UDINESE VS. PARMA: THE OLD FLAME – MARCIO AMOROSO

Parma, 17 January 2019 – He was a player who played for both the Crociati and Udinese during a career that saw him leave his mark across the globe. Marcio Amoroso Dos Santos is this week’s Old Flame ahead of Udinese vs. Parma on matchday 20 of the Serie A TIM 2018/19 season.

Born in 1974, it was perhaps his destiny that he would one day play for Parma: he came into the world on 5 July, as did Hernan Crespo, Gianfranco Zola and Alberto Gilardino.

As a footballer, his development started in his homeland at Guarani before he then moved to Japan, where he scored 16 goals in 19 appearances for Verdy Kawasaky during the 1992/93 season. Following this, he returned to Guarani, where he played until 1995 (39 matches, 28 goals). He then moved to Flamengo (16 matches, six goals) before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to play in Italy.

The side he joined was Udinese. While he was at the Friulani, the club achieved their best league finish for 40 years, ending up in third place under Alberto Zaccheroni in the 1997/98 season. While at Udinese, Amoroso netted 38 times in 68 matches.

In 1999, he won the Copa America with Brazil in Paraguay and joined Parma. In the Crociati shirt, Amoroso played 51 times in all competitions (Serie A, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup) over two seasons. He had some injury problems, but his eye for goal remained the same: he scored four goals in six games in the Coppa Italia and three goals in five appearances in Europe, while he netted eleven times in 39 matches in Serie A.

He then moved on to the Bundesliga, joining Borussia Dortmund in 2001. He soon became a key figure in German football as Dortmund won the league in the 2001/02 season, with Amoroso’s 18 goals helping them to achieve such a feat. Overall, he scored 43 goals in 86 games in Germany before a move to Spanish side Malaga (29 matches, five goals) followed. He then returned to his home country, winning the Copa Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup while at Sao Paolo.

Following this, he had another brief spell in Italy after being signed by Milan, but limited playing time meant he returned to Brazil once more. Greece (Aris Thessaloniki) was his next destination following spells at Corinthians and Gremio, before a return to Guarani followed. His football career finally came to a close in 2016 at American club Boca Raton.