Francesco Guidolin

Guidolin made his professional debut in 1975 with the Serie A club Hellas Verona, with whom he spent the majority of his career, save for loan moves to clubs Sambenedettese, Pistoiese and Bologna. After spending two seasons with Serie C2 club Venezia, he retired in 1986.

Guidolin's managerial debut came in 1988 as head coach of Serie C2 team Giorgione, the main club of his native city, Castelfranco Veneto. Between 1989 and 1993, he then coached Treviso (Serie C2), Fano, Empoli and Ravenna, all in Serie C1.

Leading Ravenna to promotion to Serie B earned Guidolin a move to become head coach of Serie A club Atalanta on 1 July 1993, although he was sacked after just ten matches.

As a result, the following season Guidolin had his first European campaign (and Vicenza's second ever), reaching the 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-final before losing to eventual winners Chelsea. However, in the league season, Vicenza finished just one place above the relegation zone. The club was also defeated by Juventus in the 1997 Supercoppa Italiana.

Guidolin returned to management with Palermo in January 2004, midway through the Serie B season. Playing Luca Toni as a lone striker among experienced players and those cast off from larger teams, he won the division, taking the Sicilians back to the top flight for the first time since 1973. In the subsequent Serie A campaign, he guided Palermo to a sixth-place finish, earning their first ever UEFA Cup qualification. However, he opted to leave the club at the end of the season.

In October 2005, Guidolin succeeded Didier Deschamps at Ligue 1 club Monaco. He signed a two-year contract in his first managerial post outside Italy. The club finished 10th in his only season.

On 30 May 2006, in a surprise move, Guidolin was re-hired by his former club Palermo. In his absence, they had reached the round of 16 in their inaugural UEFA Cup run, and had also qualified for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup despite finishing eighth in the league, due to Italian match fixing scandals costing other clubs their places. Guidolin's Serie A campaign started well, but after losing star player Amauri to injury in December, the team went over two months without a win. In the UEFA Cup, they progressed to the group stage but failed to qualify for the knockout stages, ending their campaign in December.

In October 2007, Guidolin declined to take up an offer to coach struggling English Championship side Queens Park Rangers after failing to agree personal terms.

On 26 November 2007, with Palermo having been eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the first round and slipping to ninth place in Serie A, Guidolin was unexpectedly re-appointed by Palermo for a record fourth time, replacing Colantuono. After only gaining 18 points in 17 matches, he was sacked again on 24 March 2008 at the end of a run of three defeats, the latter followed by controversial criticism from him of the fans.

On 30 September 2008, Guidolin signed a contract with Serie B side Parma, guiding them to second place in the 2008–09 campaign, earning promotion back into the top flight. A good start to the following Serie A season saw the team constantly in the top ten for the first half, before finally ending mid-table. Despite the manner of his departure from Palermo, he is still today hailed as one of the club legends and was warmly welcomed during his return as Parma manager, albeit suffering a late defeat to his old side.

Having won the Panchina d'oro award in 2011, Guidolin is considered one of the best Italian coaches in circulation, and was initially known for using a Sacchi-inspired 4–4–2 formation (or its variant, the 4–4–1–1) towards the beginning of his coaching career. Later, he became known for his versatility and ability to adopt tactical systems which were most suitable to his players. He has also made use of 4–3–2–1, 3–4–1–2, 3–1–4–1–1, or 3–5–2 (or 3–5–1–1) formations throughout his career. Giovanni Cornacchini, who played under Guidolin at Vicenza, described him as the best coach he ever had, and as the manager who was the most prepared on the pitch.

On 20 May 2014, Guidolin took the decision to leave coaching, but maintained a link with Udinese by becoming the technical supervisor for the club's chairman Giampaolo Pozzo, thereby also overseeing his two other clubs, Spanish side Granada and English team Watford.

On 18 January 2016, Guidolin was named head coach of Swansea City, at that point struggling in the 2015–16 Premier League, only two points above the relegation zone, to work alongside interim manager Alan Curtis, who took the post of first team coach. While the decision baffled some pundits, the Swansea chairman argued that Guidolin's achievements at Udinese on a relatively small budget were similar to what the club was trying to achieve. At the time of his appointment, Guidolin was virtually unknown to the English game and club captain Ashley Williams later admitted that he had to "Google" his new manager.

Guidolin took charge of his first game on 24 January 2016, an away fixture at Goodison Park which Swansea City won 2–1, recording the club's first-ever league win over Everton. On 1 May, Guidolin mathematically secured Swansea's place in the Premier League for the following season, as the club defeated Liverpool 3–1 at Liberty Stadium. On 11 May 2016, and despite intense speculation and betting that former manager Brendan Rodgers would replace him, Guidolin was invited to sign a new two-year-contract with Swansea after impressing the club's board of directors with his achievements in the late winter and spring of the 2015–16 season.

After a poor start in the Premier League the following season, Guidolin was sacked on 3 October 2016, his 61st birthday, and replaced with immediate effect by former United States national team manager Bob Bradley.