Who is Domenico Tedesco? The Belgium coach who believes football is like boxing

Updated: 5 Apr 2024 14:50 BST
6 min read

Domenico Tedesco believes that football is very much a fight of sorts.

When he was head coach of Schalke, he said to Bundesliga's official site: “I want my teams to divide the space well. I like to compare it to a boxer, who should never let his guard down.

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“On top of that, we want to win the ball back as often as possible because we love attacking - although always with a certain balance and structure, to be able to control any transitions.”

For him, football requires a certain level of discipline, which is probably why we can expect a lot of the old guard for Belgium at the upcoming European Championships.

But who is Tedesco and how far can he take Belgium in the tournament?

What team does Domenico Tedesco manage?

Tedesco manages Belgium and has done so since February 2024.

What formation does Domenico Tedesco play?

Tedesco uses a 4-3-3 formation for Belgium.

How good is Domenico Tedesco?

Tedesco moved from Italy to Germany at a young age and played for ASV Aichwald in the Kreisliga A.

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A post shared by Domenico Tedesco (@domenicotedesco_official)

His coaching career started at VfB Stuttgart's youth department in 2008, before he became the head coach of the under-17 team. He then switched to Hoffenheim as youth manager and later under-19 coach after graduating from Germany's football coaching academy in 2016.

In 2017, Tedesco was appointed head coach of Erzgebirge Aue, helping them to safety in the 2. Bundesliga that season.

His first big job came when he joined Bundesliga side Schalke 04 for the 2017–18 season, finishing second in his debut campaign. But after a poor run of form, he was sacked in 2019.

He then joined Spartak Moscow but did not to renew his contract beyond June 2021.

After a brief hiatus, Tedesco became head coach of RB Leipzig in December 2021. He guided the team to the semi-finals of the 2021–22 Europa League and led them to victory in the DFB-Pokal Final in May 2022. However, a string of disappointing results led to his dismissal in the following season.

After another spell jobless, he joined the Red Devils to become their national coach.

Despite his talk about control, Tedesco embodies an attacking mindset as a manager. This was very clear during his tenure as RB Leipzig's head coach.

He asks his team to push into the box and overload the wide areas with overlaps. The coach also asks his centre-backs to enter the box and help with the attack, too.