Sassuolo Transfer News: Alberto Aquilani is Officially the New Coach

Sassuolo is starting afresh with Alberto Aquilani. The Emilia-based club has officially announced the signing of the former Roma midfielder as the new head coach of the first team, entrusting him with the technical leadership for the upcoming season.

For Aquilani, this marks a return to the black and green. After a playing career spent at the highest levels with Roma, Liverpool, Juventus, and Milan, he concluded a chapter of his football journey at Sassuolo in January 2017, making 16 appearances and leaving a positive impression within the club.

After retiring from the field, the former midfielder began his coaching career in the youth sector at Fiorentina. In July 2019, he led the Viola’s Under-18 team before joining the first-team coaching staff as an assistant to Giuseppe Iachini. In the summer of 2020, he became the Primavera coach, achieving significant success: three consecutive Coppa Italia Primavera titles and three Supercoppa titles, as well as being named the league’s best coach at the end of the 2022/23 season.

His professional coaching debut came in June 2023 on the bench for Pisa in Serie B, a stint that ended with a 13th-place finish and 46 points. After a season-long hiatus, Aquilani reignited his ambitions at Catanzaro, leading the Calabrians to a brilliant fifth-place finish with 59 points. In the playoffs, the Giallorossi eliminated Avellino and Palermo, succumbing only in the final against Monza: the two-leg series ended in a draw, but promotion to Serie A went to the Brianza-based side thanks to their higher league finish.

Veronica Squinzi, CEO of Mapei and vice president of Sassuolo, also expressed great satisfaction: “I am very happy with this choice. It is also a welcome return, given that Aquilani already wore the black-and-green jersey in 2017. Since then, we have both grown, and I believe that together we can write new important chapters in Sassuolo’s history.”

With Aquilani’s arrival, the Emilia-based club thus opens a new chapter, betting on a young coach who has already enjoyed a successful track record in youth development and significant experience in professional soccer. A return that the Neroverde world welcomes with enthusiasm, in the hope of ushering in a new phase of growth and ambition.