Michele Santoni (born 18 May 1980) is an Italian-Dutch football manager.
Career
In 2008, Santoni was appointed youth manager of the Dutch second division side Haarlem, where he said, "In the Netherlands, it is structure, structure, structure, structure."
In 2009, he was appointed video analyst of Ajax, the most successful club in the Netherlands.
In 2014, Santoni was appointed assistant of Italian Serie A outfit Livorno, where he said, "In Italy, there is much more improvisation; it goes by feel." After that, he was appointed youth manager of Lazio in the Italian Serie A, where he said, "Lazio's facilities were a disaster. We only had one artificial grass pitch and no hot water. Politics also plays a major role there, as a result of which the youth academy is not 100 percent about talent development. Then that player had to be added because his father sponsors the club, and then another player from a big agent came in just to keep that agent happy. Typically Italian", before being appointed video analyst of Inter, one of Italy's most successful teams.
In 2018, Santoni was appointed manager of Almere City in the Dutch second division. After that, he was appointed assistant of Dutch side ADO Den Haag.
In 2021, he was appointed manager of FC Dordrecht in the Netherlands. After three years in the Dutch second division, Santoni departed in May 2024 to become the new head coach of Italian Serie C club Triestina on a two-year contract. After a negative start of the season with five defeats in the first six league games, however, Santoni was dismissed on 27 September 2024.
Personal life
Born in Arco, Trentino, Santoni is the son of an Italian father and a Dutch mother and is fluent in Italian, Dutch and English.
References
External links
- Michele Santoni at WorldFootball.net
