Serie B side Spezia have hired Giovanni Stroppa to coach them for next season to take over from Luigi Cagni.
The former Milan man was one of three names rumoured to be on the Ligurian side’s shortlist, including Azzurrini coach Devis Mangia and Siena’s Giuseppe Iachini.
The club’s official website announced that the 45-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the Aquile, and has the option to extend for another, should he be successful in the role.
It will be the Mulazzano born coach’s first position since he left Pescara in November 2012, and he takes over a side who finished in mid-table in their first season back in Serie B under the guidance of three different coaches, Cagni being preceded by Gianluca Atzori, now at Reggina, and Michele Serena.
The website went on to reveal that Stroppa, who played four times for Italy in the early 1990s, will be unveiled at the club’s Bruno Ferdeghini training centre tomorrow.
Before moving to Pescara, Stroppa sat on the bench at Sudtirol and won the Coppa Italia Primavera with AC Milan’s youth side. He enjoyed a nomadic playing career that took in spells with twelve different clubs, including Lazio, Genoa and Udinese, as well as two stints with Milan.
