After the Euro, he preferred to digest his disappointment in his second home in Majorca, with his wife Carmela and his two daughters, Lia and Sofia. But Italy is never far away for Domenico Tedesco. If he is above all German, the Boot will always awaken the child in him.
Alessandro Del Piero visited Standard: “De Bruyne is perhaps the best player in the world”
Like this February 29, 2020 in Moscow. Spartak coach for four months, he learned that Alessandro Del Piero was visiting the Russian capital for a commercial event. Tedesco alerts all his acquaintances at the club to be able to meet one of his youth idols. But the endless traffic jams in Moscow and the tight schedule of the former Juventus playmaker will not allow the meeting.
Queue-de-rat et catenaccio
For a few hours, the German tactician had once again become that little boy who never missed an episode of the show “Ranissimo” on the private German channel Sat. 1. Every Sunday from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., you couldn’t imagine disturbing him. And especially not when the time for the summary of the Juventus match arrived. The Old Lady never left little Domenico indifferent. That’s an understatement.
If the TV show mainly aims to follow the few German stars of Calcio (Jürgen Klinsmann, Andreas Möller, Thomas Hässler, Rudi Völler, Lothar Matthaus…), Domenico’s eyes sparkle for the first time when he sees Roberto’s look Baggio at Juventus (1990-1995). The velvet paw of number 10 even has an astonishing consequence: he decides to let his hair grow, until he can have the same cut as his first idol. But the “rat tail” ponytail won’t go down well with his parents.
Roberto Baggio at Juventus with his captain’s armband and his ponytail: an image that made young Domenico Tedesco dream. ©DR
The scissors bury his Baggio look but not his passion for Italian football. If he remains a playmaker in his small club ASV Aichwald, near Stuttgart, he understands that his future in football will involve coaching. Very quickly, he will become interested in tactics. A new hobby which will also bring him back to Italy. Marked by the domination of Italian football in the 90s, he put in place an astonishing system during his first experience in the first division at Schalke 04. A system that journalists of the time compared to catenaccio when the team did not concede only ten goals (including three from Bayern) during the first twelve days of the Bundesliga.
From May 16 to 19, 2019, he “works” at Juventus
In the mid-2000s, while he was finishing his industrial engineering studies which would lead him to a few months of work in the Mercedes factory, he noticed a young coach whose playing system bothered many teams, even the most competitive. strong. A young coach he knows well having followed his entire playing career at Juventus: Antonio Conte. He admires the tactical rigor that he instilled in his men, particularly in Bari (2007-2009).
Youth coach at his club in Aichwald then in Stuttgart (via a spontaneous application), Tedesco shapes his style by taking several sources of inspiration. The German Gegenpressing school where he passed his diplomas brilliantly, finishing ahead of Julian Nagelsmann but not only that. He always remained attentive to Italian football.
They saw Domenico Tedesco debut in Germany: “He won his first match 12-0!”
When Schalke kicked him out on March 14, 2019 after a 7-0 defeat at Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, Tedesco decided to treat himself to a week in Italy to recharge his batteries. Not at the seaside for a vacation or in Calabria with his family but in… Turin. In a desire for analysis, he asked Juventus if he could follow a week of training. Request accepted at end of season. From Thursday May 16 to Sunday May 19, 2019, coach Massimiliano Allegri opens all doors to him and even invites him to the restaurant for a big tactical discussion. Tedesco will also attend the match against Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium (1-1 with a great performance from a certain Timothy Castagne).
Naples offers him the job, Milan tests the waters
Atalanta will mark another special event in the “Italian” life of the Devils coach. On April 14, 2022, he coached his only official match on his native land. After conceding a draw (1-1) at Leipzig in the quarter-final of the Europa League, Tedesco travels to Bergamo with the ambition of thwarting the strategy of another tactical monster: Gian Piero Gasperini. The success was total for Tedesco: 0-2 success and qualification for the last four (elimination against Glasgow Rangers in the semi-finals).
The name Tedesco is becoming familiar in Serie A. Several clubs place him very high on their list. Recently, Naples (when Walter Mazzarri was sacked on February 19, 2024) then AC Milan this summer contacted his agent. Engaged with the Devils, he politely refuses. If he was not the number one choice at the Rossoneri, he just had to sign for Romelu Lukaku’s current club. The timing has never been good but the idea has not changed: he dreams of coaching in Italy.
When that day comes, his parents Umberto and Emilia may have mist in their eyes. And a head full of memories. Like when the teenager Domenico had his alarm ring very early to go distribute the regional newspaper “Eßlinger Zeitung” that his dad printed. A tour that the future coach always did with his Juventus jersey. He only had to choose from a very extensive bianconero collection in the family home.
This Monday at the Stadio Olimpico, all this risks jostling in the mind of the coach when the Italian anthem will be sung by the entire enclosure. But his work and his rigor will quickly take over. If “tedesco” means “German” in Dante’s language, it’s not for nothing either.
