Top 10 Young Football Managers (Part Two)

4. Vincenzo Montella

Age: 39

Nationality: Italian

Current club: Fiorentina

Previous clubs: Catania; Roma (as caretaker)

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Don’t be fooled by the wry smiles, Vincenzo Montella is a determined man. Without that streak to his personality, he would not have emerged as one of the rising stars of Italian coaching. You need to be pretty unflappable to survive in the controversial world of Calcio.

He cut his managerial teeth in the Roma youth set-up and was elevated to the top job on a caretaker basis before being dropped to make way for Luis Enrique. More than one fan of the Giallorossi has expressed regret at that decision as Montella moved to Catania and started to make his name for some innovative, entertaining and aggressive football.

His hallmark in Sicily was an exciting 4-3-3 formation and an impressive season earned him a move to the Fiorentina set-up desperate to revive its fortunes. He showed tactical versatility by switching to a 3-5-2 during the early part of the campaign before reverting to 4-3-3. It took the Viola from a relegation fight the previous season to narrowly missing out on a Champions League place. And all of it achieved with a grace under pressure which has already had other teams in Serie A taking a close interest.