Devis Mangia Explained

Devis Mangia
Birth Date:6 June 1974
Birth Place:Cernusco sul Naviglio, Italy
Manageryears1:2004–2007
Manageryears2:2007–2008
Manageryears3:2008–2009
Manageryears4:2009–2010
Manageryears5:2011
Manageryears6:2012–2013
Manageryears7:2013–2014
Manageryears8:2014
Manageryears9:2015–2016
Manageryears10:2017–2019
Manageryears11:2019–2022
Managerclubs11:Malta
Medaltemplates: (as manager)

Devis Mangia (pronounced as /it/; born 6 June 1974) is an Italian association football manager, most recently in charge of the Malta national football team.

Managing career

Early years

Mangia started his coaching career at age 30, working alongside Sean Sogliano at Eccellenza club Varese and leading them to two promotion, and back into professionalism, in three years. He successively worked at Serie D and Serie C2 clubs from the Northern Italy such as Tritium, Ivrea and Valenzana. In 2010, he returned at Varese, this time as youth coach, and guided a team composed by unknown youngsters to a spot in the Campionato Nazionale Primavera final.

Palermo

In June 2011, Mangia agreed to follow director of football Sean Sogliano at Palermo, accepting a job offer as head of the under-19 team at the Sicilian club in place of Paolo Beruatto.

Later on 31 August, Mangia was surprisingly appointed as temporary head coach following the dismissal of Stefano Pioli, under recommendation by Sogliano;[1] despite not having the required coaching badges, he was allowed to serve as head coach due to having been admitted to the national 2011–12 UEFA Pro license course.[2] His first game in charge of team duties, played on 11 September against European powerhouse Internazionale saw Palermo, now switched to a brand-new 4–4–2 tactical disposition, achieving an astonishing 4–3 win, thanks to a brace from captain Fabrizio Miccoli.[3] Under Mangia's tenure, Palermo significantly improved and achieved three wins and ten points in the first five Serie A games, including a consecutive two games with a clean sheet, a relevant feat for what was the second-worst defence in the previous season; such results, together with the strict relationship between Mangia and director of football Sean Sogliano and Delio Rossi's confirmed refusal of a Palermo comeback, led the press to speculate about the possibility of him being offered a new contract as permanent head coach. Despite Sogliano's resignation as director of football on 2 November 2011, Mangia was then eventually offered a two-year contract as head coach, which he signed on 4 November 2011.[4] On 19 December 2011, he was sacked from his position after the 2-0 derby defeat to Sicilian rivals, Catania the day before, along with assistant coach Onofrio Barone.[5]

Italy U21

Devis Mangia has been hired as Italy's under-21 coach, replacing Ciro Ferrara. Mangia described the job as "one of the most prestigious in Italian football" and says "it is a sign of great esteem and responsibility, I'm really happy".[6] Mangia has vowed to follow the model of Italy's senior team coach Cesare Prandelli, who guided the Azzurri to the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship final.

He guided the Azzurrini to qualification to the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where the Italian team made it to the final, where they were ultimately defeated 4–2 by Spain. He stepped down from his role after the end of the tournament.[7] [8]

Spezia / Bari

On 16 December 2013, Mangia was named new head coach of ambitious Serie B club Spezia, guiding them to eighth place and qualification to the promotion playoffs, where they were defeated 1–0 by Modena in the first preliminary round and thus eliminated.

He successively left Spezia to become new head coach of Serie B promotion hopefuls Bari for the 2014–15 season, but was sacked on 16 November 2014 due to poor results.[9]

Universitatea Craiova

On 23 May 2017, Mangia was named new head coach of Romanian team Universitatea Craiova.[10] On 14 October, he was named "Coach of the First Half of the Season" by LPF.[11] On May 27, 2018 Universitatea won the Romanian Cup.

Malta national team

On 30 December 2019, the Malta Football Association announced the appointment of Devis Mangia as national teams’ head coach. Mangia signed a contract until 31 December 2023.[12] Under his leadership, Malta's national team achieved the longest undefeated streak in its history (seven matches) between Sept. 6, 2020 and March 24, 2021.

