Cristiano Bergodi (born 14 October 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, currently in charge of Liga I club Universitatea Cluj.
Club career Born in Bracciano, Lazio, Bergodi started to play at Pescara Calcio in the country's first division (Serie A) in 1987, for Pescara Calcio, playing with a total of eight seasons.
He most notably played for Lazio, where he spent seven seasons in the top flight, and retired in 2000 after a brief stint at Maltese club Sliema Wanderers.
Managerial career After he retired, Bergodi started working as a coach. After a couple of minor league experiences in Italy, he moved into Romanian football, initially with National București, before achieving his first major successes as Rapid București manager, winning the Romanian Supercup on 27 July 2007. He also coached Liga I team CFR Cluj during the 2006–07 season, achieving a place in UEFA Cup.
On 6 October 2007, shortly after Rapid was eliminated from the UEFA Cup in first round, Bergodi resigned, declaring Rapid was "a club of amateurs".
In January 2009, after a break, he signed a half year contract with an extension for another two years with Liga I club Politehnica Iași.
In June 2009, after his short stint with Politehnica Iași he was appointed Steaua Bucharest's new manager. He replaced Marius Lăcătuș. On 18 September 2009, Bergodi was sacked by Gigi Becali for not allowing him to join the team in the locker at the half-time of the match between Steaua and Sheriff Tiraspol (0–0). Becali's decision attracted extremely negative critics from Steaua fans.
In July 2010 he was presented as new head coach of Italian Serie B club Modena. On 14 November 2011, he was sacked. On 26 February 2012, he was recalled by the same team as head coach.
On 20 November 2012 he, already former player of Pescara for a total of eight seasons, was named new coach of same club, now in Serie A en place of the resigned Giovanni Stroppa.
He returned to Rapid București in April 2015. He tried to help them avoid relegation, but he was unable to do it. Between September and December 2015, he coached Târgu Mureș.
He successively served as head coach of Modena in the Serie B league from March to June 2016, failing to save the club from relegation.
On 8 November 2018, he returned to Romania and took control of Voluntari. He was sacked in January 2020. On 8 May 2020, he signed a one-year contract with Universitatea Craiova.
On 8 October 2021, he took charge of Liga I club Sepsi OSK. He won the Cupa României in 2022, defeating defending champions, and former employers, CFR Cluj, in the final. Sepsi OSK also beat the same opposition to win the Supecupa României in 2022.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCoppa ItaliaEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsPescara1984–85Serie B2000––201985–861010––201986–8734050––3901987–88Serie A29060––3501988–8931050––360Total970170––1140Lazio1989–90Serie A32120––3411990–9133010––3401991–9226130––2911992–9316110––1711993–941401030–1801994–952415040–3311995–961503030–210Total1604160100–1864Padova1996–97Serie B30000––3001997–9813110––1411998–99Serie C10000–0000Total43110–00441Sliema Wanderers1999–00Maltese Premier League181??20–201Career total3186330100003616
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by club and tenureTeamCountryFromToRecordImolese27 December 200230 June 2003Sassuolo25 November 200330 June 2004Național București18 November 200530 June 2006CFR Cluj5 October 200625 May 2007Rapid București1 July 20078 October 2007Politehnica Iași19 January 200915 June 2009Steaua București1 July 200918 September 2009Modena12 July 201014 November 2011Modena26 February 201230 June 2012Pescara20 November 20123 March 2013Brescia30 September 20133 March 2014Rapid București15 April 20151 June 2015ASA Târgu Mureș22 September 201517 December 2015Modena28 March 201630 June 2016Voluntari8 November 20186 January 2020Universitatea Craiova7 May 20209 November 2020Sepsi OSK10 October 20218 June 2023Rapid București10 July 202316 April 2024Universitatea Cluj23 October 2025presentTotal
Honours Player Pescara Serie B: 1986–87
Sliema Wanderers Maltese Cup: 1999–2000
Coach Național București Cupa României runner-up: 2005–06
Rapid București Supercupa României: 2007
Sepsi OSK Cupa României: 2021–22, 2022–23 Supercupa României: 2022
Universitatea Cluj Cupa României runner-up: 2025–26 Supercupa României runner-up: 2026
Individual Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Coach of the Month: May 2022, July 2022
References