Sergio Pirozzi

Italian football manager (born 1965)
Sergio Pirozzi
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-01-26) 26 January 1965 (age 59)[1][2]
Place of birth San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy[1]
Position(s) Full back[3]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
? L'Aquila[3] ? (?)
Managerial career
1994–1998 Amatrice
1998–2000 Fiumicino
2001–2002 Centro Italia
2002–2003 Ostiamare
2003–2004 Sorianese
2004–2006 Rieti
2007 Viterbese
2009 Messina
2010–2011 Aprilia
2011–2012 Civitavecchia
2012–2013 Palestrina
2013 Viterbese
2014–2016 Trastevere
2020–2021 Trastevere
2023 Atletico Ascoli
2023 Alessandria
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sergio Pirozzi (born 26 January 1965) is an Italian football coach, former defender and politician.

Football career

After a minor career as a full-back, Pirozzi took on his first coaching role in 1994 in charge of then-Seconda Categoria club Amatrice, leading the small amateur club all the way up to Promozione during his four-year stay at the club.[4] He successively took on other regional clubs of Lazio at Eccellenza and then Serie D level. In 2004, Pirozzi led Rieti to win the Serie D title and then guided the club in their successive 2005–06 Serie C2 campaign.[5] In January 2007, he took over as the new head coach of Serie C2 club Viterbese, guiding them until the end of the season.[6]

On 2 November 2009, Pirozzi served as head coach of Messina in the Serie D for a single game against Acicatena, then resigning just three days after his appointment.[7]

After serving as head coach at a number of Serie D teams from Lazio such as Aprilia, Civitavecchia and Palestrina, Pirozzi returned to Viterbese in October 2013,[6] serving only for four league games in the Eccellenza division.[8]

Later in 2014 Pirozzi was hired as the new head coach of Rome-based Eccellenza club Trastevere, guiding them to promotion in his first season.[9] After guiding the club on a successful debut campaign in the Serie D, Pirozzi resigned in August 2016 following the Central Italy earthquake that destroyed the city of Amatrice, where he was serving as mayor at the time.[10]

In 2020, Pirozzi agreed to return to Trastevere for the club's 2020–21 Serie D campaign.[11]

In December 2021, Serie D club Sambenedettese announced the appointment of Pirozzi as their new head coach; however, he retracted after Sambenedettese ultras showed their disapproval of the appointment as he was a fan of the rival team Ascoli.[12]

In September 2022, Pirozzi successfully obtained the UEFA Pro coaching licence.[13]

In March 2023, Pirozzi was appointed in charge of Eccellenza club Atletico Ascoli,[14] guiding them to promotion to Serie D by the end of the season.[15] He was sacked on 31 October 2023 following a negative start in the club's 2023–24 Serie D campaign.[16]

On 23 November 2023, Serie C club Alessandria announced to have hired Pirozzi as their new head coach, on what was set to be his first head coaching job for a professional club since 2007.[17] His stint at Alessandria lasted only one month, as he was removed from his coaching post on 27 December 2023.[18]

Political career

Despite being born in San Benedetto del Tronto, Pirozzi grew up in Amatrice.[19] In 1995 he was elected city councillor of Amatrice and appointed deputy mayor.[20] He was successively elected councillor of the Province of Rieti for the right-wing National Alliance and then mayor of Amatrice in 2009.[20]

As an incumbent mayor, he became a national figure in 2016 following the Central Italy earthquake that nearly destroyed the town of Amatrice.[20] A year later, he announced his candidacy as President of Lazio for the 2018 Lazio regional election,[21] where he ran as an independent candidate, obtaining 4.89% of votes and being elected regional councillor. He subsequently joined Brothers of Italy in 2019,[22] then switching his allegiance to the Lega in 2022.[23] In 2023, he declared his political career to be over.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b "La mia storia" (in Italian). Sergio Pirozzi. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Sergio Pirozzi" (in Italian). CalcioMarche.it. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Amatriciana non è una parolaccia" (in Italian). Il Centro. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Sergio Pirozzi" (in Italian). Il Centro. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Rieti calcio, 15 anni fa la promozione in C2 con Pirozzi e Palombi" (in Italian). RietiLife.com. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b "C'È UN REATINO PER LA VITERBESE: IN PANCHINA ARRIVA SERGIO PIROZZI" (in Italian). RietiLife.com. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Amatrice, il sindaco Pirozzi: "Affronto il sisma come quando alleno. E a Messina…"" (in Italian). Messina Sportiva. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  8. ^ "STAGIONE 2013-2014: VITERBESE CASTRENSE E LUPA CASTELLI ROMANI" (in Italian). LND Lazio. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Pirozzi, l'allenatore-sindaco: il sogno col Trastevere e l'incubo ad Amatrice" (in Italian). Calciomercato.com. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Pirozzi, sindaco di Amatrice e allenatore, lascia la panchina: "Sto con la mia gente"" (in Italian). Il Mattino. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Trastevere, a volte ritornano: Pirozzi sarà il tecnico 2020-2021" (in Italian). Il Messaggero. 9 May 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Pirozzi e il no alla Samb: "Minacce alla famiglia, e quei commenti sul terremoto..."" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  13. ^ "A Pirozzi la qualifica Uefa Pro, l'ex sindaco di Amatrice allenò un attuale rossoverde" (in Italian). CalcioFere.it. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Atletico Ascoli, Sergio Pirozzi è il nuovo allenatore dopo l'esonero di Luigi Giandomenico" (in Italian). PicenoTime. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  15. ^ "L'ex Pirozzi festeggia la promozione in D con l'Atletico Ascoli" (in Italian). CalcioAscoli. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  16. ^ "ATLETICO ASCOLI. Si cambia: Sergio Pirozzi sollevato dall'incarico" (in Italian). Marcheingol.it. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Clamoroso in C, l'Alessandria sceglie come tecnico l'ex sindaco di Amatrice Pirozzi: 20 giorni fa fu esonerato dall'Atletico Ascoli" (in Italian). Corriere Adriatico. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  18. ^ "ESONERO MISTER PIROZZI" (in Italian). US Alessandria Calcio 1912. 27 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Chi è Sergio Pirozzi? Biografia del sindaco di Amatrice e consigliere alla Regione Lazio" (in Italian). Money.it. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  20. ^ a b c "Pirozzi, il sindaco "sanguigno" che dopo Amatrice sogna la presidenza della regione" (in Italian). Il Sole 24 Ore. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  21. ^ "Il sindaco di Amatrice Sergio Pirozzi si candida nel Lazio: con me sindaci e professionisti" (in Italian). Il Sole 24 Ore. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Lazio: Sergio Pirozzi entra in Fratelli d'Italia" (in Italian). Punto a Capo Online. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  23. ^ "L'ex sindaco di Amatrice Pirozzi passa alla Lega. Salvini: "Partito cresce"" (in Italian). RomaToday. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  24. ^ "Pirozzi torna al suo grande amore, il calcio: "La politica mi ha deluso"" (in Italian). Il Tempo. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
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