Lazio Player

Roberto Baronio (born May 11, 1977 in Manerbio) is an Italian football midfielder currently playing for S.S. Lazio in Rome, Italy. He plays in the position of deep-lying playmaker.

Career Club career

Baronio is a youth product of his hometown club Brescia. He made his Serie A debut in 1995, against Bari.

In 1996, he was bought by Lazio, and loaned out to Vicenza. He did not become a regular at Vicenza and returned to Lazio, who once again sent him on loan to gain experience. This time he was sent south to Reggina where, along with Andrea Pirlo, he was a key protagonist in their Serie A survival.

Following his spell in Calabria, Baronio was sent to Fiorentina, and continued to develop, firmly considered one of Italy's brightest young talents, yet unable to find a place in the Lazio squad which at the time was one of the best in the world.

In 2000, he was awarded the title of Serie A Young Footballer of the Year.

In 2002, Baronio was sent to Perugia, where he had a poor year in a side which was relegated to Serie B. Baronio then headed to Chievo and Udinese where he became a regular and began to show signs of becoming the elite footballer many expected. This culminated in a return to Lazio, as well as a debut with Marcello Lippi's Azzurri in 2005.

Baronio failed however, to seal a place in the national team, missing the World Cup and he also failed to establish himself as a regular at Lazio, with Cristian Ledesma filling the void left by Fabio Liverani.

Offered a loan spell in La Liga with Levante, Baronio instead refused and opted to try and force his way into the Lazio side. He has never managed to achieve this, and remains an unfulfilled talent.

International career

Baronio first represented Italy with the under-17 and under-18 sides.

In 1997, he was part of Under-23 side that won the Mediterranean Games and also won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with the Under 21 team led by Marco Tardelli.

In 2005, Baronio was called by Lippi, and made his senior debut in a summer tournament in the USA against Ecuador, in what remains his only Azzurri appearance to date.

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