Milena Bertolini (born 24 June 1966) is an Italian former

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 lea ...

and

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 ...

who last coached the Italy women's national team. As the national team coach, she led Italy to qualify for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...

following a twenty-year absence.

Playing career

Bertolini began her youth career with U.S. Correggese, before moving to Reggiana in 1984. The team won the Serie B title in the 1985–86 season, therefore earning promotion to

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 ...

. After spells at Modena Euromobil and

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

, she returned to Reggiana in 1990, helping the team to win the Serie A title. She later went on to play for Woman Sassari, A.S.D. Bologna, Aircargo Agliana and Fiammamonza. In 1996, she joined Modena Femminile, winning the league title in both her seasons at the club, along with the

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

in 1997. In 1998, she joined Pisa S.C.F., before moving to Foroni Verona where she played until her retirement in 2001. In 2018, she was the woman footballer inductee to the

Italian Football Hall of Fame The Italian Football Hall of Fame () is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football. It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Italy. History and regulations The Hall o ...

Managerial career

Following her retirement in 2001, she became an assistant coach at Foroni Verona, the club she last played at, with the team winning the 2001–02 Coppa Italia. The following season, she was promoted as the team's head coach, leading them to Supercoppa Italiana and Serie A titles. In 2004, she returned to her former club Reggiana, winning the 2009–10 Coppa Italia during her tenure. In 2012, she joined

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 ...

, where she won two Serie A titles (2013–14 and 2015–16), two Coppa Italia titles (2014–15 and 2015–16) and three Supercoppa Italiana titles (2014, 2015 and 2016). During her managerial career in Serie A, she won the Panchina d'Oro award as the best manager of the season on six occasions (2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016). At the end of the 2010–11 season, Bertolini obtained a

UEFA Pro Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

, allowing her to coach a high level men's team. In August 2017, she was appointed as the head coach of the Italy women's national team. In 2019 Women's World Cup qualification, she helped the team to win their qualifying group with only one loss, thus qualifying for the

in France. The tournament is Italy's third appearance at the Women's World Cup, and their first qualification after a twenty-year absence. She later led her country to both Euro 2022 and 2023 World Cup; however, Italy was eliminated from the group stages. On 7 August 2023, she announced her resignation from her post at the national team following the World Cup exit.

Controversy

Bertolini was involved in a dispute in February 2022 by telling

Nicolò Zaniolo Nicolò Zaniolo (; born 2 July 1999) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for club Fiorentina, on loan from Süper Lig club Galatasaray, and the Italy national team. Club career Early ca ...

to "reeducate" himself after he was sent-off for dissent. She later apologised for her vulgar speech.

Honours

Player

Reggiana *

: 1990–91 *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

: 1988–89 * Serie B: 1985–86 Modena *

: 1996–97, 1997–98 *

: 1997 Individual *

, woman footballer: 2018

Manager

Foroni Verona *

: 2002–03 *

: 2002 Reggiana *

: 2009–10 Brescia *

: 2013–14, 2015–16 *

: 2014–15, 2015–16 *

: 2014, 2015, 2016 Individual * Panchina d'Oro of Serie A Femminile: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16

References

General references * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertolini, Milena 1966 births Living people People from Correggio, Emilia-Romagna Italian women's footballers Italy women's international footballers Women's association football defenders A.S.D. Reggiana Calcio Femminile players Torres Calcio Femminile players ASD Fiammamonza 1970 players Serie A (women's football) players Italian football managers Female association football managers Italy women's national football team managers 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup managers Footballers from the Province of Reggio Emilia A.C.F. Prato players C.F. Euromobil Modena players UEFA Women's Euro 2022 managers 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup managers 20th-century Italian sportswomen