Vincenzo Italiano

After starting his professional career with Trapani, he played for Hellas Verona (for most of his career), first in Serie A and later in Serie B. Italiano made his debut in Serie A with Hellas Verona on 2 February 1997, under manager Luigi Cagni, in Serie A, at the age of 19, in a 6–1 away defeat to Bologna; Verona were relegated at the end of the 1996–97 Serie A season. After helping his team earn promotion back to Serie A in 1998–99, he scored his first Serie A goal on 5 November 2000, in a 2–2 home draw against Inter Milan, but was later sent off for a double booking following his goal celebration. Italiano then had a brief spell with Genoa in 2005, before returning to Verona the following season. Italiano then appeared in Serie A again, albeit briefly, with cross-city rivals Chievo on 14 January 2007 against Catania; he helped them achieve promotion back to Serie A by winning the Serie B title the following season, and later helping them avoid relegation the season after that. He subsequently joined Padova in 2009, and later had spells with Perugia and Lumezzane before retiring in 2014.

Style of play

Italiano's playing role was that of a versatile and dynamic central midfield playmaker, known for his tackling and passing range, in particular his ability to play long balls. He often played in the regista role as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, and was influenced by Demetrio Albertini and Andrea Pirlo. In addition to his vision and ability to dictate the…

Early years

After his retirement as a player, he started a coaching career in Veneto for a number of amateur teams. In 2017, he joined Union ArzignanoChiampo, which won him interest from Serie C club Trapani who hired him for the 2018–19 season. Under his guidance, Trapani concluded the 2018–19 season in second place behind champions Juve Stabia, and then successfully contested the playoff phase, winning promotion to Serie B after defeating Piacenza 2–0 on aggregate.

Spezia

Following his successful season with Trapani, Italiano was subsequently hired by ambitious Serie B club Spezia as the club's new head coach for the 2019–20 season. In his first season in charge, Italiano immediately achieved promotion with Spezia to Serie A for the first time in the club's history after edging Frosinone in the promotion play-offs. He successively guided Spezia in their 2020–21 Serie A campaign, succeeding in keeping the small Ligurian club in the top flight in his debut season in the Italian top division.

Fiorentina

Italiano's successes with Spezia won him the interest of Fiorentina, who ultimately signed him as their new head coach on a two-year deal. In his first season in charge, Italiano led Fiorentina to win a spot for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League by finishing 7th in Serie A, thus marking a return into European football for the Viola after several years. Despite interest from other clubs, Italiano was confirmed as Fiorentina manager for two…

Italiano is known for his pragmatic offensive playing style as a manager. Tactically, he used the 4–3–3 formation during his time as head coach of Spezia, with a deep-lying playmaker flanked by two box-to-box midfielders, or mezzali, who were capable of making late attacking runs off the ball. His team was capable of defending either in a deep or mid-block, with a compact shape, restricting spaces for his opponents, while also incorporating aspects of man-to-man marking off the ball. After winning back possession, his Spezia side were known for moving the ball quickly with their passing to initiate counter-attacks, and utilised the wings without resorting to traditional wing-play. In a similar manner to Arrigo Sacchi, Italiano believes that all players should be involved in the build-up of attacking plays, regardless of their roles on the pitch. At Fiorentina, he demonstrated his versatility, shifting between different formations such as the 4–4–2 and the 4–2–3–1 to suit his players, although he continued to use his favoured 4–3–3 when possible, in particular following the signing of regista Arthur Melo in midfield in 2023. His team was known for alternating between high-intensity attacking play and a slower possession-based style. He also placed more importance on the plays of his attacking full-backs. His team were known for their hard-working, aggressive, and disciplined approach, which made them a difficult opponent even for larger sides, and he made use of heavy…

Italiano was born in Karlsruhe, West Germany, to Sicilian parents originally from Ribera and later moved back to their hometown when he was six months of age.