The esonero: Juventus, Spalletti and Italian coaching contracts

The esonero defined

Italian searches, with Tuttosport among the publications in the coverage, link Luciano Spalletti and Juventus with the word esonero. This article does not say whether a dismissal has been decided or on what terms, because those details are not known here. What can be explained is the mechanism itself, which often confuses readers outside Italy.

The word means "relief" or "exemption". When an Italian club "esonera" its head coach, it removes him from his post: he no longer takes training, picks the team or sits on the bench. In most cases the employment contract between club and coach does not end at that moment. The coach stays registered with the club and stays under contract, but he has been relieved of the work. English usually translates esonero as "sacking". The Italian term is more precise, because it separates the end of the job from the end of the contract.

Origins of the practice

The practice grew out of how Italian law treats professional coaches. Head coaches at professional clubs are employees, and their contracts are normally fixed-term: they run for one or more seasons to a set expiry date. Under Italian employment principles, an employer who ends a fixed-term contract early without just cause cannot walk away from the rest of the obligation. The pay owed for the remaining term is still due.

Clubs that want a new coach in the middle of a season therefore face a choice. Cancelling the contract outright would bring the same financial liability and could lead to a dispute. Relieving the coach while keeping the contract alive avoids both. The club gets a new person on the bench, and the outgoing coach keeps his contractual position. Over decades this became the standard route, and the word esonero became an everyday part of Italian football reporting.

The sport's own bodies added rules on top of the employment law. The collective agreements between Lega Serie A and the coaches' association, AIAC, set out how coaching contracts are formed and how disputes are settled, including by arbitration inside the football system rather than only in the ordinary courts. The Italian federation's registration rules then decide where a relieved coach may work for the rest of the season.

How it works today

When a club decides on a change, it usually issues a short statement saying the head coach has been relieved of his duties, often thanking him and his staff. Assistants, fitness coaches and analysts who arrived with him are frequently relieved at the same time, and each has a contract of his own.

From then on several things run side by side. The club appoints a successor, either a caretaker or a permanent coach, and signs a new contract with him. The club is now paying two head coaches. The relieved coach keeps receiving his salary unless the parties reach a risoluzione consensuale, a mutual termination. Such agreements often include a settlement payment, sometimes called a buonuscita, that is lower than the full sum still owed. The coach accepts it in exchange for freedom to take another job.

Registration rules matter here. A coach who has led a club in a given division generally cannot take charge of another club in the same division in the same season. That limits his options, and it explains why some relieved coaches stay unemployed and on the payroll until the summer. Clubs can usually move to another league or to a national team more easily.

Because the contract is still alive, the club can also reinstate the coach it relieved, and Italian clubs have done exactly that when a successor did not work out. This is why the esonero affects squad building as well. A new coach may ask for different profiles in the next window. The club's budget has to carry two coaching salaries. And any fee or settlement paid to free a coach from another employer adds to the cost of the change.

Juventus has used the mechanism in recent seasons. Spalletti himself arrived after the club relieved his predecessor, a standard example of how the system works in mid-season.

Common misconceptions

The most frequent mistake is to treat an esonero as the end of the contract. It is not. The coach is usually still employed, still paid and still registered with the club.

A second mistake is to confuse esonero with dimissioni, or resignation. A coach who resigns normally gives up his right to the remaining salary. A coach who is relieved keeps it. This is why coaches under pressure rarely resign, and why reports of a coach "refusing to step down" often come down to contract economics rather than stubbornness.

A third mistake is to assume the club saves money by changing coach. In the short term it usually spends more, because it pays the outgoing staff and the incoming staff together until a settlement is reached or the old contract expires.

A fourth is to think a relieved coach can join any club straight away. Registration rules limit moves within the same division during the season, so a coach may be free in principle but blocked in practice.

Finally, reports that a dismissal is being "considered" or "evaluated" do not confirm anything. Until the club publishes an official statement, an esonero has not happened in any formal sense.

Frequently asked questions

What does esonero mean in Italian football?

Esonero is the Italian term for relieving a head coach of his duties. The club takes him off the bench and out of day-to-day work, but his employment contract usually stays in force. He remains registered with the club and keeps receiving his salary unless both parties agree to end the contract early, normally through a mutual termination that may include a settlement payment.

Does a sacked Serie A coach still get paid?

Usually yes. Italian coaching contracts are generally fixed-term employment contracts, and a club that relieves a coach without just cause remains liable for the salary until the contract ends. Payments stop only if the two sides agree a mutual termination or the contract reaches its expiry date. This is why clubs often pay two head coaches at the same time after a mid-season change.

Can a dismissed coach join another Serie A club in the same season?

Generally not. Italian federation registration rules restrict a coach who has led a club in one division from taking charge of another club in the same division during the same season. Moving to a club in a different league, abroad or to a national team is usually possible, which is why relieved coaches often wait until the following summer.

What is the difference between esonero and resignation?

An esonero is the club's decision. It relieves the coach of his duties but normally leaves his contract and salary in place. Resignation, called dimissioni in Italian, is the coach's own decision to leave, and it usually means giving up the pay he would otherwise be owed. Because of that difference, coaches under pressure rarely resign.

Can a club bring back a coach it has dismissed?

Yes. Because an esonero usually leaves the original contract in force, the coach is still the club's employee, and the club can reinstate him if his successor does not work out. Italian clubs have done this before. Reinstatement is not possible if the contract has already been ended by mutual agreement, because the employment relationship no longer exists.

Sources and further reading

• Italian Football Federation (FIGC): registration rules for coaches and the restrictions on moving between clubs within a season
• Lega Serie A and AIAC: the collective agreement governing professional coaching contracts and dispute resolution
• Italian employment law: principles on fixed-term contracts and early termination without just cause
• Tuttosport and other Italian sports dailies: reporting on coaching changes, to be checked against official club statements