Rolando Romano Beniamino Bianchi was born in Lovere (Bergamo), on February 15, 1983.
He played his early football, from the age of 10, in the Atalanta academy. He won the Coppa Italia twice with the "Primavera" (U19's). In 2000 he broke into the first team squad and made his debut under Giovanni Vavassori. It would be his only game that season and the Bergamaschi finished 7th.
In 2001-02 he played 3 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia, scoring his first goal against Juventus. Atalanta finished 9th in Serie A. His teammates included future Lazio, Luciano Zauri and Ousmane Dabo.
In 2002-03 he played more, 16 appearances in the league plus the playoff and 1 in Coppa Italia. Atalanta were relegated, losing to Reggina 1-2 in a playoff. The manager was Vavassori until April and then Giancarlo Finardi.
In 2003-04, in Serie B, Andrea Mandorlini was the manager. Bianchi only played 1 league game and in January joined Cagliari in Serie B. For the record the Orobici arrived 5th and were promoted (5 slots plus a playoff between the 6th in B and the 15th in A).
In Cagliari he found Edy Reja as manager. "Casteddu" finished 2nd so they too got promoted. Bianchi played 14 league games with 2 goals (Ternana, Venezia). His captain was the great Gianfranco Zola.
In 2004-05 he stayed at Cagliari in A. The manager was Daniele Arrigoni and Bianchi played 25 league games with 2 goals (Siena, Reggina) plus 7 games in Coppa Italia with 2 goals. (Triestina, Sampdoria). The Rossoblu finished 12th while in Coppa they reached the semi-finals but lost to Inter 2-4 on aggregate.
In 2005-06 he played for Reggina in Serie A. Walter Mazzarri was manager and the Amaranto finished 13th. Bianchi played 9 league games with 1 goal (Messina). The following season he stayed in Reggio Calabria and played 37 league games with 18 goals (Palermo x3, Cagliari, Parma, Siena, Livorno, Udinese, Empoli, Milan, Messina, Torino x2, Parma x2, Catania, Chievo) plus 3 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal. It was his breakthrough and Reggina finished 14th. His teammates included former and future Lazio, Pasquale Foggia.
His goalscoring explosion earned him a call from Manchester City who he signed for in 2007. The manager was former Lazio, Sven-Goran Eriksson. Bianchi however only stayed until January and played 19 league games with 4 goals, plus 8 in the domestic cups with 2 goals. One of his teammates was Felipe Caicedo. For the record, the Citizens finished 9th.
In January 2008 he joined Lazio on loan. In Rome he found Delio Rossi as manager. He played 15 league games with 4 goals (Reggina, Milan, Parma, Juventus) and 2 games in Coppa Italia. Lazio finished 12th. The highlight was beating Roma 3-2 with a 92nd minute winner in which Bianchi played a key role.
In the summer of 2008, he joined Torino. He stayed with the Granata for five seasons, two in Serie A and three in B. In the first Toro were relegated under Gianni De Biasi, Walter Novellino and then Giancarlo Camolese and Bianchi played 28 league games with 9 goals (Lecce, Chievo, Bologna, Napoli, Inter, Sampdoria, Catania, Siena, Napoli) and 2 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Fiorentina). His teammate and goalkeeper was, former Lazio, Matteo Sereni (2003-06).
The next three years were in Serie B, under Stefano Colantuono, Franco Lerda (briefly replaced by Giuseppe Papadopulo) and then in the third year Gian Piero Ventura. Torino finished 5th (lost playoff to Livorno 0-2), 8th and 2nd (promoted to A). In the B years Bianchi played 113 league games (including playoffs) with 53 goals plus 4 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal.
In 2012-13 back in Serie A, still under Ventura, Bianchi played 32 league games with 11 goals (Pescara, Sampdoria, Atalanta x2, Milan, Genoa, Siena, Cagliari, Bologna, Roma, Catania) plus 1 game in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Lecce x2). Toro finished 16th.
In the summer of 2013, he left Turin and signed for Bologna in Serie A. The Rossoblu manager was first Stefano Pioli (1-19) and then Davide Ballardini (20-38). The Felsinei were relegated, finishing 19th. Bianchi played 28 league games with 3 goals (Atalanta, Napoli x2) and 1 game in Coppa Italia.
In 2014-15 he went back to Atalanta on loan. The manager was first Stefano Colantuono and then, from the 26th fixture onwards, Edy Reja. The Orobici finished 17th and Bianchi played 21 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Fiorentina). He played alongside former Lazio Giuseppe Biava, Guglielmo Stendardo and Lionel Scaloni.
In 2015 -2016 he went abroad for the second time and joined Mallorca in La Segunda Division. He played 16 league games for the "Piratas" with 2 goals plus 1 game in Copa del Rey but left in January. For the record, the "Bermellones" (The Vermilions) struggled and finished 17th.
In January 2016 he returned to Italy and joined Perugia in Serie B. He played under Pierpaolo Bisoli, making 7 league appearances with 1 goal (Crotone). The "Griffoni" (The Griffins) finished 10th.
The following year he stayed on in Umbria but only until January. He played 14 league games under manager Cristian Bucchi, scoring 1 goal (Ternana) while in Coppa Italia he played 2 games with 3 goals. Perugia eventually came 4th (losing semi-final playoff to Benevento 1-2 on aggregate).
In February 2017 he joined his last club, Pro Vercelli in Serie B. The manager was Moreno Longo and Bianchi played 11 league games with 3 goals (Cesena, Ternana, Verona). The "Leoni" from Piedmont finished 16th. One of his teammates was future Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel.
In 2017-18 he started with Pro Vercelli but after only one game in Coppa Italia decided to call it a day at 35.
Bianchi played for Italy at various levels but never won a full cap. He played 2 games for the U17's, 3 games for the U20's with 1 goal and 13 games for the U21's with 7 goals.
Since retiring he has been involved with coaching at youth level. In 2021-22 he started in the Atalanta set up and from 2022 has been in charge of the U18's.
Bianchi was a centre- forward, a classic old number 9. At 1.88 and 81 kilos he was a physical presence in the opposing areas. His best years were with Reggina (he is an honorary citizen of Reggio Calabria) and Torino where he scored 77 goals and won a promotion. He can also claim to have played for Manchester City, who have since become one of the biggest clubs in the world. In total he played 447 professional games with 129 goals.
He was only at Lazio for five months. He contributed with 4 goals but is best remembered for his involvement in the epic 3-2 last gasp victory in 2008. Bianchi participated in the build up to Goran Pandev's equaliser and then earned the penalty which put Lazio 2-1 up when he was pulled down by Juan. Valon Behrami then scored a 92nd minute winner for one of Lazio’s best ever derby wins.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
2007-08 | 17 (4) | 15 (4) | 2 |
Sources
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