Mario Somma (born 17 September 1963) 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 ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Playing career

Somma, who was born in

Latina, Lazio Latina () is the capital of the province of Latina, in the Lazio region, in Central Italy. As of 2024, the city has 127,486 inhabitants and is the second-largest city of the region, after the national capital Rome.It is one of the youngest citi ...

, started his career with

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and then spent his later years mostly at the

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 ...

and

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 ...

level, playing for several

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

n teams. He retired in 1997.

Coaching career

Somma started his coaching career in 1997 with amateur team Pro Cisterna, and then served as head coach for several other

Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

teams, including

Potenza Potenza (, ; ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one of ...

and Cavese, winning promotion to

with the latter. In 2003, he was appointed at the helm of

team

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 ...

, leading the Tuscan side to a historical triumph in the league. This caused interest 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 River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...

, which chose to offer him the job for their 2004–05 Serie B campaign. As Somma managed to win a personal third consecutive promotion, leading Empoli to become Serie B runners-up, he was confirmed by the Tuscans for their 2005–06 campaign; despite an impressive start, Empoli's performances slowly fell down, causing Somma to be dismissed from his job in January 2006. Somma started the 2006–07 season as head coach of

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 ...

in the Serie B, with the aim to lead the ''rondinelle'' back to the top flight: however he was sacked in February 2007 as he did not manage to obtain more than a mid-table place. In October 2007 he was appointed at the helm of

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

to replace

Gian Marco Remondina Gian is a given name of Italian origin. It is a shortened version of Giovanni, another name of Italian origin. Notable people Notable people whose name is now typically expressed as Gian include: * Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter * Gian Lore ...

. He led the ''biancorossi'' to escape relegation in the season, but was sacked immediately after the final matchday. In February 2009 he was appointed to replace

Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro Costacurta (born 24 April 1966) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Throughout his club career, Costacurta spent over twenty years with AC Milan ...

as 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 Mantova. He left at the end of the season after having guided his side to a mid-table finish. In October 2009 he returned into football management as new head coach of

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 ...

, replacing dismissed boss Luca Gotti. However, he was sacked in February 2010, with Triestina in 18th place, and only one point shy of immediate relegation. On 1 October 2012 he was named new coach of

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and a ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the province of Grosseto and the main city of the Maremma region. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the ...

en place of the sacked

Francesco Moriero Francesco "Checco" Moriero (; born 31 March 1969) is an Italian association football, football former player and current Manager (association football), manager, who played as a midfielder, usually as a Midfielder#Winger, winger on the right flan ...

., but on 18 November 2012 he was also sacked. On 8 June 2014 he was named new head coach of

Lega Pro The Lega Italiano Calcio Professionistico (Italian for Professional Football Italian League), commonly known as Lega Pro (Pro League), is the governing body that runs the third tier of professional football competitions in Italy, the Serie C. I ...

club

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current ...

. He was however dismissed as head coach only two months later, on 17 August 2014, after only one game in charge of the team (a 0–1 loss to

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

in the first round of the

2014–15 Coppa Italia The 2014–15 Coppa Italia, also known as TIM Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 68th edition of the national domestic tournament. Napoli were the defending champions, having won the previous year's final, but were eliminated in the semi-fi ...

). In August 2020, he was hired by

. He was removed from his role on 2 November 2020, following a string of negative results. On 23 February 2023, Somma returned into management as the new head coach of Serie C club

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 ...

until the end of the season, only to resign just a month later, on 25 March, following a 1–2 home loss to Monterosi. On 25 July 2024, Somma moved down to

, accepting the coaching job at newly-promoted club

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

; however, he resigned only six days later, citing family reasons.

Personal life

He is the father of football player Michele Somma.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somma, Mario 1963 births Living people Footballers from Latina, Lazio Italian men's footballers Italian football managers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Genoa CFC players US Salernitana 1919 players US Avellino 1912 players SS Arezzo managers Empoli FC managers Brescia Calcio managers Piacenza Calcio 1919 managers Mantova 1911 managers US Triestina Calcio 1918 managers US Grosseto 1912 managers Cavese 1919 managers AC Pavia 1911 SSD players SS Turris Calcio players US Catanzaro 1929 managers Potenza SC managers Calcio Foggia 1920 managers Men's association football defenders Latina Calcio 1932 managers 20th-century Italian sportsmen