Fabio Grosso

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…

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. 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.

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, allowing Grosso to dive. 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. However, Grosso was accused of diving by many media outlets. 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". 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…

Early years

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.

Bari

On 13 June 2017, Grosso was named as head coach of Bari in Serie B. The following April, his home was vandalised by fans of local rivals Pescara, who hanged a rooster, the mascot of his club. The team finished seventh and were eliminated from the playoffs by Cittadella.

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. He was sacked the following May, after a shock 3–2 home loss to relegation-threatened Livorno.

Brescia

On 5 November 2019, Grosso was appointed as the manager of Serie A club Brescia. He was sacked on 2 December after three straight defeats without a single goal.

Sion

Grosso was appointed the manager of Swiss Super League side Sion on 25 August 2020. He was sacked on 5 March 2021, after a 3–0 home loss to Lugano as Sion sat in last place in the league.

Frosinone

On 23 March 2021, Grosso was appointed as the manager of Frosinone. He won the 2022–23 Serie B, after which his contract expired; he eventually chose to depart from Frosinone, who instead…

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. He excelled as an offensive–minded left-back. A versatile footballer, regarded as one of the top Italian full-backs of his generation, he was also possessed accurate crossing ability, which 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. Unusually for a defender, he was also a free kick, penalty and corner kick specialist, responsibilities usually held by a striker or midfielder.