Davide Possanzini
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Davide Possanzini (born 9 February 1976) 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
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...
or
attacking 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. ...
. He is currently in charge as the head coach of club
Mantova Mantua ( ; ; Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2017, it was named as the "European C ...
.


Playing career

Possanzini started his career with amateur team Recanatese in 1992. He was signed by
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 ...
in 1994 but never made a first-team appearance and was later sold to
Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...
side
Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...
. He left Lecco after two seasons to join
Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...
, another Serie C2 club, helping the ''biancorossi'' to ensure promotion to Serie C1. Signed by
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
Reggina Associazione Sportiva Reggina 1914, commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. They play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo and are currently playing in the Serie D league. ...
in September 1998, he immediately won a personal second promotion, scoring nine goals in his first season with the ''amaranto''. He made his
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 ...
debut on 29 August 1999 in a 1–1 tie at
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 ...
's home. In January 2001, after two and a half seasons with Reggina, he signed for
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 ...
fallen giants
Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...
, but failed to make a breakthrough during his stay with the ''blucerchiati''. After an unimpressive season with
Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
in 2002–03, Possanzini was signed by Serie B minnows AlbinoLeffe, where he quickly regained his best form and proved himself as a key player for his new club. In January 2005, Possanzini signed for
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
and marked his return to Serie A. Still, several injuries prevented him from being actively part of the Sicilian side; he eventually played only twice with the ''rosanero'' before being sold again during the summer market, this time to
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 ...
as partial compensation in the deal that brought
Andrea Caracciolo Andrea Caracciolo (; born 18 September 1981) is an Italian football director and former player, currently chairman of Lumezzane. A striker, Caracciolo was also a full Italy international, having made two senior appearances between 2004 and 20 ...
to Palermo. He is currently a mainstay for the ''rondinelle'', and scored 24 goals in his first two seasons with Brescia, both played in the Serie B. In January 2009, Possanzini was banned for a year, along with Daniele Mannini, by the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
, under request from the
World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...
, for being late at the anti-doping controls after Brescia's game with
Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona. History The name came from t ...
in December 2007. Both players were initially acquitted by the Italian Football Federation and successively condemned to a 15-day ban by
CONI Coni may refer to: *Cuneo, Italy *Coni, Azerbaijan *Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee (, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the develop ...
. The ban was successively suspended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport itself later in March and cancelled on 27 July 2009 after being proved there was no real intention to avoid the controls from Possanzini and Mannini.


Coaching career

In 2013, Possanzini moved back to
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 ...
as a youth coach in charge of the ''Allievi Nazionali'' and then the ''Primavera'' (Under-19 squad). He subsequently joined the coaching staff of
Roberto De Zerbi Roberto De Zerbi (; born 6 June 1979) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Ligue 1 club Marseille. Playing career De Zerbi started his professional career at AC Milan. He spent four se ...
, following him during his tenures at
Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...
,
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
,
Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...
,
Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...
and
FC Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...
. In February 2022, together with De Zerbi and his coaching staff, he harrowingly fled from Ukraine in the aftermath of the Russian invasion. On 16 June 2022, Possanzini agreed to return to Brescia as the club's ''Primavera'' youth coach. On 7 January 2023, he was named new head coach in charge of the first team following the dismissal of
Pep Clotet Josep "Pep" Clotet Ruiz (born 28 April 1977) is a Spanish Association football, football coach. As well as working as assistant at several clubs, he managed UE Cornellà, Cornellà, UE Figueres, Figueres, RCD Espanyol B, Espanyol B, Halmstads B ...
, being however sacked just thirteen days later after suffering two defeats in both games in charge of the team. On 16 June 2023, Possanzini was announced as the new head coach of Serie C club
Mantova Mantua ( ; ; Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2017, it was named as the "European C ...
. Under his guidance, Mantova surprisingly topped the league table from the very beginning of the season despite the presence of other more ambitious teams in the league such as Padova and Vicenza, while playing an attacking football style reminiscent of his mentor De Zerbi that quickly won Possanzini national coverage. On 7 April 2024, Mantova mathematically won promotion to Serie B.


Coaching statistics


Honours


Managerial

;Mantova *
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 ...
: 2023–24 (Group A)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Possanzini, Davide 1976 births Living people Footballers from the Province of Ancona Men's association football forwards Italian men's footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers Italian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Ukraine Italian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Torino FC players SSD Varese Calcio players AS Reggina 1914 players UC Sampdoria players Catania FC players Brescia Calcio players Palermo FC players UC AlbinoLeffe players FC Lugano players US Cremonese players Calcio Lecco 1912 players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players FC Shakhtar Donetsk non-playing staff Italian football managers Brescia Calcio managers Serie B managers