Fabio Pecchia

Fabio Pecchia
Personal information
Date of birth (1973-08-24) 24 August 1973
Place of birth Formia, Italy
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Hellas Verona (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1993 Avellino 33 (1)
1993–1997 Napoli 125 (15)
1997–1998 Juventus 21 (1)
1998–1999 Sampdoria 26 (1)
1999–2001 Torino 22 (1)
2000–2001 → Napoli (loan) 27 (6)
2001–2002 Bologna 33 (5)
2002–2003 Como 27 (6)
2003–2006 Bologna 59 (7)
2004–2005 → Siena (loan) 23 (2)
2006–2007 Ascoli 6 (0)
2007 Foggia 14 (4)
2007–2008 Frosinone 26 (1)
2008–2009 Foggia 24 (1)
Total 466 (51)
National team
1993–1996 Italy U-21 11 (0)
1996 Italy Olympic 3 (0)
Teams managed
2011 Gubbio
2012–2013 Latina
2013–2015 Napoli (assistant)
2015–2016 Real Madrid (assistant)
2016 Newcastle United (assistant)
2016– Hellas Verona

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Fabio Pecchia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfaːbjo ˈpekkja]; born 24 August 1973) is an Italian former footballer who played as a midfielder; he is currently the manager of Hellas Verona.

Throughout his career, he was also known as "l'avvocato" (the lawyer, in Italian), as he obtained a law degree through the University of Naples.[1][2]

Club career

A journeyman with eleven different clubs in his career, Pecchia amassed over 300 first division appearances. He began his career with Avellino in 1991, and remained at the club for two seasons. Despite heavy interest from Parma, he moved to Napoli in 1993, where he played for four seasons, becoming a key figure for the club, although he later struggled to establish himself in other teams. He made his Serie A debut with the Neapolitan club on 29 August 1993, at the age of 20, becoming a vital member of Marcello Lippi's midfield; Pecchia's tactical versatility, speed, technique, vision, and passing range allowed him to excel in Lippi's offensive tactical system, which made frequent use of long balls and fast-paced football. With Napoli, Pecchia soon established himself as one of the most promoising and talented young Italian stars of the 90s, due to his leadership and work-rate; during his first season with Napoli, he helped the club qualify for the UEFA Cup.[3] He remained at the club for three more seasons, despite the club's financial difficulties and lack of success during this time. During the 1996–97 season, he was named Napoli's captain, and he helped the club to reach the 1997 Coppa Italia Final under manager Luigi Simoni, in which Napoli was defeated by Vicenza in extra time; during the first leg of the final, Pecchia scored Napoli's winning goal.[3] Despite his attachment to the club, he was sold to Juventus in 1997 for 10 billion Lit., in an attempt to manage the club's debts; he would later return to Napoli, on loan, however, for a single season, in 2001. In total, he made 152 appearances for Napoli, scoring 21 goals.[3][4]

Pecchia spent a single season with Juventus during the 1997–98 season, under his former Napoli manager Marcello Lippi, winning the 1997 Supercoppa Italiana, and the Serie A title with the club that season, also reaching the 1998 UEFA Champions League Final. He made 21 league appearances that season, and scored a decisive goal against Empoli to claim the league title. He struggled to break into the first team, however, and was usually used as a reserve, due to the presence of Zinedine Zidane and Edgar Davids in Juventus's mdifield.[2] Pecchia was subsequently loaned out to Sampdoria for the 1998–99 season, and he was sold to cross-city rivals Torino for 5.9 billion Italian lire (€3,047,096) in 1999, playing the 1999–2000 season with the Turin club, and suffering relegation to Serie B.[5] In June 2001 Juve gave up the remain 50% registration rights to Torino.[4][6]

The following season, Pecchia moved back to Napoli on loan, although he was unable to save the club from relegation to Serie B.[3] He spent the 2001–02 season with Bologna, and remained with the club until the 2005–06 season, although he spent the 2002–03 season with Como, and was loaned out to Siena during the 2004–05 season.[2][3][4]

