Mauro Manzoni was born in Rome, on March 24, 1958.
He started playing football with his local Roman club San Basilio and in 1973 joined the Lazio youth set up before being sent on loan to Cerretese (Florence) in C2 in 1978-79. He played 34 league games for the Tuscans and they finished 3rd.
In 1979 he returned to Lazio. The manager was Bob Lovati and it was a difficult year. In October a Lazio fan, Vincenzo Paparelli, was killed by a flare shot from the Roma sector before the derby. A terrible tragedy. Then in March four Lazio players were arrested for their involvement in the "Totonero" match-fixing scandal. Lazio stayed up on the pitch but were then penalised with relegation for their players' alleged behaviour. Manzoni himself played 14 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia. He made his league debut on October 14, in an away draw at Ascoli.
The following year he stayed on in Serie B under Ilario Castagner. Lazio narrowly missed out on promotion finishing 4th, not helped by a Stefano Chiodi missed penalty in the penultimate game against Vicenza. Manzoni again played 14 league games and 4 in Coppa Italia.
In 1981 he joined Benevento in Serie C1. The manager was Gastone Bean and the Sanniti finished 5th. Manzoni played his usual 14 league games.
In 1982 he moved to Umbria and Foligno in Interregionale (5th tier). The Biancazzurri won the league and promotion to C2. The following year the "Falchetti" (The Hawks) then came 2nd under Alberto Mari and won back-to-back promotions. In total Manzoni only played 12 league games in his two seasons with Foligno.
That was the end of his professional career due to physical problems.
He then went into coaching. He started at grassroots level with youngsters. In 2012 he coached the Vigor Mellis U21's. In 2019 he had an experience in Albania with Futboll Club Dinamo Tirana but he was replaced by fellow Italian, Fabrizio Cammarata (another old Lazio acquaintance/friend...).
As a player Manzoni was a midfielder. He is 1.84 for 80 kilos so a strong physical player. The peak of his career was undoubtedly for Lazio. He played 33 times for his hometown team and debuted in Serie A. The continuation of his career was not lucky however and he did not leave much of a mark after Lazio.
Lazio Career
Season | Total Appearances | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1979-80 | 15 | 14 | - | 1 |
1980-81 | 18 | - | 14 | 4 |
Total | 33 | 14 | 14 | 5 |
Sources
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