Alberto Malesani

1.1. Birth and Early Life

Alberto Malesani was born on 5 June 1954 in Verona, Italy. His early background is rooted in the Veronese area.
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1.2. Playing Career

Malesani played as a midfielder during his brief and largely unremarkable playing career in the lower divisions of Italian football. Despite being recognized for his good technical skills and tactical understanding, his performances were often inconsistent and limited by a lack of pace and movement. He spent most of his playing days with the Veronese amateur team Audace S. Michele, where he contributed to a promotion from Serie D to Serie C in the 1976-77 season, making fourteen appearances during that period. He also played for Vicenza. Malesani retired from playing football at the young age of 24.

2.1. Early Career and Breakthrough at Chievo

After retiring from playing, Malesani initially worked at Canon in Amsterdam, Netherlands. During this time, he dedicated himself to studying the innovative 'total football' training methods employed by Ajax. His deep passion for coaching was evident when he even chose to spend his honeymoon observing Johan Cruyff's coaching sessions at FC Barcelona.

In 1990, Malesani left his job at Canon to pursue a coaching career, joining Chievo as a youth squad coach for the Allievi team. By 1991, he became an assistant to the first-team head coach, Carlo De Angelis. In 1993, he was promoted to head coach, leading then-unknown Chievo to a historic promotion to Serie B in his first season. He continued to manage Chievo for three seasons in Serie B, narrowly missing promotion to Serie A.

2.2. Fiorentina and Golden Age at Parma

In 1997, Malesani departed Chievo to take on his first top-flight managerial role as the boss of Fiorentina. A successful season with Fiorentina, where the team finished in fourth place, earned him recognition.

His strong performance at Fiorentina convinced Parma to appoint him as their new head coach in 1998. This period marked the most successful phase of Malesani's career. During his tenure at Parma, he achieved significant silverware, winning the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the Italian Super Cup. Additionally, he guided Parma to two fourth-place finishes in the league. Despite these successes, he was ultimately sacked during the 2000-01 Serie A season.

2.3. Subsequent Club Career

Following his departure from Parma, Malesani embarked on a series of managerial roles at various clubs, experiencing mixed fortunes.

3.1. Tactical Characteristics

Malesani's tactical approach was characterized by an attacking style, drawing significant inspiration from the innovative 'total football' system employed by Ajax under Dutch manager Louis van Gaal in the 1990s. This contrasted with the more balanced, defensive approaches popular in Serie A at the time, often associated with managers like Arrigo Sacchi and Nevio Scala. Malesani frequently utilized a 3-4-3 formation, and at Parma, he even implemented an asymmetrical 3-4-1-2 formation.

In defense, his system at Parma featured an offensive sweeper, typically Roberto Sensini, who would advance into midfield. Lilian Thuram operated as a right-sided center-back, frequently joining the attack and acting as a full-back to facilitate transitions. On the left side, Fabio Cannavaro served as a pure man-marking stopper, primarily defending and providing crucial balance to the team.

In midfield, Malesani employed a box-to-box midfielder such as Dino Baggio to contribute at both ends of the pitch. He also utilized an offensive playmaker, like Stefano Fiore, playing behind the strikers, often Enrico Chiesa and Hernán Crespo. The team also featured an all-around creative player in midfield, such as Juan Sebastián Verón, and an offensive right midfielder, like Diego Fuser, who could drift centrally, allowing for overlapping runs from the right-sided center-backs.

Malesani also adopted Van Gaal's use of a sweeper keeper, exemplified by Gianluigi Buffon at Parma. This role involved the goalkeeper not only clearing the ball out of danger by rushing out of the area, thus enabling the team to maintain a high defensive line, but also initiating plays with short passes from the back. His Parma side was recognized for its vertical passing game, where the midfield primarily controlled possession and initiated attacks, with Verón often dictating play and delivering line-breaking passes. Off the ball, the team effectively employed pressing tactics.

During his time at Genoa, Malesani also experimented with the 4-3-3 and 4-3-1-2 formations.

3.2. Coaching Approach and Personality

Beyond his tactical acumen, Malesani was renowned for his exceptional motivational skills, capable of inspiring his players. He was equally known for his strong, often controversial, and outspoken personality. This candidness and fiery temperament frequently led to public confrontations and earned him the enduring nickname "Il Male" (The Evil).

4.1. Hellas Verona Incident

On 18 November 2001, after his Verona team secured a historic 3-2 victory in the first-ever Serie A derby against Chievo, Malesani celebrated wildly. He ran and kneeled in front of the tiers occupied by Verona supporters. His behavior drew criticism, but Malesani fiercely defended his actions during a post-match interview with Monica Vanali. He argued against what he perceived as the use of stock phrases by his colleagues and asserted his managerial achievements, stating that he had even informed the opposing manager, Luigi Delneri, of his intention to celebrate exuberantly in front of the curva if his team won.

