At the end of every Serie A season, the arguments between managers and chairman reach their peak. Changes are swiftly made due to the alarming rise in the the number of untenable positions. Then the pack is shuffled; Malesani goes to Genoa and Bisoli to Bologna, Stefano Pioli moves to Palermo and Mimmo Di Carlo heads back to Chievo. The constant recycling of coaches in Serie A can be a rather dull and repetitive procedure, but occasionally a joker is dealt from the pack, inducing a strange sensation. In Rome, Luis Enrique has led to outbursts of joy relating to a new direction. But Siena, too, have appointed in Giuseppe Sannino a manager previously untried in Serie A who has done some remarkable things at lower levels in Italy.

The 54 year old, born in Ottaviano just east of Naples, irked out a 13 year career as a journeyman midfielder in the lower reaches of the Italian football pyramid, most notably with Vogherese and A.C. Fanfulla – winning the Serie C Coppa Italia. After retiring from playing he took up youth coaching for a number of years before taking a first team coaching role at Eccelenza – Italian 6th tier – club, Oltrepo in 1996. From here on in it was a similar story to his playing days, moving from club to club in the Italian third tier and below, rarely staying for more than a season.

At the end of every Serie A season, the arguments between managers and chairman reach their peak. Changes are swiftly made due to the alarming rise in the the number of untenable positions. Then the pack is shuffled; Malesani goes to Genoa and Bisoli to Bologna, Stefano Pioli moves to Palermo and Mimmo Di Carlo heads back to Chievo. The constant recycling of coaches in Serie A can be a rather dull and repetitive procedure, but occasionally a joker is dealt from the pack, inducing a strange sensation. In Rome, Luis Enrique has led to outbursts of joy relating to a new direction. But Siena, too, have appointed in Giuseppe Sannino a manager previously untried in Serie A who has done some remarkable things at lower levels in Italy.

The 54 year old, born in Ottaviano just east of Naples, irked out a 13 year career as a journeyman midfielder in the lower reaches of the Italian football pyramid, most notably with Vogherese and A.C. Fanfulla – winning the Serie C Coppa Italia. After retiring from playing he took up youth coaching for a number of years before taking a first team coaching role at Eccelenza – Italian 6th tier – club, Oltrepo in 1996. From here on in it was a similar story to his playing days, moving from club to club in the Italian third tier and below, rarely staying for more than a season.

Then just 5 games into the 2008/09 season, Sannino was appointed manager of lowly Lombard side Varese. In a heartfelt letter goodbye letter to Varese’s fans, Sannino spoke of how he felt about taking the job.

“As I drove towards you [Varese], I thought about how I was accepting a job at a side rock bottom in Serie C2. However, arriving at Varese I was beginning a journey that has radically changed my life.”

It’s hard to articulate the effect Sannino’s time at Varese had on his life in any other way, it radically changed his career path. When he entered the dressing room Sannino told the players “We’re last, things can only get better”, and that is exactly what happened. He took Varese from bottom of the pile in Serie C2 to Champions of their group and promotion to Serie C1. The rollercoaster ride was yet to reach its peak, and at the end of 2009/10 season they achieved promotion to Serie B via the playoffs. They travelled to Cremona for the second leg of the play off final and overturned a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1. A return to the second tier after 25 years.

An air of optimism circulated around the side before their season back in Serie B after a 2-0 victory over A.C. Milan in pre-season with parallels being drawn with the impressive rise of Cesena, but Sannino attempted to cool this instantly. When asked about the impact Varese were to have on Serie B, Sannino replied “I don’t want to be Cesena” - the Romagnan side had just been promoted to Serie A after one season in B, following promotion from Lega Pro 1 – “I want us to be the Varese of the last few years, which has been a humble and hard working side.”.

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