Former Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati back in football with Kilmarnock

By David Walton

June 20, 2019

Former Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati is back working in Scotland once again, after becoming a first-team coach at Kilmarnock

Angelo Alessio was appointed by Killie earlier this week, and the experienced coach has decided to bring ex-Celt Donati to Rugby Park along with him.

Donati retired from football at the end of last season, spending his final days in football with St Mirren. The former AC Milan midfielder now has plenty of experience gathered in Scotland too. He spent two years at Hamilton Accies before his move to Paisley.

Massimo Donati is back in Scotland (David Young/Action Plus via Getty Images)

Donati joined Celtic from Milan back in 2007. The Italian made 47 appearances at Parkhead, notching five goals in the process. He now takes his first steps into coaching after retiring last year.

Says much about his credentials

It says a lot about Donati’s potential coaching credentials that he’s been chosen by Alessio at Killie. The former Celt ticks a key box in understanding Scotland, and that will be key for Killie’s new ambitious appointment.

Donati has also always spoken well of Celtic since leaving the club back in 2009 for Palermo. Only earlier this month he spoke about Celtic still being a better club than rivals Rangers (Football Scotland). He’s always kept tabs on the Hoops, and therefore it’s great to see him take up his first job in coaching.

Donati spent two years at Parkhead (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Alessio has a huge job on his hands replacing Steve Clarke. This is also his very first managerial job in a top, so in that sense, both he and Donati are rookies in their current roles.

But Alessio’s experience certainly overshadows his lack of managerial work in the past. He has managed a flurry of former Serie C2 sides in the past. But he’s been assistant to the likes of Antonio Conte and worked at the likes of Napoli, Italy, Juventus, and Chelsea respectively.

Angelo Alessio has been appointed at Kilmarnock in an intriguingly ambitious move (Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)

So hopefully Donati makes a success of his first job in the coaching side of the game. He certainly deserves to given the service he’s given Scottish football as a player.

Heading into the new campaign, the new duo at Killie are going to be one of the talking points of the season. Hopefully, Donati does himself proud in the coming months.