It has been a dramatic day for the 2006 World Cup winners now in Serie B as coaches, because Daniele De Rossi won his first match at SPAL 5-0, while Fabio Cannavaro saw Benevento reject his resignation.
The players who lifted football’s most prestigious trophy for Italy in July 2006 have now hung up their boots and moved on to new careers as coaches, several of them in Serie B.
De Rossi was appointed to the SPAL bench on October 11 and oversaw a 0-0 draw with Cittadella, then 1-0 Coppa Italia defeat to Genoa.
He got off the mark this afternoon by hammering Cosenza 5-0 in his first home game.
Meanwhile, Cannavaro was brought in for Benevento on September 21 and has struggled so far with only two draws and two defeats.
He had started with 1-1 stalemates against Ascoli and Sudtirol, but back-to-back defeats to Ternana on home turf and today Como have put him under serious pressure.
According to Sky Sport Italia, Cannavaro tended his resignation, but the Benevento chiefs rejected it, insisting he can turn this season around.