He spent the first half of the 2006–07 Serie A season with Ascoli, but on 31 January 2007, he was signed by Serie C1 side U.S. Foggia.[7] On 10 July 2007 he signed a 1-year contract with Serie B club Frosinone, making 26 appearances for the club, and scoring a goal in a home fixture against Chievo Verona. On 10 June 2008, he returned to Foggia, signing a two-year contract that would keep him at the club until 2010, although he retired during the summer of 2009. In total, he made 446 appearances throughout his career, scoring 50 goals. He made 337 appearances in Serie A, scoring 41 goals, 62 in Serie B, scoring 4 goals, and 47 appearances in Serie C, scoring 5 goals.[2][3][4]

International career

Although he never represented Italy at senior level, Pecchia played for the Italy national under-21 football team on 11 occasions between 1993 and 1996, under manager Cesare Maldini, and was a member of the team that won the 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship; he also competed for Italy at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making three appearances.[8][9]

Managerial career

Pecchia retired from playing football in 2009, and successively became Foggia's assistant coach.[10] He left his coaching post by mutual consent, together with head coach Antonio Porta, on 19 January 2010.[11]

On 18 June 2011 he was appointed head coach of Serie B club Gubbio.[12] He was removed from his managerial post on 16 October 2011 due to poor results.[13]

In the 2012–13 season he became the new head coach of Latina, helping the team earn Serie B promotion. From 21 June 2013, he has served as assistant coach for Rafael Benítez at his former club Napoli.[3][14] From 3 June 2015 to 4 January 2016, he was assistant coach at Real Madrid under Benítez. When the Spaniard was announced as Newcastle United on 11 March, Pecchia was also announced as part of the coaching set up.

Style of play

Pecchia was capable of playing on both midfield wings, despite being naturally right-footed. Throughout his career, he was known in particular for his vision, and long-passing, although he was also a quick, creative player, with good technical ability, who was known for his speed on the ball. These attributes enabled him to be extremely adept at starting attacking plays, in particular during counter-attacks, and made him a serious offensive threat.[2][3]

Honours

Juventus F.C.[2][15]
Italy U-21[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Gubbio, il nuovo allenatore è Fabio Pecchia l'"avvocato"" (in Italian). Umbria 24. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stefano Bedeschi (24 August 2013). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Fabio PECCHIA" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Leonardo Ciccarelli (26 June 2013). "La storia siete voi: L'Avvocato Fabio Pecchia" (in Italian). Tutto Napoli. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Fabio Pecchia" (in Italian). Tutto Calciatori. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Relazioni e Bilancio al 30 Giugno 2000". Juventus FC (in Italian). Borsa Italiana Archive. 19 December 2000. Retrieved 24 March 2015. page 42, IMMOBILIZZAZIONI FINANZIARIE Compartecipazioni ex art. 102 bis N.O.I.F.
  6. ↑ "Reports and Financial Statements at 30 June 2002" (PDF). Juventus FC. 28 October 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  7. ↑ "FOGGIA, CHE COLPI! PRESI PECCHIA E PANARELLI". US Foggia (in Italian). 31 January 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "Fabio Pecchia Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  9. ↑ "Nazionale in cifre: Pecchia, Fabio" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Ufficiale: Fabio Pecchia vice-allenatore dell´U.S. Foggia". US Foggia (in Italian). 7 August 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  11. ↑ Marco De Toma (19 January 2010). "UFFICIALE: Foggia, Porta e Pecchia se ne vanno" (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "GUBBIO: FABIO PECCHIA NUOVO ALLENATORE" (in Italian). A.S. Gubbio 1910. 18 June 2011. Archived from the original on 21 June 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  13. ↑ "GUBBIO: ESONERATO FABIO PECCHIA" (in Italian). A.S. Gubbio 1910. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  14. ↑ "Biografia: Fabio Pecchia - Almanacco". mondi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "Fabio Pecchia" (in Italian). Yahoo.com. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Gaetano Brancaccio (1 June 2013). "Napoli e Pecchia, il ritorno?" (in Italian). Spazio Napoli. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
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