Just two years after he retired from professional soccer, legendary AS Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi already managed to land his first head coaching job. De Rossi will start his coaching journey in Italy’s Seria B, where he agreed to take over SPAL.
According to the official announcement, De Rossi signed a deal that runs through the 2023-24 season. He will replace Roberto Venturato, who was fired last week after managing just two wins in the first eight games of the season.
Daniele De Rossi had a decorated career as a player, spending 19 years with Roma and making 616 appearances for his hometown club. He also has 117 appearances for the Italian national team and was part of the squad that lifted the FIFA World Cup in 2006.
De Rossi played his final season as a pro in Argentina with Boca Juniors and joined Italy as an assistant shortly after. He spent two years on Roberto Mancini’s staff and took part in European Championship win in 2021.
With SPAL, De Rossi will face a tough challenge to steer the club to Seria A promotion. The club previously won Seria B in 2016–17 to get to the top flight, where it remained for three seasons before being relegated. SPAL is currently sitting at no. 14 in Seria B standings and finds itself nine points behind the leaders Reggina.
