Roberto D'Aversa (born 12 August 1975) 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is the head coach of

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 ...

club

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 ...

Playing career

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

youth product, D'Aversa spent most of his playing career with provincial

clubs and in the lower divisions. In the 2004–05 season, he was banned for six months for match-fixing. Stefano Bettarini,

Antonio Marasco Antonio Marasco (born 19 February 1970) is an Italian former professional footballer. From 2007, he played as a midfielder in Serie D, the fifth highest level in Italian football and the level right below the professional league. Career Born ...

Maurizio Caccavale Maurizio is an Italian masculine given name, derived from the Roman name Mauritius. Mauritius is a derivative of Maurus, meaning ''dark-skinned, Moorish''. List of people with the given name Maurizio Art and music * Maurizio Arcieri (born 1945), ...

Alfredo Femiano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. Given name Artists and musicians * Aldo Sambrell (1931–2010), Spanish actor also known as Alfredo San ...

and former Siena teammate

Generoso Rossi Generoso Rossi (born 3 January 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Rossi started his career at A.S. Bari. he was on loan to Serie C1 teams, and returned to Bari in summer 2000. He made hi ...

were also banned. On 28 January 2007, he played his first

match for Messina against Ascoli. In January 2009, he was loaned from

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

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 ...

. In July 2009, he was released due to

going bankrupt. On 5 September 2009, he moved to

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

. On 22 January 2010, he was transferred to

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 ...

on a six-month contract. In July 2010, he was signed by Virtus Lanciano on a free transfer.

Post-playing and coaching career

Virtus Lanciano

After his retirement, he stayed at Virtus Lanciano as part of the non-playing staff as technical area manager. In July 2014, he was appointed as the club's new head coach to replace

Marco Baroni Marco Baroni (born 11 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is currently the head coach of club Torino. Playing career Baroni started his career with Fiorentina, and reached his football ...

for the

2014–15 Serie B The 2014–15 Serie B was the 83rd season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams contested the league: 14 of which returning from the 2013–14 season, 5 of which promoted from Prima Divisione, and three relegated from Serie A. Th ...

campaign. After saving Lanciano from relegation in his first season in charge, he was confirmed for the following season. He was sacked on 30 January 2016 after a 0–3 loss to

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

, which left Lanciano in second-last place in the Serie B league table.

Parma

On 3 December 2016, he was named new head coach of

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, following the sacking of

Luigi Apolloni Luigi Apolloni (; born 2 May 1967) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a centre-back. At club level, Apolloni is mainly remembered for his time with Italian side Parma Calcio 1913, where he won several titles during h ...

and a short caretaker spell of

Stefano Morrone Stefano Morrone (born 26 October 1978) is an Italian football coach and a former player who played as a midfielder. Club career In 1998, he was co-signed by Lazio and Empoli. In 1999, he joined Piacenza along with Flavio Roma and Stefano Di F ...

for two games. In his first season, he guided Parma to win the promotion playoffs after defeating

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 final. He was confirmed for the club's

2017–18 Serie B The 2017–18 Serie B (known as the Serie B ConTe.it for sponsorship reasons) was the 86th season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams contested the league: 15 returning from the 2016–17 Serie B season, 4 promoted from 2016� ...

season, in which he successfully led Parma to second place and direct promotion to

in their first season in the second division following the club's refoundation. This was the club's third back-to-back promotion in three years (two of which under his tenure). D'Aversa was also confirmed as head coach for the

2018–19 Serie A The 2018–19 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 117th season of top-tier Italian football, the 87th in a round-robin tournament, and the 9th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season. On 23 August 2020, D'Aversa was sacked by Parma, with the club citing a lack of unity and enthusiasm for the decision. On 7 January 2021, D'Aversa was re-hired as Parma manager. After failing to save Parma from relegation, D'Aversa was successively dismissed by the end of the 2020–21 season.

Sampdoria

On 4 July 2021, D'Aversa was named new head coach of

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 ...

in Serie A. On 17 January 2022, after achieving just 20 points in 22 league games, D'Aversa was dismissed from his role.

Lecce

On 27 June 2023, D'Aversa returned to management as the new head coach of Serie A club

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

, succeeding

, who joined Hellas Verona. On 11 March 2024, D’Aversa was sacked by Lecce after he headbutted

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

striker Thomas Henry.

Empoli

On 2 July 2024, D'Aversa was announced as the new head coach of Serie A club

, agreeing on a two-year contract with the Tuscanian club.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Parma *

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 ...

runner–up: 2017–18

Manager

Individual *

Serie A Coach of the Month The Serie A Coach of the Month, officially known as the Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Philadelphia Coach of the Month for sponsorship reasons, is an association football award that recognises the best Serie A head coach each month of the season. T ...

: August 2023

References

External links

Gazzetta dello Sports player profile

Roberto D'Aversa
at Soccerway {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Aversa, Roberto 1975 births Living people Italian men's footballers Italian football managers AC Milan players Cosenza Calcio 1914 players AC Monza players Delfino Pescara 1936 players Ternana Calcio players UC Sampdoria players Siena FC SSD players ACR Messina players AC Prato players Treviso FBC 1993 players Mantova 1911 players ASD Città di Gallipoli players SS Virtus Lanciano 1924 players Serie A players Serie B players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Stuttgart SS Virtus Lanciano 1924 managers Parma Calcio 1913 managers UC Sampdoria managers US Lecce managers Empoli FC managers