Men's First Team

Born in Parma in 1965, Stefano Pioli was a promising talent in Italian football. He began his career at Parma, where he played as an attacking midfielder in youth football before becoming a top-quality defender. Pioli began playing for Italy U21 at a young age and attracted the interest of two big clubs in Juventus and Inter. He eventually joined the Bianconeri in 1984 and went on to win one Scudetto and recorded an impressive trophy haul in international club football: the European Cup, European Supercup and Intercontinental Cup – in the latter of which he came in the final against Argentinos Juniors, replacing Gaetano Scirea. He then went on to play for Fiorentina, Padova, Pistoiese and Fiorenzuola before retiring in the lates 1990s.

His coaching career began in 1999 when he took charge of Bologna’s Allievi Nazionali team (ages 14 to 16). Two more years followed coaching the Primavera sides at Bologna and Chievo before being appointed first-team head coach at Salernitana in 2003. That was the start of a constant rise. After a stint at Parma and back at Chievo and then Bologna, he received plaudits, prizes and awards during successful spells with Lazio and Fiorentina. He has coached both the Milanese giants, first Inter and now AC Milan since 2019. He has done excellently at the helm of the Rossoneri thus far: 38 games without defeat in the league, 24 in all competitions, 13 games with at least two goals scored, a points-per-game average of over two since the start of January 2020, as well as guiding AC Milan back to the Champions League after seven years away from the competition and the Scudetto after eleven years thanks to a Serie A 2021/22 season to remember. In 2022/23, he led the Rossoneri to the semi-final of the Champions League, which hadn't been reached since 2007.