Stefano Nava (born 19 February 1969) is an Italian football manager and former footballer, who played as a defender. He is best known for having played for AC Milan in the early 1990s, where he was a backup for players such as Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Mauro Tassotti, and Alessandro Costacurta.

Stefano Nava
Nava in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1969-02-19) 19 February 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth Milan, Italy
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
AC Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Virescit Boccaleone 30 (2)
1989–1990 Reggiana 32 (0)
1990–1991 AC Milan 2 (0)
1991–1992Parma (loan) 19 (0)
1992–1995 AC Milan 19 (1)
1995–1996 Padova 17 (0)
1996–1997 Servette 10 (1)
1998–1999 Sampdoria 14 (0)
2000–2001 Pro Sesto 12 (0)
Total 155 (4)
Managerial career
2004 Pro Sesto
2016–2017 AC Milan Youth
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career edit

Nava began his career in 1985 with Pro Sesto, before joining the AC Milan youth squad. In 1988, he made his professional debut in Serie C1 with Virescit Boccaleone, and during the next season, he moved to Serie B side Reggiana.[1]

He returned to AC Milan in 1990, where he was a reserve in the first team's defence, behind the legendary Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta, Tassotti back-line, which is regarded by many as the sport as one of the greatest defensive line-ups of all time.[a] He made his Milan debut on 5 September 1990, in a 1–0 home Coppa Italia victory over Triestina, as Milan went on to reach the final of the tournament. He made his Serie A debut with the club on 3 March 1991, in a 4–1 home win over Napoli. In his four non-consecutive seasons with Milan (1990–91 under Arrigo Sacchi, and 1992–995 under Fabio Capello), Nava made a total of 47 appearances in all competitions, and 21 Serie A league appearances, scoring 1 goal, which came in Serie A. During his time at the club he won two Serie A titles, three Supercoppa Italiana titles, two UEFA Super Cups, an UEFA Champions League, and an Intercontinental Cup. He spent the 1991–92 season only loan with Parma, with whom they won the Coppa Italia. His final appearance with Milan was in a 5–0 away victory against Brescia, during the 1994–95 Serie A season, on 5 March 1995.[1]

Nava took part in the AC Milan's 4–0 win over FC Barcelona in the 1993–94 Champions League final on 18 May 1994, alongside usual substitutes Christian Panucci and Filippo Galli, entering as substitute in the 84th minute of the match replacing Paolo Maldini.[10]

After his time with Milan, Nava spent a season on loan at Padova, and another with Servette in the Swiss Super League, the club to which he later moved on a free transfer.[11] He subsequently spend two seasons with Sampdoria before ending his career with Pro Sesto in Serie C2, at the conclusion of the 2000–01 season.[1][12]

After retirement edit

Nava had a one-month spell as Pro Sesto head coach in January 2004, the team with which he began his career, and eventually retired. He later became the coach of Masseroni Marchese, helping with the Milan Youth Programme.[13] During the 2011–12 season, he became the coach of the Milan Giovanissimi Nazionali Youth squad,[14] and the following season, he worked alongside Filippo Inzaghi, who was the coach of the Milan Allievi Nazionali Youth Side.[15] During the 2014–15 season, he was appointed the coach of the Milan Berretti Youth Side.[16]

He currently[when?] works as a football commentator and pundit for SKY Italia. In 2014, he was named as the new analyst for the Italian edition of EA Sports' FIFA 15, alongside match commentator Pierluigi Pardo, replacing Giuseppe Bergomi.[17]

Personal life edit

Nava's son Lapo (born in 2004) followed on his father's footsteps, and is currently a youth goalkeeper for Milan.[18]

Honours edit

Milan[1]

Parma[1]

Notes edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Stefano Nava". magliarossonera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  2. ^ James Horncastle (21 March 2016). "Gianluigi Buffon record cements his legacy as greatest keeper of all-time". ESPN FC. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. ^ Paolo Bandini (21 March 2016). "Gianluigi Buffon humble as clean sheet record tumbles, but delight not universal". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. ^ Rob Smyth (8 May 2009). "The Joy of Six: Great defences". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Nazionale: 2013, addio al catenaccio. Balotelli-Rossi coppia mondiale" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  6. ^ Foot, John (2006). Winning at All Costs: A Scandalous History of Italian Soccer. New York: Nation Books. p. 228.
  7. ^ Mattia Fontana (19 August 2014). "La storia della tattica: da Sacchi a Guardiola" (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  8. ^ Corrado Sannucci. "MILAN 1988-1994: 6 ANNI DA CAMPIONI" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  9. ^ Jonathan Terreni (19 June 2012). "Speciale squadre nella leggenda, Milan '93-'94 vs Inter '09-'10" (in Italian). Calciomercato.it. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Palmares: Coppa Campioni 1993/94". acmilan.com (in Italian). Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  11. ^ Fabio Monti (17 July 1996). "Stranieri: i conti non sono piu' in rosso". corriere.it (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Stefano Nava". tuttocalciatori.net (in Italian). Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Masseroni". masseronimarchese.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ "Settore Giovanile: QUADRI TECNICI 2011/2012: SI RIPARTE CON ENTUSIASMO". acmilan.com (in Italian). 5 August 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Settore Giovanile: Allievi Nazionali". acmilan.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Milan, i quadri tecnici ufficiali del Settore Giovanile: Brocchi in Primavera". milanlive.it (in Italian). 1 July 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Pierluigi Pardo e Stefano Nava nuove voci di FIFA 15". easports.com (in Italian). 27 June 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Nava jr, prima chiamata a San Siro e poi a casa in tram. Maignan garantisce per lui". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.

External links edit