Giovanni De Luca: The Lost Prodigy

Great work Jack. He is a legend. I met him at Sunderland a long time ago

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“I will be honest with you Gio, I am losing my patience with Paolo.” Fabrizio Piccareta told Giovanni quietly as they got into Giovanni’s car following the first training session after the away draw against Southampton in the league.

Sunderland had stayed in the Premier League the season before about one month and a half’s work. However, they had started the new 2013/14 with only one point gained from their first five matches and the sack was undoubtedly looming over Paolo.

It wasn’t just the results, either. Paolo’s aggressive training regime commanded the respect of lower league players who admired Di Canio’s achievements in the game as a player and could see that his regime was working. But the identical regime in the top-flight, with elite players earning more in a year than Di Canio did in a lifetime in football was not working.

Week-by-week, the players were coming in even more unenthusiastic than the last, and consequently Di Canio was becoming even more erratic in his behaviour and treatment of those players.

Di Canio had worked with the Sporting Director Roberto De Fanti to bring in no less than thirteen new players over the summer without consulting Fabrizio, Claudio or Giovanni about the players in question.

“I’m glad you said,” Giovanni responded. “I have been thinking the exact same ever since we returned from the break.

“I was starstruck back when I was playing alongside him that year, it was a great experience despite knowing that he could get a little crazed but everyone knew that. That’s just Paolo.

“Throughout our time at Swindon, it was working as the players seemed to buzz off it, too. I’ve never worked or played at the level we’re at now, with these types of attitudes in the players. We’ve tried telling him but nothing seems to be going in.” Giovanni finished as he switched on the car engine.

Fabrizio sighed as he slapped his hands on his thighs in the passenger seat. “We’re going to fall because of him if we can’t get through to him. They’re probably eyeing up replacements as we speak.

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Redvee: He certainly made a name for himself on these isles, a very interesting character indeed!

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Giovanni headed to the intercom outside the offices at the Stadium of Light armed with an envelope with a short note written on it, addressed to the Sunderland board.

Following his conversation with Fabrizio in the car a few days before, it had been playing in Giovanni’s head that he did not want to be tainted by Paolo’s inability to control his emotions and listen to outside advice from trusted colleagues.

It was clear that Paolo Di Canio was on borrowed time at the club and Fabrizio was right: the club were probably looking at replacing Di Canio and likely his associated backroom team along with him, or at least shortly afterwards.

“It’s Giovanni De Luca for Margaret Byrne, thank you.” Giovanni said to the receptionist as he was outside.

As he entered he greeted the receptionist with a smile before asking if Margaret - the club’s Chief Executive Officer - was available. She was in a meeting that was due to end in fifteen minutes or so. Giovanni chose to take a seat and would be notified once Margaret was free to speak.

Thankfully, Byrne was available after only ten minutes of waiting and was sent up to her office upstairs in the stadium.

“Gio,” Byrne greeted him, shaking hands softly. “Good to see you. How may I help you today?”

Giovanni wanted to be as blunt and upfront as possible, and to avoid answering any tough questions that would either make him reconsider or draw him into excuses that may find its way back to Paolo personally.

“I want to hand in my resignation, effective immediately, as First Team Coach of Sunderland Association Football Club. I have left my thanks to the club and individuals who have helped me along the way in the enclosed letter.” Giovanni handed the envelope across to Margaret, who received it slowly, looking at Giovanni as it was given to her.

“OK,” she said slowly, looking slightly puzzled. “May I ask your reasons for coming to this decision?”

“The club has been great to me and Paolo has been a fantastic influence on my career, from the third tier in Italy to the Premier League in England. However, I wish to carve my own path, independent of Paolo. I feel that it would be more beneficial for me that way in the future as I realise that I am still only a young coach.” Giovanni answered.

“I understand, Giovanni.” Margaret responded with a kind smile. “In that case, I accept your resignation. We will work out contractual details through legal and get them sent across to you as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Ms Byrne. It’s been great working with you and the club.” Giovanni said, shaking hands with her again before turning his back and making his way to the exit.

