Fabio Celestini

Fabio Celestini
Celestini in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth (1975-10-31) 31 October 1975
Place of birth Lausanne, Switzerland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 FC Lugano (Head coach)
Youth career
1983–1995 Renens
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2000 Lausanne-Sport 127 (23)
2000–2002 Troyes 50 (2)
2002–2004 Marseille 59 (1)
2004–2005 Levante 25 (1)
2005–2010 Getafe 121 (1)
2010 Lausanne-Sport 13 (1)
Total 395 (29)
National team
1998–2007 Switzerland 35 (2)
Teams managed
2013–2014 Málaga (assistant)
2014 Terracina
2015–2018 Lausanne-Sport
2018– FC Lugano
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Fabio Celestini (born 31 October 1975) is a Swiss retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and is currently the manager of FC Lugano.

Having started and finished his 15-year professional career with Lausanne, he also played one full decade combined in France and Spain, representing four clubs.

Celestini appeared with the Swiss national team at Euro 2004.

Club career

Born in Lausanne, Celestini started playing professionally with hometown's FC Lausanne-Sport, then had a four-season spell in France, spending two years each with Troyes AC and Olympique de Marseille.[1] Whilst with the latter he played the 2004 UEFA Cup final, coming on as a substitute in the second half of the 0–2 loss to Valencia CF.[2]

Celestini moved to Spain in 2004, playing one season with Levante UD.[3] After the team's immediate relegation he stayed in the country, joining fellow La Liga club Getafe CF where he never was an undisputed starter, but managed to feature heavily in consecutive seasons. In 2007–08, as the Madrid outskirts side reached the quarter-finals in the UEFA Cup, he scored against R.S.C. Anderlecht in a 2–1 group stage home win.[4]

On 17 February 2010, after having been regularly used in the past two seasons, albeit not as a usual first-choice, 34-year-old Celestini announced he would not renew his contract with Getafe, choosing to return to Lausanne on a one-year deal.[5] However, due to a break in negotiations over his future role at the club after his playing career, he decided to retire before the end of the campaign, playing his last game on 15 December against U.S. Città di Palermo for the Europa League group stage.

On 24 March 2015, after a spell as assistant manager at Spanish club Málaga CF and head coach with Italian amateurs Terracina Calcio 1925, Celestini replaced Marco Simone at FC Lausanne-Sport in the latter capacity, as the side was in a poor run of results in the Swiss Challenge League.[6] Two months later, he was confirmed in this role for the next three years.[7]

In 2015–16, Celestini led his team back to the Swiss Super League after a two-year absence.[8]

On 3 October 2018, Celestini was appointed as the new head coach of FC Lugano.[9]

International career

A Switzerland international since 1998, Celestini collected 35 caps and was a participant at the UEFA Euro 2004 (appearing in two incomplete matches, as the nation exited in the group stage).[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ Marseille move cheers Celestini; UEFA, 30 July 2002
  2. ↑ "Valencia 2–0 Marseille". BBC Sport. 19 May 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  3. ↑ Levante capture Celestini; UEFA, 18 August 2004
  4. ↑ Getafe take top spot with Anderlecht win; UEFA, 19 December 2007
  5. ↑ Degen krank – Celestini zurück (Degen ill – Celestini returns); SF Sport, 16 February 2010 (in German)
  6. ↑ "Le FC Lausanne-Sport limoge Simone et mise sur Celestini" [FC Lausanne-Sport sack Simone and bet on Celestini] (in French). Swiss Football League. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Celestini prolonge trois ans au FC Lausanne-Sport" [Celestini extends at FC Lausanne-Sport for three years] (in French). Swiss Football League. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "Lausanne accède à l'élite" [Lausanne reach elite] (in French). Swiss Football League. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Renzetti e Celestini: per un Lugano più squadra, fclugano.com, 3 October 2018
  10. ↑ "Ten-man Switzerland frustrate Croatia". UEFA. 14 June 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Rooney stars as England get back on track". UEFA. 18 June 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.