Giancarlo Italiano

Giancarlo Italiano (born 31 January 1983) is an Australian association football manager who currently manages the A-League Men side Wellington Phoenix.

Early career
Italiano started his coaching career at NSW NPL club Blacktown City where he held the position of sporting director, during which the club won the 2015 National Premier League NSW season and the National Premier League Finals. Following this success he joined A-League Men club Sydney FC where he would work alongside Graham Arnold, Steve Corica, and Ufuk Talay whilst working with the Sydney FC academy set up.

When Ufuk Talay departed Sydney FC in 2019 as manager of New Zealand A-League Men club Wellington Phoenix, Italiano was one of the first people that Talay sought to bring across the Tasman Sea, to which Italiano was initially hesitant to do

Wellington Phoenix
Italiano would join the Wellington based club as an analyst, before working closely with Talay, as he was announced to be an assistant coach for the Phoenix. As Italiano progressed through the club's coaching hierarchy, he studied for and completed his AFC Professional Coaching Diploma, a pre-requisite for managers to earn before they can become the head manager of a club in the Asian Football Confederation.

Whilst assistant to Ufuk Talay, Italiano made his debut as caretaker manager for the Phoenix during the COVID-19 disrupted 2021-22 A-League Men season when Talay was forced to sit out two matches, having caught the virus. Italiano took the reins in a seamless transition against Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar, with Wellington winning both matches 2-1 and 0-3 respectively.

In 2023 after 4 seasons with the club, Ufuk Talay announced he would vacate the managerial position of the Wellington Phoenix at season's end as he sought new challenges. A week later Italiano was announced to be Talay's successor, signing a 2-year contract extension and becoming the club's sixth manager since their inception in 2007, and the first A-League Men's manager to not have had a professional playing career prior to taking up management.

Italiano's first signing for the 2023-2024 A-League Men's season came shortly after Talay's final game in the Elimination Final of the 2022–23 season, signing former Western Sydney and Newcastle Jets player Mohamed Al-Taay whom had played under Italiano at Blacktown City with Italiano claiming he could become the next Cameron Devlin.

Personal life
Italiano graduated from Rosebank College in 1996, and graduated from the University of Notre Dame Australia in 2021 with a Bachelor of Laws.

Born in Australia, Italiano's heritage is Peruvian and Italian. He supports U.C. Sampdoria in Seria A, and Nottingham Forest F.C. in the English Premier League.

Italiano possesses a number of superstitions as manager: he does not watch penalties being taken because he thinks it is bad luck, he throws away his shirt whenever his team loses, he has to shake everyone’s hand whenever he enters a room, and he thinks it is bad luck to wish him good luck before a game and prefers well-wishers to say “go well” instead.

Honours
Individual
 * A-League Men Coach of the Month: October/November 2023