Fabio Grosso

Fabio Grosso
Grosso with Italy at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-11-28) 28 November 1977
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Left-back
Club information
Current team
 Hellas Verona (manager)
Youth career
1994–1995 Renato Curi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1999 Renato Curi 125 (55)
1999–2001 Chieti 68 (17)
2001–2004 Perugia 67 (7)
2004–2006 Palermo 90 (2)
2006–2007 Internazionale 23 (2)
2007–2009 Lyon 53 (2)
2009–2012 Juventus 47 (2)
Total 473 (87)
National team
2003–2009 Italy 48 (4)
Teams managed
2014–2017 Juventus Primavera
2017–2018 Bari
2018– Hellas Verona
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Fabio Grosso, Ufficiale OMRI[1][2] (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfaːbjo ˈɡrɔsso]; born 28 November 1977) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player, who played as a left-back. He is the current manager of Hellas Verona.

After playing for several smaller Italian clubs, such as Renato Curi, Chieti and Perugia, he made his breakthrough during his two seasons with Palermo, which earned him a move to defending Serie A champions Internazionale in 2006. During his only season with Inter, he helped the club defend the Serie A title and win the Supercoppa Italiana. He later also won titles with Lyon in France and with Juventus. Grosso retired in 2012 after winning the Scudetto with Juventus.

At international level, Grosso made 48 appearances for Italy and scored the decisive late first goal against Germany in the 2006 World Cup semi-final. He also scored the winning penalty in the penalty shootout against France in the final of the tournament which enabled the Azzurri to win the trophy for the fourth time in their history. He also represented Italy at UEFA Euro 2008 and at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Club career

Renato Curi

Grosso was born in Rome but hails from Chieti, Abruzzo, where his family soon returned to. Grosso joined Renato Curi Angolana in 1994 and played in the club's youth system until 1995. He was promoted to the senior squad for the 1995–96 season and soon became a key part of the first team. Following the 1997–98 season, he left the Eccellenza club to join Chieti for an undisclosed transfer fee. Grosso made 108 official appearances for Renato Curi, scoring a very impressive 47 goals as an attacking midfielder and left winger.

Chieti

In summer 1998, Grosso transferred to Chieti of Serie C2. An attacking midfielder at the time, he again impressed in his three-season spell with Chieti. He scored 17 goals in 68 league appearances. Following several impressive performances, he was scouted by Serie A club Perugia in 2001, and in mid-summer, Grosso officially transferred to the club.

Perugia

In July 2001, Grosso officially joined Perugia. In his debut Serie A season, he made 24 appearances and scored one goal. By now, he had been converted into a left wing-back by head coach Serse Cosmi and in his second season in Perugia, he maintained a starting position and made 30 league appearances, scoring four goals. In his third season with Perugia, Grosso made just 12 appearances in the first six months of the 2003–04 season. To some surprise, Grosso transferred from Perugia in January 2004 to Palermo, which at the time played in Serie B. In 2003, during his time with Perugia, Grosso earned his first Italy cap.

Palermo

During the winter transfer window in January 2004, Grosso transferred to the Sicilian side and they earned promotion at the conclusion to the season. Grosso made 21 appearances for his new club in the latter portion of the 2003–04 season, scoring one goal, as the club won the Serie B title.

Palermo's first season in Serie A was very successful as the club managed a very impressive sixth-place finish, losing just nine matches and also qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Grosso contributed as a regular starter, making 36 league appearances, also scoring a single goal. During the 2005–06 Serie A season, Grosso made 33 appearances for his club as Palermo impressed, finishing eighth in Serie A. He was one of four Palermo players who made Marcello Lippi's 2006 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, but at the conclusion of the tournament, Grosso was sold to Internazionale.[3]

Internazionale

On July 2006, Grosso joined Inter for a reported €5 million transfer fee (plus Paolo Dellafiore).[4] However, Grosso was in-and-out of the club's starting line-up and was mostly used as a substitute. He made just 23 appearances for Inter in the league, and scored two goals, as the team captured the 2006 Supercoppa Italiana and the Serie A title. Following the disappointing season with Inter, Grosso opted to move abroad and was sold to Olympique Lyonnais in the summer of 2007, just one year after his move to Inter.

