Alessandro Grandoni was born in Terni, on July 27, 1977.
He came through his hometown side Ternana's youth sector and made his debut for the Rossoverdi in 1993.
The Umbri were in the 5th tier and finished 3rd. The following year the "Fere" came 2nd and were promoted to C2. In two seasons Grandoni played 52 league games with 1 goal.
In 1995 he joined Lazio. The manager was Zeman and Lazio finished 3rd. Grandoni faced stiff competition in defence with Nesta, Chamot, Negro, Favalli, Gottardi and Bergodi in the squad. Grandoni only played 4 league games. The highlights were beating Juventus 4-0 and Roma 1-0.
He played more the following season due to Nesta's injury. Zeman stayed but was then replaced by Dino Zoff in late January. Grandoni played 19 league games with 1 goal (Milan), 3 games in Coppa Italia and 2 in the UEFA Cup. Lazio finished 4th. The highlight was beating Milan 3-0 (with a Grandoni goal) while both derbies were draws (one with a 91st minute Protti equaliser).
In 1997-98 Sven-Goran Eriksson arrived at Lazio. Grandoni played 10 league games, 8 in Coppa Italia and 4 in the UEFA Cup. Lazio won a record breaking 4 derbies in one season and won silverware after 30 years, lifting the Coppa Italia. Lazio also reached the UEFA Cup final but ran out of steam and lost 0-3 to Inter in Paris. In Serie A the Biancocelesti finished 7th after challenging for the title until the beginning of April.
In 1998-99 with the arrivals of Sinisa Mihajlovic and Fernando Couto, Grandoni moved on. He joined Sampdoria. It was a difficult year for the Blucerchiati, they started with Luciano Spalletti (1-13) then continued with David Platt (14-19) and then Spalletti returned but the result was relegation. Grandoni played 31 league games, 4 in Coppa Italia and 6 in the Intertoto Cup.
In 1999-2000 he stayed in Liguria but only until January. The manager was Gian Piero Ventura and Grandoni only played 1 league game and 3 in Coppa Italia before moving on. For the record "La Samp" finished 5th.
In January 2000 he joined Torino on loan in Serie A. The manager was Emiliano Mondonico but Toro were relegated. Grandoni played 17 league games with 1 goal (Venezia). One of his teammates was former Lazio, Mauro Bonomi.
In the summer of 2000, he returned to Sampdoria. The manager was Luigi Cagni and Grandoni played 33 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia. The Blucerchiati finished 6th.
In 2001-02 Cagni was sacked after four games and replaced by Gianfranco Bellotto and Samp finished 10th. Grandoni played 34 league games and 6 in Coppa Italia. His teammates included former Lazio, Attilio Lombardo and Dario Marcolin plus future Lazio, Guglelmo Stendardo.
In 2002-03 Sampdoria finally got promoted under Walter Novellino. Grandoni played 37 league games and 7 in Coppa Italia. The squad included former Lazio, Maurizio Domizzi and future Lazio, Fabio Bazzani.
Back in Serie A in 2003-04 Grandoni only played 2 league games and 4 in Coppa Italia before leaving in January. For the record Sampdoria finished 8th.
In January 2004 he joined Modena in Serie A. The manager was first Alberto Malesani and then Gianfranco Bellotto but the "Canarini" (The Canaries) were relegated. Grandoni played 16 league games. His captain was past and future Lazio, keeper Marco Ballotta.
In the summer of 2004, he joined Livorno in Serie A. He stayed five full seasons, the first four in Serie A. The Amaranto finished 8th, 6th, 11th, 20th (relegated) and then 3rd in B (promoted). His managers included, Franco Colomba, Roberto Donadoni, Carlo Mazzone, Daniele Arrigoni, Fernando Orsi, Giancarlo Camolese and Leandro Acori. Grandoni played a total of 162 games (127 in A) with 1 goal (in A- Palermo). In his time in Leghorn, he played alongside Lazio connections; Igor Protti, Nikola Lazetić, César, Stefano Fiore, Giuliano Giannichedda, the Filippini brothers and Antonio Candreva.
In August 2009 after playing only one league game he left Livorno and joined Gallipoli on loan in Serie B. The Manager was first former Roma Giuseppe Giannini (1-30), then Giovanni De Pasquale (31-32) and finally Ezio Rossi. The Salentini were relegated and Grandoni played 30 league games. The Gialorossi then went bust and Grandoni went abroad.
In 2010 he went to Greece and joined Olympiakos Volos but came back to Italy in November without ever playing a game.
In January 2011 he was back home in Terni, with Sporting Terni in Serie D. He played 10 league games with 1 goal and the following season 29 league games with 4 goals and the amateur Coppa Italia.
At the end of the 2012 season, at 35, he retired.
At international level he played 19 games for the Italy U21's, winning the European Championship in 2000 as captain. He also played 4 games for the U23's and 3 games for the Olympic team in 2000.
After retiring he had a brief experience as futsal (5-a-side) manager with Massa Martina in C2.
He then went back to 11-a-side with Fiorentina youth sector for two years. Then in 2016-17 he coached Pisa's U19's. In November 2017 he became first team manager of Scandicci in Serie D and finished 15th, avoiding relegation in the playouts. In 2018-19 he was at Savona in Serie D and finished 3rd but then lost the semi-final playoff. From July 2019 to November, he was manager of Chieti in Serie D but won only 2 out of 12 league games. In 2020-21 he was manager of Albenga in Eccellenza (5th tier) and finished 4th, then losing in the playoffs.
Grandoni was a defender. He usually played as centre-back but could also play as full-back. He is 1.82 and 78 kilos. He was an agile, clean, defender quick over short distances and good in the air. He played 539 professional games and 227 in Serie A.
At Lazio he had three seasons, the 1996-97 being particularly good. He won five derbies in three seasons and never lost one. He also won a Coppa Italia, playing 8 games. He played 50 minutes in the return leg 3-1 triumph over Milan. Lazio's first silverware for 24 years, since the 1974 Scudetto.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1995-96 | 4 | 4 | - | - |
1996-97 | 24 (1) | 19 (1) | 3 | 2 |
1997-98 | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 |
Total | 50 (1) | 33 (1) | 11 | 6 |
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