Francesco Calzona

Francesco Calzona (born 24 October 1968) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Slovakia national team from 2022 to 2026.

Playing career Calzona had a very short career as a player, appearing three times with Arezzo in the Serie B division, and also making a single Coppa Italia appearance.

Coaching career Calzona worked as an amateur coach and coffee dealer during the 1990s; during the course of the 1999–2000 season, while in charge of Tuscan amateurs Tegoleto, he opted to resign and instead suggest to hire up-and-coming amateur coach Maurizio Sarri as his replacement. Since then, he became part of Sarri's coaching staff, being his main assistant in all of his managerial jobs until Napoli.

On 16 November 2023, following a 4–2 win against Iceland, Calzona's Slovakia qualified for the UEFA Euro 2024.

On 27 April 2026, it was announced that his contract with the Slovakia Football Federation was not renewed and consequentially he left the role.

Napoli On 19 February 2024, Napoli announced the appointment of Calzona as their new head coach for the remainder of the season, replacing Walter Mazzarri just two days before the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg against Barcelona. In doing so, Calzona worked as both Slovakia manager and Napoli head coach for the remainder of the 2023–24 season, making him the first Serie A manager ever to also serve contemporaneously as a national team manager for a foreign country during his stay. This was Napoli's third manager of the season, after Mazzarri had previously replaced Rudi Garcia. He completed the season in a lacklustre fashion, ending in tenth place and missing out on European qualification, on the worst-ever Serie A performance for an incumbent national champion.

Managerial statistics

+ Managerial record by team and tenure Team From To Record Slovakia 30 August 2022 28 April 2026 Napoli 19 February 2024 5 June 2024 Career total