Lyon

In July 2007, Grosso moved abroad and signed a four-year contract with Lyon of the French Ligue 1 after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms. The transfer fee was €7.5 million[5] He was issued the number 11 shirt.[6] His first season with proved a successful one as he was a key part of the club's starting line-up in both the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1, and saw him win the league title, the Coupe de France, and the Trophée des Champions. In his second season with Lyon, Grosso was limited to just 22 league appearances, partially due to injury, but was heavily linked with a move back to Italy during the 2009 summer transfer window.[7] In August 2009, he officially returned to Italy, joining Juventus.

Juventus

On 31 August 2009, it was confirmed Grosso had returned to Serie A to join Juventus following his two-year spell in France. After chasing the defender all summer long, the parties struck a deal on the final day of the transfer market at a €2 million fee plus bonus up to €1 million.[8] He was instantly inserted into Juventus' starting XI and began the season in good form. He scored his first goal in a league game against Udinese in November 2009. He made 28 appearances during the season and scored two goals.[9]

In the 2010–11 season, Juventus released several elder players, but Grosso reportedly refused any transfer. Juve youth product Paolo De Ceglie took back the starting place and Grosso was frozen from the start of season and excluded from 25-men squad for 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.[10] However, after Juventus lost numbers of players due to injury, Grosso and Hasan Salihamidžić were recalled for the first time, on 6 November.[11] He made two appearances in his final season, the 2011–12 season, as new head coach Antonio Conte either preferred De Ceglie or had a winger or wide midfielder deputize as a fullback or wingback in a 3–5–2 formation. Juventus won the title undefeated that season. Grosso's contract ended in the summer of 2012 and he opted to retire from professional football.[9]

International career

Early career

Grosso made his international debut with the Italy national team on 30 April 2003 in a 2–1 friendly away win over Switzerland, under head coach Giovanni Trapattoni.[12] He scored his first goal for Italy in a 1–1 away draw against Scotland, on 2 September 2005, in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.[13]

2006 World Cup

From 2005 onwards, Grosso became a regular member of the starting line-up at left-back under Marcello Lippi, and was called up to represent Italy at the 2006 FIFA World Cup by Lippi, playing a key role throughout the tournament as the Italians went on to win the title.

In injury time of the round of 16 fixture against Australia, with the score tied at 0–0, Grosso advanced with the ball into the box from the left flank and was fouled in the penalty area by Lucas Neill, who went to ground, causing Grosso to stumble. Francesco Totti subsequently converted the decisive penalty issued by referee Luis Medina Cantalejo, as a ten-man Italy won the match 1–0 to advance to the quarter-finals.[14] However, Grosso was accused of diving by some media outlets.[14][15][16][17] In 2010, Grosso sat down with an Australian media outlet where he said he did not stay on his feet because he was exhausted and "didn’t have the strength to go forward", he said he "felt contact, so I went down" and "maybe I accentuated it a little bit", but insisted that after reviewing the replay that Neill did commit a foul.[18]

On 4 July 2006, Grosso scored the first goal against hosts Germany in the 119th minute of the World Cup semi-finals with a curling left-footed strike beyond the reach of Jens Lehmann into the Germans' net from the edge of the box, which commentator John Motson would describe as "magnificent", while Grosso ran about screaming "Non ci credo!" ("I don't believe it!") as his teammates celebrated.[19][20] In the World Cup final, five days later, he scored the winning penalty against France in a 5–3 victory in the resulting shoot-out after a 1–1 draw following extra-time, which allowed the Italy national team to win their fourth World Cup title.[21]

Later career

Grosso was also included in Roberto Donadoni's 23-man Italy squad for UEFA Euro 2008.[12] He made a substitute appearance in Italy's opening match of the tournament, a 3–0 defeat to the Netherlands,[22] but was subsequently started in the remaining two group matches, a 1–1 draw against Romania,[23] and a 2–0 win over France,[24] and was praised in the Italian media for his performances along the left flank as Italy advanced from the group in second place.[25] In the quarter-final match against eventual champions Spain, he helped the team keep a clean sheet and converted Italy's first penalty in the resulting shoot-out, which Spain won 4–2.[26]

