Luciano Spalletti facts for kids
Spalletti in 2024
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 March 1959 | ||
| Place of birth | Certaldo, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.80 m | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Italy (manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1982–1985 | Castelfiorentino | 50 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Entella | 27 | (2) |
| 1986–1990 | Spezia | 120 | (7) |
| 1990–1991 | Viareggio | 29 | (1) |
| 1991–1993 | Empoli | 60 | (3) |
| Total | 236 | (13) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1993–1998 | Empoli | ||
| 1998–1999 | Sampdoria | ||
| 1999 | Venezia | ||
| 2001 | Udinese | ||
| 2001–2002 | Ancona | ||
| 2002–2005 | Udinese | ||
| 2005–2009 | Roma | ||
| 2009–2014 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||
| 2016–2017 | Roma | ||
| 2017–2019 | Inter Milan | ||
| 2021–2023 | Napoli | ||
| 2023– | Italy | ||
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Luciano Spalletti (born on 7 March 1959) is a famous Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Italian national team.
Spalletti began his coaching career with Empoli in 1993. He later coached several Italian clubs, including two periods with Roma. There, he won two Coppa Italia titles in a row. From 2009 to 2014, Spalletti managed Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia. He led them to win two Russian Premier League titles.
After coaching Inter Milan for two seasons, he became the manager of Napoli in 2021. He guided Napoli to win the Serie A title in the 2022–23 season. This was a huge achievement for the club. In August 2023, he was chosen to coach the Italy national football team. He helped them qualify for UEFA Euro 2024.
Contents
Playing Career
Luciano Spalletti was born in Certaldo, Italy. He started playing football as a semi-professional in his mid-20s. This is quite old for a player to begin a professional career.
He played for several teams in Italy's lower leagues, like Entella, Spezia, Viareggio, and Empoli. After almost ten years of playing, he stopped in 1993. He then stayed at Empoli to become a coach.
Coaching Career
Early Coaching Days
Spalletti's first coaching job was at Empoli. He was the head coach from July 1993 to June 1998. He helped the team get promoted twice in a row. They moved up from Serie C1 to the top league, Serie A.
After Empoli, Spalletti coached Sampdoria and Venezia. He also studied at the Italian Football Federation's coaching school. He graduated with top marks.
Spalletti coached Udinese in two different periods. The first was from March to June 2001. The second was from July 2002 to June 2005. Between these times, he also coached Ancona.
At Udinese, he really started to show his skills as a manager. In the 2004–05 season, Spalletti led Udinese to finish fourth in Serie A. This was a big surprise and earned them a spot in the UEFA Champions League. Because of this success, Roma hired him in June 2005.
Coaching Roma
Roma had a tough season before Spalletti arrived. Four different coaches had tried to manage the team. Spalletti's job was to bring order to the club. In the middle of the 2005–06 season, he changed the team's playing style. He made them play more offensively, which means they focused more on attacking.
This change helped Roma move up from 15th to 5th place. They reached the 2006 Coppa Italia Final but lost to Inter Milan. However, due to a football scandal, Roma qualified for the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League.
In 2006, Spalletti was named the Serie A Coach of the Year. The next year, he led Roma to the Champions League quarter-finals. They also beat Roberto Mancini's Inter Milan in the league. Roma then won the 2007 Coppa Italia Final against Inter. This was Spalletti's first major trophy. He also won the Supercoppa Italiana against Inter in the next season.
In the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League knockout round, Roma became the first Italian team to beat Real Madrid over two matches. They also became the first European team to win twice at Real Madrid's stadium. Roma was knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United again. But they successfully defended their Coppa Italia title, beating Inter again in the 2008 Coppa Italia Final.
The 2008–09 season was difficult for Roma. They finished sixth in the league, which qualified them for the UEFA Europa League. Roma had financial problems and sold some key players. The 2009–10 Serie A season started poorly with two losses. Because of this, Spalletti decided to resign on 1 September 2009.
Coaching Zenit
In December 2009, Spalletti became the coach of Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg. He signed a three-year deal. Zenit's goal for his first year was to win the Premier League and the Russian Cup. They also wanted to get past the group stage of the Champions League.
Zenit won the Russian Cup on 16 May 2010. They defeated Sibir Novosibirsk in the final. After 16 matches in the 2010 Premier League, Zenit had 12 wins and four draws. This set a new record for points at that stage. On 14 November, Zenit beat Rostov and won the championship title. This was Spalletti's first league title as a coach.
Zenit also did well in the Europa League. They reached the round of 16. On 6 March 2011, Zenit won the Russian Super Cup. This was Spalletti's third trophy in Russia. In the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, Zenit made it to the knockout phase for the first time in their history. They were eliminated by Benfica. In April 2012, Zenit won their second Premier League championship in a row.
After two seasons without winning any trophies, Spalletti was let go on 10 March 2014.
Return to Roma
Spalletti returned to manage Roma for his second time on 13 January 2016. The previous manager had been fired because the team was not playing well. A famous player, Francesco Totti, publicly said he wasn't getting enough playing time. Spalletti then benched Totti for a match, which caused some debate.
