“A Woodchopper:” The FCS Coach’s Impressive Journey

When Pierpaolo Bisoli celebrated his Serie A debut on September 1, 1991 in Cagliari's 3-2 home win against then-reigning champions Sampdoria, FC Südtirol didn't even exist yet. It wasn't to be launched until 4 years later. The strong midfielder, who was never above taking a tackle, was already one of the Sardinians' top performers in the Italian football upper house. Some supposed experts even had their doubts about the young Bisoli's suitability for the league.

“I moved from Serie C2 straight to Serie A. The journalists in Cagliari called me a wood chipper and wondered what someone like that was doing in the first division,” remembers Bisoli. “I only had one thought in my head: Now I'm in Serie A, I'm stuck here. I succeeded.” This ambition, coupled with diligence and hard work, accompanies Bisoli to this day. “I have never managed to dribble out an opponent in my entire career,” smiles the FCS coach. “But I ran until I dropped, fought to the last drop of sweat and gave my whole heart and soul for the team. That’s how my FC Südtirol should be.” “A wood chipper from the C series” Those who had laughed at Bisoli in the summer of 1991 and labeled him “not suitable for Serie A” were quickly proven wrong. And soon they were cheering him on. Bisoli started 29 times in 34 rounds in his first Serie A season. In his first league debut, he came on as a substitute for Uruguay legend Enzo Francescoli, the “best teammate I've ever had - along with Roberto Baggio, of course,” Bisoli immediately made it clear. His coach in his first year at Cagliari became Carlo Mazzone after just 6 rounds, who made Bisoli one of his most important and loyal followers. He later followed him to Perugia and Brescia. “Mazzone was crucial for my career. After he took office at Cagliari, he moved me to the six position, and after that I played practically all the time.”

During his time in Sardinia, Bisoli later worked under coaching legends such as Giovanni Trapattoni and Oscar Tabarez, but the relationship with Mazzone remained unique. “I would have gone through fire for him. He knew that,” says Bisoli, who wants to create exactly this bond between team and coach at FCS. “We have to be one and trust each other. That may sound simple, but it is anything but self-evident in football today.”

The tackle was his trademark: Pierpaolo Bisoli against Ciriaco Sforza in a match between Inter and Cagliari. © APA

Serie A in the 90s was the best league in the world. Bisoli was one of them, the “wood chipper from Serie C” now tackled Lothar Matthäus, Marco van Basten and Co. – “Matthew was a force of nature when he got going,” says Bisoli almost in awe about Germany’s record national player. “But Dragan Stojkovic caused me the biggest problems. In a match against Verona he played the ball through my legs five times and made me completely ridiculous. The harder I played against him, the more happy he was. That drove me crazy,” says Bisoli, still annoyed. "The best of all? If van Basten played today, he would score 5 goals a year. I have never seen a 40 m tall striker with this speed and technique again. In the games against Milan back then you could be happy if you got over the halfway line every now and then. That was a huge group. Later, Juventus took Milan’s place – they were held back for 1,90 minutes.”

When Cagliari lost to eventual winners Inter in the semi-finals of the 1993/94 UEFA Cup after a sensational quarter-final win over Juventus, Bisoli had to watch injured. He broke his right tibia in January 1994 in a duel with Udinese midfielder Stefano Desideri. Bisoli had been in the form of his life - in the round of 3 against Mechelen he played the “best game” of his career. Cagliari won 1-1000 in Belgium “in front of over XNUMX Sardinian guest workers in snow and ice” – for the Grätscher Bisoli it was paradise.

FCS coach Bisoli with loud instructions.

Bisoli sustained his second serious injury on December 22, 1996 in Florence: a broken tibia and fibula after a tough duel with the Swede Stefan Schwarz, and his right leg was again affected. “The bone was sticking out, my career was in jeopardy,” says the FCS coach. “That’s it for Bisoli, he’s not coming back – that’s what was said and written back then,” he knows. But Bisoli came back. Almost a year later - on November 2, 1997 - he made his comeback. He had now moved to Empoli. “After Cagliari was relegated to Serie B, Gian Piero Ventura was hired as coach, we had different views, so I preferred to leave Cagliari.” The Rain Battle of Perugia After 2 years in Empoli, including with the up-and-coming Luciano Spalletti as coach (“A clever tactician”), the call came from mentor Mazzone. Bisoli went to Perugia and played in one of the most memorable games in Italian football history. It was May 14, 2000 - Perugia hosted leaders Juventus in the famous rain battle on the last Serie A matchday. It quickly became clear that the home team wouldn't give Juve anything. Bisoli attacked Edgar Davids after a foul by the Dutchman. “We wanted the three points – not to get one over on Juventus, but to crown a strong season. We gave everything – we owed it to ourselves, our fans and the championship. We have shown that we uphold the values of sport.” After a cloudburst, referee Pierluigi Collina whistled for the second half after a delay of more than an hour. “The Juventus players thought the match would be canceled. But it was right to play. The pitch did allow for a regular game.” The rest of the story is known: Shortly after the restart, Alessandro Calori scored to make it 3-1 for Perugia, Juventus lost the game and the championship, Lazio won their second “Scudetto” after what was probably the craziest series -A final round of all time.

When she met the “Old Lady” again, Bisoli ended up unconscious in the hospital. Together with Mazzone and Calori he moved to Brescia in the summer. The cup match against Juve was supposed to be a celebration of Roberto Baggio's Brescia debut, but it turned into a wild brawl with 5 red cards. Bisoli lost consciousness and even suffered cardiac arrest after being checked by Darko Kovacevic. “To this day I can’t remember what happened in that game,” says Bisoli. Mazzone said at the time that the Juve players were hunting the ex-Perugia professionals, especially Antonio Conte. Bisoli returned to the pitch after just two weeks and even scored a goal in Udine. He scored 2 Serie A goals in 7 games in his career - 267 for Cagliari, 5 for Brescia. His last first division match was on June 2, 17 against Bari (2001-3). “If FC Südtirol manages to stay in the league, I’ll ride my bike to Maria Weißenstein.” Pierpaolo Bisoli Bisoli started his coaching career where he took his first steps in football - in his hometown of Porretta. He gained his first experience as a player-coach in the national league before he was appointed to the coaching team in Florence by Fabrizio Lucchesi, then Fiorentina manager, whom he knew from his Empoli days, where he was promoted to “vice” under Dino Zoff . His first professional position as head coach was Prato, with Cesena he made the sensational move from Serie C to Serie A. “Winning the battle against relegation is just as nice as winning a championship title and promotion,” explains Bisoli. “For me, staying in the league with Cosenza last season has the same value as the two Serie A promotions with Cesena or the third division championship title with Padova.” After the success with Cosenza in the relegation, he kept his promise and drove by bike to the Monastery of Saint Francis of Paola. Bisoli also made a promise now as FCS coach. “If FC Südtirol manages to stay in the league, I’ll ride my bike to Maria Weißenstein.”

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“A Woodchopper:” The FCS Coach’s Impressive Journey

Pierpaolo Bisoli has made a huge impact at FC Südtirol and scored seven points in the first three games. S+ conducted a longer interview with the new trainer at FC Südtirol. It was about a playing career that many people didn't believe he could have and the beginnings of his coaching career.

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