Marco Ambrosio (30 May 1973 in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

) is a former Italian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Ambrosio played for multiple teams in the Italian leagues from 1991 until his retirement in 2009 (most notably with

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

sides

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

and

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

), but also had brief spells in England with

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, and in Switzerland with

Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

. He made two appearances for his country's under-21 side during the 1993–94 season, but never made an appearance for the full national side.

Football career

A Decade in Italy

The early years of Ambrosio's career were relatively undistinguished, and saw him play for a succession of minor Italian clubs, such as

Lumezzane Lumezzane (Brescian: ; locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. With a population of 22,255 () it is one of the largest towns in the province of Brescia. It is situated in the Gobbia Valley, which is a side val ...

(

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

Atalanta B.C. Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly referred to as Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. The club plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B in 2010–11. Atalanta was founded in 1907 by Lic ...

(youth),

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

(

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

A.C. Prato Associazione Calcio Prato is an Italian association football club, based in Prato, Tuscany. Prato currently plays in Serie D/E, having last been in Serie B in 1964. History The club was founded in 1908. In season 2010–11 the team played i ...

(

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...

) and

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

(

). Whilst playing for Pisa, he made two appearances for Italy's under-21 team. He also had a stint with

U.C. Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, S ...

. He made his Serie A debut on 2 November 1997, Sampdoria lost 0–3 at home to

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

. In total, he played 10 Serie A games for the Genoese team, as second goalkeeper behind Fabrizio Ferron. After Sampdoria were relegated to Serie B, Ambrosio was sold to Serie C1 team Lucchese in the summer of 1999, where he spent two seasons. In summer 2001 he was signed by newly promoted Serie A team

, where he made another 10 Serie A appearances as second-choice goalkeeper behind

Cristiano Lupatelli Cristiano Lupatelli (born 21 June 1978) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is the goalkeeping coach of club Juventus U23. As a player, he was a goalkeeper; he is known for his trademark goatee and sideburns with his ...

Chelsea

In June 2003 he was signed for

on a free

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

by Italian manager

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in It ...

. Ambrosio was signed to be goalkeeping understudy to

Carlo Cudicini Carlo Cudicini (; born 6 September 1973) is a retired Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the son of the former Milan goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini, and the grandson of Ponziana defender Guglielmo Cudicini. Cudicini is currently a c ...

alongside fellow new-acquisition Jurgen Macho, and so found his playing opportunities limited at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

. Shortly after joining the club Macho picked up a serious knee injury and Chelsea subsequently signed

Neil Sullivan Neil Sullivan (born 24 February 1970) is a professional football player and coach. He played as a goalkeeper from 1988 until 2013, playing in the Premier League for Wimbledon, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and represented Scotland internationa ...

, meaning Ambrosio would now compete with Sullivan while providing back up to Cudicini. His cause was not helped by an unlucky debut in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

against

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

, in which he made a series of errors. His second appearance, against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

, proved far more assured as he made a string of impressive saves to secure a crucial 2–0 win for his side. That, together with injuries to all Chelsea's other goalkeepers, earned him a run in the side. His most significant contribution came in the Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal when his saves helped Chelsea to a 2–1 victory at Highbury. However, he lost his place in the side to the fit-again Cudicini towards the end of the season and with the signing of another new goalkeeper

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as o ...

, he was allowed to leave the club on a free transfer in August 2004.

Spell in Switzerland and return to Italy

Ambrosio moved to

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

side

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich, commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshoppers, is a multisports club based in Zürich, Switzerland. The oldest and best known department of the club is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper holds the ...

shortly after leaving Chelsea. He later signed for Italian team

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

of Serie B on 5 January 2005, replacing

Alex Brunner Alex Brunner (born 8 December 1973) is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently works as a goalkeeping coach. Football career Early career Brunner started his career at hometown club Triestina. After the club were ...

, who left for

Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (), is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. In the 2022-23 season, they compete in Serie B. As of 2021–22, the team is temporarily playing their home games at the 16,416-seat ...

, and competed with former starter

Domenico Botticella Domenico Botticella (born 2 March 1976 in San Giovanni Rotondo) is an Italian football coach and former player, who used to play as a goalkeeper. He is the current goalkeeping coach of Casertana. Playing career Botticella played in Serie B with ...

. Ambrosio remained with the team as they were relegated to Serie C1 and competed with former Chievo teammate Gioacchino Cavaliere for a starting spot. On 21 July 2006, he was signed by

. In summer 2007, he joined Reggiana of

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

. In September 2009, he signed with FeralpiSalò. Later that year, Ambrosio retired from football.

References

External links

2006–07 Profile at La Gazzetta
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrosio, Marco 1973 births Living people Italian footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Footballers from Brescia Atalanta B.C. players Brescia Calcio players Chelsea F.C. players A.C. ChievoVerona players Premier League players Association football goalkeepers Grasshopper Club Zürich players S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 players Pisa S.C. players A.C. Prato players Ravenna F.C. players Serie A players Serie B players U.C. Sampdoria players Italian expatriate footballers U.S. Salernitana 1919 players A.C. Reggiana 1919 players Swiss Super League players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Italian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Italian expatriate sportspeople in England