Serse Cosmi

Early career

Cosmi was born in 1958 in Ponte San Giovanni, a Perugia frazione. His father, a cycling fan, called him Serse after Fausto Coppi's brother, a cyclist himself, who died following a fall during a sprint. He worked for nine years as primary school teacher, and played amateur football during his free time for local teams such as Deruta, Cannara, Spello and Pontevecchio, in the role of midfielder. He started a coaching career in the late 1980s in Ellera, as under-18 youth team coach. His debut as first team coach came in 1990, when he was appointed to coach Pontevecchio, a small amateur team from his native town of Ponte San Giovanni. Cosmi brought it on from the Prima Categoria (fourth level of amateur leagues in Italy) to Serie D (the top one) in just five years. Successively, he joined Arezzo, which he led from Serie D to Serie C1 in five extremely positive years. In 2000, Cosmi received the highest possible mark in the Coverciano coaching course; his thesis was entitled "Il Trequartista" ("the advanced playmaker," in Italian football jargon).

Perugia

In 2000, after being noted by Luciano Gaucci, Cosmi was surprisingly appointed as head coach of Perugia in Serie A. He guided the team for four consecutive years, winning a UEFA Intertoto Cup, showing valid coaching abilities and launching several players, including 2006 FIFA World Cup winner Marco Materazzi (who reached a career high of 12 goals in a single season under Cosmi's tenure), Fabrizio…

Cosmi is widely popular in Italy for his energetic and excitable behaviour during matches. He is also known for his intelligence and mentality as a manager, as well as his strong character and ability to motivate his players. He is also famous for always wearing a baseball cap (usually that of his team, but often with just his signature printed on it).' Tactically, Cosmi's favoured formation is a fluid 3–5–2, which defensively becomes a 5–3–2 when his team are not in possession of the ball, and occasionally a 3–4–1–2 when attacking. He gave his forwards a lot of freedom to move around the attacking third. Throughout his career, Cosmi's team often featured Mario Palazzi as his assistant coach, whom he met during their studies at the Coverciano technical centre, as well as athletic coach Francesco Bulletti, and Fabio Bazzani as a second assistant coach, who often specialised in tactics. Cosmi's distinctive style has been imitated by comedian Maurizio Crozza.

Managerial

Perugia

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2003