Managerial career
After his retirement, Tesser began a coaching career in 1992 for Serie D side Sevegliano, and successively became a coach at the youth level for Udinese and Venezia. His first professional coaching job came in 2001, for Serie C2 side F.C. Südtirol. In 2003, he replaced Ezio Rossi at the helm of U.S. Triestina Calcio of Serie B.
After an excellent season, followed by a poorer one, Tesser moved to Cagliari Calcio of Serie A in 2006, but was fired just after the first league match by team chairman Massimo Cellino. In July 2006, he was named coach of Ascoli, replacing Marco Giampaolo. However, after a series of struggling results ended in a 1–0 home defeat to Empoli F.C. in the 11th matchday, Tesser was fired and replaced by Nedo Sonetti.
Tesser started the 2007–08 season at the helm of Serie B side Mantova, with the aim to fight for a promotion spot; however, results did not confirm the initial goals, and he was sacked on 24 February 2008, leaving Mantova in seventh place, seven points far from the fourth playoff spot. [1]
In January 2009 he accepted a coaching offer from Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Padova; [2] however, his stint with the patavini lasted only one month, as he was sacked later on February. [3]
In June 2009, he was named manager of Novara. His tenure proved highly successful, as he led his club to the Lega Pro Prima Divisione title in his first season in charge.
In the 2010–11 season, Tesser repeated himself as he guided Novara to third place in the final table, then won a second consecutive promotion to Serie A after defeating Reggina and Padova in the playoffs. The Serie A comeback however proved to be particularly difficult for Novara, who only won 12 points after the first 20 games: this cost Tesser the job, as he was removed from his managerial duties on 30 January 2012 following a 2–0 away loss against Palermo; he was replaced by veteran coach Emiliano Mondonico. [4]
On 6 March 2012, he was recalled by Novara as head coach, [5] but on 31 October 2012 he was again sacked. [6]
On 13 June 2015, Tesser was appointed as the head coach of Avellino, replacing Massimo Rastelli. [7]
In the summer of 2016, he was hired by the Cremonese. He was dismissed from Cremonese on 23 April 2018. [8]
On 4 July 2018, Tesser has been appointed as the new head coach of Pordenone Calcio. [9] On his first season as Pordenone boss, he guided the small Friuli club to direct promotion to Serie B (the first in club history) as Serie C/B champions.
He was fired on 3 April 2021 after a 4–1 loss to Brescia that left Pordenone two points shy of relegation. [10]
Tesser was subsequently named new head coach of ambitious Serie C club Modena for the 2021–22 season; under his guidance, the Canarini won the Group B title by the end of the campaign, thus ensuring themselves promotion to Serie B for the following season. [11] After a mid-table finish in the 2022–23 Serie B campaign, Tesser was dismissed by the end of the season as Modena appointed Paolo Bianco at his replacement; [12] successively, Tesser was appointed in charge of Serie C club Triestina. [13]
On 4 February 2024, following a home loss against Pro Patria, Tesser was dismissed from his coaching post with immediate effect. [14] On 27 November 2024, he accepted to return to Triestina, as the club was dead last in the league. [15]
After guiding Triestina to safety, Tesser was not confirmed as the club's manager, largely due to financial issues that eventually led to a 20-point deduction just before the start of the new season. On 24 October 2025, just a day after the removal of interim head coach Geppino Marino, Tesser was reinstated as Triestina head coach for his fourth stint in charge of the Alabardati. [16]
