Paolo Minicucci
Wednesday 2 July 2008
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Italy coach Paolo Minicucci (©FIGC)
Paolo Minicucci used to get so tense during games he had to squeeze a tennis ball to calm his nerves but his record in charge of Italy's Under-21 team is proof of his proficiency as coach.
Minicucci made his name as a long-standing Italian futsal international, winning 41 caps and playing in the 1989 and 1992 FIFA Futsal World Cups as well as the 1999 UEFA European Futsal Championship. He also won two Italian league titles with RCB Roma in 1990 and S.S. Lazio eight years later, in the latter case completing the domestic double with the Coppa Italia.
It was with Lazio that Minicucci began his coaching career in 1999, leading them to second in Serie A, before moving in September 2001 to take over the Italy U21 side at the suggestion of senior chief Alessandro Nuccorini. In the time since, he has consistently produced one of the strongest squads in the continent and that was proved when they struck 25 goals without reply in wins against France, Turkey and Moldova to qualify for the first UEFA European Under-21 Futsal Tournament.
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