“Gio?” Margaret called him as he opened the door. “Is there anything I should know about this from a personal perspective?”

Giovanni wanted to tell the truth and say ‘yes’, but as much as he felt that Paolo had gone off the rails in this role in particular, he was a great friend to him and Giovanni wanted to remain loyal and let Paolo figure his own way out of trouble, whether it was working his way through it at Sunderland or elsewhere.

“No.” Giovanni said firmly. “That’s all.” he finished, leaving the room and making his way down the lift, excited to go back to Italy to see his family in Milan.

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Yeeeeeeeeees! It's about time we see what Gio is capable of, and I'm really looking forward to seeing where he begins his managerial career.

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Sunderland head coach Paolo Di Canio has been sacked following a team meeting between the players and the board.

Di Canio held a heated team meeting on Sunday following the 3-0 defeat by West Bromwich Albion.

Afterwards senior players told club Chief Executive Margaret Byrne that the situation had become untenable because of the Italian's "brutal and vitriolic" criticism of the squad.

The Black Cats have only one point from five Premier League games this season.

Development coach Kevin Ball has taken caretaker charge of the first team and led training on Monday ahead of Tuesday's League Cup tie against Peterborough.

Ball, who took over in 2006 for 10 games following Mick McCarthy's departure, is ready for his second stint.

"I enjoyed it last time and I hope I feel the same way about this one as well," he said.

Di Canio won only three of his 13 matches after replacing Martin O'Neill in March and took one point from five top-flight games this campaign.

The former Swindon boss immediately attracted controversy following his appointment, partly because of a fascist-style salute he made while playing for Lazio in 2005.

But he guided Sunderland to Premier League safety and led the team to a famous 3-0 win over Newcastle to earn valuable points in the fight against relegation.

However, public criticism of his squad at the end of last season was followed by bans on mobile phones, tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and ice in Coca-Cola at the club's training ground.

One of Di Canio’s coaching staff, Giovanni De Luca, resigned from the club with immediate effect last week with rumours circulating that he made the decision due to the head coach’s overbearing pressure on the squad.

After Saturday's loss to West Brom, Di Canio was verbally abused by travelling supporters and further criticism of his players led to anger among the squad.

Former Chelsea and West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo is the bookmakers' favourite to replace Di Canio, with Gus Poyet, Tony Pulis and Alex McLeish also in the running.

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James: There's a good nine years until present day! Still some years to keep learning

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Fabrizio Piccareta has been appointed as manager of FC International Turku.

Brought in as Shefki Kuqi’s number two in January 2017, the new role is a promotion and only Piccareta’s second senior management role in football. His last job as a head coach ended in 2005 with Italian Serie D side Sanremese.

Kuqi took charge of 42 matches for Inter Turku, winning 14 games and drawing 15 as he guided them to safety in the previous Veikkausliiga season via the relegation Play-Off against Turun Palloseura.

Piccareta takes over atInter Turku in 5th place in the Finnish top-flight and are still fighting strong in the Finnish Cup.

Promoted to Piccareta’s old post as assistant head coach at Inter Turku is Giovanni De Luca who worked with Piccareta under Paolo Di Canio’s reigns at Swindon Town and Sunderland AFC in England, before joining him in coaching roles at Olhanense and Sampdoria previous to Piccareta’s arrival in Finland under Kuqi.

The 30-year-old has proven loyal to Piccareta’s ideals and coaching methods that were key influencers during Di Canio’s tenures in England and may be looking to further his career in management in the future, with this position being his first time as second-in-command of a first-team squad.

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Giovanni is building up quite the CV, and any future employer SHOULD be impressed that he's built up experience in England, Italy, Portugal, and now Finland. He's still got quite a lot of experience to gain before he takes the hotseat for himself, but he's certainly on the right track atm.

