Antonio Manicone

Antonio Manicone was born in Milan on October 27, 1966.

Source Lazio Wiki

He grew up in the Inter youth sector and won the Viareggio Cup in 1986 but his first professional club was Licata in C1 in 1986-87 (32 games 1 goal).

In 1987-88 he stayed in Sicily but joined Palermo in C2. The Rosanero won promotion under Giuseppe Caramanno. Manicone stayed on the following year and the Eagles finished 3rd in C1 under Giorgio Rumignani. He made 65 league appearances in the Sicilian capital and scored 4 goals.

In 1989 he moved to Foggia and stayed two seasons, both under Zdenek Zeman. The Satanelli finished 8th and 1st with promotion. He played 67 league games with the Rossoneri. His teammates included Lazio connections: Roberto Rambaudi, Francesco Fonte, Franco Mancini, Mauro Meluso and Beppe Signori.

In 1991-92 he played for Udinese in Serie B. He won another promotion as the Bianconeri finished 4th, first under Franco Scoglio and then Adriano Fedele. Manicone played 43 league games with 3 goals. His teammates included Francesco Dell'Anno, Lorenzo Marronaro and Alessandro Calori.

In 1992 he returned to Inter for two seasons. In the first the manager was Osvaldo Bagnoli and the Nerazzurri finished 2nd. In the second Bagnoli started but was then replaced by Giampiero Marini and Inter finished 13th but won the UEFA Cup (Salzburg 2-0 on aggregate). Manicone played a total of 67 games (51 in A) with 2 goals (Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund). The squad included former Lazio, Ruben Sosa and Dell'Anno.

In 1994 he joined Genoa on loan for a year. The Rossoblu were relegated after a playoff. They got through three managers: Scoglio, Giuseppe Marchioro and Claudio Maselli. Manicone played 27 games (25 in A) with 1 goal (Padova). The squad included Dario Marcolin.

In 1995 he returned to Inter. It was a difficult season, first under Ottavio Bianchi (1-4) then Luis Suárez (5-6) and finally Roy Hodgson and Inter finished 7th. Manicone played less, only 7 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia.

In 1996 he moved to Perugia for two seasons. In the first the Umbri were relegated to Serie B, first under Giovanni Galeone, then Mauro Amenta and finally Nevio Scala. The squad included future top coaches Max Allegri and Gennaro Gattuso. In the second season the Biancorossi bounced straight back up to Serie A after a playoff (Torino on penalties). Again, they had three different managers: Attilio Perotti, Alberto Bigon, Perotti again and finally Ilario Castagner. Manicone played 24 league games.

In January 1999 he joined Cosenza in Serie B. The "Lupi della Sila" finished 16th, under Giuliano Sonzogni, Walter De Vecchi, then Sonzogni again. Manicone played 17 league games. The squad included Lazio connections Giorgio Frezzolini, Christian Manfredini and Stefano Morrone.

In 1999-2000 he spent a season with Lecco in Serie C1. The Blucelesti finished 15th, first under Gianpaolo Rossi and then Carlo Muraro and avoided relegation after a playoff. Manicone played 36 league games.

Manicone's last club was Pro Patria where he stayed three seasons. In the first the "Tigrotti" finished 2nd in C2, in the second won promotion and in the third finished 11th in C1. Manicone played 70 league games with 1 goal. His managers were Gianfranco Motta and Carlo Muraro.

At almost 36 he retired. He had a good club career and in 1993 even won his one and only Italy cap in a 3-0 away win in Estonia in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers.

Manicone was a defensive midfielder. The classic dynamic and relentless "water carrier" of midfield.

His career in football then continued with coaching. He started at Inter as assistant to the U19s, then head coach for the U16s, assistant for U19s again and assistant of the U19s (3rd tier).

In 2012 he arrived at Lazio as Vladimir Petkovic's assistant. The Biancocelesti finished 7th but triumphed in the Coppa Italia beating arch city rivals Roma 1-0 on the epic 26th May. The following year he left when Petkovic was replaced by Edy Reja in late December.

Manicone however followed Petkovic in his next job as Switzerland head coach and stayed seven years. The Swiss reached the last 16 in Euro 2016 (out to Poland on penalties), the quarter finals of Euro 2020 (Spain on penalties) and the last 16 in the 2018 World Cup in Russia (Sweden 0-1)

In 2021 he followed Petkovic to Bordeaux in Ligue 1 but it did not work out and they were replaced after 24 games and the Girondins were eventually relegated.

Since 2023 Manicone has been assistant to Amir Ghalenoei in charge of the Iranian national team.

Manicone's connection with Lazio will always be for his role on May 26, 2013. He was on the bench as assistant on what was one of the best days in Lazio history.

Sources

Wikipedia