Giovanni Stroppa

Playing career

Stroppa started his playing career in A.C. Milan's youth system, and was loaned for two seasons at Monza, a sort of Milan feeder club at the time. He returned to Milan in 1989, making his professional senior debut for the club in the Coppa Italia on 23 August, in a 0–0 away draw against Parma; Milan later reached the Coppa Italia final, only to be defeated by Juventus. He made his Serie A debut on 27 August 1989, in a 3–0 away win over Cesena, marking the occasion by scoring a long-range goal. Stroppa finished his first season with the team by winning a European Cup, a European Super Cup, and an Intercontinental Cup in 1990, under coach Arrigo Sacchi.

In 1991, he signed for Lazio, and in 1993 he moved to Foggia, then an outsider Serie A team known for their spectacular, offensive style of play under coach Zdeněk Zeman. Stroppa's notable performances for the club even allowed him to make his debut for the Italy national football team on 13 October 1993, in a 3–1 home win over Scotland; in total, he made 4 appearances for Italy between 1993 and 1994, under his former Milan manager Sacchi. After an impressive season with Foggia, he returned to the Stadio San Siro to play with the Rossoneri for a single season, winning his third UEFA Super Cup with the club, as well as the Supercoppa Italiana. In total, Stroppa made 85 appearances for Milan, scoring 9 goals; he made his final appearance for the club in a 1–0 away defeat to Napoli, in Serie A, on 18 May 1995.

After leaving Milan, Stroppa then played two seasons with Udinese, and two seasons and a half with Piacenza Calcio, before joining Brescia in the 2001 winter transfer market. After a few other experiences with Genoa in Serie B, Alzano Virescit of Serie C1 and Avellino of Serie B, he returned to Foggia, in Serie C1, in 2004.

He retired in late 2005, after a short spell with Chiari of Serie D, where he was joined by his former Brescia teammate and striker Dario Hübner.

Managerial career

Stroppa was coach of A.C. Milan's Primavera (under 21) youth team for the 2010–11 season but was relieved of his duties on 11 June 2011, with a year still to run on his contract, and just one week after losing 1–0 to Roma in the quarter-finals of the Campionato Primavera.

On 13 July 2011 he was unveiled as new head coach of Südtirol.

On 8 June 2012, he was named head coach of Serie A newcomers Pescara, replacing Zdeněk Zeman, his former boss during his first spell as a player at Foggia, who was signed by Roma a few days before his appointment. He was assisted by Andrea Guerra, Francesco Sità, Andrea Tonelli and Massimo Marini. He resigned as coach of Pescara on 18 November 2012 after a series of bad results and the team has fallen in the middle of the relegation zone. He left the club along with Guerra (vice-coach) and two assistants Sità and Tonelli.

On June 2013, he was named new head coach of Serie B club Spezia.

On 20 April 2015 on the back of the bench in Südtirol; ending the 2014-15 season in tenth place. The next season, remains at the helm of South Tyrolean training, peaking again in tenth place. On 12 May 2016, the red and white society communicates that the contract of the lombard mister will not be renewed at the natural expiry of 30 June, leaving him without a team.

On 14 August 2016 he was recruited from Foggia.

Style of play

A quick, energetic, and talented, yet injury-prone player, Stroppa was mainly known for his technical skills, and his ability to create chances for teammates, which enabled him to play in several creative midfield and attacking roles: he was initially deployed as an attacking midfielder, or as a supporting striker, but he was also used as a winger, and even as a central midfielder on occasion; he later played as a deep-lying playmaker during the final seasons of his career.

Player