As the United States men continue their push for recognition amongst the upper echelon of soccer nations, the side has looked for any edge they can get against the best sides in international football.
One area of the game that's often been underrated until recent years is dead ball situations, where teams around the world have looked to gain an advantage.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp gained notoriety when he hired throw-in specialist Thomas Gronnemark in 2020 to coach his players to be more dangerous in dead ball situations. The likes of Nicolas Jover, Andreas Georgson, and Mads Buttgereit have all made a name for themselves coaching set pieces in Europe across the past few years.
Yet the United States went even deeper into the pool, hiring Italian coach Gianni Vio, one of the pioneers in the specialty department. The Sporting News discusses Vio's glittering credentials amongst decades of coaching and what he's already brought to the United States in under a year at the U.S. federation.
MORE: A closer look at all-time USMNT individual records as Christian Pulisic climbs the leaderboards
Who is USMNT set-piece coach Gianni Vio?
Italian soccer coach Gianni Vio joined the United States national team in March of 2024 before the Nations League matches against Jamaica and Mexico, but his reputation as one of the sport's most behind-the-scenes revolutionaries goes back much further.
A former Italian banker, Vio specializes in set pieces, moving around the top levels of football coaching at various stops across multiple decades. He's worked for the Italian national team as well as English clubs Tottenham, Brentford, Leeds, and Watford, Serie A sides AC Milan and Fiorentina, and MLS club D.C. United after starting in the lower levels of Italian football with Cagliari, Palermo, and Catania. While at Catania, Vio was nicknamed "the little wizard," as 17 of the club's 44 goals in the 2008-09 season came from dead ball situations.
Vio worked with Italy when they won the European Championship in 2020, developing a tactic with the Azzurri of placing an "attacking wall" during set pieces to disrupt the opposition defenders and goalkeeper.
The 71-year-old has spent over 20 years studying set-piece methodology. He titled his UEFA Pro License thesis "Set Pieces: the 15-goal striker" and published a book in 2004 titled "Piu 30 Per Cento" which in English translates to "That Extra 30 Percent."
Christian Pulisic shouts out Gianni Vio after goal vs. Bolivia
When Christian Pulisic of the United States opened the scoring just three minutes into their first 2024 Copa America group stage match against Bolivia, he ran over to the bench and celebrated with the entire team before scanning the crowd and pointing adamantly at someone in the stands.
That individual was none other than USMNT set-piece coach Gianni Vio, who had drawn up the play for the goal.
After scoring the opener Pulisic was searching the stands for Gianni Vio, the set piece coach for the @USMNT ❤️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/vZ8oQjiVkl
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 23, 2024
Coming off a short corner, the goal was nothing complicated, as the U.S. superstar played it to Folarin Balogun and got it right back before charging towards the penalty area unabated and unleashing a curler into the top corner.
Nonetheless, Pulisic made it clear that the credit went to Vio. Speaking to Fox Sports reporter Jenny Taft after the match, Pulisic said "Shoutout to Gianni on that one who had a really nice play drawn up" while discussing the goal.
"We had the idea if they only brought one out [to defend the corner taker] we'd take that two-on-one," Pulisic said, "and basically the idea was just to shoot at the back post and things can happen. Sure enough, it went in."
Gregg Berhalter praises "experience" of Gianni Vio
USMNT's former head coach Gregg Berhalter spoke before the Copa America group stage match against Panama, indicating his lengthy resume was something they coveted.
Berhalter said when they parted ways with their old set-piece coach following the 2022 World Cup, Vio was the man for the vacant position.
"We interviewed a number of people in that position and ultimately decided on Gianni," Berhalter said. "What he brings is a tremendous amount of experience. We just sit and listen to his stories, I actually have a note on my phone called 'The Wisdom of Gianni' that has about five different sayings that we write down, he's a hilarious guy.
"He's got a ton of experience, a ton of expertise in set pieces, and he's been working with the group, working with the team, and helping us pinpoint where we can be successful in those areas."
Why did the USMNT hire Gianni Vio as set-piece coach?
The United States had plenty of room to improve when it came to dead ball situations. Christian Pulisic in particular was struggling mightily to deliver dangerous corners at a consistent rate, and he had yet to score a single free-kick goal on international duty.
That has all changed since Gianni Vio was hired.
Pulisic scored his first-ever international free-kick goal in the summer friendly against Brazil during Copa America tune-up, and as detailed above, his opening goal against Bolivia came directly off a short corner.
It's no surprise that Vio has delivered results for the United States. Italy scored three of their 13 goals in Euro 2020 from set pieces, and Tottenham led the Premier League with 5.9 percent of goals from dead ball situations during his 2022-23 stint in London.
The work didn't stop for Vio after USMNT's Copa America exit. In fact, NBC's Julie Foudy revealed that USWNT had enlisted his services during their run in the 2024 Paris Olympics, too.
