Paratici joins Tottenham as club return to Sporting Director model
Paratici worked for Juventus for 11 years
Written by Simon Austin — June 13, 2021
ITALIAN Fabio Paratici has joined Tottenham as Managing Director, Football, as the club return to the Sporting Director model they jettisoned in September 2015.
The 48-year-old joins after 11 years with Juventus, where he was also Managing Director of Football. He left the Serie A giants after 11 years last week.
Tottenham said Paratici would start with them on July 1st and that he would be “responsible for managing and developing the club’s sporting operations, facilities and footballing infrastructure.”
The club have not had a Sporting Director since Franco Baldini left in September 2015 after two years. Prior to that, Damien Comolli held the role from 2005 to 2008.
The appointment is recognition by Chairman Daniel Levy that he needs someone to lead on the football side, with the club having performed poorly for the last two seasons. Since Baldini departed, Levy has led recruitment along with Steve Hitchen (Technical Performance Director) and the two managers during that period (Mauricio Pochettino then Jose Mourinho).
Now Paratici will lead the football side. Brighton Technical Director Dan Ashworth has previously described the role (which has many different titles) as being "in the middle of a wheel", with "spokes" of men’s and women's first teams, recruitment, Academy, medical, loans and psychology.
Levy said: “I've known Fabio for a number of years and he brings with him a wealth of experience in scouting, youth and football operations.
“He has an outstanding track record in assembling competitive squads. As we all know, Juventus have been a highly successful club and he has been a major part of that. He will be a great addition to the management structure.
“I am delighted that he will be heading up the football side of the club as we look ahead to next season.”
Paratici added: “I am thrilled by this fantastic opportunity and I thank the club and the chairman for the trust in me. Tottenham is one of the top clubs in the UK and in Europe with an ambitious long-term plan.
“I will dedicate all myself to this new venture and look forward to working with the management team to write a new and hopefully successful chapter in the club history.”
Paratici spent 15 years as a professional player at clubs in Serie B and Serie C before being appointed Scouting Manager at Sampdoria in 2004. He joined Juventus as Technical Area Coordinator in 2010 and was promoted to Sports Director in 2011, Chief Football Officer in November 2018 and Managing Director of the Football Area in October 2020.
During his time with the club, Juventus won 19 trophies, including their first Serie A title in eight seasons in 2011/12, sparking a run of nine-successive scudettos, as well as five Coppa Italia titles.
Premier League Sporting Directors (or equivalent)
- Arsenal: Technical Director - Edu
- Aston Villa: Sporting Director - Johan Lange
- Brentford: Directors of Football - Rasmus Ankersen/ Phil Giles
- Brighton: Technical Director - Dan Ashworth
- Burnley: Technical Director - Mike Rigg
- Chelsea: NONE (Petr Cech is Technical and Performance Advisor & Marina Granovskaia is Director)
- Crystal Palace: Sporting Director - Dougie Freedman
- Everton: Director of Football - Marcel Brands
- Leeds United: Director of Football - Victor Orta
- Leicester City: Director of Football - Jon Rudkin
- Liverpool: Sporting Director - Michael Edwards
- Manchester City: Director of Football - Txiki Begiristain
- Manchester United: Football Director- John Murtough
- Newcastle United: NONE
- Norwich City: Sporting Director - Stuart Webber
- Southampton: Director of Football Operations - Matt Crocker
- Tottenham: Managing Director, Football - Fabio Paratici
- Watford: Sporting Director - Cristiano Giaretta
- West Ham: NONE
- Wolves: Technical Director - Scott Sellars
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