Vincenzo Montella

Early career

Montella began his club career in Serie C1 at Empoli in 1990 before moving to Serie B club Genoa in 1995, where he scored 21 goals in his only season with the club, at the end of which he lifted the Anglo-Italian Cup. He then moved up to Serie A to city rivals Sampdoria, where he remained three years, until 1999. After Sampdoria's relegation, he moved to Roma in a 50 billion lire (about €25.823 million) transfer. Montella made his Serie A debut on 8 September 1996, against Perugia.

Roma

It was Roma coach Zdeněk Zeman that wanted him to spearhead the Roma attack, but that year Roma also signed a new coach, Fabio Capello, who disliked short forwards. Despite this, during the 1999–2000 season, Montella scored 18 goals, being the top scorer of the giallorossi, playing alongside Marco Delvecchio, in front of advanced playmaker Francesco Totti. The following year, Roma signed the Argentinian forward Gabriel Batistuta from Fiorentina, the tall striker wanted by Capello. There was a slight controversy between the two forwards concerning the number 9 shirt, the prior number of both players – Batistuta ultimately chose number 18, although Batistuta was often the coach's first choice, while Montella was usually deployed as a substitute. Despite his lack of starts, he was one of the main protagonists of Roma's third Scudetto in 2000–01 and scored many important goals for the club, including the equalising goal in a 2–2 away draw in Serie A against eventual…

Montella received his first international cap for Italy under Dino Zoff in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match against Wales on 5 June 1999, which Italy won 4–0, coming on as a second-half substitute for Christian Vieri; he was part of the final 22-man Italian squad that took part at Euro 2000, where they reached the final. Although Montella did not score during the competition, he recorded an assist in Italy's final group match against Sweden, setting up Alessandro Del Piero's match-winning goal in the 2–1 victory, which allowed Italy to top their group. He would also make one more appearance during the tournament, in the 2–1 final defeat against France, coming on as a late second-half substitute for Roma teammate and goalscorer Marco Delvecchio, with Italy leading 1–0; France equalised in injury time and eventually won the match in extra-time courtesy of a David Trezeguet golden goal. He scored his first goal for Italy in an international friendly match against South Africa in Perugia on 25 April 2001, a 1–0 home win for Italy. On 27 March 2002, he scored a notable double against England in an international friendly match in Leeds, giving Italy a 2–1 away victory after they had been trailing 1–0, with his second, match-winning goal coming from an injury-time penalty. After appearing for Italy under Giovanni Trapattoni during their 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Montella was chosen as a member of the Italy team that would be competing at the 2002 World Cup, where…

Nicknamed "L'Aeroplanino" ("The Little Airplane"), due to his small stature and trademark goal celebration, in which he spread his arms like wings, Montella was known as a quick, hard-working, intelligent and opportunistic left-footed striker, who was gifted with pace, good technique and a keen eye for goal, and was capable of striking the ball well with either foot; he has also been described as a "fine all round player, with excellent passing and dribbling skills." Although he was primarily played as a centre-forward, a position in which he earned a reputation as a prolific "goal-poacher", his wide range of skills made him a versatile forward, who also capable of playing in a more creative role as a second striker. However, despite his ability and goalscoring record as a footballer, at times he was criticised by his Roma manager Fabio Capello for being a "selfish" player; he was also known to be injury-prone. During the 1999–2000 season former Italy striker Paolo Rossi likened Montella's playing style to his own, commenting "He's the striker who most reminds me of myself."

Roma

Montella signed a three-year contract with Roma as youth team coach for the Giovanissimi Nazionali (under-15 level). On 21 February 2011, he was appointed as interim head coach of the first team for the remainder of the season, taking over the role from resigning boss Claudio Ranieri. On 23 February, in his first Serie A match in charge, Roma won away against Bologna, 1–0. On 8 March, in his Champions League managerial debut, Roma lost away to Shakhtar Donetsk, 3–0. Montella completed an eventful season for Roma, leading the Giallorossi to sixth place in the league table, and he was subsequently released, after the new club owners led by American businessman Thomas R. DiBenedetto decided to appoint Luis Enrique as permanent head coach for the 2011–12 season.

Catania

On 9 June 2011, and only a few days after being released by Roma, Montella was announced as new boss of Catania, signing a two-year contract with the Eastern Sicilian club. He led Catania to a mid-table placement, and ahead of Sicilian rivals Palermo for the first time in eight years; by the end of season, he was heavily linked with a comeback at Roma and the vacant job at Fiorentina. Montella left Catania by mutual consent on 4 June 2012, after only one season in charge.

Fiorentina

On 11 June 2012, Fiorentina announced on their official website that Montella signed a two-year deal (later extended until June 2017) with the club. Montella's arrival saw a massive upheaval of the…