Alessandro Calori (born 29 August 1966) is an Italian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player, last in charge as head coach of

Ternana Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria and currently compete in the Serie C. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A ...

. As a defender, he is mostly remembered for his lengthy spell with

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

during the 90s, where he also served as the club's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Playing career

Calori was born in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

. A product of

's youth system, Calori made his professional debut in 1985 with

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

team

Montevarchi Montevarchi is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. History The town of Montevarchi sprang up around 1100, near to a fortified Benedictine monastery, founded by bishop Elempert (986–1010) of Arezzo. At first the cas ...

, where he spent four season. After two seasons with

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, in 1991 Calori joined

, where he spent eight seasons, all as a regular starter, gaining a reputation as a powerful and physically strong

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, with good leadership skills, and later also being named the club's captain. In 1999 Calori, then aged 33, signed for

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

, and gained space in the headlines as he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in the final league week, a goal that unexpectedly let Juventus lose the Serie A title to

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. He retired in 2004, after spells with

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

and

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Coaching career

Following his retirement as a player, Calori initially stayed at Venezia, joining the managing staff that worked alongside head coach

Julio César Ribas Julio César Ribas Vlacovich (born 8 January 1957) is a Uruguayan association football manager and former footballer. He is the current manager of River Plate Montevideo. Career as manager Ribas was appointed the manager of Primera Division U ...

in the ''arancioneroverdis 2004–05 season, initially as team manager, and then as assistant coach. In 2005, he became joint 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 ...

side

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to US Triestina or just Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, in the northern Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Originally established in 1918, Triestina was one of the fo ...

, alongside

Adriano Buffoni Adriano is the form of the Latin given name ''Hadrianus'' commonly used in the Italian language; the form Adrião can be used in the Portuguese language while the form Adrian is used in the English language. Notable people with the name include: ...

, only to be sacked a few weeks later. In 2006, he was then appointed at the helm of

Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...

team Sambenedettese, a spell which proved to be unsuccessful as he was sacked in October 2006. On 10 March 2008, he was unveiled as new

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

coach, replacing Guido Carboni. He left his post in June, after having failed to save his team from relegation. In February 2009 he was unveiled as new head coach of

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into ...

club Portosummaga, replacing Manuele Domenicali. He guided Portosummaga to win the Lega Pro Prima Divisione title in 2009–10, and automatic promotion to Serie B for his club, in a historical first time in the Italian second division for his club. On 2 July 2010, he was unveiled as new head coach of Serie B club

Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

. Despite a good first half of season, Calori was dismissed by Padova on 15 March 2011 following a string of negative results. On 12 December 2011, he was named new head coach of

side

, as a replacement for Giuseppe Scienza. He served as head coach of

Trapani Calcio Football Club Trapani 1905, commonly referred to as Trapani, is an Italian football club based in Trapani, Sicily. They are nicknamed the ''Granata'' (the Maroons), after their kit colour. History Foundation The club's roots can be traced bac ...

from 2016 to 2018, witnessing a relegation to

and a failed promotion campaign the following season. On 20 January 2019, Calori was appointed as the manager of

. After less than one month, on 14 February, Calori was fired after he only managed to pick op two points in five league games.Ternana esonera Calori, arriva Gallo
ansa.it, 14 February 2019

Style of play

While not being particularly elegant or skilful defender, Calori was a powerful and physically strong centre back, who was known for his tenacity and his hard-tackling playing style, as well as his leadership.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calori, Alessandro 1966 births Living people Footballers from Arezzo Men's association football defenders Italian men's footballers Italian football managers Pisa SC players Udinese Calcio players AC Perugia Calcio players Brescia Calcio players Venezia FC players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players US Triestina Calcio 1918 managers US Avellino 1912 managers Calcio Padova managers Brescia Calcio managers Novara FC managers 20th-century Italian sportsmen