Alessandro Calori (born 29 August 1966)[1] is an Italian football coach and former player, last in charge as head coach of Ternana. As a defender, he is mostly remembered for his lengthy spell with Udinese during the 90s, where he also served as the club's captain.

Alessandro Calori
Personal information
Date of birth (1966-08-29) 29 August 1966 (age 57)
Place of birth Arezzo, Italy
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1984–1985 Arezzo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1989 Montevarchi 78 (3)
1989–1991 Pisa 61 (1)
1991–1999 Udinese 255 (10)
1999–2000 Perugia 33 (5)
2000–2002 Brescia 63 (1)
2002–2004 Venezia 58 (1)
Managerial career
2005 Triestina
2006 Sambenedettese
2008 Avellino
2009–2010 Portosummaga
2010–2011 Padova
2011–2013 Brescia
2013–2014 Novara
2015 Brescia
2016–2018 Trapani
2019 Ternana
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career edit

Calori was born in Arezzo. A product of Arezzo's youth system, Calori made his professional debut in 1985 with Serie C team Montevarchi, where he spent four season. After two seasons with Pisa, in 1991 Calori joined Udinese, where he spent eight seasons, all as a regular starter, gaining a reputation as a powerful and physically strong centre back, with good leadership skills, and later also being named the club's captain.[2] In 1999 Calori, then aged 33, signed for Perugia, and gained space in the headlines as he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win to Juventus in the final league week, a goal that unexpectedly let Juventus lose the Serie A title to Lazio.[3] He retired in 2004, after spells with Brescia and Venezia.

Coaching career edit

Following his retirement as a player, Calori initially stayed at Venezia, joining the managing staff that worked alongside head coach Julio César Ribas in the arancioneroverdi's 2004–05 season, initially as team manager, and then as assistant coach. In 2005, he became joint coach of Serie B side Triestina, alongside Adriano Buffoni, only to be sacked a few weeks later. In 2006, he was then appointed at the helm of Serie C1 team Sambenedettese, a spell which proved to be unsuccessful as he was sacked in October 2006.[3][4]

On 10 March 2008, he was unveiled as new Avellino coach, replacing Guido Carboni.[5] He left his post in June, after having failed to save his team from relegation.

In February 2009 he was unveiled as new head coach of Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Portosummaga, replacing Manuele Domenicali.[6] He guided Portosummaga to win the Lega Pro Prima Divisione title in 2009–10, and automatic promotion to Serie B for his club, in a historical first time in the Italian second division for his club. On 2 July 2010, he was unveiled as new head coach of Serie B club Padova.[7] Despite a good first half of season, Calori was dismissed by Padova on 15 March 2011 following a string of negative results.[8]

On 12 December 2011, he was named new head coach of Serie B side Brescia, as a replacement for Giuseppe Scienza.[9]

He served as head coach of Trapani Calcio from 2016 to 2018, witnessing a relegation to Serie C and a failed promotion campaign the following season.

On 20 January 2019, Calori was appointed as the manager of Ternana.[10] After less than one month, on 14 February, Calori was fired after he only managed to pick op two points in five league games.[11]

Style of play edit

While not being particularly elegant or skilful defender, Calori was a powerful and physically strong centre back, who was known for his tenacity and his hard-tackling playing style, as well as his leadership.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Alessandro Calori". FootballPlus. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
  2. ^ a b Monica Valendino (31 December 2016). "Se Pozzo non avesse venduto nessuno…" (in Italian). MondoUdinese.it. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Calori nuovo allenatore della Samb" (in Italian). Sambenedetto Oggi. 29 June 2006. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
  4. ^ "Via Calori, torna Chimenti" (in Italian). Sambenedetto Oggi. 3 October 2006. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
  5. ^ "UFFICIALE: Avellino, esonerato Carboni. Arriva Alessandro Calori" (in Italian). TuttoMercatoWeb. 10 March 2008. Archived from the original on 15 March 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
  6. ^ "Il Portogruaro a Calori" (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport – Stadio. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Alessandro Calori è il nuovo allenatore del Calcio Padova". Calcio Padova. 2 July 2010. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  8. ^ "Alessandro Calori non è più il tecnico del Calcio Padova" (in Italian). Calcio Padova. 15 March 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  9. ^ "CALORI NUOVO ALLENATORE DEL BRESCIA" (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  10. ^ Alessandro Calori è il nuovo allenatore della Ternana Calcio, ternanacalcio.com, 20 January 2019
  11. ^ Ternana esonera Calori, arriva Gallo, ansa.it, 14 February 2019