Fabio Celestini

Fabio Celestini (born 31 October 1975) is a Swiss football manager and former player. A defensive midfielder, he started and finished his 15-year professional career with Lausanne, and also played for ten years in France and Spain, representing four clubs. He appeared with the Swiss national team at Euro 2004.

After retiring as a player, he moved into management and had periods in charge of Lausanne-Sport, Lugano, Luzern, Sion and Basel in Switzerland and CSKA Moscow in Russia.

Club career Born in Lausanne, Celestini started playing professionally with hometown club FC Lausanne-Sport, then had a four-season spell in France, spending two years each with Troyes AC and Olympique de Marseille. Whilst with the latter he played the 2004 UEFA Cup final, coming on as a substitute in the second half of the 0–2 loss to Valencia CF.

Celestini moved to Spain in 2004, playing one season with Levante UD. After the team's immediate relegation he stayed in the country, joining fellow La Liga club Getafe CF where he never was an undisputed starter, but managed to feature heavily in consecutive seasons. In 2007–08, as the Madrid outskirts side reached the quarter-finals in the UEFA Cup, he scored against R.S.C. Anderlecht in a 2–1 group stage home win.

On 16 February 2010, after having been regularly used in the past two seasons, albeit not as a usual first-choice, the 34-year-old Celestini announced he would not renew his contract with Getafe, choosing to return to Lausanne on a one-year deal. However, due to a break in negotiations over his future role at the club after his playing career, he decided to retire before the end of the campaign, playing his last game on 15 December against U.S. Città di Palermo in the Europa League group stage.

International career A Switzerland international since 1998, Celestini collected 35 caps and was a participant at the UEFA Euro 2004 (appearing in two incomplete matches, as the nation exited in the group stage).

Managerial career Lausanne-Sport On 24 March 2015, after a spell as assistant manager at Spanish club Málaga CF and head coach with Italian amateurs Terracina Calcio 1925, Celestini replaced Marco Simone at Lausanne-Sport in the latter capacity, as the side was in a poor run of results in the Swiss Challenge League. Two months later, he was confirmed in this role for the next three years.

In 2015–16, Celestini led his team back to the Swiss Super League after a two-year absence.

Lugano On 3 October 2018, he was appointed at FC Lugano in the same division. Just over a year later, he was ousted from his job due to bad results, and replaced by Maurizio Jacobacci.

Luzern Celestini signed as manager of FC Luzern on 2 January 2020. His contract with the club was terminated on 22 November 2021, after spending the majority of the season in the bottom of the league, having only accrued ten points in 14 games.

Sion On 21 November 2022, he took on as new head coach of FC Sion. He was sacked on 3 March 2023.

Basel On 31 October 2023, he was appointed the new head coach of FC Basel, who sat in last place of the Swiss Super League at the time of his appointment. Just 18 months later, he had led Basel to a domestic double, winning the 2024–25 Swiss Super League and the 2024–25 Swiss Cup. Following these successes, he resigned from his position.

CSKA Moscow On 20 June 2025, Celestini signed a contract with Russian club CSKA Moscow for two seasons with an optional third. Celestini's appointment prompted debate in Switzerland due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and CSKA's links to sanctioned entities. Swiss outlets reported that his decision drew sharp criticism from sections of FC Basel's support and commentators, while legal analysis discussed whether payments from a sanctioned employer could be blocked by Swiss banks and, in some scenarios, expose him to penalties under Swiss sanctions law. In response to questions about the backlash, Celestini said he intended to focus on football and was unconcerned by criticism unrelated to sport.

In his first competitive game in charge of CSKA, the club won the 2025 Russian Super Cup.

For both of his first two months managing CSKA in the Russian Premier League, he was chosen league's Manager of the Month. CSKA went into Russian season's customary three-month winter break in 4th place, four points below the league leaders. Upon season's resumption in March, CSKA lost 4 of their 5 games in league and cup. That was followed by a three-game winning streak in early April. However, CSKA then went on another 5-game winless streak to drop to 6th place in the league, 18 points below the top spot (even though they advanced to the Russian Cup League Path final), and on 4 May 2026 Celestini left CSKA by mutual consent.

Managerial statistics

Honours Basel Swiss Super League: 2024–25 Swiss Cup: 2024–25

CSKA Moscow Russian Super Cup: 2025 Russian Premier League Manager of the Month: July/August 2025, September 2025.