Cristian Brocchi was born on January 30 1976 in Milan.
He started playing football in the youth teams of AC Milan and he debuted as a professional with Pro Sesto in Serie C1 where he was sent on loan. He stayed there for two years before being sent, again on loan, to Lumezzane in C1. In 1998 he signed for Verona, following a specific request from manager Cesare Prandelli. He did very well, so well that Verona were promoted to Serie B thanks to his contribution (32 appearances and 6 goals). Verona did very well in their next season in Serie A too, arriving ninth, one of the best years since they won the 1984-85 scudetto.
In the summer of 2000 Brocchi signed for Inter. It was not a good year and he was out for three months due to injury. For the rest of the season he started from the bench. The Neroazzurri were not happy with him and they sold him to Milan. In his second stint, he stayed four years, not really playing that much (87 appearances with 4 goals) but he won a scudetto in 2003-04, a Coppa Italia and a Champions League in 2002-03, a UEFA Super Cup in 2003 and a Super Coppa in 2004.
Wanting to play more, in 2006-06 he was loaned to Fiorentina and he did, resulting in 39 appearances with three goals. In Florence he was back with his old manager Prandelli. At the end of the season he returned to Milan. Despite the strong competition in two years he played 74 games, won another Champions League in 2006-07 and a FIFA Club World Cup in 2007.
In 2008 he signed for Lazio. With the Biancocelesti he made 128 appearances with three goals and won the Coppa Italia twice (2008-09 and 2012-13) and a Super Coppa in 2009.
He gave a good contribution to the cause and his experience was very important for the growth of the team and club. Unfortunately, his professional career was cut short due to a very nasty foul by Francelino Matuzalem on February 3 in Genoa-Lazio. Despite a successful operation he could not continue playing. He had already had a serious injury previously in a match against Juventus, so at 37 he called it a day. His final act however was glorious. Lazio had won the Coppa Italia beating Roma in the final. On June 6 2013 fans gathered on the Spanish Steps in Rome and Brocchi lifted the Cup for a wonderful photo shoot.
Brocchi has one cap for Italy. He played a friendly against Turkey on November 15, 2006.
Once he stopped playing, he became a manager. He started with the Milan youth teams and in 2016 took on the first team after Sinisa Mihajlovic was fired. He was manager for six games in Serie A and the final of Coppa Italia which Milan lost to Juventus.
In 2016 he was called to manage Brescia in Serie B. In the first half of the season the Rondinelle did very well but in the second half, after seven defeats in nine games, Brocchi was sacked and replaced by Gigi Cagni.
In 2017 he became assistant to Fabio Capello at Jiangsu Suning. He stayed a year, until Capello resigned.
In October Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani asked him to become manager at Monza in Serie C. After a fifth place in the first year, in his second Monza were promoted to Serie B. They managed to reach the promotion playoffs but were eliminated by Cittadella in the semi-final.
In 2021 he was chosen as manager of Vicenza in place of Domenico Di Carlo. The Vicentini were last in Serie B and he was unable to set the sail straight and was sacked in April.
He was very much loved by the Lazio fans. One could always count on Brocchi. He was not Hernanes, but a solid, reliable player who could play on the wing and at midfield. And if Monza did so well in the 2022-23 season, it was also thanks to the foundations laid by Brocchi as manager.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2008-09 | 34 | 31 | 3 | - | - |
2009-10 | 33 (2) | 27 (2) | 2 | 3 | 1 |
2010-11 | 32 | 30 | 2 | - | - |
2011-12 | 18 (1) | 15 | - | 3 (1) | - |
2012-13 | 11 | 8 | 3 | - | - |
Total | 128 (3) | 111 (2) | 10 | 6 (1) | 1 |
Sources