Daniele Zoratto (; born 15 November 1961) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach and former player who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Personal life

Zoratto was born in

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (, ; ; or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is a city in Luxembourg and the country's List of communes of Luxembourg by population, second-most populous commune, with a population of 36,625 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

as a son of Italian immigrants; his father worked there as a factory worker, while his mother was running a bar. At just nine months of age, he was however sent to

Piobbico Piobbico (Romagnol: ''Piòbich'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. Monte Nerone and the location of the Battle of the Met ...

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

to live with his aunt as his parents had decided it was best for him to have an Italian education.

Playing career

In his early club career, Zoratto played for

AC Cesena AC Cesena, commonly referred to as Cesena (), was an Italian football club based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. The club spent most of its history in professional leagues such as Serie A and Serie B, but went bankrupt and folded in 2018. Another cl ...

and

Rimini Calcio Rimini Football Club 1912 is an Italian association football club based in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna that plays in the third-tier Serie C. The original club was founded in 1912. Their home ground is the 9786-seat Stadio Romeo Neri. History The ...

, before making a name for himself with

Brescia Calcio Brescia Calcio, commonly referred to as Brescia (), is an Italian football club based in Brescia, Lombardy. The team currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, but will play in Serie C in 2025–26 due to financial contro ...

in the 1980s. He is best known as one of

AC Parma Parma Calcio 1913 () is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, which competes in the Serie A, the top tier of Italian football league system, Italian league sy ...

's most prominent players during the early 1990s. Notably, he played for Parma from 1989 – the year in which the ''gialloblu'' were promoted to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

for their first time ever – to 1994, winning a

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

, a

European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

, and a

Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

with the team, among other titles. He retired from professional football in 1995, after a season with Calcio Padova 1910. At international level, Zoratto was also capped once for the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...

by coach

Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach, best known for having twice managed AC Milan. Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and his Milan side (1987–1991) is widely regarded ...

on 1 May 1993, in a 1–0 away defeat against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in a

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

match.

Managerial career

In 2006, after a few years as Parma youth coach, Zoratto became head coach of

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

club

Modena F.C. Modena Football Club 2018, commonly referred to as Modena, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1912, and refounded in 2018, having spent the majority of its existence playing in ...

, with his old fellow player

Luigi Apolloni Luigi Apolloni (; born 2 May 1967) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a centre-back. At club level, Apolloni is mainly remembered for his time with Italian side Parma Calcio 1913, where he won several titles during h ...

, a former Italy international too, as assistant. Zoratto was however sacked in February 2007 because of lack of impressive results. In April 2008 he was re-appointed at the helm of Modena as replacement for

Bortolo Mutti Bortolo Mutti (born 11 August 1954) is an Italian football manager and a former player, who was most recently manager of Livorno. His older brother Tiziano Mutti also played football professionally. To distinguish them, Tiziano was referred to ...

, sacked because of poor results. He was confirmed at the helm of the ''canarini'' ( canaries ) for the 2008–09 season, however poor results and club problems led his team to a bottom-table place in the mid-season, this resulting to Zoratto and Modena parting company on January 26, 2009, with assistant manager Apolloni taking over from him. In November 2009 he was appointed new assistant manager at

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

as part of the new coaching staff of new trainer

Mario Beretta Mario Beretta (born 30 October 1959) is an Italian football manager and former player. He most recently served as head coach of Serie B club Latina. Playing career Beretta was born in Milan. He had a short career as footballer, playing only in ...

, a position he left in January 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed as new head coach of the Italy U19 team, and was later appointed as the head coach of the Italy U17 team.

Style of play

Normally a central or

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, Zoratto was a diminutive and slender player, with good feet, who was known for his intelligence and passing ability. He was used as a ''regista'' or deep-lying

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

in midfield under manager

Nevio Scala Nevio Scala (; born 22 November 1947) is an Italian football sporting director, coach and former player. Throughout his footballing career, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs, and won several titles during his time with AC Mila ...

during his time at Parma, due to his ability to dictate the tempo of his team's play, which was key to Scala's possession-based philosophy. He was also capable of playing higher up, behind the forwards, in order to create opportunities, but he was not known for his goalscoring from midfield, however, having failed to score a single goal in Serie A throughout his career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoratto, Daniele 1961 births Living people Footballers from Esch-sur-Alzette Men's association football midfielders Italian football managers Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers Brescia Calcio players Casale FBC players AC Cesena players Calcio Padova players Parma Calcio 1913 players Rimini FC 1912 players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Modena FC 2018 managers AC Bellaria Igea Marina players 20th-century Italian sportsmen