Following the tournament, Grosso was also first choice left-back in returning Italy manager Marcello Lippi's Azzurri squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup[27] and the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. For the 2010 World Cup, he was called-up to the pre-World Cup training camp alongside Juventus teammates Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Fabio Cannavaro, Nicola Legrottaglie, Mauro Camoranesi, Antonio Candreva, Claudio Marchisio and Vincenzo Iaquinta on 4–5 May,[28] and was included in the 30-men preliminary squad announced on 11 May.[29] However, in the second training camp, he was dropped, alongside Candreva.[30][31]

Managerial career

At the start of the 2013–14 season, it was announced Grosso would take up a coaching position in the Juventus youth system. On 11 March 2014, he was appointed as the new manager of the Juventus Primavera (U-19) youth team following a string of poor performances under manager Andrea Zanchetta, who was transferred to another position within the youth system.[9][32][33]

On 13 June 2017, Grosso was named head coach of Bari.[34]

On 21 June 2018, Grosso was appointed manager of Hellas Verona.[35]

Style of play

A former attacking midfielder, Grosso was a physical, quick, and energetic player, who was sound both defensively and offensively, due to his work-rate, attacking prowess, and stamina. A versatile footballer, regarded as one of the top Italian full-backs of his generation, he was also adept with accurate crossing ability, which even allowed him to be deployed as a winger or as an attacking wing-back on either flank throughout his career, despite being naturally left-footed.[9][36][37][38] Unusually for a defender, he was also a free kick, penalty and corner kick specialist, responsibilities usually held by a striker or midfielder.[39]

Career statistics

Source:[40]

Club

Club performance League Cup Continental Other Total
ClubSeasonDivision AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Renato Curi 1994–95 Eccellenza 182———182
1995–96 2811———2811
1996–97 3015———3015
1997–98 3219———3219
1998–99 Serie D 178———178
Total 12555———12555
Chieti 1998–99 Serie C2 124———124
1999–2000 254———254
2000–01 319———319
Total 6817———6817
Perugia 2001–02 Serie A 24140——281
2002–03 30450——354
2003–04 13240110—282
Total 677130110—917
Palermo 2003–04 Serie B 211———211
2004–05 Serie A 36120——381
2005–06 3306080—470
Total 9028080—1062
Inter 2006–07 Serie A 232516010353
Total 232516010353
Lyon 2007–08 Ligue 1 301507010431
2008–09 221206010311
2009–10 10———10
Total 5327013020752
Juventus 2009–10 Serie A 2622080—362
2010–11 1902000—210
2011–12 2000——20
Total 4724080—592
Career total 473873714603055988

International

Italy national team
YearAppsGoals
200330
2004––
2005111
2006111
200731
2008100
2009101
Total484

International goals

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 3 September 2005 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Scotland 1–1 1–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 4 July 2006 Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany  Germany 1–0 2–0 2006 FIFA World Cup
3. 13 October 2007 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy  Georgia 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
4. 9 September 2009 Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Turin, Italy  Bulgaria 1–0 2–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Managerial statistics

As of 4 September 2018.[41]
Team From To Record
M W D L GF GA GD Win %
Bari 14 June 2017 18 June 2018 46 20 14 12 64 55 +9 043.48
Hellas Verona 21 June 2018 Present 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1 033.33
Total 49 21 15 13 69 59 +10 042.86

Personal life

Fabio Grosso is married to Jessica Repetto.[42] They have two sons: Filippo, who was born shortly after World Cup 2006, and Giacomo, who was born on 26 October 2009.

Honours

Club

Internazionale[43]
Lyon[43]
Juventus[43]

International

Italy[43]

Orders

  • CONI: Golden Collar of Sports Merit: 2006[44]

