Those fans who haven’t followed Serie A closely for the last 20 years might have missed a few medium or small-sized teams that have consistently over-achieved. What makes a selected few unique is that they were able to make money on the transfer market while getting better results on the pitch at the same time. The common denominator in this specific category has often been Giovanni Sartori, a technical and sporting director who has reshaped Italian football management for the last 30 years. His work at Chievo in the 90s and 2000s, at Atalanta in the 2010s, and now at Bologna has been recognized within Italy as an example of excellence in sporting strategy.
There was a time when Sartori was a modest Serie A player, finishing his career at Chievo Verona and looking to transition into a managerial role in football. His career off the pitch began as an assistant coach in the third division for the club. For almost a decade, he helped the squad overachieve from the dugout, and by 1992, he was offered a role as sporting director of the club.
Right after a few seasons, the team managed to earn an unexpected promotion to Serie B. Chievo is a club from a small district in the suburbs of Verona. It has always had financial constraints, so consistently playing in the second division was already an extraordinary achievement in itself.
Under the guidance of Sartori, the so-called “Flying Donkeys” finished mid-table in Serie B for 6 seasons, as the enthusiasm of the local supporters grew. By the turn of the millennium, Chievo managed a historic third place, earning an inspiring promotion to Serie A. This, just 15 years after playing amateur football thanks to top-level scouting and an eye for undervalued talent.
With Luigi Delneri as coach, the newly promoted club from Veneto managed “the season of miracles.” The 2001/02 season is remembered as a cult, as Chievo started the first half of the season incredibly strong, sitting in first position as late as December.
The “team of miracles” finished fifth in May, just 1 point off Champions League football, making them the most famous and most successful newly promoted club in Italian history.
The following years showcased the masterclass in management by the man from Lodi, as Chievo continued to overachieve while trading successfully every summer. Sartori was able to turn a profit on all of his best players, selling the likes of Amauri, Legrottaglie, Perrotta, and Manfredini for millions of Euros after having spent close to nothing to acquire them.
The strategy was clear and extremely efficient for a small club with limited resources. They let go of their best players for profit and substituted them with low-cost bargains. Chievo managed four other seasons of Serie A football, most of them with positions in the top 10. In the 2005/06 season, thanks to Calciopoli and remarkable results, the club achieved a historic 4th place, earning an unthinkable Champions League spot.
Even after relegation the following season, Sartori allowed the team to immediately bounce back and brought the club back to Serie A. Chievo remained in the first division until his departure in 2014. For such a tiny club, 20 years of top-flight football with Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifications represent one of the greatest feats in the history of football. Even during relegation, the mastermind director was able to turn a profit for the club. Parolo, Acerbi, Constant, Semioli, and Mantovani are just a few examples of Sartori’s brilliance, who doubled and tripled the value of his players.
In 2014, Atalanta came knocking on Sartori’s door and poached him from Chievo. It is common knowledge that this decision by the Percassi family (Atalanta’s owners) proved to be the best they ever made. When it came to hiring a new coach in 2016, Sartori himself chose Gasperini as his trusted man. The club from Bergamo started to rise as soon as Sartori set foot in the place, making almost €60M in sales by the second summer as director. His genius was immediately confirmed. During the first two seasons, he was able to turn around the squad in the short term while having a positive net spending, again.
He bought Papu Gomez, Kessie, Gagliardini, Zappacosta, Freuler, De Roon, and many more talents for a combined €35M in the first two years. The remarkable part is that the club sold talents for a combined €55M during this period, moving from a newly promoted side to a solid mid-table team while consistently doubling the value of its investments.
Most fans are familiar with what happened after the third season. Atalanta achieved an unprecedented status of being a top Serie A club, which it has maintained to this day. The club from Bergamo never looked back as Gasperini guided his men to eight seasons of European football, culminating with a Europa League title in 2024.
During this time, they achieved consecutive third and fourth place finishes, securing Champions League football for the first time in the club's history. During the years under Gasperini and Sartori, Atalanta always ranked in the top eight in the league. “La Dea” were infamously 2 minutes away from a Champions League semifinal when PSG eliminated them in 2020. During Sartori’s reign, they also reached two Coppa Italia finals.
It’s safe to say that on the pitch, Atalanta has become one of the top teams in Italy, and remains so to this day. Sartori’s most remarkable capital gains over this European spell include Kulusevski (+€35M), Bastoni (+€31M), Koopmeiners (+€44M), Romero (+€32M), Gosens (+€27M), Diallo (+€30M), Mancini (+€24M), and many more. This demonstrates once again how the excellent director was able to consistently grow the team far beyond expectations. The extraordinary aspect is that he can pull this off with limited resources and the necessity of cashing out the best talents. Sartori possesses an incredible skill that enables him to replace players with much cheaper talents who often turn out to be just as good, if not better, than the previous ones.
You might have noticed we have only covered the history of Sartori’s career, without focusing on his current affairs. The acclaimed sporting director has a track record of making the right choices, but you might wonder what he’s up to these days. Has he succeeded again in elevating the level on and off the pitch of another Italian team? Has this model adapted to an even more inflated transfer market? Is he still making money for the club while maintaining a high level?
I will cover his most recent work with Bologna F.C. in the second part of this deep dive into the directors’ stellar career. Stay tuned, because very soon, I will answer all of these questions in part two.
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❤️🫶🏼🫶🏼
Amazing article!!!!