Davide Nicola

Davide Nicola (born 5 March 1973) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, and the current head coach of club Cagliari.

Club career
Nicola was born in Luserna San Giovanni.

During his time with Genoa, he was noted for kissing a policewoman on the sideline after a goal. He also helped the club to lift the 1996 Anglo-Italian Cup.

In the Serie B 2005–06 playoffs, he scored a goal that gained Torino promotion to Serie A. In the 2006–07 Serie B season, his good performances for Spezia in the last few games contributed to Spezia avoiding relegation.

He only played in the Serie A for one season in the 2004–05 season (15 games for Siena).

Managerial career
In July 2010, Nicola retired from playing for Lumezzane in order to replace the outgoing head coach Leonardo Menichini. On 28 June 2011, his contract was renewed.

During the 2012–13 season, Nicola became the head coach of Livorno in Serie B. In January 2014, Livorno sacked Nicola, with the club second-from-bottom in Serie A.

On 21 April 2014, Nicola was re-appointed as manager of Livorno.

On 17 November 2014, Nicola became the new manager of Bari.

On 23 June 2016, Nicola was appointed manager of Serie A newcomers Crotone. Nicola promised to ride a bicycle from Crotone to his home in Turin if they avoided relegation. Crotone finished in 17th place, two points above the relegation zone, and ahead of Empoli on the final matchday of the season, in what was hailed as a football miracle, as Crotone had collected only nine points in the whole first half of the season. Fulfilling the promise, Nicola rode 1300 km from Crotone to Turin on a bicycle.

On 13 November 2018, Nicola was appointed manager of Udinese.

On 28 December 2019, Nicola was appointed manager of Genoa.

On 19 January 2021, following the sacking of Marco Giampaolo, Nicola was appointed manager of Torino. In his first game in charge, Simone Zaza scored two second-half goals to help Torino draw 2–2 with Benevento, having been two goals down. After guiding Torino to escape relegation narrowly, he left the club at the end of the season.

On 15 February 2022, Nicola was appointed as the new head coach of Serie A relegation-battling club Salernitana until the end of the season. Under Nicola's tenure, Salernitana obtained 18 points in the remaining 15 matches and avoided relegation, another escape hailed as a miracle by the media. Nicola signed a new two-year contract with the club on 3 June 2022. He was later dismissed by the club on 16 January 2023, after a 8–2 loss away at Atalanta; only to be re-appointed just two days later. However, as results did not improve, Nicola was dismissed once again on 15 February 2023.

On 15 January 2024, Nicola was hired as the third head coach of the season for struggling Serie A team Empoli. After guiding Empoli to a last-minute escape from relegation, Nicola departed from the club by the end of the season.

On 5 July 2024, Nicola was announced as the new head coach of fellow Serie A club Cagliari on a two-year contract with an option to extend for one further year.

Personal life
Nicola had a son, Alessandro, who died in a road accident in 2014, aged 14.