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29th June 2022
Despite a new contract offer to help manage SPAL’s youth team alongside my best friend in the game and even better mentor and colleague Fabrizio, I wanted to finally move out of this area that I found myself locked into.

I had been through the great times with Paolo back in England all of those years ago and saw where my one-time idol had fallen down from the inside, as part of his inner circle.

I saw how one time with a depleted and defeated, newly relegated Swindon Town were revitalised into a full group of fighters that won the league title over a 46-game season, reaching a Wembley Stadium cup final as well as a good cup run in the most prestigious domestic cup in the country.

This was replicated the season after in the division above, achieving new heights that earned Paolo a good reputation, only brought to its knees by doubts in the boardroom.

However, I also saw the other side of this when arriving at Sunderland with the same methods ready to implement. It taught me that you needed years of experience in coaching, like Fabrizio, as well as a personality that you can be passionate about, like Paolo and not having both qualities may go down the path that led to Paolo’s downfall at the Stadium of Light.

It was good to be disassociated from Paolo at that stage. I had seen that he had applied for roles at Celtic, West Ham, Bolton and Rotherham through his Wikipedia pages a few years after my last contact with him.

He blamed me for his sacking as Sunderland manager, due to my resignation the week before. I tried to explain that I had not said anything aside from my resignation to influence Margaret Byrne into the decision to fire him from his role.

It led to an argument between Paolo on one side, blaming me for his sacking, to Fabrizio defending me and simply diagnosing that it was a move that was not suited for any of us, and to me, arguing back that his treatment towards the players after the West Bromwich Albion defeat - behaviour that Fabrizio and I had warned him of - caused his demise in Wearside.

The years spent afterwards with Fabrizio were fantastic. There was no melodrama - or the constant fear of that - involving highly charged characters such as Paolo Di Canio and the clubs were simply coaching roles, so we were out of the spotlight when it came to on-field decisions.

Our partnership at Inter Turku was a great insight into my potential as Fabrizio allowed my ideas and suggestions to be heard and a lot were implemented. We achieved a great amount in our short spell there, avoiding relegation and winning the Suomen Cup - the club’s first trophy in ten years - against Finland’s most decorated side in Helsinki.

Shortly after our success with Inter Turku, we decided to move into youth development and coaching, with Piccareta joining as manager of Roma’s Under 17s side initially and moving on to manage SPAL’s Under 19s team where I was the assistant manager both times.

With experience across the board and my tactical and coaching knowledge tested and expanded much more than a lot of people at 35 years old in this game, I wish to move on independently.

I spoke to Fabrizio a few weeks ago about my desire to go alone and despite a limited amount of persuasion, he realised that I had mentally checked out of my role at SPAL, ready to commit to a career by myself.

With all of the teams on their post-season breaks, Fabrizio let me have paid time off until the end of my contract with the club in order to move back to Milan and figure out my next steps in the game. With a few vacancies popping up all around the country, it’s time to get my name out there on my own stall.

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James: He has broadened his horizons to take in other footballing cultures and it makes him unique for any Italian club also looking to try something new in order to succeed. Breaking away from his two mentors in the past nine years or so allows him the freedom to flex his managerial muscles, too.

Giovanni has definitely matured in recent years, though it's a shame that he and Paolo aren't as close anymore. The initial mentorship/friendship seems to have soured, whereas his friendship with Fabrizio has only blossomed further. It shows the difference in the characters of Paolo and Fabrizio, and the latter has (clearly) had a great influence on Giovanni in terms of the manager he wants to be.

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Pro Sesto 1913 is a football club based in Sesto San Giovanni in Lombardy, Italy. The club currently play in Serie C, with their last appearance in Serie B made in 1950.

The club was founded in 1913 with football gaining increasing popularity across the country and more so in Milan and its suburbs such as Sesto San Giovanni. Due to the effort of some of the new fans, Pro Sesto Gymnastic Society was born.

In charge of this newfound football club, Iginio Trasi was made President of the club but also carried out the primary coaching duties in the area, teaching the locals the fundamentals of the games and ultimately training new players to feature for the Society.

