From Italian to German, Bologna’s choice sparks social hilarity

A little more than twenty-four hours after the consensual termination with Vincenzo Italiano (who says goodbye to the Two Towers after two years, the first of which culminated with a historic Coppa Italia) Bologna has already found his heir. The Emilian management’s casting has closed with a surprise blow with an international scope: Domenico Tedesco will be the new Rossoblù coach.

Discarding the tracks leading to Di Francesco, Palladino and De Rossi, the head of the technical area Giovanni Sartori and sporting director Marco Di Vaio have decisively accelerated, finding a total agreement with the former Fenerbahce coach on the basis of a long-term contract (sources close to the Rossoblù environment speak of two years with an option for the third) that will bind him to the club at least until June 30, 2028.

In the meantime, irony has exploded on social media: the switch from Italiano to Tedesco has unleashed an avalanche of jokes, puns and memes, also abetted by the biographies of the two coaches that seem to be made on purpose to fuel confusion. Vincenzo Italiano, in fact, was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, but is Italian for all intents and purposes. Domenico Tedesco, on the other hand, was born in Calabria but grew up in Germany and has German citizenship. An almost comical intersection that the web did not let slip, turning the news into a small viral case.

Born in Rossano Calabro 40 years ago but raised in Germany, Tedesco represents the prototype of the modern coach. With a degree in management engineering and top of his class at the famous Hennes-Weisweiler coaching school (ahead of Julian Nagelsmann), he is making his first-ever appearance in Italian top flight soccer.

Behind his back, however, he already has a distinguished European career and resume, having led top clubs and high-pressure contexts. After debuts in the youth sectors of Stuttgart and Hoffenheim, his first real feat came at Erzgebirge Aue with a miraculous salvation in the second division. Immediately afterwards he made the big leap to Schalke 04, earning a resounding second place in the Bundesliga at only 31 years old, and then moved to Spartak Moscow, where he achieved second place in the league and a return to the European cups.

Returning to Germany, he signed Leipzig’s historic German Cup triumph before becoming Belgium’s technical commissioner, leading in the post-World Cup transition. Finally, his last stop before Italy was in Turkey, on the prestigious bench of Fenerbahce, ubenting Jose Mourinho. Bologna had courted him before in the post-Thiago Motta era, but at the time the marriage did not take place because of his commitment to lead the Belgium national team.