The Serie A coaching carousel is over as Spezia have picked their next coach. After losing Vincenzo Italiano to Fiorentina, the Aquilotti have appointed Thiago Motta. He has officially inked a three-year contract.
Spezia initially thought they would continue with their up-and-coming boss at the helm. However, he jumped ship after Fiorentina parted ways with Gennaro Gattuso and paid his release clause. They got youngster Petko Hristov in return for rescinding the contracts of his staff.
Motta has limited coaching experience at the pro level. Genoa hired him in October 2022, but he lasted only 10 games, collecting 2 wins, 3 draws, and 5 losses between Serie A and Coppa Italia. He managed PSG’s U-19 team right after retiring, achieving good results in the Youth League. He has played in Serie A for four years, three of which at Inter, and also has 30 caps with Italy. Spezia talked to few gaffers and went with a young one that shared some traits with Italiano.
Sampdoria were instead the penultimate team to find their manager. On Sunday, they announced the hiring of Roberto D’Aversa. He is coming off a tough season with Parma, where they got relegated in a weird year partly due to an ownership change. He had left in the offseason but returned to take over from Fabio Liverani in January.
In previous years, D’Aversa led the team to two promotions and convincingly avoided the drop in consecutive campaigns. The Blucerchiati were looking for a new coach as Claudio Ranieri decided not to extend his contract, ending his two-year stint.