Marco Bortolami renews with Benetton
The words of Marco Bortolami
Benetton Rugby announced that Marco Bortolami will serve as head coach of the Lions until June 30, 2026. The coach, who has been leading the Lions since July 2021, is thus extending his contract by another two years; the current agreement would have expired next June 30.
Born in Padua on June 12, 1980, Bortolami began his rugby career at Petrarca, where he played until the age of 24, winning an Italian Cup in 2001. In 2004 he è moved for two seasons to France, to Narbonne in the Top 16, before being signed by the English Gloucester, playing for four years in the Premiership. Bortolami è then returned to Italy in 2010 wearing the Aironi jersey, and after the club’s disbandment he continued his experience in the Celtic League with Zebre, a team of which he è was also captain, as had already happened with the other clubs in which he had played.
He made his national team debut in 2001 against Namibia, a year later coach Kirwan named him captain of Italy in the match that saw the Azzurri take on the All Blacks in Hamilton. Bortolami è thus became the youngest captain in the history of Italrugby; in the same match he scored his first try for the national team. In his resume Marco boasts 112 caps with Italy, 12 Six Nations in which he collected 51 appearances and 3 World Cups (2003, 2007, 2011), numbers that make him a symbol of the recent history of the national rugby movement.
A professional with considerable international experience and great charisma, in the summer of 2016, just a month after his retirement from playing rugby, he was chosen by Benetton Rugby as assistant coach with responsibility for forwards and lineout. È a key player on Kieran Crowley’s coaching staff and the Lions’ ride in the 2018/2019 Guinness PRO14, with the green-and-whites reaching the final stages of the Celtic championship for the first time. Bortolami also played a capital role in Benetton Rugby winning the Rainbow Cup in 2021. In green-and-white, Marco has over time proven that he deserves the prestigious chance to be the head coach of the Lions and since July two years ago è to head the technical area. Last April he wrote a new historic chapter for the green-and-white franchise by leading the Lions to the Challenge Cup semifinals, a European goal never reached by an Italian team. For him, therefore, a well-deserved confirmation until 2026:
“Moreù than two years ago we decided to bet on Marco to open a new cycle full of satisfactions, having observed his growth path as an assistant coach. We are very happy with the choice in 2016 and subsequently in 2021, because in these years Bortolami has led Benetton Rugby to fight for ambitious goals, reaching the Challenge Cup semifinals. We believe Marco is the right profile to continue to write high-level results and lead the coaching staff for two more seasons. He represents our philosophy and perfectly reflects what our club aims at. We trust that he can grow further as head of the technical area and rely on him to raise the bar even higher” declares green-and-white President Amerino Zatta.
“I am very happy with the trust placed by President Amerino Zatta, General Manager Antonio Pavanello and the Benetton family in the project started two years ago. I am convinced that the team still has ample room for growth and my goal will be to continue to grow a culture of high performance with the’help of all the presone involved at my side. To continue to improve year after year and make sure that this growth is built on a solid foundation to enable the team to compete with the best clubs in Europe è the goal of all of us. Great challenges lie ahead but with the’ambition and determination to give our best, through daily hard work I am sure we will make the fans proud of Benetton Rugby” explains Marco Bortolami.
