Andrea Silenzi

Early years

Silenzi was born in Rome. Nicknamed Pennellone (Big brush) due to his height, he began his playing career with local A.S. Lodigiani. During his third season there he started scoring, and finished as second top scorer in Serie C2 with 18 goals. In the next season he moved to Serie B with A.C. Arezzo, but the campaign was a disaster both individually and collectively; the club finished last and was relegated to Serie C1, with the player appearing in 19 games and failing to find the net once. Silenzi was transferred to another third level side, A.C. Reggiana 1919, for 1988–89, where his fortunes changed dramatically. The team won promotion that year, finishing in first place, with him contributing nine goals in 31 appearances. The next season he fared even better, finishing as the league's top scorer in division two; he scored an astonishing 23 goals out of the squad's 33, doing it in 38 matches for the best goal-per-match ratio in the competition.

Napoli

Silenzi's prolific scoring garnered the attention of Scudetto and Coppa Italia winners S.S.C. Napoli, which was looking to strengthen its attacking options in a team which already featured Diego Maradona. He was ultimately acquired for 6 billion lira, and 1990–91 started brightly with the capture of the Supercoppa Italiana – a 5–1 thrashing of Juventus FC, with him contributing with two of the five goals. However, the rest of that season proved unlucky for the player, who only managed two Serie A…

Silenzi's only cap for Italy came on 16 February 1994, as he played against France as part of the warm-up process for the FIFA World Cup being held that summer. In the match held in Naples (0–1 loss), he came on as a second-half substitute.

Silenzi was a tall and "old-fashioned" centre forward, who was primarily known for his physical strength, heading, and acrobatic ability in the air, but equally for his inconsistency at the top level, as well as his lack of notable technical ability.

Silenzi is a Protestant, belonging to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His son, Christian, is also a footballer.