Alessandro Pierini (; born 22 March 1973) is an Italian retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a defender, and is the assistant manager of

Trapani Calcio S.S.D. F.C. Trapani 1905, commonly referred to as Trapani, is an Italian football club based in Trapani, Sicily. It currently plays in Serie D, after a year long hiatus following its exclusion from Serie C during the course of the 2020–21 seaso ...

. After playing for several clubs in his country, mainly

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a foo ...

, he finished his professional career in Spain, where he represented

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league syst ...

and

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, 2nd largest city in the country and capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cordoba may ...

. Pierini won one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, in 2001.

Playing career

Club

Born in

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as ...

in the

Province of Lucca The province of Lucca ( it, provincia di Lucca) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca. It has an area of and a total population of about 390,000. There are 33 '' comuni'' (singular: ''comune'') in the pr ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, Pierini began his professional career with

, making his debut in 1991 and moving on loan to

Fidelis Andria Fidelis Andria 2018 or simply Fidelis Andria is an Italian association football, football club based in Andria, Apulia. The club was founded in 1971 and re-founded in 2005, 2013 and 2018. The team competes in . Fidelis Andria play their home ma ...

four years later. He joined

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

in 1999 for 14 billion lire (€7.23 million), and turned down a move to English side

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

in the summer of 2001 for personal reasons, instead choosing to sign for

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are ni ...

after the bankruptcy of the ''Viola'' in 2002 and moving to

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

in January of the following year. After a second spell with Udinese, Pierini moved to Spain at already 31, joining

. After only five

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

matches he was released in the next

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer ...

and signed with

in Segunda División, being relegated in that season and promoting in his third, always as an undisputed starter.

International

Pierini made one appearance for the Italy national team, playing in the 1–2 friendly loss to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

at the

Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian N ...

in Rome on 28 February 2001.

Coaching career

In July 2009, with Córdoba consolidated in the second level, Pierini retired from playing at the age of 36, but stayed connected with his last club, immediately being named its assistant manager. In summer 2012, after one year with the reserves, he had his first head coach experience away from the

Estadio Nuevo Arcángel The Estadio El Arcángel is a multi-use stadium in Córdoba, Spain. It is currently used primarily for football matches and it is the home ground of football club Córdoba CF. Originally the stadium had 15,425 seats and was roughly oval shaped, ...

, being appointed at amateurs

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

. Pierini returned to his homeland subsequently, where he was in charge of

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 Dilettant ...

teams

Camaiore Camaiore is a city and ''comune'' of 32,513 inhabitants within the province of Lucca, Tuscany, central-western Italy. It stretches from the Apuan Alps to the east, to the plains and the coast of Versilia to the west. History Camaiore has Roman ori ...

and Viareggio 2014. In February 2017, he was appointed at fellow league side Fezzanese. In July 2018, Pierini was hired as manager for

Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

's U-19 team. He was replaced by

Valter Bonacina Valter Bonacina (born 30 July 1964) is an Italian association football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. Career Playing career He spent the majority of his career playing for Atalanta (10 seasons, 7 of which in Serie A) and A.S ...

ahead of the 2020-21 season.

Style of play

Pierini was a tough and physically strong defender, with a powerful build and good technical ability.

Personal life

Pierini's son,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and it ...

, is also a professional footballer.

Honours

Fiorentina *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...

: 2000–01

References

External links

* *
National team data
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierini, Alessandro 1973 births Living people Footballers from Viareggio Italian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Serie A players Serie B players Udinese Calcio players Fidelis Andria 2018 players ACF Fiorentina players Parma Calcio 1913 players LFA Reggio Calabria players La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Racing de Santander players Córdoba CF players Italy men's international footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Italian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Italian football managers Italian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Spain Córdoba CF B managers