3 – 0 away at the Stadio Olimpic against Roma on Sunday was the famous last straw that made Sassoulo choose to get rid of their manager.
Alberto Aquilani is remembered by many as a costly mistake by Liverpool in 2008. Now the Italian has been fired as boss of Sassuolo – Kristian Thorstvedt’s club.
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The Reds forked out 20 million euros for the attacking midfielder from Roma at the time. In recent years, Aquilani has tried his hand at coaching, but on Monday it became clear that Sassuolo are parting ways with him and his entire coaching staff.
He was hired in June 2026, but only stayed until November due to poor results. The club is in 17th place in Serie A with only eight points from the first eleven games – after five straight losses, most recently 0-3 against Roma. Roberto D’Aversa is mentioned as the hottest candidate to take over.
Kristian Thorstvedt’s career so far
Early career and Viking
Thorstvedt was born on March 13, 1999 in Stavanger and started at Viking before moving to Stabæk as a 14-year-old. He returned to Viking in 2018 and had his breakthrough in the 1st Division, where he was named the division’s best young player. In the 2019 season, he scored ten goals in the Eliteserien and helped win the cup.
Genk (2020–2022)
In January 2020, he was sold to Belgian side Genk. Here he quickly played his way into the team, and despite a long injury break in 2020, he helped win the Belgian Cup in 2021.
Sassuolo (2022–present)
In the summer of 2022, the trip moved on to Sassuolo in Italy. Here he experienced relegation in the spring of 2024, but stayed and helped play the team directly up to Serie A again – although he missed the second half of the season with injury. He has been a regular part of Sassuolo’s midfield and stands with 119 games and 19 goals for the club.
The national team
Thorstvedt made his debut for Norway in the autumn of 2020 against Austria – in the so-called “emergency national team” after the original national team was put into covid quarantine. The following year, he scored three goals in the World Cup qualifiers. He was part of the Norwegian squad for the 2026 World Cup, where he played against Iraq and France. In total, he stands with 40 caps and 4 goals.
Now Thorstvedt must prepare to get a new coach in Sassuolo – and with the club in 17th place, it will be a tough autumn to secure his place in Serie A.
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