Luigi Delneri (born 23 August 1950), often incorrectly written as Del Neri, is an Italian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

manager and a former player. After a playing career as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

including for several

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

clubs, he began managing in the lower leagues, and took Ternana to consecutive promotions into

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named 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 been ...

. He then spent four years at Chievo, helping the

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

neighbourhood club into Serie A for the first time and 5th place and

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

qualification in their first season at the top. Delneri left Chievo in 2004 for

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

holders

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

, but was dismissed within weeks and before a competitive game. He subsequently managed several Serie A clubs in the following years, including one season with

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

after taking Sampdoria to fourth place in 2010.

Playing career

Born at

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river ...

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

, Delneri made his professional debut as player at the age of 16 for SPAL,

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

's football team, for which he had worked as storer. After playing for

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

and

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

, he moved to Udinese, with whom he gained promotion to

, Italy's top division. He was later traded to Sampdoria and then to

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

, Pro Gorizia and Opitergina, an amateur team from

Oderzo Oderzo ( la, Opitergium; vec, Oderso) is a '' comune'' with a population of 20,003 in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy. It lies in the heart of the Venetian plain, about to the northeast of Venice. Oderzo is crossed by the Montic ...

, where he ended his playing career at 34.

Coaching career

Early career / Chievo

After his retirement as a player, Delneri stayed at Oderzo, appointed by chairman Ettore Setten (now owner of

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Vene ...

) as head coach. In 1986, he signed for

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti ...

team Pro Gorizia. He then coached Partinicaudace, a minor Sicilian Serie D team, in 1989,

Teramo Teramo (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Tèreme ) is a city and '' comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines ( Gran Sasso d'Ital ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...

, Novara and Nocerina of

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

; with this last team he won the league and promotion to

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1. Before the 1978 ...

. He then moved to Ternana of Serie C2, guiding it to

after two consecutive promotions. In 1998, after his second consecutive promotion, Delneri was signed by

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

, but was fired before starting the championship and was subsequently recalled by his former team Ternana in Serie B. In 2000, Delneri signed with Chievo of Serie B, a team representing a small quarter of the city of

. It was the beginning of the so-called "Chievo miracle" in which the team was promoted for the very first time to Serie A, where they topped the league for the first half of the season and then qualified for the

by coming 5th.

Porto, Roma and Palermo

In June 2004, Delneri signed a three-year contract to succeed

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the Britis ...

holders

. He was sacked on 7 August, without even managing a competitive game, allegedly for missing training sessions. Delneri became

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

's third manager of the season in October 2004, after

Cesare Prandelli Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian football coach and former player. He was most recently head coach of Fiorentina. Career Player Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first g ...

and Rudi Völler. His team failed to advance from their Champions League group, and he dropped young forward

Antonio Cassano Antonio Cassano (; born 12 July 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A talented and technically gifted player, he was usually deployed as a supporting forward, but could also play as an attacking midfield ...

after a dispute. He resigned from his two-year contract in March 2005, with the team in 7th, and handed the job over to

Bruno Conti Bruno Conti (; born 13 March 1955) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently head of A.S. Roma's youth sector. Throughout his playing career, Conti was usually deployed as a winger, and also previously played for Roma, ...

. In June 2005, Delneri signed for

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

, succeeding Francesco Guidolin who had quit for new challenges after qualifying them for the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. He was fired on 28 January 2006 with the team in 10th after a 3–1 home loss to

, having taken them into the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup.

Chievo return, Atalanta and Sampdoria

On 16 October 2006, Delneri returned to coach Chievo, replacing

Giuseppe Pillon Giuseppe "Bepi" Pillon (born 8 February 1956) is an Italian football manager and former player. Career Player Born in Preganziol, Province of Treviso, Pillon moved his first footsteps into football with hometown team Pro Mogliano, before to joi ...

at the 15th-place club. Despite a strong 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 Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also b ...

on the final matchday. Following the relegation, Delneri was announced as new

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily kno ...

boss in June 2007. He led the team from

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Com ...

to 9th and 11th place in his two seasons; he announced in April 2009 that he would leave at the end of the season. Delneri left to take over at Sampdoria on 1 June 2009, a team that had just finished 13th. He guided Sampdoria to a surprising fourth-place finish, and a spot to the third qualifying round of the

2010–11 UEFA Champions League The 2010–11 UEFA Champions League was the 56th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 19th under the UEFA Champions League format. The final was held at Wembley Stadium in London on 28 May 2011, wher ...

