Massimo Carrera is a famous Italian football player and coach, former head coach of Spartak Moscow.
Childhood and first steps in football
Massimo Carrera was born on April 22, 1964 in the northern Italian city of Sesto San Giovanni. Carrera became acquainted with the football field at the age of six and began his football career like most successful athletes - from a local club.
According to Carrera, from childhood he wanted to be a coach, so he always tried to take something new from each mentor. The Italian took his first steps in football in a modest club called Pro Sesto. Here the coach determined his position on the field - Carrera became a defender. Massimo spent only a year at Pro Sesto, which played in one of the lower Italian divisions, after which he left for Russi.
Football career
In total, from 1982 to 1986, the footballer changed four clubs until he ended up in Serie B, one of the leading football divisions in Italy. Carrera played nineteen matches for the team, scoring one goal.
High-quality play allowed the young footballer to choose among different clubs, so at the end of the season he moved to the south of Italy - to Bari, to a club of the same name. Three years later, the Italian football player entered Serie A as part of Bari. Under the leadership of the coach, the team not only managed to reach the top division, but also received the Mitropa Cup. In total, the footballer played for Bari for five seasons and became a real legend for local residents.
At the age of 25, Carrera received an offer from Juventus, which he happily accepted. Until 1994, the club was under the leadership of the eminent coach Giovanni Trapattoni, who assigned Massimo the right-back position. In 1994, with the arrival of new coach Marcello Lippi, Massimo took the position of libero, becoming the main player of the team that received the Italian title, the Italian Cup and the Italian Super Cup at the end of the season. At the same time, Carrera earned the right to play for the Italian national team. After a brilliant season, the footballer began to lose his place in the main team of the Turin side and came on as a substitute more often. In five seasons with the Old Lady, he played 114 matches and scored 1 goal.
In the summer of 1996, Carrera was sold to Atlanta, where he quickly took a leadership position and was team captain for seven seasons. The footballer was so popular in Bergamo that songs were composed in his honor. After playing more than 200 matches and scoring 7 goals, Carrera was transferred to the Naples club Napoli.
Then there were Serie B clubs - Treviso and Pro Vercelli. At the age of 44, the football player ended his sports career.
Coaching career
After completing his career, the former football player was invited to his native Juventus to serve as coordinator of the club’s youth teams. For three years, Massimo was Anthony Conte's right hand: he was responsible for the defenders and helped the head coach in all situations. Carrera became a completely independent figure and replaced Conte as head coach when he was disqualified due to a corruption scandal. I must say, he did it very successfully - the team managed to win the Italian Super Cup. This trophy was the first in his coaching career.
In 2014, Antonio Conte, having become the head coach of the Italian national team, invited Carrer to serve as his deputy.
Fatal accident
In 2014, Carrera could have ended up behind bars for the manslaughter of two young girls. Driving along the highway on New Year's Eve 2011, Carrera killed two people. The girls who were involved in the accident got out of the vehicle to assess the extent of the collision with a car driven by a drunk person. When they got out of the car, they forgot to leave the headlights on. Carerra could not distinguish them in the darkness, which led to his death. The prosecutor asked for a sentence for the famous football player in the form of imprisonment. During lengthy proceedings, Carrera received a fine because the lawyer managed to prove that the accident was the fault of the victims.
"Spartacus"
In 2016, when Antonio Conte was appointed as Chelsea coach, Carrera became Dmitry Alenichev's assistant at Spartak Moscow. After the Russian team was eliminated from the 3rd round of the Europa League, Alenichev resigned, and the Italian coach temporarily took over as the team's head coach.
Then no one considered Massimo as a main coach on a permanent basis. While the team management was looking for a suitable mentor, Carrera trained the athletes. At a certain point, difficulties arose in the negotiations, and one of the club directors turned to Denis Glushakov, the team captain, and asked how the team’s relationship with Massimo was developing. Glushakov, and subsequently the rest of the team leaders, gave the Italian coach a positive review, and in August 2016 it was decided to make him a full-fledged coach of the “red-whites”. In 2017, after a long break, the club won the Russian Championship and the country's Super Cup for the first time.
The contract with the Italian was concluded until June 30, 2018. According to the terms of the agreement, if the team takes first or second place in the championship, the coach receives a bonus.
On October 22, 2018, Massimo Carrera was relieved of his position as head coach of the team, since none of the tasks assigned last season were solved, the club explained.
Massimo Carrera. After resignation Dmitry Alenichev he served as acting head coach.AiF.ru talks about what is known about him.
Dossier
Massimo Carrera was born on April 23, 1964 in Sesto San Giovanni (Italy), where he began to take his first steps in football. The first team for Massimo was Pro Sesto from his hometown.
