Alessandro Manetti
Alessandro Manetti was born in Rome, on June 14, 1972.
His first local club was San Basilio and he was then formed in the Lazio academy. In the Primavera (U19s) he made up a midfield with Oberdan Biagioni and Gigi Di Biagio.
As a youngster he was selected and invited to Michel Platini's academy in Brittany. He was elected 2nd best player out of the 500 participating. "Roi Michel" himself predicted great things for the young Roman midfielder.
In 1989-90 he was added to the first team squad under Beppe Materazzi. He played one game in Coppa Italia, against Bologna on August 30, 1989. He however never made his league debut. Lazio finished 9th.
In 1990-91 he was loaned out to Mantova in Serie C1. He played 28 games with 1 goal but the Biancorossi finished 18th and relegated. He had three different managers: Enrico Catuzzi (1-6), Ambrogio Pelagalli (7-15) and Sergio Carpanesi (16-34). His teammates included Lazio connections: Paolo Beruatto (1987-90) and Massimiliano Nardecchia (1989-90).
In 1991-92 Manetti was back at Lazio but never played under Dino Zoff. The Biancocelesti finished 11th.
In 1992 he joined Acireale in C1. He played 26 league games with 1 goal. The Granata finished 2nd, lost the playoff but got promoted anyway due to Perugia's wrongdoings. The manager was former Lazio player (1969-72) and future manager (2005) Giuseppe Papadopulo. One of his teammates was future manager Walter Mazzarri (Sampdoria, Napoli, Inter, Watford, Torino amongst others).
In 1993 Manetti signed for Verona and stayed five and a half seasons. The Scaligeri were in Serie B and finished 12th, 10th, 2nd (promoted), 17th in A (relegated), 7th and 1st in B (promoted). He played 171 league games with 8 goals. His managers included Bortolo Mutti (two seasons), Attilio Perotti (first promotion year), Gigi Cagni, Sergio Maddè and Cesare Prandelli (second promotion). The squads included Lazio connections Roberto Bacci (1990-95), Marco Di Vaio (1993-95), Leonardo Colucci (1994-95), Massimiliano Esposito (1995-96), Marco Piovanelli (1995-97), Fabrizio Casazza (2003-05), Sebastiano Siviglia (2004-10) and Marco Baroni (manager 2024-25). They also had non-Lazio players such as Gianluca Pessotto, Filippo Inzaghi, Damiano Tommasi, Paolo Vanoli, Eugenio Corini and Vincenzo Italiano.
In January 1999 he joined Genoa in Serie B. He stayed three seasons and played 94 league games with 5 goals. The Rossoblu finished 6th, and 12th twice. His managers included Delio Rossi, Bruno Bolch, Guido Carboni, Alfredo Magni, Claudio Onofri, Franco Scoglio and Edy Reja. He played alongside Lazio connections: Giovanni Stroppa (1991-93), Stefano Lombardi (1998-99), Christian Manfredini (2002-03, 2004-11), Massimo Mutarelli (2006-08) and Abdoulay Konko (2011-16).
In 2002 he moved to Venezia in Serie B and stayed two seasons. He played 63 league games and the Arancioneroverdi finished 13th and 20th (survived via playouts). His managers were Gianfranco Bellotto the first year and then former Lazio player Angelo Gregucci. He also played alongside Lazio connections Giorgio Frezzolini (1993) and Fabio Firmani (2005-09, 2009-11),
In 2004 he joined Padova in C1. He played 18 league games under Renzo Ulivieri and the Patavini finished 6th.
In 2005 he signed for Alessandria and stayed two seasons. He only played 18 league games as he suffered a serious knee injury. The Grigi were in Serie D and finished 8th and 6th. The managers were: Enrico Nicolini, Mauro Della Bianchina, Felice Tufano and Romeo Azzali. One of his teammates was former Lazio, Ivano Della Morte (1994, 1995).
His last club were Derthona (Tortona-Alessandria) in 2007-08. The Leoncelli were in Serie D and finished 11th. He played 12 league games with 1 goal.
He retired at 36.
In his youth while at Lazio he played 4 games for Italy U18s.
After retiring he has had a few coaching experiences at amateur level with Borgorosso Arenzano in Serie D and Liguria youth XIs.
Alessandro Manetti was a midfielder. He was diminutive at 1.67 but extremely versatile. He could play as left or right winger or behind the forwards and later on even as playmaker. He was a skillful left-footer who also took freekicks and penalties. He was groomed by Lazio but only played one game for his childhood club. He then managed to have a long career and played 27 games in A and 301 in B. The place where he most left a mark was Verona.
Lazio Career
Seasons | Coppa Italia Appearances |
1989-90 | 1 |
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