However, Spalletti started using Totti as a substitute who could come in and make an immediate impact. This worked well. Totti scored goals and helped the team. Spalletti led Roma from a mid-table position to finish third in Serie A. This earned them a spot in the Champions League play-offs.
On 30 May 2017, Spalletti decided to leave Roma by agreement. During his second time at Roma, the team qualified for the Champions League for two seasons in a row.
Coaching Inter Milan
On 9 June 2017, Spalletti was confirmed as the new manager of Inter Milan. He signed a two-year contract. He traveled to China to talk with the owners of Inter.
On 20 August, Spalletti won his first league match with Inter. They beat Fiorentina 3–0. On 26 August, they won their second match against his old club, Roma. On 3 December, Inter was in first place in the league. They were the only Italian team still undefeated after 16 weeks.
On 20 May 2018, Inter beat Lazio 3–2 in their last game of the season. This meant they finished fourth in the league. They qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in six years. In August 2018, Inter extended Spalletti's contract until 2021.
In the 2018–19 season, Inter again qualified for the UEFA Champions League on the very last day. However, Spalletti was fired on 30 May 2019, after rumors about his future.
Coaching Napoli
On 29 May 2021, after two years away from coaching, Spalletti was announced as the new head coach of Napoli. He replaced Gennaro Gattuso.
In his first season, he led Napoli to finish 3rd in Serie A. This meant they qualified for the Champions League again after two years.
In the summer of 2022, many experienced players left Napoli. But the team brought in new talents like Giacomo Raspadori, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Kim Min-jae.
On 7 September, Napoli started their Champions League season by beating Liverpool 4–1. On 4 October, Napoli crushed Ajax 6–1. This was Ajax's worst defeat ever in European competitions. Napoli finished first in their group and qualified for the knockout rounds.
On 23 October, Napoli beat Roma 1–0. This was their eleventh win in a row across all competitions. They were three points clear at the top of the Serie A table.
On 13 January 2023, Napoli defeated rivals Juventus 5–1. This was Juventus's worst defeat in Serie A since 1993. On 21 January, Napoli beat Salernitana 2–0. They had a twelve-point lead at the top of the Serie A table.
On 15 March, Napoli beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3–0 to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time ever. Napoli was eliminated in the next round by Milan.
On 4 May, Spalletti led Napoli to win their third Serie A title. It was their first title since 1990. After this amazing win, he asked for a year off from Napoli, and the club agreed.
Coaching the Italy National Team
On 18 August 2023, Luciano Spalletti was chosen to manage the Italian national team. This happened after the previous coach, Roberto Mancini, resigned. Spalletti signed a three-year contract until 2026. Italy had not qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
On 9 September 2023, Spalletti coached his first match for Italy. It was a 1–1 draw against North Macedonia in a Euro 2024 qualifying match. On 20 November 2023, he helped Italy qualify for UEFA Euro 2024. They drew with Ukraine and finished second in their group behind England.
At Euro 2024, Italy beat Albania 2–1 in their first match. They then lost 1–0 to Spain. They secured a late 1–1 draw against Croatia to advance to the round of 16. Italy was eliminated from the tournament after losing 2–0 to Switzerland. Spalletti took responsibility for the team's early exit. He said, "We failed because of my team selection, it is never down to the players." He also mentioned the limited time he had to prepare the team.
Style of Management
Spalletti is known for his smart tactical approach to football. When he coached Roma, he often used a 4–2–3–1 system. This system used four defenders, two defensive midfielders, two wingers, one attacking midfielder, and one striker. Sometimes, the striker, like Francesco Totti, would play a "false-9" role. This means they would drop deeper to help create plays, rather than staying upfront as a traditional striker.
This system helped Roma set a Serie A record in 2006. They won eleven matches in a row. Spalletti also used players in new ways. For example, he played Simone Perrotta, a midfielder, as an attacking midfielder. This worked well, and Perrotta scored many goals. The team focused on quick passes and fluid movement to attack.
With Napoli, Spalletti used a 4–3–3 formation. He believes that football is about finding and using the spaces left by the other team. He said, "Systems no longer exist in football, it’s all about the spaces left by the opposition."
When he became Italy's manager, Spalletti worked to build a positive team spirit. He wanted a team that could change its shape during a game. He looked for versatile players who could press opponents, build plays, and find open spaces. He often used a fluid 4–3–3 formation, which could also become a 4–2–3–1. Sometimes, he used 3–4–2–1 or 4–4–2 formations.
Personal Life
Luciano Spalletti and his wife Tamara have three children.
He also owns a family farm in Tuscany, located near Montaione.
Honours
Manager
Empoli
Roma
- Coppa Italia: 2006–07, 2007–08
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2007
Zenit Saint Petersburg
- Russian Premier League: 2010, 2011–12
- Russian Cup: 2009–10
- Russian Super Cup: 2011
Napoli
- Serie A: 2022–23
Individual
- Serie A Coach of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2023
- Panchina d'Oro: 2004–05, 2022–23
- Serie A Coach of the Month: September 2021, February 2022, October 2022, January 2023
- Serie A Coach of the Season: 2022–23
- Enzo Bearzot Award: 2023
- Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2023
