The Italian took over the reins at Swansea City on the 18th January 2016. He steadied the ship at the Welsh club and guided them to safety in the Premier League following Garry Monk’s departure in the winter.
The 2016-17 season is the Swans 6th straight campaign at the top tier of English football after torrid spells in the lower echelons of the Football League pyramid. In 2002-03, Swansea actually seemed destined for relegation from the Football league altogether.
With the club in turmoil off the field, and results not much better on it, a miraculous escape was achieved on the last day of the season. That seems to have given them the springboard to success and stability that they’re reaping the rewards of today.
However, I don’t know about you, but I still didn’t know enough about the experienced manager who is aiming to improve on last season’s 12th placed finish. So, after some extensive research, here’s some interesting information you may or may not know about the Swansea boss.
A Guide to Guidolin, if you will!
Swansea City is the FOURTEENTH club that the Italian has managed!
That’s right. The Italian has managed 12 Italian clubs, with one brief spell at Monaco in the French league, before joining the Swans last season. He managed relative success in Italy without ever taking charge of one of the more elite clubs.
His biggest success probably came when he took over at Serie B Vicenza, with whom he gained promotion with in 1994-95 before winning the 1997 Coppa Italia, defeating Napoli 3-1 on aggregate over a two-legged final. They also reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1997-98 before losing to Chelsea.
Guidolin enjoyed success at Palermo, who were also in Serie B when he joined them midway through the 2003-04 season. He led them to the title, meaning they would be playing in Serie A for the first time in 35 years. Impressively, the wily Italian guided The Eagles to a sixth place finish in the top flight, earning their first ever Uefa Cup qualification. However, he opted to leave at the end of the season.
Amongst his repertoire of clubs managed is Udinese Calcio. He has taken charge of the ‘Bianconeri Friuliani’ on two occasions, actually with his second stint his most successful. He led them to their highest points total in history in the 2010-11 season, finishing fourth, earning themselves a spot in the Champions League qualifying stages. After the season, he was awarded the Panchina d’Oro as the best coach of the league.
He followed up that success by leading them to a third place finish during the 2011-12 season, the best result in the club’s history.
In 2014 though, Guidolin decided to step down from coaching and take a role as technical supervisor for Chairman Giampaolo Pozzo who also owns Granada and Watford.
Therefore, his decision to move to the Premier League last season, considering his lack of English football experience and having previously stepped down as a coach altogether, made it a surprise to most.
Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins was impressed though with what he saw from the experienced Italian whilst he was in charge of Udinese. The 60-year-old had guided the ‘Zebrette’ to Europe consistently on a relatively small budget. Jenkins clearly acknowledged the similarities between the sizes of Udinese and his beloved Swansea and believed Guidolin could achieve similar results.
Only time will tell if his vision becomes reality.
Bonus Fact – Guidolin was appointed manager by one club on FOUR separate occasions!
Palermo, one of the club’s Guidolin had most success at, actually appointed him on four separate occasions (having sacked him after a couple of them!)
The Italian resigned in 2005 after his first successful stint there but was the surprise re-appointment in May 2006.
However, things turned sour and after defeat to relegation-threatened Parma in April 2007, he was sacked, only for him to be re-signed again two games later because the assistant manager was also unable to stop the rot!
He guided Palermo to a 5th place finish by the end of the season but was sacked once more.
Astonishingly enough, in November 2007, Guidolin was the ‘surprise’ appointment made by ‘Rosanero.’ This for a record fourth time.
However, in March 2008, after a negative string of results, you guessed it – Guidolin was sacked AGAIN. In case you have lost count, this was his third sacking.
He has not returned to the club as manager for a fifth time (yet) but did receive a pleasant welcome when he revisited as manager of Parma.
Don’t rule out another return someday!
Guidolin’s full list of teams managed:
Giorgione Treviso Fano Empoli Ravenna Atalanta Vicenza Udinese Bologna Palermo Genoa Monaco Palermo (again) Parma Udinese Swansea City
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