Stefano Colantuono

Infobox Football biography
playername = Stefano Colantuono


fullname = Stefano Colantuono
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1962|10|23
cityofbirth = Rome
countryofbirth = Italy
currentclub =
position = Manager
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1981-1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986 1986-1988 1988-1989 1989-1991 1991-1992
1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001
clubs = Velletri Ternana Arezzo Pisa Avellino Como Ascoli BNL Roma ("futsal") Frosinone Fermana Sambenedettese Maceratese Sestrese Sambenedettese
caps(goals) = 46 (2) 16 (3) 36 (1) 24 (0) 53 (2) 23 (1) 38 (0) ? (?) 27 (1) 28 (5) 25 (2) 112 (6) 34 (2) 31 (5)
nationalyears =
nationalteams =
manageryears = 2001-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2007 2007 2008
managerclubs = Sambenedettese Catania Perugia Atalanta Palermo Palermo

Stefano Colantuono (born October 23, 1962 in Rome) is an Italian football manager, formerly managing Palermo.

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. In the season 2006-2007 he led Atalanta to an impressive seventh place in the Serie A table.

On May 31, 2007, he was announced as new Palermo head coach to replace Francesco Guidolin. [ [http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/may31k.html Palermo confirm Colantuono deal (Football Italia)] ] However after a number of unimpressive performances ended by a crushing 5–0 loss to Juventus persuaded club chairman Maurizio Zamparini to sack him on November 26 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/SerieA/Squadre/Palermo/Primo_Piano/2007/11_Novembre/26/colantuono.shtml|publisher=La Gazzetta dello Sport|title=Palermo, via Colantuono. Guidolin pronto al ritorno|language=Italian|accessdate=2007-11-26|date=2007-11-26] He was once again recalled on March 24 2008 to replace Guidolin as head coach of Palermo. [cite web|url=http://it.eurosport.yahoo.com/25032008/45/serie-zamparini-spiega-l-ennesimo-esonero.html|publisher=Yahoo! Eurosport Italia|title=Zamparini spiega l'ennesimo esonero|language=Italian|accessdate=2008-03-25|date=2008-03-25] However, Colantuono was sacked again after just one game of the 2008/2009 season, and was replaced by Davide Ballardini on September 4th.

References

Persondata
NAME= Colantuono, Stefano
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Colantuono, Stefano
SHORT DESCRIPTION= footballer, football manager
DATE OF BIRTH= 1962-10-23
PLACE OF BIRTH= Rome, Italy
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=