AGONA Profile: Massimo Carrera, the Italian tactician ready to stabilize AEK
Massimo Carrera, a 2017 Russian champion with Spartak Moscow, has arrived in Athens to help AEK get back on track in what has been a rough season to date. The AGONA Profile takes a closer look at his career.
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In truth, Carrera has very little experience of being a coach. Until he was hired by AEK, the 55-year-old Italian had only previously been the boss of Spartak Moscow on a permanent basis, famously steering the capital outfit to their maiden Russian title in 16 years in 2017. Carrera was fired by Spartak in October 2018 after a run of poor form and internal problems within the club.
Carrera has big expectations on his shoulders. Ever since they won the 2017/2018 Super League, AEK have embarked on a rapid downfall, notably finishing a large 23 points behind first-placed PAOK in the previous domestic campaign. AEK, currently in a distant third position of the table, have already sacked both Miguel Cardoso and Nikos Kostenoglou this season.
The early signs have been reasonably positive. In his first two games at the helm, AEK didn’t exactly display wonderful football, but the Enosis got the job done against two tricky opponents in the form of Xanthi and Asteras Tripolis. Carrera’s task for the remainder of the 2019/2020 season is this: win the major derbies, introduce stability and give Olympiacos and PAOK a run for their money in the title race.
PLAYING CAREER
Carrera competed as a professional football between 1982 and 2008, representing the likes of Pescara, Atalanta, Napoli and Pro Vercelli. Without a doubt, the best period of his career was spent at Juventus, as he helped the Old Lady win the UEFA Cup, Serie A, Coppa Italia, UEFA Champions League and the Supercoppa Italia across a three-year period.
He ended his playing days after the 2007/2008 season with Pro Vercelli.
COACHING START AT JUVENTUS
In 2009, one year after he hung up his boots, Carrera entered the Juventus coaching system, initially working with the youth teams for the next three years. Carrera also became the technical director of the first team.
Carrera even enjoyed a short stint in the Juventus hotseat.
Due to bans imposed on the Juventus coaching staff, Carrera was handed the role of caretaker manager for the start of the 2012/2013 season, immediately helping the Turin-based organisation win the Supercoppa Italia by defeating Napoli 4-2 in the final in Beijing, China.
Carrera gained a points per game average of 2.56 before he was replaced by Angelo Alessio in mid-October.
CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH CONTE
Antonio Conte, well-known across the globe for his successes with Juventus, the Italian national team and Chelsea, worked closely with Carrera for a long period of time.
At Juventus, Carrera worked as an assistant to Conte, from 2011 to 2014, and the pair then continued their partnership in the coaching staff of the senior Italian national side until June 2016.
“I spent five years working with Antonio, and I am proud of what we achieved,” said Carrera. “Everything I do is down to him. My way of coaching, motivating my players and providing inspiration is all connected to Conte’s methods. Apart from his tactical skills, Conte is brilliant at communicating.”
SPARTAK SUCCESS
Initially, Carrera was hired as the assistant to Dmitri Alenichev at Spartak Moscow in June 2016, but he was soon promoted to head coach in August when the latter was given the boot.
Carrera subsequently inspired Spartak to an historic season.
Taking advantage of several slip-ups from CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow and Zenit Saint Petersburg, Spartak stormed to their maiden Russian Premier League title since 2001, winning 22 out of 30 games. Spartak finished seven points ahead of nearest challengers CSKA.
In a recent interview with gazzetta.gr, Jano Ananidze, Spartak’s creative Georgian midfielder, shared his impressions from working with Carrera: “I’ve been at Spartak since 2007, but with Carrera, we enjoyed our most amount of success. He managed to unite the team in a unique way, bringing the best out of each player. Carrera created an unbeatable team with a huge desire to win. There was tremendous confidence in the coach and vice versa. We all played for him. He is a clever, versatile tactician, who adapts his style based on the opponents. He’s not stuck in his ways. He understands how to properly manage his team.”
Eventually, after a disappointing start to the 2018/2019 season, Carrera was relieved of his duties on October 22, 2018. Carrera, however, remains extremely popular among the Spartak fan base.
Carrera had demoted Denis Glushakov and Andrei Eshchenko to the reserve team for liking a post on Instagram which criticised the Italian coach.
Statistics of Carrera’s coaching career with previous teams:
Carrera’s first real test as AEK coach will arrive in January as the Kitrinomavri face PAOK and Olympiacos in two vital derbies ahead of the Super League playoffs. Results are required here and now; patience isn’t a word you would associate with Greek football.
