Gennaro Ivan Gattuso

Born in Corigliano, Calabria, 47-year-old Gennaro Ivan Gattuso is married to Monica Romano and has two children, Gabriela and Francesco. He served as Italy national team Head Coach from 15 June 2025 to 3 April 2026.

He has coached in Switzerland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia and Italy. He began his managerial career as player-manager of Sion in February 2013, before taking charge of Palermo (2013/14, Serie B), OFI Crete (2014/15, Greek First Division) and Pisa (2015/16, Lega Pro), whom he guided to promotion to Serie B by defeating Foggia in the play-off final. In 2017/18, he accepted AC Milan's offer to coach the Primavera side, but in November, following the dismissal of Vincenzo Montella, he was promoted to the first team. During his two seasons in charge of the Rossoneri, he lost both the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup finals to Juventus, while finishing sixth and fifth in Serie A.

In December 2019, he succeeded Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli, leading the club to the Coppa Italia final, where they gained revenge over Juventus by defeating them on penalties. After another season in Naples, during which they again lost the Italian Super Cup final to Juventus, he took charge of Valencia in 2022. In September 2023, he replaced Marcelino at Olympique de Marseille. Finally, in 2024/25, he was appointed head coach of Hajduk Split, leading the Croatian club to a third-place finish in the top flight.

PLAYING CAREER. Gattuso first made his name at Perugia, where he won two Primavera league titles (1995/96 and 1996/97), including scoring the winning goal against Parma, featuring Gianluigi Buffon, in the first final (2-1). After making his senior debut, he accepted an offer from Rangers, who finished runners-up behind Celtic, before returning to Italy after one season (1998/99) with Salernitana. His outstanding campaign with the Campania club earned him a move to AC Milan, where he would spend 13 years and become a Rossoneri legend. When he departed in the summer of 2012, he had made 468 appearances and scored 11 goals, winning two Serie A titles, two Italian Super Cups, one Coppa Italia, two UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.

With Italy, he began at Under-18 level before becoming one of the key figures in the Under-21 side that won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, earning promotion to the senior national team at the start of 2000. He represented Italy at three FIFA World Cups (2002, 2006 and 2010) and two UEFA European Championships (2004 and 2008), playing a key role in the Azzurri's 2006 World Cup triumph.

GATTUSO IN AZZURRI / From the Under-18s to the Senior National Team

Gennaro Ivan Gattuso spent almost 15 years representing Italy, from the youth national teams through to the senior side: from 13 September 1995, the date of his Under-18 debut, to 24 June 2010, his final appearance at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In total, he made 108 appearances across the Under-18, Under-21 and senior national teams, scoring five goals, winning the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Berlin, six years after lifting the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia.

UNDER-18. Gattuso began his Italy journey on 13 September 1995 with Francesco Rocca's Under-18 side, competing in the U. Caligaris Tournament in Casale Monferrato at the start of the season. Later that month, qualifying for the UEFA European Under-18 Championship got under way and, in the opening match on 23 September in Avezzano, he scored his first international goal in a 2-0 victory, netting Italy's second after Nicola Ventola had opened the scoring. Italy's Under-18 side exited the 1996 European Championship in the first round of the finals after two draws and a defeat to Spain. Gattuso finished his Under-18 career with 14 appearances and three goals, adding strikes in a 4-0 qualifying win over Greece in La Spezia and a 1-1 draw with England in Romans, France, during the finals.

UNDER-21. Called up by Rossano Giampaglia for the match against England in Rieti on 10 October 1997, he remained on the bench as the Azzurrini's campaign ended with a first-round elimination after three consecutive titles. He made his debut on 25 March 1998 under Marco Tardelli, starting the friendly against Malta in Valletta (1-0). From then on, he played in every European Championship match, from qualifying through to the play-offs and finals, missing only a handful of friendlies, before helping Italy defeat the Czech Republic in Bratislava on 4 June 2000 to secure a fourth Under-21 European title. He also represented Italy at the Sydney Olympic Games, where the Azzurrini were knocked out by Spain in the quarter-finals (1-0). In total, he made 21 Under-21 appearances and scored once, in a 4-0 friendly win over Scotland in Castel di Sangro on 23 May 1998.

SENIOR NATIONAL TEAM. During his final year with the Under-21s, Gattuso also made the step up to the senior national team. On 23 February 2000 in Palermo, Head Coach Dino Zoff introduced him at half-time in the 1-0 friendly victory over Sweden. He remained part of the Azzurri under Giovanni Trapattoni, who selected him for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2004. He was also one of the eight eventual 2006 World Cup winners who featured from Marcello Lippi's very first match in charge on 18 August 2004 in Reykjavík, a 2-0 defeat to Iceland. In the years that followed, he was part of Roberto Donadoni's side that was eliminated by Spain in the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2008, before featuring under Lippi again through to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he brought his international career to a close. He finished with 73 senior caps and one goal, the winner in a friendly against England in Turin on 15 November 2000.