Cristiano Bergodi

Born in Bracciano, Lazio, Bergodi started to play at Pescara Calcio in the country's first division (Serie A) in 1987, for Pescara Calcio, playing with a total of eight seasons. He most notably played for Lazio, where he spent seven seasons in the top flight, and retired in 2000 after a brief stint at Maltese club Sliema Wanderers.

After he retired, Bergodi started working as a coach. After a couple of minor league experiences in Italy, he moved into Romanian football, initially with National București, before achieving his first major successes as Rapid București manager, winning the Romanian Supercup on 27 July 2007. He also coached Liga I team CFR Cluj during the 2006–07 season, achieving a place in UEFA Cup. On 6 October 2007, shortly after Rapid was eliminated from the UEFA Cup in first round, Bergodi resigned, declaring Rapid was "a club of amateurs". In January 2009, after a break, he signed a half year contract with an extension for another two years with Liga I club Politehnica Iași. In June 2009, after his short stint with Politehnica Iași he was appointed Steaua Bucharest's new manager. He replaced Marius Lăcătuș. On 18 September 2009, Bergodi was sacked by Gigi Becali for not allowing him to join the team in the locker at the half-time of the match between Steaua and Sheriff Tiraspol (0–0). Becali's decision attracted extremely negative critics from Steaua fans. In July 2010 he was presented as new head coach of Italian Serie B club Modena. On 14 November 2011, he was sacked. On 26 February 2012, he was recalled by the same team as head coach. On 20 November 2012 he, already former player of Pescara for a total of eight seasons, was named new coach of same club, now in Serie A en place of the resigned Giovanni Stroppa. He returned to Rapid București in April 2015. He tried to help them…

Club

Player

Pescara

Serie B: 1986–87 Sliema Wanderers

Maltese Cup: 1999–2000

Coach

Național București

Cupa României runner-up: 2005–06 Rapid București

Supercupa României: 2007 Sepsi OSK

Cupa României: 2021–22, 2022–23 Supercupa României: 2022 Universitatea Cluj

Cupa României runner-up: 2025–26 Supercupa României runner-up: 2026 Individual

Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Coach of the Month: May 2022, July 2022