Walter Nicoletti (4 November 1952 – 23 September 2019) was an Italian professional

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.

Career

Born in

Santarcangelo di Romagna Santarcangelo di Romagna () is a ''comune'' in the province of Rimini, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, on the '' Via Emilia''. As of 2009, it had a population of some 21,300. It is crossed by two rivers, the and the Marecchia. The muni ...

, Nicoletti was originally a teacher, having previously been a youth player at

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

, where he played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Nicoletti began his coaching career in the 1970s, initially managing

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

-based San Mauro, Savignano and Corpolo. In 1985, Nicoletti joined

Vis Pesaro Vis Pesaro dal 1898 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Vis Pesaro, is an Italian association football club located in Pesaro, Marche. The club currently plays in Serie C. The team is the largest in the city and among the oldest in Italy. Vis Pesa ...

, staying with the club for four years. Nicoletti later managed

Giarre Giarre () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily. The town is located about southeast of Palermo and around north of Catania. Geography Giarre is bounded by the municipalities of Acireale, Mascali, Milo, Ri ...

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

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 ...

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

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 ...

, Gualdo,

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

Pistoiese Football Club Pistoiese SSD, commonly known as Pistoiese, is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany. Currently, Pistoiese plays in Serie D. Originally founded on 21 April 1921, the club has also played Serie A on a num ...

Lucchese Lucchese may refer to: * A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905, a football team based in Lucca, Tuscany * Lucchese crime family, one of the "Five Families" of New York City's Mafia * Lucchese School, an art school in Tuscany, Italy that flourished in the 11 ...

Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) 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 in the Liguri ...

and

S.P.A.L. Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly referred to by the acronym SPAL (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. During the 2024–25 season the team played in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian foot ...

After retiring as a coach he became a professor and advisor to the Italian Football Coaches Association.

References

1952 births 2019 deaths Italian men's footballers AC Cesena players Men's association football goalkeepers Italian football managers Empoli FC managers Spezia Calcio managers SPAL managers Taranto FC 1927 managers Pisa SC managers US Livorno 1915 managers AC Cesena managers Serie B managers Footballers from the Province of Rimini Vis Pesaro dal 1898 managers FC Trapani 1905 managers 20th-century Italian sportsmen {{Italy-footy-goalkeeper-stub