Encyclopedia:
Stefano Colantuono,
Serie B,
Serie A
Stefano Colantuono (born
October 23,
1962 in
Rome) is an
Italian football (soccer) manager. He is currently head coach of
Serie A club
Atalanta.
Playing career
Colantuono, a
centre back, started his playing career for
Serie D side
Velletri in 1981. In 1983 he moved to
Ternana of
Serie C1, then
Arezzo of
Serie B, and finally made his
Serie A debut for
Pisa. He played Serie A until 1990 for several teams. In 1991 he accepted to play in the national
futsal league for
BNL Roma, winning a
scudetto. Following this experience, Colantuono played mostly at lower levels, especially Serie C2 and Serie D, and even
Eccellenza for
Sambenedettese in 1994/1995. After a long list of experiences in different Italian regions, Colantuono returned to play for Sambenedettese in November 2000, leading his team to an immediate promotion to Serie C2.
Managing career
The 2001/2002 Serie C2 season for Sambenedettese was going to be very hard, with two coaches fired throughout the season. After the sack of third coach
Enrico Nicolini, Colantuono, a player for the team, was appointed to manage Sambenedettese together with
Gabriele Matricciani for the last nine matches. Surprisingly, Colantuono managed to win all these nine matches, leading his team to a fifth place, qualifying and successively even winning the promotion playoffs.
Colantuono's Serie C1 coaching debut, in 2002/2003, ended in another fifth place, securing a place in the promotion playoff, then lost to
Pescara. In the meanwhile,
Luciano Gaucci, owner of Sambenedettese,
Serie B team
Catania and
Serie A team
Perugia at the time, appointed Colantuono at the helm of the Sicilian side. Colantuono, again supported by Matricciani because of his lack of a regular coaching license, led Catania to a fairly good season in ninth place. In 2004/2005, after Catania was sold by the Gaucci family, Colantuono, finally authorized to act as first team coach, signed for Perugia, just relegated to Serie B. He led the team to a spot in the promotion playoff, then lost to
Torino. After the cancellation of Perugia, in 2005/2006 Colantuono accepted the offer of
Atalanta, leading the
nerazzurri to a clear
Serie B win. He is now coaching Atalanta in
Serie A with good results.
Colantuono, StefanoColantuono, StefanoColantuono, StefanoColantuono, StefanoColantuono, StefanoColantuono, StefanoColantuono, StefanoColantuono, StefanoColantuono, StefanoColantuono, Stefanofr:Stefano Colantuonoit:Stefano Colantuono