MILAN – Stefano Pioli’s has been a life on the football pitch. It was the new Inter coach’s home for many years during his playing days and continues to be the centre of his existence as he forges a fine career in the coach’s dugout.
Pioli has long since swapped his football shorts for a coach’s tracksuit, whistle and clipboard, his focus now on improving his players, devising new tactical systems to give his teams the best chance of success and repeating the mantra that only hard work will see a group of players achieve their objectives.
Pioli cut his coaching teeth in the youth ranks at Bologna, winning the league championship with the Allievi Nazionali side. In 2006, he returned to his hometown as the manager of Parma, with whom he would make his Serie A coaching bow.
The new Inter coach failed to last the season at Parma and would have to wait until the 2010/11 season to get another shot at Serie A, this time with Chievo Verona. It was during this campaign that people started to take note of Pioli: after one match, Sky Italia pundit Federico Buffa pointed out that Chievo had strung together what were clearly a series of training ground moves in the build-up to a goal. This for Pioli was the ultimate compliment – and just recognition for all his hard work.
Pioli knew before he even turned 30 that he would move into coaching. He began studying while he was still playing, instantly realising the extent of the task yet allowing himself to be carried along by the appeal of the job.
The conviction behind his ideas won him credibility, even when coaching the kids at Bologna and then Chievo. He made his senior coaching debut with Serie B side Salerno in 2003, where his desire for tactical balance was clear for all to see: Pioli worked hard on the defensive phase, but never sacrificed attacking flair, instead nurturing his creative talents and helping them to produce their most lethal form.
This measured approach saw Pioli work his way up through Italian football, all the way to the Champions League play-offs with Lazio in 2015. Pioli’s Lazio side were a celebration of attacking football, plundering 21 wins in the 2014/15 season – second only to champions Juventus. Lazio also reached the Coppa Italia final that year, where they met Juventus and were only denied a deserved win when Filip Djordjevic’s stunning effort hit both posts before bouncing clear in extra time.
Pioli’s performance at Lazio has seemingly convinced Inter that he deserves a chance at a big club, not least because of the expert way he managed the team sporting director Igli Tare had built for him. Pioli, who will find a competitive squad packed with quality at Inter, is known for putting his faith in his attacking talents – without ever compromising on the collective identity.
Pioli will forge that identity on the training pitch – on the green grass that has defined his adult life. But this time, he will be coaching a team whose colours defined his childhood, too. For it was at the age of 13 that Pioli’s father took him to watch a Bologna v Inter match at the Stadio Dall’Ara. The Nerazzurri won and Pioli celebrated with his family, proud to be a part of the Inter family. Now, he sits at its very heart.
Carlo Pizzigoni
