Walter Mazzarri

Walter Mazzarri

Mazzarri in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Walter Mazzarri
Date of birth	(1961-10-01) 1 October 1961
Place of birth	San Vincenzo, Italy
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1981–1982	Pescara	26	(4)
1982	Cagliari	4	(0)
1982–1983	Reggiana	12	(1)
1983	Fiorentina	0	(0)
1983–1988	Empoli	91	(4)
1988–1989	Licata	8	(0)
1989–1990	Modena	21	(0)
1990–1991	Nola	30	(3)
1991–1992	Viareggio	11	(0)
1992–1994	Acireale	32	(1)
1994–1995	Torres	9	(0)
Total		244	(13)
Managerial career
2001–2002	Acireale
2002–2003	Pistoiese
2003–2004	Livorno
2004–2007	Reggina
2007–2009	Sampdoria
2009–2013	Napoli
2013–2014	Internazionale
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Walter Mazzarri (Italian pronunciation: [ˈvalter madˈdzarri]; born 1 October 1961) is an Italian former footballer and now a manager, who most recently managed Serie A club Inter until 14 November 2014.

Playing career

Mazzarri, a midfielder and a product of Fiorentina's youth system, made his professional debut in 1981 for Pescara of Serie B, and played a short Serie A stint in Cagliari the following season, before being sold to Reggiana. He had his longest period at Empoli, who won promotion to Serie A for the first time during his time with the Tuscan side. After several spells with mostly minor teams, including a two-year stint with Acireale where he was part of the team who won a historic first promotion to Serie B, and then playing in the Italian second tier in 1993–94, Mazzarri ended his playing career in 1995 with Sassari Torres.

Managerial career

Early years

Mazzarri started his coaching career as Renzo Ulivieri's assistant at Napoli in 1998. His first spell in charge came in 2001/2002 for Sicilian Serie C2 team Acireale, where he had been a player from 1992 to 1994. Subsequently, he returned to his native Tuscany to coach Pistoiese of Serie C1 in 2002/2003 and Livorno of Serie B in 2003–04, bringing the amaranto led by Cristiano Lucarelli back to Serie A. He was coach of Reggina from 2004 to 2007, leading the Calabrian side to Serie A survival in three consecutive seasons, the last obtained on the final day of the season despite an 11-point deduction.

Sampdoria

On 31 May 2007 he was announced as new Sampdoria coach. He served as Sampdoria boss for two seasons, overseeing a considerable improvement in results, thanks to the likes of Antonio Cassano, who publicly praised Mazzarri's coaching abilities. Sampdoria's 2007–08 campaign ended in an impressive sixth place, which ensured qualification for the UEFA Cup. Mazzarri's fortunes declined slightly in 2008–09, as the blucerchiati ended their campaign in 13th place; despite this, he managed to guide his team into the Coppa Italia Final, notably defeating champions Inter 3–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, before losing on penalties to Lazio in the final. Mazzarri left Sampdoria by mutual consent at the end of the 2008–09 season.

Napoli

On 6 October 2009 he was appointed manager of Napoli, replacing Roberto Donadoni. Mazzarri inspired his new charges to finish his debut season in sixth place in Serie A, and was handed a new three-year contract at the end of the campaign. The 2010–11 season proved even more successful as, buoyed by the arrival from Palermo of Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani, Mazzarri's men finished third and qualified directly for the group phase of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League. Under Mazzarri, Napoli were becoming renowned for their counter-attacking at pace, in a 3–4–3 formation in which Cavani was supported by Argentinian Ezequiel Lavezzi and Slovakian star Marek Hamšík. They finished second in their Champions League group, behind Germany's Bayern Munich and ahead of Manchester City of England, to earn a last-16 tie against another English side, Chelsea which they beat 3–1 at home in the first leg. They were subsequently beaten 4–1 at Stamford Bridge after extra time, being eliminated from the Champions League. He left the Azzurri on 19 May 2013 leading the team to a 2nd place this season.

Inter

Mazzarri was officially appointed as the Inter manager on 24 May 2013, after Andrea Stramaccioni was dismissed after a poor performance in the 2012–13 season. On 2 July 2014, FC Internazionale and Mazzarri agreed to a one-year extension to the current coach’s contract keeping him at the team until 30 June 2016. He was sacked by Inter after a series of disappointing results on 14 November 2014, leaving the club in ninth place. He parted with the club before the 12th matchday, whilst they were five points below their season objective of the third position.

Managerial statistics

As of 9 November 2014

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Acireale		1 July 2001	30 June 2002	31	10	10	11	32.26
Pistoiese		1 July 2002	30 June 2003	39	12	11	16	30.77
Livorno		1 July 2003	30 June 2004	47	20	20	7	42.55
Reggina		1 July 2004	28 May 2007	123	37	39	47	30.08
Sampdoria		1 July 2007	30 June 2009	99	38	29	32	38.38
Napoli		6 October 2009	20 May 2013	182	89	50	43	48.90
Internazionale		24 May 2013	14 November 2014	56	25	20	11	44.64
Total				577	231	179	167	40.03

Honours

Manager

Sampdoria

• Coppa Italia Runner-up: 2008–09

Napoli

• Coppa Italia: 2011–12
• Supercoppa Italiana Runner-up: 2012
• Serie A Runner-up: 2012–13

External links

• Walter Mazzarri at Footballplus.com