From 1982 to 1986, the player changed 4 teams, each new season moving to a club of a higher division.
In 1986, Carrera moved to Bari, where he spent the next 5 seasons, winning the 1988/1989 Serie B and the Mitropa Cup with the club in 1990.
In 1991, Massimo moved to Juventus and took the position of right-back. The first season in the Turin club was very successful for Carrera, and as a result the player received his first call-up to the Italian national team Arrigo Sacchi.
Since joining the team in 1994 Marcello Lippi Massimo was transferred to the position of libero, eventually becoming the main player of the team that at the end of the season won the title of Italian champions and winners of the Italian Cup and Italian Super Cup.
With the arrival of Pietro Verkhovod in the team in 1995, Carrera lost his place in the starting lineup and came on as a substitute more often.
At the end of the 1995/1996 season, Carrera won the Champions League with the club, beating Ajax Amsterdam on penalties in the final.
Massimo Carrera. Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Stupnikov
Accident and arrest
In May 2013, Carrera was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for manslaughter. This decision was made by the court in the case of the death of two 23-year-old girls in early 2011. Then Carrera was driving his car and hit the girls, not noticing that there was an accident ahead involving three cars and people got out of their vehicles to assess the damage.
Achievements
As a player
Flag of Italy "Bari"
· Serie B champion: 1988/89
Mitropa Cup winner: 1990
Total: 2 trophies
· Flag of Italy "Juventus"
· Italian Champion: 1994/95
· Italian Cup winner: 1994/95
Italian Super Cup winner: 1995
· UEFA Cup winner: 1992/93
· UEFA Champions League winner: 1995/96
Total: 5 trophies
As a coach
· Flag of Italy "Juventus"
“Carrera killed two girls,” “Flour” in the nostril...” CSKA fans against the Spartak coach and the latest addition to the “red-whites”
As promised, fans opposed the transfer to Spartak of Roman Eremenko, who served a two-year disqualification for cocaine. The Spartak fans only promised, but the army fans did. At the home match with Arsenal Tula in the 4th round of the RPL, they hung offensive banners against Roman Eremenko. On the “sheets” it is written: “Flour” in the nostril, and he himself is in shit” (and the symbol of where Eremenko entered is depicted in the form of a Spartak rhombus), “Have you heard about strong male friendship in Spartak?”, “It’s normal for you, for us immoral”, “Are you sure they let you go?”, “They’ll shoot up their cocaine and go to Spartak...
Some of the stretches were downright obscene. Nearby, army fans also hung banners against Spartak midfielders Roman Zobnin and Alexander Tashaev, who previously played for Dynamo, as well as head coach Massimo Carrera. Carrere, they remembered the old story of 2011 with the death of two 23-year-old girls in a car accident due to the fault of a mentor. The banner read "Carrera killed two girls."
“Unfortunately, this can happen to anyone. Anyone can be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't wish anyone to experience this. To this day, when I talk about it, shivers run down my spine. This will stay with me for the rest of my life,” Carrera said in an interview with Championship, who after that tragic story received 2.5 years in prison for manslaughter. Subsequently, this period was replaced by monetary compensation, as the court took into account the factors surrounding the accident.
Sportbox.ru talks about the Italian Massimo Carrera, who will now be mainly responsible for the results of Spartak.
He's 52 years old?!
https://twitter.com/fratria/status/765916217261559808This is true - the new head coach of Spartak was born on April 22, 1964. Despite his passport data, he looks great, is in excellent physical shape and is able to show his charges by his own example how to perform training exercises correctly. Perhaps one of the reasons for Carrera’s fitness lies in the fact that he retired from football relatively recently: 8 years ago at the age of 44.
The then acting head coach of Spartak said this phrase at his first press conference in his new status after the victory over Wings (1:0). And although the Italian connected his vision of football with his national identity, his football role certainly played an important role in the formation of Carrera as a coach.
He mainly played as a central defender, less often as a flanker. Since childhood, his main task was to prevent his opponent from scoring. The players (then coaches) of this formation hate chaos, because it is the reason for missed goals; for them, organization comes first.
Known, but not in Russia
Before arriving in the vastness of the largest country in the world, Carrera was practically unknown in Russia, which may lead to the conclusion that Massimo was not a great footballer. This is not true at all.
He won the Italian Championship, Cup and Super Cup, as well as the UEFA Cup and Champions League with . In Italy, Carrera is well known, not just as a shadow of Antonio Conte, but as a strong and original footballer. There are two reasons for the lack of worldwide fame:
1. All 10 of Carrera’s ex-clubs are Italian: during his 26-year career, he never tried to play in Europe.
2. Massimo was not popular with the Italian national team coaches. Only once were the opponents of the national team unlucky enough to resist Carrera - the forwards of the San Marino national team suffered (0:4).
