 Amoruso in 1989 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1971-06-28)28 June 1971 (age 54) | ||
| Place of birth | Bari, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1995 | Bari | 75 | (8) |
| 1991–1992 | →Mantova (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 1992–1993 | →Pescara (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 1995–1997 | Fiorentina | 54 | (3) |
| 1997–2003 | Rangers | 149 | (13) |
| 2003–2006 | Blackburn Rovers | 18 | (3) |
| 2008 | Cosmos | ||
| Total | 338 | (29) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989–1991 | Italy U-21 | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Lorenzo Amoruso (born 28 June 1971) is an Italian sports commentator and former professionalfootballer who played as adefender for seven teams in Italy, Scotland, England, and San Marino during his footballing career, but is perhaps best known for his six-year spell withGlasgow sideRangers. In that six-year spell, he won nine major honours with the club including domestic trebles in the 1998–99 and 2002–03 seasons, representing the side on more than 150 occasions in competitive football.
Amoruso began his career at local club,Bari, in 1988, for whom he went on to make 75 appearances, scoring 8 goals. Amoruso spent 1991–1993 on loan atMantova andPescara, but only featured intermittently. In 1995, he secured a move toFiorentina, becoming clubcaptain and making 54 appearances. He won theCoppa Italia in 1996 and in 1997 the Florence side went on a run in Europe where they reached the semi-finals of theUEFA Cup Winners Cup only to lose out to eventual championsBarcelona.[1]
Following interest fromManchester United,[2] Amoruso signed forRangers on 29 May 1997 for a fee of £4million.[3] Whilst with the club he won theScottish Premier League on three occasions, as well as the Scottish Cup three times and the Scottish League Cup three times. He missed most of his debut season with an Achilles tendon injury, and didn't make his debut until April 1998 as a substitute forGordan Petrić in theScottish Cup semi-final againstCeltic.[4] He was then installed as captain of Rangers byDick Advocaat in 1998. After returning to the team Amoruso was booed by Rangers fans after several poor displays and tactical errors.[5] Amoruso also clashed with the manager several times, resulting in an eventually aborted move toSunderland. Advocaat began to sign defenders to replace Amoruso, includingBert Konterman for example andPaul Ritchie, but the Italian remained after his replacements failed. Ritchie did not make a single appearance[6] and Konterman was criticised to begin with, but, like Amoruso, he eventually found his way into the hearts of the fans.[7]
In December 1999, Amoruso issued a public apology after directing racist comments atBorussia Dortmund's Nigerian strikerVictor Ikpeba.[8] Earlier that day Amoruso's denied the allegations and threatened legal action in an interview toCorriere dello Sport – Stadio (an Italian daily sports paper).[9] He was later forced into a change of position, described as embarrassing byThe Times,[9] when TV footage contradicted his story. Subsequently, theBBC featured reports thatRangers supporters' racism had increased, in support of Amoruso.[10]
In the2000–01 season, when Rangers exited theUEFA Champions League toMonaco partly because of another bad mistake by Amoruso, he was stripped of the captaincy (which went to the 22-year-oldBarry Ferguson). Amoruso had captained the club for two years, thefirst ever Catholic to do so.[11] He was left humiliated[12] by the demotion and later accused Advocaat of trying to destroy him.[13]
After Dick Advocaat's October 2000 attack on what he described as "fat necks" in his squad, reports named the Italian as a probable target.[14] More errors had seen Amoruso again booed by his own teams' supporters.[15] During this period Amoruso was linked with moves to English clubsFulham andWest Ham United.[16][17]
Advocaat was later removed as manager and Amoruso rediscovered his form under new bossAlex McLeish; winning the 2002Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year. After a four-match ban for spitting onJames Grady,[18] he scored the winning goal in his final game for Rangers—the 2003Scottish Cup final—and wept as he left the pitch.[19]
Amoruso left Rangers in July 2003 to make a £1.4 million move toBlackburn Rovers,[20] who wanted him as a replacement forHenning Berg. The sale was forced by Rangers' large debts.[21] His Blackburn debut came on 16 August 2003, when he scored the opening goal of a 5–1 home win over promotedWolverhampton Wanderers.[22] In October, he was ruled out following a knee operation.[23] As he returned and came into the team on a sporadic basis playing only eighteen times for Blackburn. His2004–05 season was marred by regular injuries and he did not play any part of the2005–06 season. He was released by Rovers in the summer of 2006.[24]
In January 2008, Amoruso briefly came out of retirement to sign forCosmos ofSan Marino on a part-time basis.[25]
Amoruso represented Italy at the1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship and won two caps at Under-21 level.
He was never selected byItaly at full international level, which Amoruso attributed to a "strange mentality" pervading his homeland.[26] He blamedGiovanni Trapattoni,Cesare Maldini andDino Zoff for failing to provide him with the call-up he felt he deserved.[27] In 2020, he reiterated his view that moving to Rangers cost him the chance to play for Italy.[28]
In 2004 Amoruso expressed a desire to play forScotland, through residency. He said: "I began to feel like part of me was Scottish."[29]
On 15 September 2010, Amoruso was hired by his former club Fiorentina as a scout for the first team. After almost two years with the club, he stepped down from his role.[30]He is now a commentator on Serie A games for international audiences for example StarZ / Abu Dhabi Sports TV.
Bari
Fiorentina
Rangers
Individual
