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| Thursday 3 April, 2008 |
| Blog: Z-list Zenga |
| Walter Zenga has signed on at Catania for his first Italian job. But Steve Wilson says the Elefantini should have checked the form of Inter's Class of '89 |
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Walter Zenga will begin his coaching career in Italy's top Division on Sunday when he takes charge of Catania against Napoli. He is far from the first of his generation to swap the pitch for the panchina, and unfortunately most of his teammates from Inter's 1989 Scudetto winning side have had less than illustrious managerial careers.
Of the 19 men who played under Giovanni Trapattoni in the 1988-89 season only Ramon Angel Diaz has achieved any degree of success. The Argentine won five titles in his homeland with River Plate and guided San Lorenzo to a championship in 2007 after a brief and bizarre liaison with English under-achievers Oxford United.
You would think that playing under Trap's leadership would be like a master-class, given that the veteran has seven Scudetti, two Coppa Italias, all three major European trophies, an Intercontinental Cup and League titles in Germany, Portugal and Austria to his name. He has been a magnet for silverware - but it did not rub off on his Nerazzurri protégés.
Both Lothar Matthaus and Andreas Brehme have worked alongside him, at Red Bull Salzburg and VfB Stuttgart respectively, only to eventually be axed. Brehme was also sacked by Kaiserslautern and SpVgg Unterhaching, while Matthaus had a mixed time at Rapid Vienna, an aborted role in Brazil at Atletico Paranaense and a forgettable time as Hungary's national tactician.
The pinnacle of the former German skipper's achievements was guiding Partizan Belgrade past Newcastle United in the Champions League. Andrea Mandorlini has also gotten familiar with the finer details of his P45 - having been despatched by Manzanese, Atalanta, Bologna and Siena - while others have remained in the youth systems of the peninsula or become pundits.
Compare that with the output from across San Siro. Between 1987 and 1991, Milan under Arrigo Sacchi produced Carlo Ancelotti - a Champions League, Club World Cup and Scudetto winner, Frank Rijkaard - Champions League and La Liga victor, Marco Van Basten - Holland boss at Euro 2008 and Roberto Donadoni - current Azzurri boss. The contrast is spectacular.
It's harsh to judge Zenga before he has left his chalk marks on the tactics board at the Massamino, but his record does him no favours. Sacked by Steaua Bucharest, his one glory was a double with Serbian side Red Star Belgrade. Nevertheless, he went on to resign from Turkish side Gaziantepsor and Romania's Dinamo Bucharest before a sacking by UAE's Al-Ain.
With a run-in that includes trips to Sicilian rivals Palermo, Champions League chasers Udinese and Juventus and visits from Napoli, Lazio and Roma it seems unusual to have opted for an untested Coach rather than someone with experience at this level. Perhaps the club are already preparing for life back in Serie B, their decision to chase survival with a rookie boss certainly implies so.
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I just wanted to comment on a fine article with lots of good background research to back up your facts. I actually cheer for Catania. My family is from Sicily and while we are from smack in the middle of the island, we have always felt closer to Catania than Palermo, since we have family members that live in the suburbs of Catania.
I would agree that the hiring of Zenga is an interesting one. At this stage, you are simply looking for survival and you are not looking at some experiment. Zenga, who I have high praise for as a person and player, is an experiment as a coach for a Serie A club.
I don't know if Carlo Mazzone is over-the-hill at 71, but he or someone like him would have been the kind of person you would want to come in and take over for seven or eight games. It takes a certain personality to take over a team in the salvation zone. I don't know if Zenga has it. Mazzone does. A former player of his once told me he makes his point clear in the locker room.
Jim James
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