Worked with youth
After retiring as a player, Carrera returned to Juventus, a club where he is well known and remembered. A position for a novice coach was found at the club academy, where for two years he selected the most talented football players for the Turin youth team. A little-known, but significant fact in the biography of the Italian, who now has full disposal of not only football players, but also Spartak-2 players and youth teams.
Promotion
You would never have read this article if Massimo’s former partner had not become the head coach of Juventus on May 31, 2011. The count invited his good friend to the coaching staff of Juve and then the Italian national team. During this cooperation, the Turin team won the championship three times and the Super Cup twice.
"I left my phone on the bus"
Role of acting Senor Carrera first tried it on at Juventus, when Antonio Conte and his first assistant Angelo Alessio were suspended from work due to concealing the fact of two fixed matches. And if Carrera spent less than two weeks in the acting role at Spartak, then he filled the position of head coach for four months.
In Italy they are sure that Conte was suspended only de jure: de facto he continued to lead the team, including during matches by telephone. However, Carrera answered journalists’ questions about this, not without offense:
- Before the match, I left my phone on the bus, and no one told me anything.
During Conte's suspension from working with Juve, Carrera, by the way, won the Super Cup against Napoli and was also undefeated in 9 Serie A matches (6 wins, 3 draws).
Fatal accident
The opportunity to lead the strongest club in Italy presented itself to Carrera at a time when he could have ended up behind bars. The prosecutor demanded a long prison sentence for the coach for the manslaughter of two 23-year-old girls. The incident took place on New Year's Eve 2011, when Massimo killed two people on the highway at high speed.
The girls got out of the car to assess the damage from a collision with a car driven by a drunk driver, and left their vehicle on the roadway without the headlights on. They were then hit by an SUV and then hit by Carrera's car. The first one died on the spot, the second one died on the way to the hospital.
The trial lasted more than two years. As a result, the first sentence (2.5 years in prison) was replaced by a fine - Carrera's lawyer managed to prove that the incident was not the fault of his client, but as a result of poor lighting and reckless actions of the victims.
Called to Bari
After Antonio Conte received his appointment at Chelsea, he became unemployed. He was invited to the role of head coach of Bari, which plays in Serie B, but the Italian chose to try his hand abroad for the first time in his life. Again, it could not have happened without Conte, as Carrera himself recently spoke about:
- Gianluca Riommi has been working at Spartak for two seasons now, working with goalkeepers. I understand that at some point the club's management approached him for advice in search of an Italian coach who could help the coaching staff. Gianluca at one time, even before working in Switzerland, helped Antonio Conte at Arezzo. He and Antonio talked, and he advised me to contact me. That's how I ended up at Spartak.
But all this was before August 17th. After this day, a new stage begins in Carrera’s life. For the first time he was appointed head coach. Not acting and not as an assistant, but as the head coach of Spartak.
“Alenichev will remain the main figure in any decisions.” Nobel Arustamyan - about Massimo Carrera
Match TV commentator talks about the new coach"Spartak"Massimo Carrera and potential team newcomer Fernando.
Why did Carrera choose Spartak?
Italians have long been sympathetic to our football and the country as a whole. Of course, the financial aspect is also very important. Second or third coaches are not always offered gigantic contracts. If there is an opportunity to make good money, it is better not to miss it. Only one thing can confuse Spartak fans: for some reason Carrera is not at Chelsea. Antonio Conte went to London, he has ambitious goals - to return the English championship to Chelsea and perform successfully in the Champions League. Conte has dreamed about this for so long.
Why Conte's faithful assistant Carrera did not go with him is a separate topic. One version: Conte had a choice, it was not made in Carrera’s favor. Conte was not allowed to transport all his assistants to England, so he settled on Angelo Alessio, who is with Conte always and everywhere.
The other side of the problem is a tragic and unpleasant line in Carrera’s biography. In 2011, on New Year's Eve, Carrera hit and killed two girls with his car. The murder turned out to be manslaughter: after a very long trial, Carrera was found not guilty, but in any case, Massimo bears this stigma. Many people call this one of the reasons that Carrera was not taken to Chelsea.
There is also a more pragmatic explanation. If Conte really needed Carrera in London, Carrera himself would probably have been convinced, and Conte would have persuaded new employers. For Conte, working in England is a very important challenge; Antonio could not approach the recruitment of his staff irresponsibly. He didn’t take Carrera, which means he doesn’t need it at the moment.
What's good about Carrera?
Massimo Carrera's football reputation is very good. He won three Scudetti at Juventus as Antonio Conte's assistant and worked well with him in the Italian national team. Carrera played as a central defender, including at Juventus. He may not have been a big star, but he played consistently. It is not surprising that at Conte’s headquarters, Carrera was responsible for defensive tactics. He will probably do the same thing at Spartak.