, leaving the next day.

Juventus

On 19 May 2010, two days after leaving Sampdoria, Delneri was appointed as coach of Juventus. At the end of the 2010–11 season, having finished 7th and not qualified for Europe, Delneri was sacked by the Juventus board of directors.

Later career

On 22 October 2012, Delneri was named new head coach of tenth-place

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

in Serie A, succeeding sacked coach

Luigi De Canio Luigi De Canio (born 26 September 1957) is an Italian football manager and a former player who played as a full-back. Career Player De Canio, a full back, played mostly with Serie C1 and Serie C2 teams, his lone season in Serie B being 1979– ...

at Sampdoria's rivals. On 20 January 2013, however, Delneri was himself sacked following a 0–2 home loss to Catania and a string of bad results for the team, which recorded only two wins in his 13 matches with the club. Delneri was hired at another of his former club's rivals, this time Chievo's adversaries

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. His ...

, replacing

Andrea Mandorlini Andrea Mandorlini (born 17 July 1960) is an Italian football manager and former defender, currently in charge of club Mantova. Playing career Mandorlini made his playing debut on 4 February 1979 with Torino. He left Torino in 1980 to join th ...

on 1 December 2015; the team had not won once all season. He left by mutual consent after the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

ended in relegation for the club on 23 May 2016. On 3 October 2016, Delneri signed a one-year deal with the option of a second at Udinese, succeeding

Giuseppe Iachini Giuseppe Iachini (; born 7 May 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who most recently managed Serie B club Parma. He played as a midfielder. Club career Iachini was born in Ascoli Piceno. He started his playing car ...

who had won two of seven games. He finished the campaign in 13th, earning a second year, but took 12 points from the first 12 games and lost his job on 21 November 2017 when three points above the relegation places. On 4 September 2020, Delneri was officially appointed manager of

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and '' comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

, following their relegation to Serie B. On 6 October 2020, after one draw and one loss, positioned in last place, Delneri was sacked.

Style of management

As a manager, Delneri is known for using a spectacular, offensive-minded style of football, which is heavily influenced by

Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European ...

's tactics at Milan, as well as Dutch '' total football''. His teams are known for their work-rate, strength, heavy running, and aggressive use of pressing when defending off the ball, while they are known for their movement off the ball, ability to change positions, and make overlapping runs when attacking. A tactically intelligent manager, his preferred

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

is the 4–4–2, which relies on a high defensive line, although he has also been known to adopt other systems which better suit the characteristics of his players, including the 4–3–3.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Coach

;Individual * Serie A Coach of the Year (1): 2001–02 *

Panchina d'Oro Panchina d'Oro ( en, Golden Bench) is a yearly award given to the best Italian association football coaches of the Serie A. The Golden Bench is also awarded to the best men's Serie C and women's Serie A coaches as well as the best coaches in men' ...

(1): 2001–02

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delneri, Luigi 1950 births Living people People from Aquileia Association football midfielders Italian footballers Italian football managers S.P.A.L. players Calcio Foggia 1920 players Novara F.C. players Udinese Calcio players U.C. Sampdoria players L.R. Vicenza players A.C.N. Siena 1904 players A.S. Pro Gorizia players Serie A players Serie B players Teramo Calcio managers Ravenna F.C. managers Novara F.C. managers A.S.G. Nocerina managers Ternana Calcio managers Empoli F.C. managers A.C. ChievoVerona managers A.S. Roma managers Atalanta B.C. managers Palermo F.C. managers Juventus F.C. managers Serie A managers Serie B managers FC Porto managers U.C. Sampdoria managers Genoa C.F.C. managers Italian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Portugal Italian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Hellas Verona F.C. managers Udinese Calcio managers Brescia Calcio managers Footballers from Friuli Venezia Giulia