Bengaluru FC announced on Friday the appointment of Marco Pezzaiuoli as the club's new Head Coach on a three-year contract that runs till the end of the 2023-24 season. German-born Italian Pezzaiuoli, whose most recent stint was as Technical Director of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, will lead Bengaluru in the AFC Cup Preliminary Stage Two game on April 14, in his first match in charge.
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"I'm very proud to be a part of Bengaluru FC, and excited about the challenge to bring the team back to the top. I am always keen to gather experiences in life and football and to be able to make a difference wherever I go. I'm also keen to share my experience to help Indian football grow. I'm really looking forward to joining the team as soon as I can," Pezzaiuoli said.
Bengaluru have been led by interim coach Naushad Moosa, who has been with the team for four seasons, since the club parted ways with Spanish coach Carles Cuadrat on January 6 following a run of three straight losses. Currently seventh on the table, Bengaluru need to win their remaining three games and have multiple other results go their way in order to make the ISL playoffs.
Commenting on the appointment, Parth Jindal, Director of Bengaluru FC, said, "Marco brings with him tremendous experience of having worked with clubs in the top tier in Europe and Asia, along with a significant stint with the age-group sides of the German National Team.
"What drew me to appointing him was his intent, organisation and clarity of thought on how he wants to take Bengaluru FC back to where we belong. Our ambition has been to play the AFC Champions League and I believe Marco has the vision and style to lead us there. The senior team aside, his expertise with youth will go a long way in helping us further build on the success of our academy. Marco's appointment is a statement of intent from the club and about how serious we are about bringing Bengaluru FC back to the top."
Pezzaiuoli began his coaching career as Youth Director at Karlsruher SC before taking on his first job outside Germany, leading Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC in South Korea to the K-League and K-League Cup in 2004. He then returned to Germany to take charge of the youth team, leading Germany to the U17 European Championship in 2009. Pezzaiouli helped put together a training program for the national team ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and worked as the team analyst for Germany at Euro 2008.
Later, Pezzaiuoli joined TSG Hoffenheim as assistant coach to Ralf Rangnick and, as interim coach, helped the team stave off relegation from the Bundesliga. His experience in Asia also includes stints at Cerezo Osaka (Japan) and Guangzhou Evergrande FC (China).