Valerio Zuddas: Who is the new Hibs first-team coach?

Shaun Maloney has been appointed the new manager of Hibs, bringing with him a three-strong backroom staff in Gary Caldwell, Valerio Zuddas, and Brian Doogan.
By Patrick McPartlin
Published 20th Dec 2021, 11:27 GMT
Updated 20th Dec 2021, 16:49 GMT
Valerio Zuddas has taken up a role as First Team Coach and Conditioning at HibsValerio Zuddas has taken up a role as First Team Coach and Conditioning at Hibs
Valerio Zuddas has taken up a role as First Team Coach and Conditioning at Hibs

Ex-Easter Road defender Caldwell assumes the assistant manager role while Doogan has been named head of technical support. Zuddas, however, will fulfil a new position as first team coach and conditioning.

Who is he?

Born in Italy in 1989, Zuddas is an experienced coach who holds a UEFA B Licence, permitting him to operate as the assistant coach for a professional team.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He has worked at clubs in his homeland as well as in Georgia, Romania, Hungary, and Croatia and has often combined coaching with a strength and conditioning role or Head of Performance remit.

Which clubs has he worked with?

As well as Lazio, Lupa Roma, and Reggina 1914 in his homeland, Zuddas has worked in various roles at Georgian sides Kolkheti Poti and Spartaki Tskhinvali; UTA Arad in Romania, Hungarian outfit Budapest Honvéd, and most recently served as assistant coach at Hajduk Split in Croatia between January and June of this year.

How does he know Maloney?

It is highly likely that the pair met through the Johan Cruyff Institute. Maloney was a student there in 2019 working towards a masters in coaching while Zuddas has also taken classes at the Arnhem base.

Anything else we should know?

Zuddas has two Bachelor’s Degrees; one in Exercise and Sports Science and another in Communication and Information Sciences. He also has certificates in Strength and Conditioning for Football, Advanced Sport Nutrition, and Neurobiology and Performance from the Barça Innovation Hub and a UEFA A Futsal licence.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He speaks six languages as well as his mother tongue including English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Hungarian.

Message from the editor

Thank you for reading this article. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.