Due to the First World War and Italy’s involvement, all sports were interrupted. However, under the promises of the new club President Guido Tozzi, Pro Sesto entered into the highest level of the old Italian football championship.

However, just one year later in 1921, the club found the level of financial commitment for this level too high and players were divided across the suburbs into two separate local teams in Marelli and Breda. Pro Sesto became defunct for the first time in its history.

The club was reinstated successfully in 1927 thanks to the actions of 200 members with the new name of Unione Sportiva Pro Sesto, beginning in the fourth tier of Italian football. This season went very badly, finishing second bottom and consequently the new Fascist regime of Italy forced the club to merge with Gruppo Sportivo Breda, closing down Pro Sesto’s doors after just one year.

Following a 17-year absence from the Italian game, Pro Sesto was reborn after the end of the Second World War from the ashes of two local clubs: Giovani Calciatori Sestesi and Dopolavoro Acciaierie Falck giving back the old 1927 name of Unione Sportiva Pro Sesto and entering the mixed Serie B/C Championship in 1945.

The 1948/49 season was Pro Sesto’s best-ever finish, ending the Serie B season in 7th place. However, the following season, the club was relegated down to Serie C Girone B.

Following years in the footballing wilderness, the club merged again with another local side AC Sestese, giving the club a new name: Associazione Calcio Pro Sesto.

The Presidential Trio of the now three merged clubs that made up Associazione Calcio Pro Sesto returned the club back to professionalism, with Pro Sesto dominating Serie C1 in 1990 and returning to playing the likes of Bologna, Como, Monza, Empoli and Venezia in a great period of time for the club.

Over the next 20 years, Associazione Calcio Pro Sesto spent long periods in between Serie C2 and Serie C1 but the club went bankrupt in 2010 following further relegation to Serie D, with its affiliation with the Italian football federation officially revoked.

The club was refounded for the third time in the immediate 2010 summer as Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Nuova Pro Sesto (New Pro Sesto Amateur Sports Association) and was immediately promoted to the fifth tier of Italian football in 2011, followed by a second consecutive promotion to Serie D in 2012.

Following eight years in Serie D, Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Nuova Pro Sesto were promoted to Serie C as the season was cut short abruptly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that year and with the club leading the way in 1st place, they restored their place in the Italian third tier.

Returning to professional football, the club had to rename itself to disassociate itself from amateurism. From 2020, the club goes by the name of Pro Sesto 1913 - linking back to the year of the club’s original foundation.

Finishing 17th in both Serie C seasons so far, Pro Sesto are still far from moving even further up the Italian football pyramid. However, in the grand scheme of the club’s history, they are certainly a club finally heading on the upward curve.

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James: Relationships are created and die in football for numerous reasons and I think Giovanni and Paolo's split is only held up on Paolo's side these days, Giovanni doesn't seem to bothered having moved on with the calmness of Piccareta.

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I start at Pro Sesto with a good amount of depth in the squad, with 27 players in the first-team squad which includes just five loanees initially.

I will look to implement a 4-3-3 style of play with a defensive midfield, similar to what was implemented at Swindon Town, Sunderland with Paolo Di Canio and then eventually Inter Turku with Fabrizio Piccareta.

The first players named in each position are the best in their position in the squad, meaning that if they are all fit then they will all start on paper, but depending on form may find themselves replaced.

Despite being quite well stacked in the midfield, we may look to bring in a new starter as some of the back-ups are not quite up to the ideal ability that I want and that we need.

I hope Riccardo Capogna can use his experience and a decent start to life in Serie C with 7 goals in 28 last season to really push on in what are his twilight years. If not, we have the options of Moreo, Gerbi and even young Adamo to come in and take their chances.

I will look to keep the squad together for the upcoming season with my eye on one particular player in the market who I am in talks with.

