southwest of Padua, in the Colli Euganei regional park....
, Province of Padua
Province of Padua
The Province of Padua is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Padua.-History and territory:...
, Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, Scala enjoyed a successful playing career a midfielder for several Italian top flight teams 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...
, Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, 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 Internazionale
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...
, then playing for lower rank clubs Foggia
U.S. Foggia
Unione Sportiva Foggia is an Italian football club, based in Foggia, Puglia. The club was founded in 1920. Foggia currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, having last been in Serie A in 1995....
, Monza
A.C. Monza Brianza 1912
Associazione Calcio Monza Brianza 1912 is an Italian football club based in Monza, Lombardy.Founded in 1912, Monza currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione group A, having last been in Serie B in 2000. Monza spent the last few years in Serie C1 and Serie C2.-History:Monza was founded on 1...
and Adriese
U.S. Adriese
Unione Sportiva Adriese is an Italian association football club, based in Adria, Veneto. The club was founded in 1906. Adriese currently plays in Serie D. The team's colors are dark red and blue.-External links:*...
in the final years of his career.
Coaching career
As a coach, he led Calabrian third division club RegginaReggina Calcio
Reggina Calcio are an Italian association football club, the main club of the city of Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in the Italian Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo...
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...
in 1988, and was later called to replace outgoing Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi is an Italian football coach. He is best known for his success coaching Italian teams, particularly with Milan where he won back to back European Cups as coach in the late eighties where he was head coach of the Italy national football team . He was twice manager of A.C...
(who later went on to become internationally popular with AC Milan) as manager of Serie B club Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
. He held that position for six years, leading the Emilian club to its first promotion in the Italian top flight and then turning the team into a major one 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...
, thanks also to the relevant financial backing from chairman and Parmalat
Parmalat
Parmalat SpA is a multinational Italian dairy and food corporation. Having become the leading global company in the production of ultra high temperature milk, the company collapsed in 2003 with a €14 billion hole in its accounts in what remains Europe's biggest bankruptcy...
founder Calisto Tanzi
Calisto Tanzi
Calisto Tanzi is an Italian businessman notorious for embezzling an estimated eight-hundred million euros from Italian company Parmalat, founded by him, resulting in a great loss for the company. Tanzi was the founder of Parmalat and its CEO, at the time. Tanzi founded Parmalat in 1961, after...
, and winning a Cup Winners' Cup in 1993 together with the European Super Cup
European Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual football game between the reigning champions of the two cup competitions organized by UEFA: the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League...
the same year and a 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 1995. He left Parma in June 1996.
During the 1996–97 season, Scala accepted an offer from 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 become head coach of struggling 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....
, but did not manage to escape relegation to Serie B for his side.
He successively pursued a number of experiences abroad, becoming head coach of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
club Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
in 1997, with whom he won the Intercontinental Cup
Intercontinental Cup (football)
The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
. He left the club in 1998. In 2000 he became another Italian coach after Giuseppe Meazza
Giuseppe Meazza
Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza , also known as il Balilla, was an Italian footballer playing mainly for Internazionale in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the club. He led Italy to win two World Cups: in 1934 and in 1938, winning the Golden Ball Award in 1934. He is widely considered the...
, Sandro Puppo
Sandro Puppo
Sandro Puppo was an Italian football player and manager born in Piacenza.During his playing days he played for Piacenza, Ambrosiana, Venezia and A.S. Roma in the 1930s and 1940s...
to manage a Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
team by accepting an offer from Beşiktaş
Besiktas J.K.
Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü , or simply Beşiktaş , is a Turkish sports club. The club's football team is one of the major teams in Turkey. The professional sports club, founded in 1903, is based in the Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey...
, and then went on to serve as head coach for Ukrainians
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
FC Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and currently is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, the last year...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
ns Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times...
in 2004, the latter being his last head coaching experiences to date.
He currently lives in his hometown city of Lozzo Atestino, where he is member of the local city council since 2007, after running unsuccessfully as mayor in 2007. He is currently active as a football pundit
Pundit
Pundit may refer to:* Pandit or pundit in India, a scholar or expert, especially of traditional Indian law, philosophy, or music* Pundit , a 19th century term to denote native surveyors who explored regions to the north of India for the British Empire* Pundit , an expert or opinion-leader who...
for Rai Radio 1, where he regularly comments Serie A games and gives his answers to live phone comments and questions on Sunday late night show Domenica sport.
Scala has expressed a desire to return to coaching, being linked with Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
and later with A.S. 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...
in 2010.