Giuseppe Pillon

Born in Preganziol, Province of Treviso, Pillon moved his first footsteps into football with hometown team Pro Mogliano, before to join Juventus's youth ranks for three years. He then played mostly for Serie C1 and Serie C2 teams throughout his career, including a four-year spell at Padova and three seasons with Spezia. He spent his two last seasons as a player at Pro Mogliano.

Early years: from amateurs to Serie B

Pillon started his coaching career in 1992 with amateur Interregionale team Salvarosa. He went on to become Bassano coach the next season before joining Treviso in 1994, leading them through three consecutive promotion from Interregionale to Serie B. In 1997, he left Treviso to accept an offer from Padova of Serie B in 1997, only to be sacked in a few weeks. This was followed by another unsuccessful spell at Genoa in 1998, before being appointed as Lumezzane boss during the 1999–2000 Serie C1 season. He returned to coach in the Serie B in 2000–01 as Pistoiese boss. In 2001–02 he led Ascoli to win the Serie C1 title, heading the bianconeri also in their successive Serie B campaign. After starting the 2003–04 season without a job, he was appointed at the helm of Serie B team Bari in January 2004, leading the galletti out of the relegation zone.

Serie A and Europe with Treviso and Chievo

In the following season, he was appointed by his former team Treviso, leading them to an impressive season which ensured them a spot in the promotion playoffs. He was consequently appointed by Serie A team Chievo Verona for their 2005–06 campaign which ended in a very impressive sixth place; this was later elevated to third following the 2006 Serie A scandal events, meaning Chievo would have awarded a spot in the UEFA Champions League 2006-07 third qualifying round, which they however lost to Levski Sofia. A low start in their Serie A…