Massimiliano Allegri

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Massimiliano Allegri was born in Livorno on August 11, 1967.

He started his professional career with Cuoiopelli (Santa Croce sull'Arno) in 1984-85 in the Interregionale league (4th tier). He played 7 league games before returning to his hometown.

He joined Livorno in 1985 in C1 and stayed three seasons. He played little in the first two but then played 23 league games in his third. The Amaranto finished 14th, 12th and 14th. In 1987 they won the Serie C Coppa Italia. One of his teammates was future Lazio, Igor Protti (1996-97, 1998).

In 1988 he moved just up the road to bitter rivals Pisa in Serie A. The Nerazzurri were relegated and Allegri only played 2 league games. 

In 1989 he returned to Livorno, now known as Pro Livorno and in C2. The "Triglie" (Mullets) finished 10th and Allegri played 32 league games with 8 goals. He played alongside former Lazio, Leonardo Surro (1981-83).

In the 1990-91 season he was at Pavia in C1. He played 29 league games with 5 goals and the Azzurri finished 9th.

In 1991 he joined Pescara in Serie B and stayed two seasons. In the first the Dolphins won promotion under Giovanni Galeone but in the second were relegated, again under Galeone and then former Lazio player, Vincenzo Zucchini (1979-80). Allegri made 64 appearances with 16 goals (12 in A, including Lazio home and away, Juventus x2 and Roma) and 1 game in Coppa Italia with 1 goal. His teammates included Lazio connections Paolo Monelli (1987-88) and Stefano Ferretti (1978-80, 1981-82).

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In 1993 he signed for Cagliari in Serie A. He stayed two full seasons and the Rossoblu finished 12th and 9th. In 1993 the Islanders reached the UEFA semi-final (defeating Dinamo Bucharest, Trabzonspor, Malines, Juventus) but lost 3-5 on aggregate to Inter. He played 46 league games with 4 goals, 1 game in Coppa Italia and 4 in the UEFA Cup with 1 goal (Malines). His Managers were Gigi Radice for one game, Bruno Giorgi and Óscar Tabarez. His teammates included Lazio connections Valerio Fiori (1986-93), Dario Marcolin (1992-93,1995-99, 1999-2000), Beppe Pancaro (1997-2003) and Roberto Muzzi (2003-05).

In November 1995 after 2 more league games for Cagliari he left and joined Perugia in Serie B. The Umbri won promotion under Walter Novellino, Diego Giannattasio and then Walter Galeone. The following year Allegri stayed until January but left after Galeone had been sacked. In Perugia he played 44 league games with 20 goals (15 in B and 5 in A) plus 2 games in Coppa Italia. 

In January 1996 he joined Padova in Serie B. He played 15 league games under former Lazio manager Giuseppe Materazzi and the Patavini finished 15th. One of his teammates was Lazio legend Cristiano Bergodi (1989-1996). The following year he stayed on but then left in December after 6 league games.

In December 1997 he joined Napoli in Serie A. The manager was Giovanni Galeone until early February and then Vincenzo Montefusco and the Partenopei were relegated. Allegri played 7 league games. His teammates included Lazio connections Raffaele Sergio (1989-92), Massimiliano Esposito (1995-96), Igor Protti again and Guglielmo Stendardo (2005-08, 2009-12).

In 1998 Allegri returned to Pescara in Serie B. The Adriatici finished 5th and 13th. He played 36 league games with 4 goals and 2 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal.  In his second season the manager was Giovanni Galeone again.

In 2000 he went back to Tuscany and joined Pistoiese in Serie B. He played 18 league games with 1 goal and 2 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal. His managers were Giuseppe Pillon, former Lazio player and future manager Domenico Caso and then Walter Nicoletti. The "Olandesina" finished 16th. In Pistoia he played briefly with future 2006 World Champion Andrea Barzagli (later a player under Allegri at Juventus).

His last club was Aglianese from November 2001. The Neroverdi won promotion to C2 and the following year finished 8th. Allegri played 32 league games with 8 goals.

He then retired at 35 but went straight into coaching.

He started where he had left off, at Aglianese in C2 finishing 13th.

He then had spells at SPAL (2004-05, C1, 9th place), Grosseto (2005-Oct 2006, C1, 4th), Sassuolo (2007-08, C1, 1st and C Supercoppa), Cagliari (2008-Apr 2010, A, 9th).

In 2010 came his big chance at the top level when he joined Milan. He stayed three and a half seasons. The Rossoneri finished 1st (Scudetto), 2nd, 3rd and in January 2014 he was sacked with Milan in 12th place. He also won an Italian Supercoppa in 2011, defeating Inter 2-1.

In 2014 he made a surprise move to Juventus. He stayed almost eight seasons. He won 5 consecutive league titles, the Coppa Italia 5 times (with 4 doubles) and the Italian Supercoppa twice. In 2015 and 2017 the Bianconeri reached the finals of Champions League but lost to Barcelona 1-3 and Real Madrid 1-4. In his eighth season he was sacked with two games to go and the Bianconeri in joint 3rd place with Bologna and having just won the Coppa Italia (Atalanta 1-0).

At the end of May 2025, he signed for Milan.

As a player Allegri was an attacking midfielder but later in his career he moved further back. He is 1.83 and 75 kilos but was nicknamed "Acciuga" (Anchovy) for his slimness. He was a dynamic player but with good technical skills and shooting abilities. He possessed a good footballing brain and was considered a leader in the teams he played for. The general consensus however among football managers and pundits is that he could have achieved more as a player than he did had he been less light-hearted and easy going.

What he possibly did not achieve as a player he certainly has as a coach. He has won 6 league titles, the Coppa Italia five times, the Italian Supercoppa three times and reached two Champions League finals. He is considered a master at adapting his game to the players he has in the squad. In his more recent years with Juventus however he was often criticised for being too conservative, prioritising the result over the quality of performances. Allegri is keen on horseracing and often used racing expressions to justify this approach. Since 2019 he even owns his own horse racing stables and team.

He has often been a winning horse himself so far as a manager.

Sources

Wikipedia