Who is Christian Stellini? Age, career statistics and previous coaching experience of interim Tottenham boss

Tottenham now have a new interim boss following the decision to sack Antonio Conte over the weekend.

The relationship between the Italian boss and Spurs fractured following the draw with Southampton, with Conte calling out his players and the club’s higher ups. It’s something Conte has built up a reputation for over his career, and once again it has ended with his exit, with Conte and Spurs ‘mutually agreeing’ to part ways.

Tottenham did secure a top four finish last season, but they have failed to move forward this term, once again scrapping for Champions League football. A decision has now been made to put Christian Stellini in temporary charge until the end of the season, when Spurs will look for a long-term appointment.

Here we take you through what you need to know about the Italian.

Who is Christian Stellini?

Christian Stellini is a 48-year-old Italian former player and current coach.

During his playing days, Stellini represented Novara, Spal, Temana, Como, Juventus and Genoa. Stellini, who was a defender, only made two league appearances for Juventus, but he went on to rack up almost 100 for Genoa.

Coaching career

He hung up his boots in 2007, and it took him three years to secure his first assistant coaching role. Stellini got the assistant role at Siena, and he joined Juventus just one year later in the same capacity.

In 2015, Stellini landed his first lead coaching role, taking over Genoa Primavera, which is Genoa’s youth side. He then went on to join Alessandria, before returning to an assistant role, this time with Inter Milan.

After working under Conte for two years at Inter and helping the club to win a Serie A title, Stellini followed Conte to Tottenham, working as his assistant for the last two years - or at least the best part of.

He now takes over on an interim basis, with Ryan Mason serving as his assistant.

Record and controversy

First of all, it must be pointed out that Stellini was once suspended by the Italian FA over allegations of match fixing during his first spell with Juventus. The suspension spanned two -and-a-half years and it saw him resign from his position at Juve.

He returned with the youth role with Genoa’s youth team in 2015, but with senior team Alessandria, he only lasted five months due to overseeing a poor start to the season. It was at that point he returned to working as an assistant, and he has clearly been effective alongside Conte in the most part.

Tottenham fans are also well aware that Stellini is capable of overseeing first-team matters, given he has alreadt stood in for Conte a number of times this season due to the Italian’s health issues.