Fabio Pecchia

Fabio Pecchia
Pecchia in 2011
Personal information
Full name Fabio Pecchia[1]
Date of birth (1973-08-24) 24 August 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Formia, Italy
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Parma (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1993 Avellino 4 (0)
1993–1997 Napoli 125 (15)
1997–1998 Juventus 21 (1)
1998–1999 Sampdoria 26 (1)
1999–2001 Torino 22 (1)
2000–2001 → Napoli (loan) 27 (6)
2001–2006 Bologna 33 (5)
2002–2003 → Como (loan) 27 (6)
2004–2005 → Siena (loan) 59 (7)
2006–2007 Ascoli 23 (2)
2007 Foggia 6 (0)
2007–2008 Frosinone 14 (4)
2008–2009 Foggia 26 (1)
Total 466 (51)
International career
1993–1996 Italy U21 11 (0)
1996 Italy Olympic 3 (0)
Managerial career
2011 Gubbio
2012–2013 Latina
2016–2018 Hellas Verona
2018–2019 Avispa Fukuoka
2019–2020 Juventus U23
2021–2022 Cremonese
2022– Parma
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Italy
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner 1996 Spain
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fabio Pecchia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfaːbjo ˈpekkja]; born 24 August 1973) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is head coach of Serie A club Parma.

Throughout his playing career as a midfielder, he was also known as "l'avvocato" ("the lawyer," in Italian), as he obtained a law degree through the University of Naples.[2][3]

Club career

A journeyman with eleven different clubs in his career, Pecchia amassed over 300 first division appearances. He began his career with Avellino in 1991, and remained at the club for two seasons. Despite heavy interest from Parma, he moved to Napoli in 1993, where he played for four seasons, becoming a key figure for the club, although he later struggled to establish himself in other teams. He made his Serie A debut with the Neapolitan club on 29 August 1993, at the age of 20, becoming a vital member of Marcello Lippi's midfield; Pecchia's tactical versatility, speed, technique, vision, and passing range allowed him to excel in Lippi's offensive tactical system, which made frequent use of long balls and fast-paced football. With Napoli, Pecchia soon established himself as one of the most promising and talented young Italian stars of the 90s, due to his leadership and work-rate; during his first season with Napoli, he helped the club qualify for the UEFA Cup.[4] He remained at the club for three more seasons, despite the club's financial difficulties and lack of success during this time. During the 1996–97 season, he was named Napoli's captain, and he helped the club to reach the 1997 Coppa Italia Final under manager Luigi Simoni, in which Napoli was defeated by Vicenza in extra time; during the first leg of the final, Pecchia scored Napoli's winning goal.[4] Despite his attachment to the club, he was sold to Juventus in 1997 for 10 billion Lit., in an attempt to manage the club's debts; he would later return to Napoli, on loan, however, for a single season, in 2001. In total, he made 152 appearances for Napoli, scoring 21 goals.[4][5]

Pecchia spent a single season with Juventus during the 1997–98 season, under his former Napoli manager Marcello Lippi, winning the 1997 Supercoppa Italiana, and the Serie A title with the club that season, also reaching the 1998 UEFA Champions League Final. He made 21 league appearances that season, and scored a decisive goal against Empoli to claim the league title. He struggled to break into the first team, however, and was usually used as a reserve, due to the presence of Zinedine Zidane and Edgar Davids in Juventus's midfield.[3] Pecchia was subsequently loaned out to Sampdoria for the 1998–99 season, and he was sold to cross-city rivals Torino for 5.9 billion Italian lire (€3,047,096) in 1999, playing the 1999–2000 season with the Turin club, and suffering relegation to Serie B.[6] In June 2001 Juve gave up the remain 50% registration rights to Torino.[5][7]

The following season, Pecchia moved back to Napoli on loan, although he was unable to save the club from relegation to Serie B.[4] He spent the 2001–02 season with Bologna, and remained with the club until the 2005–06 season, although he spent the 2002–03 season with Como, and was loaned out to Siena during the 2004–05 season.[3][4][5]

He spent the first half of the 2006–07 Serie A season with Ascoli, but on 31 January 2007, he was signed by Serie C1 side Foggia.[8] On 10 July 2007 he signed a 1-year contract with Serie B club Frosinone, making 26 appearances for the club, and scoring a goal in a home fixture against Chievo. On 10 June 2008, he returned to Foggia, signing a two-year contract that would keep him at the club until 2010, although he retired during the summer of 2009. In total, he made 446 appearances throughout his career, scoring 50 goals. He made 337 appearances in Serie A, scoring 41 goals; 62 in Serie B, scoring four goals and 47 appearances in Serie C, scoring five goals.[3][4][5]

International career

Although he never represented Italy at senior level, Pecchia played for the Italy national under-21 football team on eleven occasions between 1993 and 1996, under manager Cesare Maldini, and was a member of the team that won the 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship; he also competed for Italy at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making three appearances.[9][10]

Managerial career

Pecchia retired from playing football in 2009, and subsequently became Foggia's assistant coach.[11] He left his coaching post by mutual consent, together with head coach Antonio Porta, on 19 January 2010.[12]

On 18 June 2011, he was appointed head coach of Serie B club Gubbio.[13] He was removed from his managerial post on 16 October 2011 due to poor results.[14]

In the 2012–13 season, he became the new head coach of Latina, helping the team earn Serie B promotion. From 21 June 2013, he has served as assistant coach for Rafael Benítez at his former club Napoli.[4][15] From 3 June 2015 to 4 January 2016, he was assistant coach at Real Madrid under Benítez. When the Spaniard was announced as Newcastle United on 11 March, Pecchia was also announced as part of the coaching set up.