On 27 September 2022, Devis Mangia was temporarily suspended by the Malta Football Association after allegedly having made sexual advances on a player in the Malta squad.[13] A few days later, the Malta Football Association announced to have referred the case to the local police for investigation.[14] On 7 November 2022 Mangia resigned from his position as head coach, despite denying the allegations.[15] [16]

Managerial statistics

[17]

Managerial record by team and tenure
TeamNatFromToRecord
Varese1 July 200414 June 2007
Tritium14 June 20073 June 2008
Ivrea4 June 200828 April 2009
Valenzana4 November 200919 May 2010
31 August 201119 December 2011
Italy U2118 July 20122 July 2013
Spezia16 December 201323 June 2014
Bari7 July 201416 November 2014
Ascoli4 November 201510 May 2016
Universitatea Craiova23 May 201715 April 2019
Malta30 December 20197 November 2022
Total

Honours

Manager

Universitatea Craiova

2017–18

Runner-up 2018

Notes and References

  1. News: PIOLI ESONERATO, LA SQUADRA A MANGIA . US Città di Palermo . 1 September 2011 . 31 August 2011 . PIOLI DISMISSED, THE TEAM TO MANGIA . it . https://web.archive.org/web/20111213103034/http://palermocalcio.it/it/1112/news/scheda.php?id=25371 . 13 December 2011 . dead .
  2. News: Palermo, Mangia si presenta: "Nessuna paura, voglio trasmettere entusiasmo" . Calciomercato.it . 1 September 2011 . 1 September 2011 . it . Palermo, Mangia introduces himself "No fears, I want to transmit enthusiasm" .
  3. News: Serie A - Palermo shock Inter in seven-goal thriller . 11 September 2011 . 11 September 2011 . Yahoo! Eurosport .
  4. News: 5 November 2011 . CALCIO, PALERMO: ADEGUAMENTO CONTRATTUALE PER MANGIA . La Repubblica . 4 November 2011 . FOOTBALL, PALERMO: NEW CONTRACT FOR MANGIA.
  5. News: ESONERATO MANGIA . US Città di Palermo . 19 December 2011 . 19 December 2011 . MANGIA RELEASED . it . https://web.archive.org/web/20120609122209/http://palermocalcio.it/it/1112/news/scheda.php?id=26063 . 9 June 2012 . dead .
  6. News: Devis Mangia has been hired as Italy's under-21 coach. Winnipeg Free Press.
  7. Web site: Under 21, la Spagna è troppo forte Gli azzurrini di Mangia crollano 4-2. Il Corriere della Sera. it. 18 June 2013. 16 January 2015.
  8. Web site: Under 21, Spagna-Italia 4-2. Gli azzurri si inchinano a Thiago Alcantara. La Gazzetta dello Sport. it. 18 June 2013. 16 January 2015.
  9. News: DEVIS MANGIA ESONERATO. 16 November 2014. 16 November 2014. dead. https://archive.today/20141116191118/http://www.fcbari1908.club/devis-mangia-esonerato/. 16 November 2014. FC Bari 1908. it.
  10. News: Bine ai Venit, Devis Mangia!. ro . 16 October 2017 . UCV1948 . 23 May 2017 .
  11. News: Devis Mangia, antrenorul turului! . ro . 16 October 2017 . UCV1948 . 16 October 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180417023145/http://ucv1948.ro/Avem-motive-de-mandrie-Devis-Mangia-este-antrenorul-turului-Ligii-I-Betano/ . 2018-04-17 . dead .
  12. Web site: Devis Mangia appointed national teams’ head coach. Times of Malta. en-gb. 2019-12-30.
  13. Web site: Player alleges that he was sexually harassed by the Maltese National Team coach. tvmnews.mt. en-gb. 2022-09-27.
  14. Web site: Malta FA refers Devis Mangia case to the police. Times of Malta. en-gb. 2022-10-03.
  15. News: Mangia resigns as national football team head coach, amid misconduct claims . Camilleri . Valhmor . 2022-11-07 . 2022-11-07 . Times of Malta.
  16. Web site: MALTA FA ACCEPTS NATIONAL TEAM COACH RESIGNATION . 2022-11-07 . 2022-11-07 . . 2022-11-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221107161739/https://mfa.com.mt/news/general/malta-fa-accepts-national-team-coach-resignation/ . dead .
  17. Web site: Devis Mangia career sheet. footballdatabase . footballdatabase . 1 September 2020.