It was now certain, but yesterday the Italian Rugby Federation made official the move of Massimo Brunello from the bench of Italy Under 20 to that of Zebre Parma. The coach will therefore remain within the federal umbrella and, after having obtained excellent results at junior level, will also have to try to give the long-awaited turning point to the franchise participating in the United Rugby Championship.
Born in Arquà Polesine on 18 June 1967, Brunello boasts a past as a player with two championships won in 1988 and 1990 with Rovigo and 8 caps with Italy. After hanging up his boots, in 2000 he began coaching the Rovigo youth team, then as an assistant in the first team and subsequently as head coach of Badia. In 2007 he returned to Rovigo as head coach. In 2009 he became a federal coach, taking care of the Italian youth selections until 2015. From 2015 to 2020 he was head coach of Rugby Calvisano. And, as mentioned, from 2020 to 2024 he was technical commissioner of Italy U20.
“I thank the Board of Directors of Zebre for this opportunity and the President of the FIR Marzio Innocenti for supporting the choice. A demanding but exciting challenge awaits me which gives me a lot of motivation. I will meet again with many kids that I have trained and who have the same desire to succeed that I have. The mix and conditions give us hope: we hope to find the right understanding, confidence and harmony as soon as possible to start this new journey together in the best possible way” the words of Massimo Brunello.
“Massimo Brunello is an expert connoisseur of rugby played and the dynamics of the Italian movement. He is a coach with great interpersonal skills who will be able to add that decisive growth factor to a consolidated group of players, as part of a technical-sporting path already underway which will see a growing number of Italian rugby talents protagonists with the Zebre shirt and hopefully also with that of the national team” the words, instead, of sports director Franco Tonni.
