Monday, August 29, 2011

Massimiliano Allegri

Allegri started a coaching career in 2004, serving as boss 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; his experience with the biancorossi however 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.This practice however proved to be forbidden by the Italian football laws because he was still contracted with the Tuscan club, and caused Allegri to be disqualified for three months on early 2008.
Sassuolo

On 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 he 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 to Palermo, Cagliari Calcio announced to have agreed a 2-year contract extension with Allegri, with a new contract set to expire 1n June 2011. The contract was then revealed to have been signed on October, in the midst of the rossoblu's early crisis result.

He completed the 2008–09 season in an impressive ninth place, that was hailed as a huge result with respect to the limited resources, the lack of top-class players and the high quality of Cagliari's attacking football style which led the Sardinians not far from UEFA Europa League qualification. Such results led him to be awarded the Panchina d'Oro (Golden bench), a prize awarded to the best Serie A football manager according to other managers' votes. He won the same prize for a second consecutive time also for his results in the 2009–10, where he managed to confirm Cagliari's high footballing levels despite the loss of regular striker Robert Acquafresca, and leading an impressive number of three players from his side (namely, Davide Biondini, Federico Marchetti and Andrea Cossu) to receive Italian national team call-ups during his reign at the club.

On 13 April 2010 Cagliari surprisingly removed Allegri from his managerial duties despite a good twelfth place with 40 points, and youth coach Giorgio Melis (with Gianluca Festa as his assistant) was appointed at his replacement.

He was released from his contract by Cagliari on 17 June, under request of Serie A giants Milan, who were interested in appointing him as their new head coach. On 25 June, Allegri was officially appointed as the new coach of Milan. In his first season in charge, Allegri led Milan to their first championship title since 2004, beating Inter in both league fixtures, however, his side failed to make it past the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, by losing to Palermo 4-3 on aggregate in his first season. The team also qualified for the second round of the Champions League, where they were eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur. However, Massimiliano Allegri has proven to the Serie A that he's a promising young coach and he led Milan to their sixth Supercoppa Italiana.

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