Athens Kallithea announced Donati

New category, new coach for it Athens Kallitheawho announced his hiring Massimo Donati.

The Italian technician replaces Alekos Bosniadis and takes over to guide the Athenian club in its first year in a long time in the Stoiximan Super League.

The 43-year-old coach worked for the previous two years in the Italian team Legnanowith which he celebrated promotion to Serie C this year.

The announcement in detail:

Athens Kallithea FC is pleased to announce that Massimo Donati has taken over as first team coach.

Donati, 43, made 314 Serie A appearances for a number of clubs including Atalanta, AC Milan, Bari, and Palermo, while also making 72 Scottish Premiership appearances for Celtic and Hamilton before retiring from active duty in 2018 .He has since emerged as one of Italy’s most impressive young managers, most recently leading unheralded Legnago Salus to the Serie C promotion playoffs, with a record that included just two defeats in the final seven months of the 2023/24 season and one loss in calendar year 2024, standing out as the only unbeaten team in all of Italian football from January to mid-April.

Born in the town of Sedegliano, in the province of Udine, Donati began his football career with Atalanta, helping the Nerazzurri achieve promotion to Serie A in 1999/00 and impressing enough the following season to earn a move to Milan at the age Aged 20, in June 2001. Having made 27 appearances for Milan in the 2001/02 season, playing under the coaching guidance of Fatih Terim and Carlo Ancelotti, Donati went on to spend the next five seasons on loan at Parma, Torino, Sampdoria, Messina, and Atalanta. In June 2007, Donati moved abroad to play for Scottish giants Celtic, where he spent three seasons under Gordon Strachan, winning the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish Cup. Donati returned to Italy in August 2009, spending the next seven seasons at Bari (where he also played under Gian Piero Ventura), Palermo (also under Gian Piero Gasperini), Hellas Verona (under Andrea Mandorlini ), before ending his Scotland career with Hamilton and St. Mirren.

Having hung up his boots in 2018, Donati’s first coaching experience came as an assistant to manager Angelo Alessio, who was Antonio Conte’s long-time assistant, at Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock in 2019. After a brief stint as manager of Sambenedettese in Serie D in 2021, Donati took over at Legnago Salus in June 2022 and led them to promotion to Serie C in the 2022/23 season, maintaining the league’s best defensive record with 26 goals in 34 games. In the 2023/24 season, Legnago were candidates for relegation to Serie D, but proved to be the surprise team of the league, finishing in sixth place and qualifying for the promotion playoffs after going almost unbeaten in the second half of the season. Since November 4, he has lost only two matches, including one against eventual champions Mantova. Until 13 April, Legnago was Italy’s only unbeaten team in the calendar year 2024. In the Serie C promotion playoffs for the 2023/24 season, Legnago defeated Lumezzane in the first round, but were eliminated in the second round with a 1- 1 away from Atalanta U23, as a result of their lower position.

You’re welcome, Massimo.