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After playing for several smaller Italian clubs, such as Renato Curi, Chieti and Perugia, he made his breakthrough during his two seasons as a left-back with Palermo, which earned him a move to defending Serie A champions Inter Milan 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 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. 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. Grosso transferred from Perugia in January 2004 to Palermo, which at the time played in Serie B.
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 Inter Milan.[4]
Inter Milan
In July 2006, Grosso joined Inter for a reported €5 million transfer fee (plus Paolo Dellafiore).[5] 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 Lyon 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.[6] He was issued the number 11 shirt.[7] In his first season, he was part of the club's starting line-up in both the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1, and won 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]
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 out from the start of season, as well as being excluded from 25-man squad for 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.[11] However, after Juventus lost numbers of players due to injury, Grosso and Hasan Salihamidžić were recalled for the first time, on 6 November.[12] 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.[10]
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.[15] However, Grosso was controversially accused of diving by some media outlets.[15][16][17][18] 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, Neill did commit a foul.[19]
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.[20][21] 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.[22]
Later career
Grosso in 2008
Grosso was also included in Roberto Donadoni's 23-man Italy squad for UEFA Euro 2008.[13] He made a substitute appearance in Italy's opening match of the tournament, a 3–0 defeat to the Netherlands,[23] but was subsequently started in the remaining two group matches, a 1–1 draw against Romania,[24] and a 2–0 win over France,[25] and was praised in the Italian media for his performances along the left flank as Italy advanced from the group in second place.[26] 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.[27]
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.[10][33][34]
Bari
On 13 June 2017, Grosso was named as head coach of Bari in Serie B.[35] The following April, his home was vandalised by fans of local rivals Pescara, who hanged a rooster, the mascot of his club.[36] The team finished seventh and were eliminated from the playoffs by Cittadella.[37]
Hellas Verona
Grosso was appointed manager of Hellas Verona on 21 June 2018, signing a two-year deal at the newly relegated Serie B club.[37] He was sacked the following May, after a shock 3–2 home loss to relegation-threatened Livorno.[38]
Brescia
On 5 November 2019, Grosso was appointed as the manager of Serie A club Brescia.[39] He was sacked on 2 December after three straight defeats without a single goal.[40]
Sion
Grosso was appointed the manager of Swiss Super League side Sion on 25 August 2020.[41] He was sacked on 5 March 2021, after a 3–0 home loss to Lugano as Sion sat in last place in the league.[42]
Grosso managing Frosinone in 2023
Frosinone
On 23 March 2021, Grosso was appointed as the manager of Frosinone.[43] He won the 2022–23 Serie B, after which his contract expired; he eventually chose to depart from Frosinone, who instead appointed Eusebio Di Francesco in charge for the following Serie A campaign for the club.[44]
Lyon
On 16 September 2023, Grosso was unveiled as the new manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon, a club at which he formerly played.[45] On 29 October 2023, prior to an away match against rivals Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome, Grosso suffered a facial injury due to shards of broken glass hitting his face after the Lyon bus was pelted with stones on its way to the stadium. He received medical treatment due to heavy bleeding.[46] The match was subsequently postponed by the officials.[47]
Following a short tenure that saw Lyon failing to improve in its results and lying at the bottom of the league table, Grosso was ultimately dismissed from his coaching position on 30 November 2023.[48]
Style of play
A former attacking left back, Grosso was a physical, quick, and energetic player, who was sound both defensively and offensively, due to his work-rate, attacking prowess, technique, and stamina, which enabled him to excel as an offensive–minded left-back. 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.[10][49][50][51][52] Unusually for a defender, he was also a free kick, penalty and corner kick specialist, responsibilities usually held by a striker or midfielder.[52][53][54]
^Michael Harrold (14 June 2008). "Buffon tiene in vita l'Italia" [Buffon keeps Italy alive]. uefa.com (in Italian). Retrieved 11 February 2015.
^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.
^"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.
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