Fabrizio Castori (born 11 July 1954) is an Italian football coach, currently in charge of club Südtirol.
Career
Castori was born in San Severino Marche but grew up in
Tolentino. He started his coaching career in 1980 at the age of 26 as head coach of the
Seconda Categoria team Belfortese from Belforte del Chienti. Initially a boss for amateur teams, having spent three seasons in
Seconda Categoria (second-lowest division in Italian football) and three others in
Prima Categoria, he led a
Promozione team, Cerreto, to reach
Serie D in 1990 (there was no
Eccellenza division at that time). From 1992 to 1998 Castori coached
Eccellenza team Tolentino leading them to Serie C2.
In 1998-1999, he won a Serie D league and a
Scudetto Dilettanti with Lanciano. After a poor Serie C1 season with Castel di Sangro, he returned to Lanciano in 2000 and immediately won the Serie C2 league. He stayed at Lanciano until 2003.
Cesena
In the summer of 2003, he was appointed head coach of Serie C1 team Cesena. In his first season, he led Cesena to win the promotion playoffs and the Coppa Italia Serie C; this however was obscured by a 3-year ban on him after having been the protagonist of a riot during the return leg of the promotion playoff finals against Lumezzane. The ban was successively reduced to 2 years following a pardon request by Castori himself;
during this time, Castori was unable to serve as head coach but, despite this, he was confirmed as Cesena's boss, with assistant manager
Massimo Gadda serving at his place on the dugout until 23 January 2006.
On 11 November 2007, following a 1–4 loss to Rimini in a regional derby and only seven points gained in the first fourteen matches, Castori was dismissed by Cesena, after four seasons at the helm of the bianconeri,
Salernitana
Castori served the 2008–09 season as head coach of the newly promoted Serie B team Salernitana.
He was successively sacked later in December, to be replaced by
Bortolo Mutti, and then re-called on February, only to be dismissed again on April and replaced by
Fabio Brini, who guided the club to safety.
Piacenza
He was then appointed in June 2009 as the new head coach of
Piacenza Calcio for the upcoming 2009–10 Serie B season, but was dismissed in November due to poor results.
Ascoli
On 3 November 2010 he returned into management as head coach of Serie B relegation-threatened club Ascoli.
On 2 November 2011 he was sacked because of bad results. Ascoli is currently last in Serie B.
Varese
Since 12 June 2012, he has been the new head coach of Varese in
Serie B.
Reggina
From October 2013 until December 2013, he had a brief stint as manager of
Reggina Calcio in
Serie B.
Carpi
On 30 June 2014, Castori was announced as the new manager of
Serie B team Carpi, on a one-year deal.
He started his Carpi experience in a hugely successful way, leading the small outsider club top of the league table by the end of the first season half and turning them into strong contenders to a historical first Serie A promotion. He was relieved of his duties on 28 September 2015.
He was reinstated as manager a month later on 3 November 2015.
He was successively recalled to attempt to escape the club from relegation, which he failed on the final weekday of the season.
He was confirmed as Carpi boss for the 2016–17 Serie B season, which ended with the club narrowly missing a top-flight return, being defeated by Benevento Calcio in the promotion playoff finals; he left Carpi by mutual consent successively.[ Calciomercato Carpi, è ufficiale: Castori se ne va ' tuttosport.com, 12 June 2017]
Back to Cesena
On 1 October 2017, Castori agreed to move back to Cesena, taking over at the bottom of the
Serie B league with the goal of saving the club from relegation.
In July 2018 the club was declared bankrupt and banned from participating in the Serie B.
Third stint at Carpi
On 18 September 2018, Castori was signed by Carpi, making his second return to the club.
The team was relegated to
Serie C at the end of the 2018–19 season, and he departed from the club.
Trapani
On 19 December 2019 he signed with
Serie B club
Trapani Calcio.
Second stint at Salernitana
After one season at Trapani, he left for fellow
Serie B club Salernitana. Under his tenure, the Campanians completed the season in second place, winning direct promotion to Serie A.
Castori guided Salernitana for the first eight games of the 2021–22 Serie A season, being relieved from his duties on 17 October following a 1–2 loss to Spezia Calcio which left the Granata at the bottom of the league table.
Perugia
On 8 June 2022, Castori returned to management as the new head coach of Serie B club Perugia, replacing Massimiliano Alvini.
He was dismissed on 19 September 2022 following a dismal start in the 2022–23 Serie B campaign.
On 19 October 2022, following the resignation of his replacement Silvio Baldini, Castori was called back in charge of Perugia.
Second stint at Ascoli
On 13 November 2023, Castori returned to management as the new head coach of Ascoli, a former club of his, replacing outgoing manager
William Viali.
He was dismissed on 12 March 2024, leaving Ascoli involved in the battle to escape relegation.
Südtirol
On 8 December 2024, Castori was appointed in charge of struggling Serie B side Südtirol, becoming the third coach of the season for the club.
Managerial statistics
| + Managerial record by team and tenure |
|
|
| Monturanese | | 1 July 1991 | 20 June 1992
|
| Tolentino | | 20 June 1992 | 19 May 1998
|
| Lanciano | | 19 May 1998 | 30 June 1999
|
| Castel di Sangro | | 30 June 1999 | 24 December 1999
|
| Lanciano | | 16 May 2000 | 3 June 2003
|
| Cesena | | 3 June 2003 | 11 November 2007
|
| Cesena | | 25 February 2008 | 6 June 2008
|
| Salernitana | | 7 June 2008 | 6 December 2008
|
| Salernitana | | 24 January 2009 | 4 April 2009
|
| Piacenza Calcio | | 3 July 2009 | 10 November 2009
|
| Ascoli | | 4 November 2010 | 2 November 2011
|
| Varese | | 13 June 2012 | 17 April 2013
|
| Reggina Calcio | | 21 October 2013 | 3 December 2013
|
| Carpi | | 30 June 2014 | 28 September 2015
|
| Carpi | | 3 November 2015 | 12 June 2017
|
| Cesena | | 1 October 2017 | 24 July 2018
|
| Carpi | | 18 September 2018 | 30 June 2019
|
| Trapani Calcio | | 19 December 2019 | 10 August 2020
|
| Salernitana | | 10 August 2020 | 17 October 2021
|
| Perugia | | 8 June 2022 | 19 September 2022
|
| Perugia | | 19 October 2022 | 30 June 2023
|
| Ascoli | | 13 November 2023 | 12 March 2024
|
|