Many believe that since Massimo is in Spartak, Spartak will certainly play the Italian 3-5-2 model. In fact, when Conte's staff first moved to Juventus, they had a different idea - with two central defenders. But, seeing the opportunity to use the Barzagli-Bonucci-Chiellini trio together, Conte (along with Carrera, of course) bet on them. It can be argued that it was these coaches who created the strongest defense in the world. Barzagli – Bonucci – Chiellini is a real brand that has been cementing Juventus’ defense for five years. At Euro 2016 we saw what a formidable force it is.
To claim that Carrera will certainly create in Spartak something similar to what he created in Juve and in the Italian national team is extremely naive. It is unlikely that Carrera will give Spartak a defensive performance in two weeks of training. The entire headquarters should work on this, not Carrera alone. Still, Massimo was only Conte's assistant; it was Conte who built the whole game as a whole. But Spartak will have a structure of play. Carrera’s arrival is an undoubted step forward; I don’t see any obvious downsides.
What to expect from Carrera at Spartak?
During the suspension, Antonio Conte Carrera served as acting head coach of Juventus. This summer, Carrera was offered a job at Bari, where Massimo is highly respected. But Bari is too poor; just a year ago the club went bankrupt. The conditions in Bari cannot be compared with Russia.
In Italy, assistant coaches have strictly defined functions, they know their role in the headquarters. But the argument that at Juventus the work of coaches was clearly divided - Carrera worked with the defenders, Conte was responsible for the midfield, and Alessio for the attack - is nonsense. Conte, as head coach, was responsible for all lines and for the team's play as a whole.
In the same way, Dmitry Alenichev at Spartak will remain a key figure in any decisions. Carrera is only Alenichev’s assistant, but not the one who will pull the blanket over himself. I don’t think Carrera is so ambitious that he will want to become a head coach any time soon. This is out of the question. You shouldn’t expect arbitrariness from Massimo either - for example, Salvatore Bocchetti is unlikely to become captain under Carrera’s patronage. Spartak already had a captain at the end of last year, Denis Glushakov. And then, Bocchetti has long been half Russian, his wife is from Russia, his child was born here.
A vacancy for a translator was recently opened at Spartak, specifically for Carrera. However, the same Bocchetti will certainly help Carrera quickly get used to Spartak and understand the Russian language. Alenichev will also take part in this - he played for Roma and, quite possibly, has already crossed paths with Carrera. So there shouldn't be any problems. As far as I understand, the idea of inviting Massimo was a very well-considered decision of the club, especially since there is already one Italian on the Spartak staff - goalkeeper coach Gianluca Riommi. By the way, he probably also gave positive characteristics to Carrera.
Will Fernando move to Spartak?
The transfer is about to take place. He undergoes a medical examination in Rome on Friday. The deal was complicated by the fact that Fernando’s wife was against moving to Russia for a long time. She is quite comfortable in Italy, including because of work, so she wanted her husband to stay in Serie A. But Fernando seemed to have found the right words. And it’s clear which ones: Fernando will noticeably gain in salary.
At the end of last season, Sampdoria was in a terrible situation, until the last round they fought for survival. At the same time, the only Sampa footballer who was praised by all of Italy was Fernando. He had a brilliant season. I was sure that Fernando would move to a Serie A club of a higher rank - they wrote about Fiorentina, about Milan, about Inter. This is a very high-quality midfielder with excellent prospects.
So I attribute the acquisition of Fernando to the achievements of Spartak. This in itself is an event for the red and white, but as a figure on the field, Fernando is what Spartak needed. If he plays at the level of Sampdoria last season, if the coaching staff integrates him into Spartak’s game, this will be an obvious strengthening. By the way, it is quite logical that Carrera is well acquainted with his capabilities - perhaps Massimo also approved the transfer.
Spartak will definitely pamper its fans with transfers. The new season in Russia will be interesting. We see what kind of restructuring is taking place at Zenit: a new coach has arrived, Hulk has left, Witzel is leaving (albeit it is not yet clear where), Garay’s departure is possible. There will also be purchases, but it’s not a fact that everything will go smoothly with them right away. CSKA sold Musa, signed Traore, but compared to them, Spartak is much more active. “Spartak still needs an attack player and a defender. There are already Russians in the person of Zobnin and Yeshchenko, soon there will be Fernando, but in addition to them, Spartak will probably sign at least two more newcomers.
Text: Nobel Arustamyan
Photo: twitter.com/fcsm_official, Getty Images, globallookpress.com, RIA Novosti/Alexander Vilf
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