Vanni Sartini
Vanni Sartini (born 14 November 1976) is an Italian professional football coach, who is the head coach of Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Early life Sartini was born in Florence, Italy, to a teenage couple - both his parents were 17 at the time of his birth. Inspired by his father, a semi-professional footballer who also worked as the photo archivist for a local newspaper, Sartini started playing football as a goalkeeper. He went on to feature regularly in the Italian amateur leagues, while taking up several side jobs, including as a marketing rep for a software company and as a courier, in order to support himself financially. Coaching career Early coaching career After retiring from his playing career, Sartini started his coaching career in 2008, when he was appointed by A.S. Mezzana as a head coach. He spent three seasons there, before taking the same role at fellow amateur club Luco di Mugello. Meanwhile, in 2010 he began working for the Italian Football Federation as a coaching instructor at the Federal Technical Center in Coverciano. During his stint, he hosted a wide variety of international coaching courses, focusing on macro-areas such as women's football, coaching formation, goalkeeping training and athletic training. At the same time, he worked in the opposition analysis department for the Italian under-17, under-19 and under-21 national teams. Between 2012 and 2015, Sartini was also a member of Davide Nicola's staff during his managing spells at Livorno and Bari, serving as a match analyst in the former one and as an assistant coach in the latter. Shortly after obtaining his own coaching badges, including a UEFA Pro Licence, in 2016 Sartini was offered a job by the United States Soccer Federation, where he led the U.S. Soccer Pro License Coaching Course until 2018. Vancouver Whitecaps FC On 1 January 2019, Sartini joined Major League Soccer side Vancouver Whitecaps FC, as an assistant coach to Marc Dos Santos. On 8 September 2020, he was appointed as the head coach of the club's U-23 team, as well as the Academy's director of methodology. On 27 August 2021, Sartini took over as interim coach of the Whitecaps' first team, after the sacking of Marc Dos Santos. On 29 August, Sartini took charge for the first time as Whitecaps' head coach in their league match against Real Salt Lake, which ended in a 4–1 victory at BC Place. With the squad being at the bottom of the Western Conference's league table at the time of his appointment, Sartini managed the side to seven wins, five draws and two losses until the end of the regular season, collecting a total amount of 26 points in 14 matches and helping the club qualify for the Playoffs, although the team eventually lost to Sporting Kansas City in the first round. On 30 November 2021, Whitecaps announced that Sartini would officially become the club's new head coach, having signed a contract until the 2023 season. On 26 July 2022, the Italian manager