Davide Possanzini

Playing career

Davide Possanzini, born on 9 February 1976, is an Italian football manager and former player. He currently manages Serie B club Südtirol.

Possanzini began playing for amateur side Recanatese in 1992. Torino signed him in 1994, but he never played for the first team and was moved to Serie C2 club Lecco. After two seasons, he joined Varese, also in Serie C2, and helped them earn promotion to Serie C1. In September 1998, Serie B side Reggina picked him up, and he immediately secured his second promotion, scoring nine goals in his first season. He made his Serie A debut on 29 August 1999 in a 1-1 draw at Juventus. After two and a half years with Reggina, he moved to Sampdoria in January 2001, but could not break through there. Following a poor season with Catania in 2002-03, he joined Serie B club AlbinoLeffe, where he rediscovered his form and became a key player.

In January 2005, Possanzini signed with Palermo, returning to Serie A. Injuries limited his time with the Sicilian club, and he played only twice before being sold that summer to Brescia as part of the deal that sent Andrea Caracciolo to Palermo. He became a regular for Brescia, scoring 24 goals in his first two seasons, both in Serie B. In January 2009, the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned him for a year, alongside Daniele Mannini, at the World Anti-Doping Agency’s request, for being late to anti-doping controls after a Brescia match against Chievo in December 2007. Both players were initially cleared by the Italian Football Federation, then given a 15-day ban by CONI. The Court of Arbitration for Sport later suspended the ban in March, and it was cancelled on 27 July 2009 after it was shown they had no intention of avoiding the tests.

In 2013, Possanzini returned to Brescia as a youth coach, leading the Allievi Nazionali and then the Primavera. He later joined Roberto De Zerbi’s staff, following him at Foggia, Palermo, Benevento, Sassuolo, and Shakhtar Donetsk. In February 2022, he fled Ukraine with De Zerbi’s team after the Russian invasion. On 16 June 2022, he went back to Brescia as Primavera coach. On 7 January 2023, he was made head coach of the first team after Pep Clotet was fired, but was dismissed thirteen days later following two losses. On 16 June 2023, he became head coach of Serie C side Mantova. There, he led the team to the top of the table from the start, playing attacking football like De Zerbi, and won promotion to Serie B on 7 April 2024. After starting the 2024-25 Serie B season poorly, he was sacked on 15 December 2025.

Coaching career

In 2013, Possanzini moved back to Brescia as a youth coach in charge of the Allievi Nazionali and then the Primavera (Under-19 squad). He subsequently joined the coaching staff of Roberto De Zerbi, following him during his tenures at Foggia, Palermo, Benevento, Sassuolo and FC Shakhtar Donetsk. In February 2022, together with De Zerbi and his coaching staff, he harrowingly fled from Ukraine in the aftermath of the Russian invasion. On 16 June 2022, Possanzini agreed to return to Brescia as the club's Primavera youth coach.

On 7 January 2023, he was named new head coach in charge of the first team following the dismissal of Pep Clotet, being however sacked just thirteen days later after suffering two defeats in both games in charge of the team. On 16 June 2023, Possanzini was announced as the new head coach of Serie C club Mantova. Under his guidance, Mantova surprisingly topped the league table from the very beginning of the season despite the presence of other more ambitious teams in the league such as Padova and Vicenza, while playing an attacking football style reminiscent of his mentor De Zerbi that quickly won Possanzini national coverage.

On 7 April 2024, Mantova mathematically won promotion to Serie B. After guiding Mantova for the 2024–25 Serie B campaign, Possanzini was dismissed on 15 December 2025 after a negative start to the new season.