Paolo Mandelli was born in Milan on December 4, 1967.
He started playing football in the youth sector of Inter and debuted in the Serie A on March 16, 1986, in Napoli-Inter. After a couple of games in Coppa Italia in 1986 he was loaned to Lazio. The Biancocelesti had promotion ambitions but were unjustly given a 9-point docking for the alleged involvement in the 1986 match fixing scandal of one of their players, Claudio Vinazzani. Despite the handicap, Mandelli stayed on.
It was a dramatic season as Lazio managed to avoid relegation with a Giuliano Fiorini goal with seven minutes left in the last game of the season. This win took the Biancocelesti to a playoff and a Fabio Poli goal secured another year in Serie B.
Paolo Mandelli had a very positive year with Lazio with 39 total appearances and six goals. But he went back to Inter at the end of the season. The Neroazzurri then sold him to Sambenedettese. Between 1987 and 1990 he changed teams three times: after San Benedetto del Tronto he went to Messina and Reggiana. In 1990 he signed for Monza where he stayed for 2 years before moving to Foggia. He was chosen personally by Zdenek Zeman for his famous 4-3-3 formation At Foggia he stayed four years with 92 league appearances and 7 goals.
In 1996 he moved to Modena and stayed five seasons with 139 appearances and 13 goals. His last two years of active football were with Sassuolo.
Mandelli also has two caps with the Serie B Under 21.
Once he stopped playing, Mandelli became a manager. He managed the Sassuolo Primavera team from 2003 to 2017 winning a Viareggio tournament in 2017. During his stint at Sassuolo he also managed the first team a few times: in 2011, substituting Angelo Gregucci for the last three games and in 2014 when he coached the team after Eusebio Di Francesco was fired and the club were deciding who to substitute him with. In 2017 he left the Primavera and took over the Under 16s.
Between 2018 and 2021 he was manager of the Chievo Verona Primavera team and in the 2021-22 season the Spal under 18s. He is currently head coach of the Modena Primavera team.
Paolo Mandelli stayed just a year in Rome but he left a lasting mark. Partnering with Giuliano Fiorini in attack he gave a good contribution to the Lazio cause and will always be remembered to for being part of the heroic -9 squad.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1986-87 | 39 (6) | 33 (6) | 3 |
Sources
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