In July 2016, he took over as new head coach of Serie B club Hellas Verona, with the clear goal to bring the club back to the top flight. He completed the 2016–17 Serie B season in second place, thus winning automatic promotion to Serie A in his first attempt, and was confirmed in charge of the club for the following 2017–18 top flight campaign. The following season, he could not help them avoid relegation, and left the team at the end of the campaign.

In December 2018, he was announced as coach of Avispa Fukuoka, a Japanese club active in the J2 League. He left the team on 3 June 2019, resigning for personal reasons. The following summer he returned to Italy, becoming the coach of Juventus U23, in Serie C.[16] On 27 June 2020, he led Juventus U23 to winning the Coppa Italia Serie C with a 2–1 victory over Ternana.[17]

On 7 January 2021, he returned into management after being appointed head coach of Serie B club Cremonese.[18] After guiding them to promotion to Serie A by the end of the 2021–22 Serie B season, he unexpectedly resigned from his post on 21 May 2022.[19]

On 2 June 2022, just a few days after leaving Cremonese, Pecchia was announced as the new head coach of Serie B club Parma.[20] Later on, he led Parma back to Serie A, by finishing top in the 2023–24 season.[21]

Style of play

Pecchia was capable of playing on both midfield wings, despite being naturally right-footed. A versatile player, he was able to adapt to any midfield position, and also deployed as an attacking midfielder, or in the centre as a defensive midfielder on occasion. Throughout his career, he was known in particular for his vision, and excellent long-passing ability, although he was also a quick, dynamic, hard-working, and creative player, with good technical ability, who was known for his speed on the ball. He was also known for his offensive movement off the ball, as well as his ability to lose his markers and find open spaces by making attacking runs into positions from which he could receive and subsequently distribute the ball to teammates. These attributes enabled him to be extremely adept at starting attacking plays, in particular during counter-attacks, and made him a serious offensive threat. In addition to his playing ability, he was also known for his leadership qualities.[3][4][22]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 28 December 2024[23]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Gubbio 18 June 2011 16 October 2011 12 2 5 5 16 26 −10 016.67
Latina 17 June 2012 8 April 2013 35 18 9 8 46 32 +14 051.43
Hellas Verona 2 June 2016 13 June 2018 86 30 19 37 102 129 −27 034.88
Avispa Fukuoka 14 December 2018 3 June 2019 16 4 4 8 13 21 −8 025.00
Juventus U23 29 June 2019 17 July 2020 37 15 14 8 50 43 +7 040.54
Cremonese 7 January 2021 21 May 2022 60 29 16 15 88 60 +28 048.33
Parma 2 June 2022 Present 103 46 31 26 154 118 +36 044.66
Total 349 144 98 107 469 429 +40 041.26

Honours

Player

Juventus[3][24]

Italy U-21[25]

Manager

Juventus U23

Parma

References

  1. ^ "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 156" [Official Press Release No. 156] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 6 February 2018. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Gubbio, il nuovo allenatore è Fabio Pecchia l'"avvocato"" (in Italian). Umbria 24. 28 June 2011. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Stefano Bedeschi (24 August 2013). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Fabio PECCHIA" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Leonardo Ciccarelli (26 June 2013). "La storia siete voi: L'Avvocato Fabio Pecchia" (in Italian). Tutto Napoli. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d "Fabio Pecchia" (in Italian). Tutto Calciatori. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Relazioni e Bilancio al 30 Giugno 2000". Juventus FC (in Italian). Borsa Italiana Archive. 19 December 2000. Retrieved 24 March 2015. page 42, IMMOBILIZZAZIONI FINANZIARIE Compartecipazioni ex art. 102 bis N.O.I.F.
  7. ^ "Reports and Financial Statements at 30 June 2002" (PDF). Juventus FC. 28 October 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  8. ^ "FOGGIA, CHE COLPI! PRESI PECCHIA E PANARELLI". US Foggia (in Italian). 31 January 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Fabio Pecchia Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  10. ^ "Nazionale in cifre: Pecchia, Fabio" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Ufficiale: Fabio Pecchia vice-allenatore dell´U.S. Foggia". US Foggia (in Italian). 7 August 2009. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  12. ^ Marco De Toma (19 January 2010). "UFFICIALE: Foggia, Porta e Pecchia se ne vanno" (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  13. ^ "GUBBIO: FABIO PECCHIA NUOVO ALLENATORE" (in Italian). A.S. Gubbio 1910. 18 June 2011. Archived from the original on 21 June 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  14. ^ "GUBBIO: ESONERATO FABIO PECCHIA" (in Italian). A.S. Gubbio 1910. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  15. ^ "Biografia: Fabio Pecchia - Almanacco". mondi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  16. ^ "Official: Pecchia for Juve U23 job". Football Italia. 29 June 2019.
  17. ^ a b JuventusNews24, Redazione (27 June 2020). "Ternana-Juventus U23 1-2: bianconeri nella storia, è trionfo in Coppa Italia!". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 27 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "PECCHIA NUOVO ALLENATORE DELLA CREMONESE" (in Italian). US Cremonese. 7 January 2021. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  19. ^ "La Serie A non basta, Pecchia lascia la Cremonese: "Ho ascoltato me stesso"" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  20. ^ "FABIO PECCHIA È L'ALLENATORE CROCIATO" (in Italian). Parma Calcio 1913. 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  21. ^ Campanale, Susy (10 May 2024). "Como and Parma promoted to Serie A, play-offs set". Football Italia.
  22. ^ "Dieci italiani più uno che avrebbero meritato la nazionale" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Fabio Pecchia career sheet". footballdatabase. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Fabio Pecchia" (in Italian). Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  25. ^ Gaetano Brancaccio (1 June 2013). "Napoli e Pecchia, il ritorno?" (in Italian). Spazio Napoli. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
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