In 1982, aged 23, he became a coach for the amateur team
Abbiategrasso's youth squad, and in 1984 for
Monza's. He was also a successful School Teacher in the mid-eighties for Istituto Gonzaga and Istituto Leopardi in Milan. His first team role came in 1994 for amateur side
Corsico, whereas his first professional appearance came the next year for
Pro Patria, followed by
Saronno,
Como and
Lumezzane. After three successful seasons with
Varese of
Serie C1, Beretta was signed by
Ternana of
Serie B. An exciting debut in 2002–03 was followed by a sacking the next season. In 2004–05,
Serie A club
Chievo Verona called him to replace
Luigi Delneri. Despite a strong start, Beretta's Chievo slowly but continuously fell down the table, and he was fired three matchdays to the end of the season, with Chievo fully involved in a tough relegation battle, to be replaced by caretaker
Maurizio D'Angelo. In 2005–06, he coached successfully
Parma, ending in tenth place, then turned out to be seventh following the
2006 Serie A scandal, which consequently led Parma to a
UEFA Cup qualifying. Then he coached
Siena for the 2006–07 season, but he suffered in the relegation fight until the last matchday. Siena kept its place in Serie A after a dramatic win over
S.S. Lazio. Some days later he agreed to leave the club, being replaced by
Andrea Mandorlini; however he was reappointed at the helm of the Tuscan side after Mandorlini was sacked on 12 November 2007 following a 3–2 home loss to
Livorno. On 18 May 2008, after Siena's 2–2 draw against
Palermo in the final matchday, Beretta said in his press conference that he was quitting Siena. This was confirmed by the club a few days later; he left Siena after a very impressive season ended with a record 44 points, the best result in
Robur's time in the Italian top flight. He was successively announced on 23 June as new head coach of
Lecce, newly promoted in the
2008–09 Serie A. He was sacked on 9 March after a 0–0 home draw against bottom-placed
Reggina in the Week 27 of Serie A that left Lecce in second-last place. On 29 November 2009, Beretta agreed to replace
Stefano Colantuono at the helm of
Serie B outfit
Torino F.C. and in January 2010
Torino have fired the coach, who was replaced by his predecessor
Stefano Colantuono. In June 2010, Beretta signed a two-year contract with Greek side
PAOK, with this being his first experience outside his homeland. However, on 22 July 2010, just a month after his appointment at the helm of the squad, Paok chairman
Thodoris Zagorakis decided to sack him due to poor pre-season results and rumoured complaints from some players. Mario Beretta was immediately replaced by
Pavlos Dermitzakis. On 6 December 2010, Beretta was announced as new head coach of Serie A relegation-threatened Lombardians
Brescia, replacing
Giuseppe Iachini at the helm of the
Rondinelle. His tenure as Brescia boss lasted less than two months, as he was dismissed on 30 January 2011 after a 3–0 home loss to relegation-battling rivals
Chievo. Since 21 February 2012 to the end of the season he has been the coach of
Cesena in
Serie A. He successively served as head coach of financially stricken Serie B club
Siena, narrowly missing, in the last minutes of the season, despite eight points of penalization, on a promotion playoff spot only to oversee the club being excluded from professional football for good by the end of the season. After Siena, he agreed upon a contract with
Latina of Serie B in July 2014, only to mutually end his deal just in October due to what the club considered poor results (seven pts in seven matches). ==References==