Pamela Conti

Pamela Conti (born 4 April 1982) is an Italian football coach and former player who is the manager of the Venezuela women's national football team. As a player she was an attacking midfielder or striker for clubs in Serie A, Spain, Russia, the United States and Sweden, as well as for the Italy national team.[1] She won two Italian Leagues, four Italian Cups, one Spanish Cup and one Russian League, and she represented Italy at two European Championships.

Pamela Conti
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-04-04) 4 April 1982
Place of birth Palermo, Italy
Height 166 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Venezuela (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1999 Aquile Palermo
1999–2008 Sassari Torres 185 (95)
2008–2009 Levante 23 (16)
2009 Buffalo Flash
2009–2010 Espanyol 27 (26)
2010–2011 Levante 18 (11)
2011 Energiya Voronezh 4 (1)
2012–2013 Zorky Krasnogorsk 27 (18)
2013–2014 Sassari Torres 18 (12)
2014 Eskilstuna United 2 (0)
National team
1998–2013 Italy 90 (30)
Teams managed
2019– Venezuela
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Palermo on 4 April 1982, she started her career in 1996 at Aquile Palermo. Despite playing in the third-tier, in May 1998 she made her debut for the Italian national team against Finland in the 1999 World Cup qualifying at 16 years old.[2] The next year Conti signed for Serie A runners-up Torres CF, where she played for the next 10 years, winning two championships and four national cups, making her UEFA Women's Cup debut, and scoring 95 goals in 185 games in Serie A. In 2005, she made her debut at an international final tournament in the 2005 European Championship, where Italy was knocked out in the group stage.

In 2008 Conti moved to Spanish league champion Levante UD to again play the UEFA Women's Cup.[3] Following the end of the season and playing the 2009 European Championship and the 2009 W-League with Buffalo Flash in the summer, she moved to national cup champion RCD Espanyol. Despite scoring 26 goals and winning the cup in her only season in Espanyol she returned to a declining Levante for the 2010-11 season.

In 2011, she signed for Russian Championship's runner-up Energiya Voronezh. However, after Energiya was knocked out of the UEFA Champions League's Round of 16 she moved to Zorky Krasnogorsk, where she played for two seasons. There she won the championship and again played the Champions League.[4] On the other hand, she wasn't called up for the 2013 European Championship. She completed her international career with 90 caps and 30 goals.[5]

In 2013, she returned to Torres CF, now a national powerhouse, after five years abroad.[6] It proved to be a turbulent period for the Sardinian giants and Conti left for Swedish club Eskilstuna United DFF. But she retired from playing after making just two appearances for Eskilstuna, returning to Sicily and setting up a football school for youngsters.[5]

Conti was hired as an under-16 coach by Atlético Madrid in summer 2018.[7] In October 2019 she was appointed head coach of the Venezuela women's national football team.[8] She aimed to guide the team to its first ever FIFA Women's World Cup qualification.[9]

Personal life

Conti's father Francesco Conti was a footballer for Palermo and died in 2018. Her brothers Vincenzo and Daniele were also professional footballers who developed in the youth system at Palermo.[10]

References
  1. Profile in Soccerway.com
  2. Conti, a footballer forged in the streets. Archived 7 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine RCD Espanyol, 28 December 2009
  3. "Pamela Conti" (in Italian). Levante UD. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  4. Profile in UEFA's website
  5. Zito, Andrea (10 July 2019). "Pamela Conti, da coach dell'Atletico Madrid a simbolo rosanero?" (in Italian). Stadionews24. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  6. A great strike by Torres: Pamela Conti returns to the red-and-blue. Torres CF's official website, 18 June 2013
  7. "Intervista a Pamela Conti, allenatice Under 16 dell'Atletico Madrid. "La Spagna presto sarà tra le 4 più forti al mondo nel calcio femminile" (in Italian). L Football. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  8. "Da Ballarò al Venezuela: Pamela Conti nuovo allenatore dei "vinotintos" "Da Ballarò al Venezuela: Pamela Conti nuovo allenatore dei "vinotintos"" (in Italian). PalermoToday. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  9. "Pamela Conti and La Vinotinto, love at first sight". FIFA. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  10. Bisconti, Alessandro (10 January 2018). "E' morto Conti, ex Palermo e volto storico della taverna di Ballarò "E' morto Conti, ex Palermo e volto storico della taverna di Ballarò" (in Italian). PalermoToday. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
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