Sabatini made his professional debut with Perugia in 1973, playing at Serie B level with the Umbrian club. After a short stint at Varese, he was acquired by Roma in 1976, where he had the chance to make his Serie A debut. He successively returned at Perugia, where he was prevented from playing because of a muscular injury that did not allow him to play any games for two years, including a season with no appearances at Palermo. Since then, after two years of inactivity, Sabatini found himself out of the limelight, and spent the following years playing in the lower ranks of Italian professional football before retiring in 1984.
Coaching and non-playing career
Early years
In 1986, he returned to Perugia, this time as assistant coach in the youth system, and then being promoted youth sector chief in 1990, as well as first team assistant to head coach Paolo Ammoniaci. In 1992, he went on to join Lazio, where he served as youth sector chief together with Giuseppe Dossena and Roberto Ottaviani. In 1994, he was appointed director of football of Triestina. In 1998, he left Triestina to become director of football at third division side Arezzo, with Serse Cosmi as head coach. Both men left Arezzo in 2000 to join Perugia.
In 2008, after his contract with Lazio expired, Sabatini went on to fill the same position at Palermo, penning a two-year contract with the rosanero club. He agreed a one-year extension to his contract in May 2010. His most notable signings included Afriyie Acquah, Abel Hernández, Josip Iličić, Michel Morganella, Javier Pastore, Matteo Darmian and Ezequiel Muñoz. On 2 November 2010, Palermo confirmed Sabatini had resigned from his role as director of football of Palermo due to "strictly personal reasons."
Director of football at Roma
In the summer of 2011, Sabatini was hired by James Pallotta to replace Daniele Prade as Roma's sporting director. Over the course of three years, he rebuilt Roma and orchestrated the near-complete removal of all of the side's below-average players that carried high wages, previously brought in from the Franco Sensi era. He has also succeeding in signing Erik Lamela and Marquinhos, as well as their sales to Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain respectively for a significant profit in 2013. He then utilized the funds to purchase players Kevin Strootman, Gervinho, Morgan De Sanctis, Radja Nainggolan and Mehdi Benatia. One year later, all five signings played solid seasons for the club, though Benatia was later sold to Bayern Munich for €26 million, double the amount he was initially purchased for from Udinese. With the funds, Sabatini managed to purchase three additional centerbacks in the summer of 2014, and was able to snatch Juventus's main target in the transfer window, Juan Iturbe, from Verona. For his efforts the season prior, Sabatini was awarded the best director of football award for the 2013–14 Serie A season. He was hitherto normally known for signing short-term deals, but for the first time he agreed upon a three-year extension with Roma in 2014.
Director of football at Inter and Jiangsu (Suning Sports Group)
On 10 May 2017, Sabitini was officially announced by Suning as technical co-ordinator for both of their clubs: Inter and Jiangsu Suning. On 28 March 2018, Sabatini resigned as technical co-ordinator at Inter and Jiangsu Suning.
Personal life
Sabatini's brother Carlo Sabatini is also involved in football, having last served as head coach of Serie B club Padova, which he led to win the Lega Pro Prima Divisione playoffs during the 2008–09 season. Sabatini is well known in Italy for his smoking habit. During a press conference at Suning Training Center in Milan, Italy, he notably asked for a pause while a journalist was asking him a question so he could go outside for a smoke. On September 10, 2018, Sabatini was rushed in the Intensive Care Unit at the Hospital of Rome, after having intense difficulty breathing and suffering a collapsed lung.
