SPAL have officially confirmed the appointment of former Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi as new head coach. The 39-year-old was previously assistant manager for the Azzurri, working alongside coach Roberto Mancini, before opting being admitted to the UEFA Pro yearly coaching course organized by the Italian Football Federation, together with fellow 2006 FIFA World Cup winners Marco Amelia, Andrea Barzagli and Alessandro Del Piero.
SPAL have officially confirmed De Rossi’s appointment in a statement on the clubs official website:
S.P.A.L. announces that it has appointed Daniele De Rossi as coach of the first team.
The new biancazzurro coach has signed a contract until June 30, 2024.
Born in Rome on July 24, 1983, De Rossi grew up in the youth sector of A.S. Roma and on October 30, 2001, he made his debut with the Giallorossi’s first team by subbing in the match against Anderlecht, valid for the group stage of the 2001/2002 Champions League.
It was only the beginning of an adventure that lasted eighteen seasons and made 616 total appearances, including 464 in Serie A, 59 in the Coppa Italia, 65 in the Champions League and 34 in the Europa League, making him the second player with the most appearances ever in the history of A.S. Roma behind Francesco Totti.
It was the historic Giallorossi captain himself, after his retirement, who handed him the captain’s armband, which De Rossi would wear in total in 207 matches, becoming the fourth captain in terms of number of appearances behind Totti himself, Giacomo Losi and Giuseppe Giannini.
After personal bests and winning two Italian Cups and an Italian Super Cup, he left A.S. Roma in the summer of 2019 and before retiring from playing soccer decided to have one last experience with the Boca Juniors jersey, with which he scored his first and only goal at the Bombonera in Buenos Aires on August 14, 2019 in the Argentine Cup match against Almagro.
De Rossi was not only an absolute star with the Capitoline team, but also with the Italian national team. On September 4, 2004, he made his debut with the Azzurra jersey, going immediately into the net in the match against Norway, valid for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers: a competition in which Italy would triumph, beating France 6-4 in the final after penalty kicks, in which De Rossi put his signature by converting one of the shots from the penalty spot.
On Nov. 10, 2017 against Sweden, he played his last game in the Italian national team jersey after an impressive 117 appearances, which placed him fifth on the list of players who played the most times in the Azzurri shirt.
After ending his career as a footballer, De Rossi joined the staff of National Team head coach Roberto Mancini, together with whom he lifted the European Champion’s trophy at Wembley on July 11, 2021.
As of today, Daniele De Rossi is the new coach of SPAL.
