Stefano Vecchi (born 20 July 1971) is an Italian retired professional footballer turned coach, who is the head coach of Serie C Group A club Vicenza.

Stefano Vecchi
Personal information
Full name Stefano Vecchi[1]
Date of birth (1971-07-20) 20 July 1971 (age 52)
Place of birth Bergamo, Italy
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Vicenza (head coach)
Youth career
1983–1986 Ponte San Pietro
1986–1990 Inter Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1993 Inter Milan 0 (0)
1990–1991Oltrepò (loan) 33 (0)
1991–1992Spezia (loan) 33 (1)
1992–1993Arezzo (loan) 0 (0)
1993–1997 Fiorenzuola 132 (1)
1997–1999 Brescello 59 (1)
1999–2003 SPAL 122 (0)
2003–2004 Pavia 10 (0)
2004–2005 Pergocrema 13 (2)
Managerial career
2005–2006 Mapello
2006–2009 Colognese
2009–2011 Tritium
2011–2012 SPAL
2012–2013 Südtirol
2013–2014 Carpi
2014–2018 Inter Milan Primavera
2016 Inter Milan (caretaker)
2017 Inter Milan (caretaker)
2018 Venezia
2019–2021 Südtirol
2021–2023 Feralpisalò
2023– Vicenza
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career edit

An Inter youth product, Vecchi had an unremarkable career as a central midfielder in the lower leagues of Italian football, not going any further than Serie C1 and narrowly missing a historical promotion to Serie B during his stint at Fiorenzuola. He retired in 2005.

Coaching career edit

After his retirement, Vecchi started a coaching career in the amateur leagues of Lombardy. He had a breakthrough during his two-year period at Tritium, leading the small club from Trezzo sull'Adda to two consecutive promotions from Serie D to Lega Pro Prima Divisione (ex-Serie C1) before accepting an offer from fallen giants SPAL, a former team of his as a player; however, this season, characterized by financial and off-field issues, ended with relegation to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

He successively took another coaching role at Südtirol, reaching the promotion playoffs in his only season. The team lost to Carpi, Vecchi's future employer. The Serie B newcomers offered him their managerial spot despite his lack of a valid coaching license[citation needed] to serve as head coach in the second tier of Italy. However, his stint at Carpi was cut short in March 2014 when he was removed from managerial duties due to disappointing results.

In mid-2014, he joined former club Inter's non-playing staff as coach of the Primavera under-19 team, which he led to victory at the 2015 Torneo di Viareggio and the 2016 Coppa Italia Primavera.

In November 2016, he also served as caretaker manager for the first team, filling in after Frank de Boer's dismissal for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League game against Southampton (a 1–2 loss) and a Serie A league game against Crotone (ended in a 3–0 win). He was then once again appointed as caretaker on 9 May 2017 for the final three games of the season, in place of Stefano Pioli.[2] Vecchi also led the Primavera team to win the Campionato Nazionale Primavera on 11 June 2017,[3] after his caretaker spell with the first team had ended.

Vecchi left Inter in July 2018 to accept an offer as head coach of Venezia in the Serie B league; his experience was, however, short-lived, as he was dismissed on 11 October 2018 due to poor results.[4]

In 2019, he took over at Serie C club Südtirol, which he guided for two full seasons in the Italian third division with positive results. He left the club in June 2021.[5]

Vecchi successively took charge of Serie C side Feralpisalò in June 2021, guiding them to a historic promotion to Serie B in 2023; he was dismissed on 23 October 2023 following a negative start in the club's 2023–24 Serie B campaign.[6]

On 20 December 2023, Vecchi was unveiled as the new head coach of Serie C club Vicenza, signing a contract valid until 30 June 2025.[7]

Managerial statistics edit

As of match played 10 March 2024[8]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Mapello   1 July 2005 1 June 2006 34 21 7 6 53 22 +31 061.76
Colognese   1 June 2006 2 June 2009 115 49 38 28 169 137 +32 042.61
Tritium   2 August 2009 14 June 2011 77 46 21 10 130 61 +69 059.74
SPAL   17 June 2011 14 June 2012 44 17 11 16 46 44 +2 038.64
Südtirol   14 June 2012 4 July 2013 38 14 13 11 49 43 +6 036.84
Carpi   12 July 2013 17 March 2014 30 11 6 13 33 38 −5 036.67
Inter Milan (caretaker)   1 November 2016 7 November 2016 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2 050.00
Inter Milan (caretaker)   9 May 2017 1 June 2017 3 2 0 1 9 5 +4 066.67
Venezia   14 June 2018 12 October 2018 7 1 1 5 5 9 −4 014.29
Südtirol   27 June 2019 4 June 2021 76 41 15 20 122 70 +52 053.95
Feralpisalò   18 June 2021 23 October 2023 101 48 23 30 128 95 +33 047.52
Vicenza   20 December 2023 Present 12 8 3 1 17 5 +12 066.67
Total 539 259 138 142 765 531 +234 048.05

References edit

  1. ^ "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 204" [Official Press Release No. 204] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 14 April 2016. p. 2. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Inter, Pioli esonerato, al suo posto Vecchi: in arrivo Walter Sabatini" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  3. ^ Match Report (in Italian) Lega Serie A
  4. ^ "UFFICIALE: Venezia, esonerato Vecchi. Panchina affidata a Zenga" (in Italian). TuttoMercatoWeb. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  5. ^ "FCS e mister Vecchi, le strade si separano" (in Italian). F.C. Südtirol. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  6. ^ "STEFANO VECCHI, COMUNICATO UFFICIALE" (in Italian). Feralpisalò. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  7. ^ "UFFICIALE: STEFANO VECCHI NUOVO ALLENATORE BIANCOROSSO!". LR Vicenza. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Stefano Vecchi career sheet". footballdatabase. Retrieved 27 August 2020.