Lorenzo Marronaro

Lorenzo Marronaro was born in Rome on January 16, 1961.

Source Wikipedia

He came through the Lazio academy (with spells at UrbeTevere and Pistoiese) and joined the first team squad in 1980-81. Lazio were in Serie B as they had been penalised with relegation due to some of their players' alleged involvement in the Calcioscommesse betting scandal.

The manager was Ilario Castagner and Lazio narrowly missed out on promotion finishing 4th. Marronaro played 12 league games.

In 1981-82 he joined Forlì on loan. The Galletti were in Serie C 1 and finished 11th, first under Bruno Mazzia and then Giancarlo Ansaloni. Marronaro played 25 league games and scored 7 goals. One of his teammates was former Lazio Paolo Ammoniaci (1975-79).

In 1982 Marronaro signed for Monza and stayed two seasons. The Brianzoli were in Serie B and finished 7th and 13th. The first year the managers were Franco Fontana (1-9) and Guido Mazzetti (10-38) while in the second it was Mazzetti (1-13) and then Alfredo Magni. Marronaro played 66 league games with 18 goals. His teammates included Lazio connections Claudio Ambu (1982-83), Marco Saltarelli (1982-83) and 2024-25 Lazio coach Marco Baroni.

In 1984 Marronaro signed for Bologna where he stayed six seasons. The Rossoblu were newly promoted to Serie B and finished 9th followed by 6th, 10th, 1st and promoted, 13th in A and 8th (UEFA Cup). Marronaro played 191 league games and scored 46 goals (21 in the promotion season and 7 in A). His managers were Pietro Santin and Bruno Pace (84-85), Carlo Mazzone (1985-86), Vincenzo Guerini and Giovan Battista Fabbri (1986-87), Luigi Maifredi (1987-90). His teammates included Lazio connections; Bruno Giordano (1975-85), Giuseppe Greco (1980-81) and Fabio Poli (1985-87) plus Italy World Champion Antonio Cabrini. In 1989 Bologna reached the final of the Mitropa Cup but were defeated 2-4 by Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Marronaro was top scorer with 3 goals.

In 1990 Marronaro joined Udinese and stayed three seasons. The Friulani were in Serie B and finished 8th, 4th and promoted and 14th in A (safe after playoff against Brescia). He played 71 league games and scored 9 goals (all in B). His managers included Rino Marchesi, Pietro Fontana, Adriano Buffoni, Franco Scoglio, Adriano Fedele and Alberto Bigon. The squad included Lazio connections; Claudio Garella (1976-78), Francesco Dell'Anno (1984-86), Néstor Sensini (1999-2000) and Lazio hero Alessandro Calori.

Marronaro's last club was Empoli in 1993-94. The Azzurri were in Serie C1 and finished 17th, then avoiding relegation through a playoff. He played 8 league games with 1 goal. The managers were Ettore Donati (1-17), Adriano Lombardi (18-28) and finally Giuseppe Palazzese with future top manager Luciano Spalleti (29-34). His teammates included future top player Vincenzo Montella (Sampdoria and Roma) and then manager (Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Milan, Sevilla and Turkey amongst others).

At 33 Marronaro retired and is now a football agent. For some years after retiring he also played 5-a-side football winning a league title with Lazio Master Calcio in 1997.

He was a forward. He was relatively short at 1.73 metres and 73 kilos but was agile and very quick. He was nicknamed "Il Puffo" (Smurf) and "La freccia di Prima Porta" (The arrow from Prima Porta, the area of north Rome where he was from).

He had a good club career especially at Bologna where he won a promotion and played two seasons in Serie A culminating in a UEFA Cup qualification.

At Lazio he was very young and not given much of a chance. No doubt seeing him perform for Bologna many at Lazio later regretted letting him go so soon.

Lazio Career

Season	Total appearances	Serie B	Coppa Italia
1980-81	9	7	2
1981-82	8	5	3
Total	17	12	5

Sources

Wikipedia