Giancarlo Italiano (born 31 January 1983) is an Australian association football manager who currently manages the A-League Men side Wellington Phoenix.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 31 January 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 2017 | Sydney FC NPL (assistant) | ||
| 2018–2019 | Sydney FC NPL | ||
| 2019–2023 | Wellington Phoenix (assistant) | ||
| 2023– | Wellington Phoenix | ||
Career
editEarly career
editItaliano started his coaching career at NSW NPL club Blacktown City where he held the position of sporting director, during which the club won the 2015 National Premier League NSW season and the National Premier League Finals.[1][2] Following this success he joined A-League Men club Sydney FC where he would work alongside Graham Arnold, Steve Corica, and Ufuk Talay whilst working with the Sydney FC academy set up.[3]
When Ufuk Talay departed Sydney FC in 2019 as manager of New Zealand A-League Men club Wellington Phoenix, Italiano was one of the first people that Talay sought to bring across the Tasman Sea, to which Italiano was initially hesitant to do[1]
Wellington Phoenix
editItaliano would join the Wellington based club as an analyst, before working closely with Talay, as he was announced to be an assistant coach for the Phoenix.[4] As Italiano progressed through the club's coaching hierarchy, he studied for and completed his AFC Professional Coaching Diploma, a pre-requisite for managers to earn before they can become the head manager of a club in the Asian Football Confederation.[5]
Whilst assistant to Ufuk Talay, Italiano made his debut as caretaker manager for the Phoenix during the COVID-19 disrupted 2021-22 A-League Men season when Talay was forced to sit out two matches, having caught the virus. Italiano took the reins in a seamless transition against Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar,[6] with Wellington winning both matches 2-1 and 0-3 respectively.
In 2023 after 4 seasons with the club, Ufuk Talay announced he would vacate the managerial position of the Wellington Phoenix at season's end as he sought new challenges.[7] A week later Italiano was announced to be Talay's successor, signing a 2-year contract extension[8] and becoming the club's sixth manager since their inception in 2007, and the first A-League Men's manager to not have had a professional playing career prior to taking up management.[3]
Italiano's first signing for the 2023-2024 A-League Men's season came shortly after Talay's final game in the Elimination Final of the 2022–23 season, signing former Western Sydney and Newcastle Jets player Mohamed Al-Taay whom had played under Italiano at Blacktown City[9] with Italiano claiming he could become the next Cameron Devlin.[10]
Personal life
editItaliano graduated from Rosebank College in 1996,[11] and graduated from the University of Notre Dame Australia in 2021 with a Bachelor of Laws.[12][13]
Born in Australia, Italiano's heritage is Peruvian and Italian. He supports Sampdoria in Serie A, and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.[14]
Italiano possesses a number of superstitions as manager: he does not watch penalties being taken because he thinks it is bad luck, he throws away his shirt whenever his team loses, he has to shake everyone’s hand whenever he enters a room, and he thinks it is bad luck to wish him good luck before a game and prefers well-wishers to say “go well” instead.[15]
Managerial statistics
edit- As of match played 10 November 2024 [16]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Wellington Phoenix (caretaker) | 
|
26 March 2022 | 30 March 2022 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 100.00 |
| Wellington Phoenix (manager) |
|
22 April 2023 | Present | 36 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 49 | 33 | 16 | 50.00 |
| Total | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 54 | 34 | 20 | 52.63 | |||
Honours
editIndividual
References
edit- ^ a b Houghton, Nick (16 December 2020). "Hard work pays off for Wellington Phoenix coach Italiano". SBS. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "ITALIANO RE-SIGNS WITH WELLINGTON PHOENIX AS ASSISTANT COACH". 16 July 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b Comito, Matt (18 April 2023). "Phoenix announce Talay replacement: 'We didn't need to look outside the club'". Keep Up. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "How a self-described 'nobody' finally got his pro' coaching licence". Friends Of Football NZ. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Phoenix appoint Giancarlo Italiano as men's new A-League head coach". Friends Of Football NZ. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "'Chiefy' to step up as Ufuk Talay tests positive for Covid-19". NZ Sportswire. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Talay to depart Phoenix at season's end, new coach announced next week". Keep Up. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Reid, Felicity (18 April 2023). "Wellington Phoenix signs Giancarlo Italiano as head coach". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Wellington Phoenix lock in new midfielder". 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Rollo, Phillip (11 May 2023). "Wellington Phoenix begin rebuild with signing of midfielder Mohamed Al-Taay".
- ^ "Giancarlo Italiano (Giancarlo Maisano), a 1996 Rosebank alumni, has been appointed as head coach for A-League team Wellington Phoenix for the next two A-League seasons". LinkedIn. Rosebank College Five Dock. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Graduation - Sydney Campus". The University of Notre Dame Australia. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Conferral of Qualifications - Sydney Campus". The University of Notre Dame Australia. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ Rollo, Phillip (22 April 2023). "The rise of Giancarlo Italiano, Wellington Phoenix's 'accidental' coach". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Rollo, Phillip. "Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano won't watch if semifinal is decided by shootout". The Post. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Giancarlo Italiano". FotMob. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
External links
edit- Giancarlo Italiano at Soccerway