[citation needed] He made his Serie A debut on 27 August 1989, in a 3–0 away win over Cesena, marking the occasion by scoring a long-range goal.

[3] In 1991, he signed for Lazio,[citation needed] and in 1993 he moved to Foggia, then an outsider Serie A team known for their spectacular, offensive style of play under the coach Zdeněk Zeman.

[4] Stroppa was coach of Milan's under-21 team for the 2010–11 season, but was relieved of his duties on 11 June 2011, with a year still to run on his contract, and just one week after losing 1–0 to Roma in the quarter-finals of the Campionato Primavera.

[6] On 8 June 2012, he was named head coach of Serie A newcomers Pescara, replacing Zdeněk Zeman, his former boss during his first spell as a player at Foggia, who was signed by Roma a few days before his appointment.

[citation needed] He resigned as coach of Pescara on 18 November 2012, after a series of bad results and the team has fallen in the middle of the relegation zone.

[12] On his second season, he led Crotone to automatic promotion to Serie A, leading the Rossoblu back to the top flight after a two-year absence.

His debut season as a Serie A manager however did not prove to be successful, as Crotone struggled to stay out of the relegation zone, leading to Stroppa being sacked on 1 March 2021.

[17] Confirmed in charge of the Brianzoli for the club's debut Serie A season, Stroppa was dismissed on 13 September 2022 after achieving only one point in the first six games.