Spalletti made his coaching debut here in April 1994 as caretaker manager, then returned to take the main job in 1995.
Before Sunday's 3-2 defeat, he paid tribute to his old club.
“It's like returning to university when you're all grown up," Spalletti told DAZN at the Stadio Castellani, where his management career began.
“In fact, Empoli is one of the best universities of Italian football, because it launched so many great players and coaches, even before I arrived. It is the Oxford University of Calcio."
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