References

  1. ↑ FIFA.com
  2. ↑ AscotSportal.com Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "Grosso: "Ora vinco con l'Inter"" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 12 August 2006. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Inter agree Grosso deal". Sky Sports. 6 June 2006. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  5. ↑ "OL GROUPE FAIT LE POINT SUR LES TRANSFERTS" (PDF). OL Group (in French). 10 July 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  6. ↑ OLWEB.fr | Site officiel de l'Olympique Lyonnais
  7. ↑ "Il Lione: La Juve non vuole Grosso Pavlyuchenko chiama la Roma" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Agreement with Olympique Lyonnais for the acquisition of the registration rights of the player Fabio Grosso" (PDF). Juventus FC. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Stefano Bedeschi (28 November 2015). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Fabio GROSSO" (in Italian). TuttoJuve.com. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "La nuova Lista Uefa per la fase a gironi di Europa League". Juventus FC (in Italian). 1 September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  11. ↑ "21 convocati da Del Neri. Rientrano Melo, Iaquinta e Lanzafame". Juventus FC (in Italian). 6 November 2010. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  12. 1 2 "Euro 2008: Italia, la scheda di Fabio Grosso" (in Italian). ESPN FC. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Diego Antonelli (3 September 2005). "L'Italia evita la doccia scozzese" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  14. 1 2 Nick Miller (5 December 2014). "Golden goal: Fabio Grosso for Italy v Germany (2006)". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ Late Totti penalty kick sends Italy past Australia, Andy Gardiner, USA Today, 27 June 2006
  16. ↑ Mark Landler (27 June 2006). "A Tumble, a Whistle and a Controversial Victory for Italy". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  17. ↑ Thomas Cooper (19 November 2009). "Football's worst injustices". CNN. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "World Cup 'diver' Fabio Grosso admits laying it on," Melbourne Herald Sun 10 April 2010
  19. ↑ "Germany 0–2 Italy: Azzurri's late, late show". ESPNsoccernet. ESPN. 4 July 2006. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
  20. ↑ "Golden goal: Fabio Grosso for Italy v Germany (2006)". Guardian. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Italy 1–1 France: Italy triumph as Zizou explodes". ESPNsoccernet. ESPN. 9 July 2006. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
  22. ↑ Paolo Bandini (10 June 2008). "Euro 2008: Holland v Italy - as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  23. ↑ Michael Harrold (14 June 2008). "Buffon tiene in vita l'Italia" [Buffon keeps Italy alive]. uefa.com (in Italian). Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  24. ↑ Paolo Menicucci (17 June 2008). "L'Italia si sveglia e vola ai quarti" [Italy wake up and fly on to the quarter-finals] (in Italian). UEFA. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  25. ↑ Gaetano De Stefano (24 June 2008). "Pagelle post-eliminazione Male le punte, ok Buffon" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  26. ↑ "Spain 0 – 0 Italy". ESPNsoccernet. ESPN. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  27. ↑ "Santon in Sud Africa Pazzini resta fuori" [Santon in South Africa Pazzini remains excluded] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  28. ↑ "VERSO IL MONDIALE. VENTINOVE AZZURRI CONVOCATI PER LO STAGE DI ROMA". FIGC.it (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  29. ↑ "Release list of up to 30 players" (PDF). fifa.com. FIFA. 13 May 2010. p. 17. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  30. ↑ "Ecco i 28 Azzurri che Lippi porterà in ritiro a Sestriere da domenica". FIGC.it (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  31. ↑ "Grosso left at home by Lippi". ESPNsoccernet. ESPN. 18 May 2010. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
  32. ↑ "Fabio Grosso allenatore della Juve Primavera" (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014.
  33. ↑ "Grosso takes charge of Juventus Primavera". juventus.com. 11 March 2014.
  34. ↑ "Bari appoint Juve Coach Grosso". Football Italia. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  35. ↑ "Official: Grosso new Verona Coach". Football Italia. 21 June 2018.
  36. ↑ Penza, Danny. "Juventus' Fabio Grosso Signing Is a Strong Move for Team Weak on Defense". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  37. ↑ "Calcio Debate: Which Left-back Should Juventus Buy?". Goal.com. 18 June 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  38. ↑ Jonathan Wilson (25 March 2009). "The Question: why is full-back the most important position on the pitch?". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  39. ↑ http://www.tuttocalciatori.net/index.php?mod=cc1&par=316
  40. ↑ "Fabio Grosso". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  41. ↑ Fabio Grosso coach profile at Soccerway
  42. ↑ "Ho scelto l' uomo, non il calciatore" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 11 July 2006.
  43. 1 2 3 4 "F. Grosso". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  44. ↑ "Coni: Consegna dei Collari d'Oro e dei Diplomi d'Onore. Premia il Presidente del Consiglio Romano Prodi. Diretta Tv su Rai 2" (in Italian). Coni.it. 16 October 2006. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  45. ↑ "ONORIFICENZE - 2006". quirinale.it (in Italian). 12 December 2006. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
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