He famously declared: "Managers are all like that, smokers, still, on their toes! Come on, stop it! (...) The problem is the following: in the football world - right? - nowadays, you need to be a pretender, you need to be made with- of plastic, to be like this, look at me! [Imitating a mannequin] Interview me, Monica! Here it is! Come on, ask me a question! (...) The last [Italian] manager winning in Europe, tell them, remind that, no one says that! No one, in two years, no one said that! (...) Never a lone voice, not a single one, never one saying: "All right, Malesani, fucking run, run you managers!" Stop it, it's a shame! (...) In front of an audience, I told him: "Gigi, don't get angry, if I win, I'll go celebrating in front of the [Verona] tiers!"

4.2. Panathinaikos Press Conference

On 16 December 2005, following a disappointing 2-2 draw against Iraklis, Malesani delivered a furious press conference as manager of Panathinaikos. Exhausted by the incessant criticisms he and the club had received for perceived poor performances from both the press and supporters, he vehemently defended his hard work and dedication, as well as that of the club's owner, Giannis Vardinogiannis, directly addressing the journalists present.

He famously ranted: "Why there always needs to be a resp- a moron here, being a fucking scapegoat? 12 years, 24 managers: will the manager always be the fucking scapegoat here? Always the manager? The supporters should give the team a hand instead of protesting, as [the players] are young, we built a team- help them out! Be so fucking brave to give the team a hand! I'm there 24 hours a day, I'm there 24 hours a day, every fucking day! Something like this is not possible, fucking shame on you! And I'm not angry because I tied the match, I'm angry because all of this is disgusting! I've never seen something like this! How- where are we? What has football become, a fucking jungle? No, no, no, be quiet! And they laugh! What are you laughing at, what? What do you enjoy writing then? What are you laughing at? What are you fucking laughing at? What are you laughing at? What are you laughing at? Respect people! One needs to tell lies and be a pander with you, I'm not like that, fuck! Ok? I look straight at everyone, everyone, from first to last, as I'm fucking serious, I go working seriously! No, no, now it's my turn, you're done! Fuck! Words? Words about what? After 4 months playing football, words! Don't be ridiculous, come on, fuck! Don't be ridiculous! It's time to cut it out, be quiet you all, be quiet! I've never seen something like this! Everyone being cocky, ironic, laughing: "Here he is, the new moron has come!" We do things fucking seriously here! (...) Should one even murder me, I don't care, because my conscience is fucking clear, I work 24 hours a day, fucking stop it! Stop it! And always idiot questions! The supporters, this way and that! We work, give a break to Mr. Varidoianis [right spelling: Vardinogiannis], give thanks to Mr. Varidoianis! Fucking give thanks to him! A nice person! And fucking help Mr. Varidoianis out! The supporters shouldn't blame him, what do they argue about, what the fuck do they argue about? What do they argue about? Varidoianis? If he leav- after he leaves we'll see what fucking happens then! What do we argue about here, Varidoianis? Come on, fuck, cut it out!"

4.3. Siena Tenure Incidents

During his time at Siena, Malesani faced several notable incidents. On 9 January 2010, after a dramatic 4-3 loss at San Siro stadium against Inter, a team that went on to win the treble, Malesani strongly contested the foul that led to a free-kick from which Inter scored the temporary equalizer. He specifically claimed that smaller teams received no protection in Serie A and that bigger teams frequently took advantage of this bias.

On 24 January 2010, following a 1-1 home draw against Cagliari, Siena President Massimo Mezzaroma publicly expressed his disappointment with the team's performance to TV journalists. Subsequently, RAI host Enrico Varriale welcomed Malesani to a post-match interview by referring to him as an "allenatore che sta un po' sulla graticola" (Italian for "manager risking his job") and anticipated that Mezzaroma would call him later. Malesani was visibly surprised and deeply embittered by this line of questioning, especially because the discussion immediately veered towards off-the-pitch topics. He reminded the journalists that Mezzaroma had previously spoken positively about him and emphasized that he was doing everything possible for the team, highlighting the positive aspects of the draw.

4.4. Genoa Press Conflicts

On 1 December 2011, during his managerial period at Genoa, Malesani became very annoyed by journalists repeatedly labeling him as "mollo" (Italian for "limp" or "demotivated"). Consequently, he dedicated his entire press conference to vigorously refuting these criticisms and asserting his high level of motivation and skills.

He passionately argued: "Demotivated, limp, me limp? Wha- What are you saying? Me limp? Me limp? Me limp? What does "limp" mean here? I don't get it. (...) If one manages to work for 21 years at this level, I don't think that he's so limp. A little bit of respect even there! Me limp? You are limp when you say things like thi- that! Because saying this kind of things, namely that I'm limp, is convenient for you! (...) If you're limp, you go nowhere, ok? I'm not limp, others could be limp! (...) What's the problem? Why does one say "limp"? Me limp? Are we crazy? (...) Have you see- have you heard me complaining once? "The limp one"? Have you heard "the limp one" complaining? No, you haven't, it means I'm not limp. (...) I fight at home, I fight with everyone, I'm not limp neither there. Actually, I'm more nervous than many others perhaps. (...) I'm like this, I'm brave, I'm not limp!"

5.1. Club

Chievo

• Serie C1: 1993-94

Parma

• Coppa Italia: 1998-99
• UEFA Cup: 1998-99
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1999