Federico Valente (born 20 July 1975) is a Swiss-Italian professional football coach and a former player. He is currently the head coach of Serie B club Südtirol.
Born in Solothurn to Italian parents from Sibari,[1] he played his entire career in Switzerland as a goalkeeper for a number of minor league teams, among which FC Thun and FC Aarau.[2]
After a brief stint as player-coach for Würenlos, Valente took on a coaching career in the youth tiers of Swiss football. In 2012, he took on a UEFA A licence.[2]
From 2013 to 2017, he worked as a youth coach and match analyst for FC Zürich.[2] He then left to join SC Freiburg as a youth coach, being promoted in charge of the Under-19s in 2021, having the chance to work alongside first team head coach Christian Streich during this period.[2][3]
In June 2023, Valente left Switzerland to join FC Südtirol as their Under-19 coach.[2] Later in December, he was promoted to head coach in charge of the Serie B first team following the dismissal of Pierpaolo Bisoli.[4] Under his guidance, Südtirol ended the season in a comfortable mid-table placement.
On 14 June 2024, one day after being awarded a UEFA Pro licence by the Swiss football federation,[5] Valente was formally confirmed in charge of the FC Südtirol first team for one more season.[6]