Lorenzo Bettini was born on January 15, 1931 at Villanuova sul Clisi, near Brescia.
He started playing football in the local team and then in 1949 moved to Brescia where he stayed a couple of years scoring 24 goals in 41 league matches in Serie B. In 1951 he signed for Roma who had been just relegated to the second tier and helped them get an immediate promotion. He was then loaned out to Palermo for a year where he debuted in Serie A on September 14, 1952, in the match against Juventus where he scored the Rosanero goal. Palermo managed to avoid relegation and the next year he went back to the wrong side of the Tiber but did not play as much (just 15 appearances, with 9 goals though).
In 1954 he was sold to Udinese and was one of the protagonists of their remarkable season. The Bianconeri had arrived second but were then sent to Serie B for having corrupted a referee two years earlier. At this point he joined Lazio.
He stayed two seasons in Rome with 41 appearances and 16 goals. His first season was really great with 12 goals in 32 games but his second was not as good and at the end of the season he was sold back to Udinese. There he rediscovered his goal scoring abilities and stayed four years with 126 games and 47 goals. He became the club’s most prolific forward with 67 goals, overtaken only recently by Antonio Di Natale in 2010.
In 1961 he signed for Inter and made 24 appearances with 9 goals. The team was managed by Helenio Herrara and they arrived second. In November 1962 he was sold to Modena but after playing two games for the Nerazzurri, and since they then went on to win the scudetto, he too was a title winner. His year in Emilia-Romagna was his last in Serie A as in 1963 he moved to Alessandria in Serie B. He retired in 1966.
He played 5 games (with 3 goals) for the Italy B side.
Once he stopped playing, he managed a petrol station in Gavardo, near Brescia, and did so until his death on January 21, 2008.
Lazio career
Season | Total Appearances Serie A | Goals Serie A |
1955-56 | 32 | 13 |
1956-57 | 9 | 3 |
Total | 41 | 16 |
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