Cristiano Scazzola
Cristiano Scazzola (born 20 July 1971) is an Italian football coach and former player. He is the head coach of Piacenza. Playing career. A Genoa youth product, Scazzola made his professional debut in a 1990–91 Coppa Italia game against Roma. He successively left Genoa to pursue a long career in the lower divisions, starting with Massese (Serie C1) in 1991. He made his Serie B debut in 1996, in what was a short comeback of his at Genoa. He left professional football in 2006 after a short stint with Pisa to join Vercelli-based amateurs Pro Belvedere, with  whom he served as captain in the club's historical Serie D promotion in 2009. He retired in 2010, aged 39, after a Serie C2 season in which he served contemporaneously as both player and assistant head coach. Coaching career. After retirement, Scazzola accepted a youth coach position at the club after it merged with and changed denomination to Pro Vercelli. In 2012, he took charge of the "Primavera" under-19 club at the club, and in 2013 he was named new head coach for the club's 2013–14 Lega Pro Prima Divisione campaign. In his first season as a head  coach, Scazzola succeeded in guiding Pro Vercelli to second place in the league, behind champions Virtus Entella, and then won the promotion playoffs to bring his club swiftly back to Serie B. He was successively confirmed as head coach of Pro Vercelli for the 2014–15 Serie B season. As head coach of a newly promoted Serie B club, Scazzola was also successfully admitted to the yearly UEFA Pro Licence course to be held in Coverciano. On 19 January 2020, he was dismissed by Serie C club Alessandria. On 26 January 2021, he was hired by Serie C club Piacenza. Cristiano