Massimiliano Allegri

After spending the earlier part of his career in the lower leagues, including his hometown club Livorno, Allegri joined Pescara in 1991. A talented and creative player, he established himself in midfield as Giovanni Galeone's side won promotion to Serie A in 1992. Allegri was an outstanding performer for Pescara in Serie A. Despite the side's relegation in last place, there was no shortage of goals and Allegri scored an impressive 12 goals from midfield. He moved on to Cagliari and then Perugia and Napoli before returning to Pescara. Brief spells at Pistoiese and Aglianese followed before his retirement from active football in 2003. Alongside five other Italian footballers, Allegri received a one-year ban for match-fixing following a Coppa Italia tie in 2000. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) also handed one-year suspensions to Fabio Gallo, Sebastiano Siviglia, and Luciano Zauri of Serie A side Atalanta; and Alfredo Aglietti of Serie B's Pistoiese. In 2001, all players were cleared of the offences.

Early career

Allegri started his managerial career in 2004, serving as the manager of Serie C2 team Aglianese, the club where he spent his two final years as a player. Following an impressive season with them, Allegri was called to head Grosseto, then in Serie C1, but his experience with the biancorossi proved not to be as successful as with Aglianese and he was ultimately sacked shortly after the beginning of the 2006–07 Serie C1 season. Shortly after being sacked by Grosseto, Allegri agreed to rejoin his mentor Giovanni Galeone at Udinese, becoming part of his coaching staff. However, this practice proved to be forbidden by the Italian football laws because he was still contracted with the Tuscan club, which caused Allegri to be disqualified for three months in early 2008.

Sassuolo

In August 2007, Allegri became head coach of ambitious Serie C1 team Sassuolo, who Allegri managed to lead quickly into the top league spots. On 27 April 2008, Sassuolo mathematically ensured the 2007–08 Serie C1/A league title, thus winning a historical first promotion to Serie B for the neroverdi.

Cagliari

On 29 May 2008, Allegri was announced as new head coach of Cagliari in the Serie A, replacing Davide Ballardini. Despite a disappointing start, with five losses in the first five league matches, Allegri was confirmed by club chairman Massimo Cellino and later went on to bring his team up to a mid-table placement in December. On 9 December, following a 1–0 home win…

Allegri has been praised for his tactical intelligence and his ability to build effectively upon Antonio Conte's successful tactics and winning mentality as Juventus' manager, albeit in a less rigorous manner. He initially continued to use Conte's trademark 3–5–2 formation, but later switched to a four-man back-line, in particular in the UEFA Champions League. Under Allegri, Juventus became slightly less aggressive and intense in their pressing off the ball while their playing style became more patient and focused on keeping possession and gaining territorial advantage in order to conserve energy, tactics which he had previously used while at Milan. Although Allegri's team was still effective at winning the ball in midfield and scoring from counter-attacks, the club's attacking play on the ball usually involved a slower build-up, which mainly consisted of short passes, and fewer long balls from Pirlo and Bonucci. Goalkeeper Buffon also continued to primarily play the ball out from the back with short ground passes to the defenders, but he also began to use deeper goal kicks out to the wings. Allegri has also been lauded for his versatility, which he demonstrated by adopting and switching between several different formations during his first season with Juventus, including the 4–3–1–2, the 4–4–2 and the 4–3–3 formations, which he had also previously adopted while at Milan in order to find the most suitable system for his players. The fluidity of Juventus' formations under…

Allegri was born in Livorno to a father who worked at the port of Livorno and a mother who was a nurse, and grew up in Coteto. In 1992, when he was 24, he called off his wedding with his fiancée Erika two days before the ceremony. In 1994, Allegri married model Gloria Patrizi, fathering a child Valentina a year later; he later fathered another child, Giorgio, in 2011 with another woman, Claudia. From 2017, Allegri was in a relationship with actress Ambra Angiolini; the couple broke up in 2021.