Coaching Carousel: Serie A 2025/26 Between Bets and Risks

By Marta Elena Casanova

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The 2025/26 Serie A season has kicked off with a record-breaking coaching carousel: 12 out of 20 benches have changed hands over the summer. A wave of change that has involved big clubs, outsiders, and relegation battlers, alternating reassuring comebacks, ambitious debuts, and risky bets.

The reasons behind this revolution? Clubs in trouble looking for a relaunch, the desire to capitalize on recently closed winning cycles, and, in some cases, the need to rebuild strained relationships between squad and coach.

Major Returns

Massimiliano Allegri at AC Milan
After more than a decade, the coach from Livorno is back at the Rossoneri. Ibrahimović and the board’s choice for the 2025/26 bench is clear: bring solidity and a winning mentality to a group that has been inconsistent. Allegri knows the environment and the weight of the shirt — two factors that could accelerate the process of stability.

Stefano Pioli at Fiorentina
Palladino’s stint was short-lived, and Commisso opted for a familiar face in Florence. Pioli is not a revolutionary, but a stabilizer: the kind of coach who can immediately bring order and compactness to a side aiming for Europe.

Maurizio Sarri at Lazio
For 2025/26, President Lotito chose the path of heart and mutual trust. The Tuscan coach returns to the capital and Lazio’s bench after the Tudor spell, with the mission to rebuild a tactical project based on possession and defensive organization. The risk? The squad may no longer be the same as in his peak years.

High-Pressure First Times

Gian Piero Gasperini at Roma
After an extraordinary cycle at Atalanta, the Grugliasco-born coach has arrived for his first adventure with Roma in 2025/26. His offensive philosophy and vertical football could light up the Olimpico, but also clash with the need for balance in a club used to constant pressure. A fascinating but risky challenge.

Cristian Chivu at Inter
The most surprising decision of the summer: the former Nerazzurri defender, with limited coaching experience in youth teams, has replaced Simone Inzaghi. A bold, identity-driven move, but one that will require flawless dressing room management.

Ivan Jurić at Atalanta
Taking over Gasperini’s legacy in Bergamo is almost impossible. Jurić shares similar ideas, but with less testing at the highest levels. If the management can shield him and support him in the transfer market, the project may take off; otherwise, comparisons with the past risk being brutal.

The Bets of Mid-to-Lower Clubs

• Eusebio Di Francesco at Lecce

• Alberto Gilardino at Pisa

• Davide Nicola at Cremonese

• Fabio Pisacane at Cagliari

Four different choices in profile and philosophy: Di Francesco is seeking redemption, Gilardino brings enthusiasm and modern methods, Nicola offers pragmatism in relegation battles, while Pisacane represents the “club man,” focusing on loyalty to the shirt.

The Confirmations

Only five clubs have chosen to confirm their coach:

• Napoli – Antonio Conte, fresh champion and undisputed leader of the project.

• Bologna – Vincenzo Italiano, ensuring continuity after reaching Europe.

• Como – Cesc Fàbregas, the young and international gamble who has already conquered the fans.

• Udinese – Kosta Runjaic, with a medium-term project.

• Verona – Paolo Zanetti, betting on steady growth.

Sassuolo also confirmed Fabio Grosso, although technically it is a return to Serie A after promotion.

Were They the Right Choices?

Milan and Fiorentina went for consistency, Roma dared with Gasperini — if the squad adapts, the step up could be real. Napoli keeping Conte was the obvious but invaluable move: continuity and ambition remain intact.

Who Risks the Most?

• Inter with Chivu: romantic, but fragile if results don’t come quickly.

• Atalanta with Jurić: the heaviest legacy, perhaps the toughest task in Serie A.

• For some mid-to-lower clubs, changing without a clear strategy could create instability already in the first half of the season.

Serie A 2025/26 kicks off as a “laboratory league,” with a mix of cautious choices and bold twists. While returns seem to offer security, the first times — from Gasperini at Roma to Chivu at Inter — will be the true thermometer of the league’s technical future.

In a football world that changes faster than ever, the real victory will be finding the right balance between playing identity and patience with results. Whoever manages to do so in Serie A will not just have chosen the right coach: they will have won the toughest challenge of modern Serie A.

Team – Coach 2024/25 – Coach 2025/26

By Marta Elena Casanova