The most interesting and enjoyable aspect of the game is seeing young managers rise to prominence, using their tactical acumen and philosophies to achieve success.
Traditionally, Italian managers are known for their brilliant tactical innovation, coaching excellence and winning mentality which stands them out amongst their peers.
Over the years their tactical brilliance and winning mentality have transcended the world, combining catenaccio and modern-day styles of play to achieve the unthinkable.
With all said and done, who are the best youngest Italian managers presently between the ages of 29 to 45 years?
- 1. Roberto De Zerbi – (Olympique Marseille)
- 2. Thiago Motta – (Juventus)
- 3. Raffaele Palladino – (Fiorentina)
- 4. Francesco Farioli – (Ajax Amsterdam)
- 5. Paolo Zanetti – (Hellas Verona)
- 6. Daniele De Rossi – (Unattached)
- 7. Alessio Dionisi – (Palermo)
- 8. Andrea Pirlo – (Sampdoria)
- 9. Alessio Lisci – (CD Mirandes)
- 10. Salvatore Bocchetti – (Hellas Verona Assistant)
1. Roberto De Zerbi – (Olympique Marseille)
If you’re a fan of Italian football you’ll agree with me that De Zerbi is one of the finest young coaches making waves in European football with his tactical and innovative style of play.
De Zerbi’s trajectory to the pinnacle of European football has been nothing but commendable from his time at Sassuolo, Shakhtar Donetsk and Brighton where he led the Seagulls to Europe for the first time in their history.
His capacity to identify and improve young talent is one of those qualities that stands him out among his peers as one of the best young Italian managers.
2. Thiago Motta – (Juventus)
Motta’s rise to becoming a big team manager started from his humble managerial stint at Spezia to Bologna where he quickly hit the ground running to earn himself Serie A coach of the month.
In the short term of being a manager, his tactical acumen and innovative strategies have garnered attention, which positions him for a bigger job as one of the most promising managers in the modern era.
Starting a new era at Juventus he is beginning to show why the Old Lady hierarchy brought him to the club with his in-depth tactical intelligence in Serie A.
3. Raffaele Palladino – (Fiorentina)
Palladino started making waves at AC Monza when he succeeded his predecessor and promotion hero Giovanni Stroppa at the helm, with a team full of quality, resilient and experienced players.
His time with the Biancorossi was considered a success when he guided the club to a comfortable mid-table finish in their first two seasons in Seria A.
Having impressed at Monza, the Viola hierarchy came calling when Vincenzo Italiano quit in the aftermath of the club’s Europa Conference League final defeat.
4. Francesco Farioli – (Ajax Amsterdam)
The journey of Ajax’s new head coach has been nothing but a remarkable one, from beginning his career as a goalkeeping coach to moving to Turkey to manage at the age of thirty.
Like other coaches his path to the footballing world didn’t start like many, he embraced the world of academics and studied philosophy which led to him writing a thesis on the aesthetics of football.
Farioli’s approach to the game with his philosophical touch, meticulous attention to detail and style of play gives credence to where he’s coming from and where he is now as a young coach.
5. Paolo Zanetti – (Hellas Verona)
Zanetti started his coaching career in 2018 with Sudtirol, and surprisingly led the team to a second spot in the league but couldn’t earn promotion into the Serie B.
As a player Zanetti was well known for his tenacity and combativeness on the pitch, but now as a tactician is gradually rising into prominence as a young coach.
Though not managing one of the best teams in Serie A, Verona’s decision to hire him as their manager is proving to be worth it with his style of play and philosophy.
6. Daniele De Rossi – (Unattached)
De Rossi made his intentions to become a coach known following his retirement in 2020, having started the UEFA A licence course in December of that same year.
After the completion of his coaching license, he worked with the Italian federation and Serie B side SPAL despite his limited coaching experience before he was sacked.
He got the opportunity to manage his childhood club having shown the zeal to do anything to get his dream job at Roma, describing the emotion of being able to sit on the bench as indescribable.
7. Alessio Dionisi – (Palermo)
Tuscany, a region in Italy where Dionisi hailed from is quite renowned for its culture, culinary delights, and could justifiably add football coaching to that list.
In truth Dionisi’s managerial career started pretty humbly with lowly clubs you can’t easily rush to tell mamma about with Olginatese, Borgosesia and Fiorenzuola.
However, he proved himself with these lowly clubs pretty rapidly, and that got him the opportunity to manage Venezia, Empoli and Sassuolo before a move to the Stadio Renzo Berbera.
8. Andrea Pirlo – (Sampdoria)
Serie A superpower Juventus stunned Italian football when they named World Cup-winning Italian midfielder Pirlo as manager despite his limited coaching experience.
In a short period with the Old Lady, he started building his resume as a coach, managing in Turkey with Faith Karagumruk before a return to Italy to manage Sampdoria.
Though not the outright best as a young manager, he’s gradually building his reputation as one of the finest youngest Italian coaches in world football.
9. Alessio Lisci – (CD Mirandes)
After retiring as a professional footballer Lisci started working at Lazio as a fitness coach for the youth side before he got an assistant job with Levente and later became head coach in 2021.
He was relieved of his job after just one season in charge of the team, and after nearly one year without coaching, he was named manager of CD Mirandes in 2023.
Though Lisci’s managerial career isn’t at its pinnacle yet, the 39-year-old is swiftly building his resume in Spain with Los Rojillos.
10. Salvatore Bocchetti – (Hellas Verona Assistant)
Verona announced novice Bocchetti as interim boss following the sacking of Gabriele Cioffi, having been in charge of the youth team before being promoted.
Though Bocchetti isn’t a head coach presently, but has swiftly garnered all of the experiences he could garner having worked under Igor Tudor and now under the tutelage of Zanetti.
You Might Also Want To Read This
- 10 Players With The Most Titles In La Liga History
- 10 Players With The Most Ligue 1 Titles In History
- 10 Players With The Most Bundesliga Titles In History
- 10 Players With The Most Serie A Titles In History
- 10 Players With The Most Premier League Titles In History
- 10 Managers With The Most UCL Titles In History
- Top 10 Best Strikers (Centre-Forward) In The World 2024
- Top 10 Goalkeepers In The World 2024
- Top 10 Right Wingers In The World 2024
- Top 10 Best Left Back In The World 2024
