Bortolo Mutti

After a reasonably good playing career as a striker/attacking midfielder with a number of Serie B and Serie C teams, including Atalanta, Mutti became a coach in 1988, when he made his debut at the helm of Interregionale club Palazzolo. From 1991 to 1993, he coached Leffe, achieving an impressive promotion to Serie C1. From 1993 to 1995, he served as coach of Serie B club Verona, finishing 10th twice with the gialloblu. Later called to coach Serie B team Cosenza during the 1995–96 season, he led the club to avoid relegation. In 1996, he had his first opportunity to coach a Serie A team, Piacenza, and kept the team in the Italian top flight. In 1997, he was called by Napoli, but was sacked soon after due to poor results in the Serie A. A sixth-place finish in Serie B with Atalanta in 1998–99 was followed by a return to Cosenza, where he served as head coach for two seasons, achieving 11th and 8th place finishes. In 2001–02 he was appointed at the helm of newly promoted Serie B team Palermo, where he ended the season with an 11th place. He was called back by a Serie A team, Reggina, but was fired in mid-season. From 2003 to 2006, he moved to the other side of the local strait, at Messina, where Mutti achieved a promotion to Serie B in his first season; a very impressive seventh place followed this in their first Serie A campaign. However, Mutti's third season with Messina was not as successful as the previous two, being fired during the final part of the season. From February…