However, with the club in over €60,000 worth of debt upon my arrival, I do not wish to use much of my allocated €155,000 transfer budget. It helps this way that the majority of the squad only have one-year deals, making it easy to shift the underperformers on if I need to.

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To introduce myself, I have taken over following my departure as youth coach of SPAL in Serie B. This is my first role without having either Paolo Di Canio or Fabrizio Piccareta working above or alongside me in a club role.

Whilst it is a nervous time to go and work independently, there is an existing backroom team at Pro Sesto which includes assistant manager Fabio Castellazzi who has previous experience working as manager of Settimo Milanese and BaSe 96, as well as coaching roles at Caronnese, Laintese, Pro Patria and Novara.

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For the upcoming season, we are not by any means a favourite - and rightly so following two consecutive 17th placed finishes in the past two years. The bookmakers place us at 50/1 to win the title along with five other teams, with only 100/1 Arzignano rated lower than us.

Juventus’ Next Gen team are the clear favourites and just taking one look at the talent in their squad, it is easy to see why. As the name suggests, they are the Italian giants’ future hopefuls and their odds to win the league compared to the 2nd favourite show just how good they seem to be on paper. The league can only hope that Juventus call up a few of their team to the first-team for matchdays in Serie A to stand a chance.

Recently relegated sides Pordenone and Vicenza are the next favourites, followed up by outsiders Padova, Triestina and Pro Vercelli who will all look to qualify as far ahead in the promotion play-offs as possible this season.

In preseason, we will face our Under 20s initially, followed by friendlies against Massese (6th Aug), Giana (13th Aug), Imperia (17th Aug), Prato (20th Aug), Lecco (24th Aug) and finally Ancona (27th Aug).

We will then play our first Serie C fixture against fellow relegation play-off favourites Pro Patria at our home ground Stade Breda on Saturday 3rd September before travelling to one of the promotion hopefuls in Pordenone the following weekend.

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I really rate your player/tactic graphic, though I'm not a fan of the 4-3-3 set-up! BOOOOOO! I was shocked to see how much your players are earning p/week, but then I saw how much the rest of league is earning... JESUS CHRIST. Is there a lot of money in Serie C, or are all the clubs accumulating a hell of a lot of debt?

I look forward to seeing what you do in the transfer market, and I'm desperate for you to sign a Pro Sesto 1913 version of Gattuso or Paolo.

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21-year-old Amadou Diambo has joined Pro Sesto on a free transfer.

The Ghanaian midfielder becomes Giovanni De Luca’s first signing as the new manager of Pro Sesto.

Diambo came through the Pescara academy whilst the club were playing in Serie B and made his professional debut in 2020, making 3 appearances in Serie B throughout the 2020/21 campaign before a mid-season loan to Benevento in the same division.

Upon his return to his parent club, Pescara had been relegated to Serie C and last season became much more involved in the first-team, making 20 appearances, scoring 1 goal from midfield.

The 5’10” midfielder can also play in defensive midfield, just in front of the defence.

Diambo has signed a three-year deal with Pro Sesto, earning a reported €1,200 per week thus becoming one of the club’s highest earners.

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James: There's a minimum salary of €525 per week in Serie C for senior players believe it or not! I thought the same in that I was thinking they would be on less but for better or worse, the league won't allow for it. For us, we're leaking money because of it and projected to be in a lot of debt by the season end, so promotion would be good for us despite it looking out of reach.

As for a Gattuso, we have got a Diambo instead! I think he looks great for this level and looking forward to seeing what he's got for us.

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Whilst I like the look of Diambo, his aggression/bravery is far too low for him to be the 'team lunatic' that you desperately need.

The pre-season results were quite good, and Gio can take a lot of confidence from them. You've been finding the back of the net with relative ease, and the defensive side of things tightened up quite a lot after the 3-all draw. Don't worry about the loss against AC Ancona tbh, they've been the home of GOAT's like Mário Jardel, Dino Baggio, and Goran Pandev (to name a few) over the years. Shame they went out of business

MORE SIGNINGS PLEASE!