Walter Mazzarri returns: back on the bench after two years

Walter Mazzarri is returning to work after two years.

The Tuscan coach will take a seat on the bench after his 2024 exoneration from Napoli, but he will not do so in Italy. According to the Hellenic media, the coach from San Vincenzo will coach Iraklis, a Thessaloniki club that has just been promoted to the Greek top league.

The former Inter Milan coach is finalizing the last details with the Greek club, which is very ambitious and eager to be able to compete with the city’s two other big clubs, Paok and Aris. The Tuscan coach was welcomed at the airport with a bouquet of flowers: at 64, he has decided to get back into the game away from Italy.

Mazzarri was exonerated by Napoli in February 2024, after taking over from Rudi Garcia a few months earlier. In his career he has coached Acireale, Pistoiese, Livorno, Reggina, Sampdoria, Napoli, Inter Milan, Watford, Torino and Cagliari. Before his negative experience with the Sardinians, he had never been relegated to Serie B.

He won the Coppa Italia with the Parthenopeans in 2012, coaching champions such as Lavezzi, Hamsik, and Cavani. In late 2024 he had been approached to the Turin bench, but the contacts had not resulted in a real negotiation for his hiring by the Granata club.

In a recent interview Mazzarri had preannounced his return to the bench: “I am not someone who can coach any team, I must first understand the ideas of the club, in a very clear way. I can fight for the title, for salvation, for mid-table: I want clarity. I want to know how the profect is structured, how the market is operated and what goals there are. I want attunement and transparency with the society, otherwise, better not to accept. I still feel relevant and I have had a stable career for years, I know all the concepts and I know how to make the players perform.”