Favaretto quits Gudja for personal reasons, Andrea Agostinelli to take charge of team

Gudja United were forced to make a second coaching change in the space of two weeks after they appointed Andrea Agostinelli as the new first-team coach after his fellow Italian compatriot Paolo Favaretto was forced to quit as coach of the Premier League club due to personal reasons.

Favaretto took over the reins of the team late last month following the sudden departure of Thane Micallef who decided to take over Valletta FC.

Former Senglea Athletic coach Favaretto put pen to paper on a one-year deal and had started work to form a competitive squad ahead of the start of the season.

However, late last week Favaretto informed the Gudja United committee that he couldn’t continue in his role due to a personal issue but offered to help the club to find a worthy successor.

It was here that Gudja United made contact with Agostinelli who accepted the job and has put pen to paper on a one-year contract.

Agostinelli boasts an impressive CV both as a player and as a coach.

In fact, during his playing career, Agostinelli came through the youth ranks of Lazio and was also on the books of Napoli, Pistoiese, Modena, Atalanta, Avellino, Lecce and Genoa among others.

Once he hang up his boots he pursued a coaching career which saw him lead Mantova, Pistoiese, with whom he won promotion to the Italian Serie B, Ternana.

His major breakthrough came in 2003 when he led Piacenza in the Italian Serie A and the following year, he was named coach of Napoli during their spell in the Italian second-tier in 2004.

Agostinelli also boasts experiences outside Italian football as he moved to Albania in 2015 to take charge of Partizan Tirana before moving to Skenderbeu in season 2016-17.