Marcelo Alejandro Larrondo (born 16 August 1988) is an Argentine-Chilean former professional

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 lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Club career

Early career

Larrondo began his youth career with Fernández Álvarez in 2005. The next year, he moved to

Sportivo Desamparados Club Sportivo Desamparados is a sports club from the city of San Juan, and also called Consultants Moravia San Juan Province, Argentina. The football team currently plays in the Torneo Argentino B, which is one of the fourth tier competitions, ...

. In June 2007, he was purchased by River Plate. He participated in the 2008 Viareggio Tournament where he scored four goals in three games; however, he never broke into the first team.

Siena

In the summer of 2008, he was signed by

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

where he trained with the ''primavera'' (under-20 squad). That year, the Siena under-20 reached the finals of the

Campionato Nazionale Primavera The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in the 1 ...

, where he scored two goals in the quarter-finals. He made his debut for the first team in a

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

match between Siena and

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, ending 1–1. On 12 November 2009, he scored the second goal in a 2–0 victory over

U.S. Grosseto F.C. Unione Sportiva Grosseto 1912 is an Football in Italy, Italian association football club, based in the city of Grosseto, Tuscany. The club was founded in 1912 as ''Unione Ginnico Sportiva Grossetana''. The team's most associated nickname is ''g ...

during

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

. He scored his first goal in Serie A on 21 March 2010 during Siena-

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, ending 1–0. At the end of the season Siena were relegated to

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie 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 season. It had b ...

. He scored his first goal in Serie B during a 2–1 home victory over Reggina. At the end of the season, Siena were promoted to

, with Larrondo contributing 6 goals in 27 appearances.

Fiorentina (loan)

On 18 January 2013, Larrondo was signed by

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

on loan basis for €315,000, with the option to purchase. He made his debut with the ''Viola'' on 3 February 2013 against

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

as a substitute for

Luca Toni Luca Toni (; born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competition ...

. He scored his first goal on 3 March 2013; the winning goal for Fiorentina during a 2–1 defeat of

Chievo Verona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo (, ), is an Italian football club named after and representing Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto. It is owned since 2024 by the team' ...

. He scored again during a 2–0 victory over

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

. At the end of the season, he returned to Siena.

Torino

On 30 July 2013, Larrondo was sold to

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

under a co-ownership agreement from Siena, for €700,000,Torino F.C. S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2013
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> with whom he signed a three-year contract with an option for a fourth. He debuted 17 August 2013 in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

, lost 1–2 against

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

. In only his third appearance, Larrondo broke his foot in a 2–2 draw with

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

– causing him to miss much of the season. He also required stitches after an alleged elbow from

Nigel de Jong Nigel de Jong (born 30 November 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently the technical director of the KNVB, the national Dutch football federation. He has also worked as an English ...

. He returned 9 February 2014, but was injured once again in March. He scored his first goal for Torino in the final game of the season against his former team, Fiorentina (2–2). On 20 June 2014, the co-ownership agreement with Siena was resolved in favour of Torino, with

Emanuele Gatto Emanuele Gatto (born 11 August 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Latina. Club career Torino Born in Turin, Piedmont, Gatto started his career at hometown club Torino. He was called up to the first t ...

moved to Siena. On 31 July he scored two goals in the preliminaries of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

against

Brommapojkarna Idrottsföreningen Brommapojkarna, more commonly known as Brommapojkarna (meaning ''the Bromma boys'') or simply BP, is a Swedish football club based in the borough of Bromma, in the western parts of Stockholm municipality. Brommapojkarna is th ...

Club Atlético Tigre (loan)

On 23 January 2015, he was loaned to the Argentine club

Club Atlético Tigre Club Atlético Tigre is an Argentine professional football club located in Victoria, Buenos Aires. Tigre currently plays in the Primera División, the top level of the Argentine football league system, having secured promotion as the 2021 P ...

with a buying option.

Rosario Central

On 24 July 2015, he was transferred outright to

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

River Plate

On 22 July 2016, it was confirmed that he would join club River Plate.

Deportivo Maipú

After leaving

Audax Italiano Audax Club Sportivo Italiano () is a Chilean football club based in La Florida playing in the Campeonato Nacional, having has spent most of its history in the top tier of Chilean football. History The club was founded by Italian residents in S ...

in March 2022, Larrondo joined

Deportivo Maipú Club Deportivo Maipú, mostly known as Deportivo Maipú is an Argentine football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which ass ...

in June 2023. At the end of the same year, he ended his career and confirmed his retirement in 2025.

International career

Larrondo was born in the city of

Tunuyán Tunuyán is a city in the west of the province of Mendoza, Argentina, located on the western shore of the Tunuyán River, south from the provincial capital Mendoza and east of the Chilean border. It has 49,132 inhabitants, and is the head town ...

in Mendoza, Argentina. His father Marino, is Chilean, originally from the city of

Combarbalá Combarbalá is the capital city of the Communes of Chile, commune of Combarbala. It is located in the Limarí Province, Coquimbo Region, Region of Coquimbo, at an elevation of 900 m (2,952 ft). It is known for the tourist astronomic o ...

, while his Argentine mother, Alicia, is from Mendoza, which makes him eligible to play for both national teams.

Jorge Sampaoli Jorge Luis Sampaoli Moya (; born 13 March 1960) is an Argentine football coach. Sampaoli started out as a youth player and eventually switched to management after a severe injury. Sampaoli started with an impressive coaching run at Coronel Bol ...

, then-manager of Chile, showed interest in him. Larrondo claimed it would be a dream to play for ''La Roja''. Larrondo was named in Chile's provisional squad for

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario (, , ; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's soccer tournament that was hosted by the United States in 2016. The competition was a celebration of the centennial of CONMEBOL and the Copa Am� ...

but was cut from the final squad.

Honours

Sportivo Desamparados *

Torneo Argentino A The Torneo Argentino A (in English "Argentine A Tournament") was one of the two leagues that formed the regionalised third level of the Argentine football league system. Clubs in the Torneo Argentino have indirect membership in AFA, while clubs ...

: Apertura 2006

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Larrondo, Marcelo Living people 1988 births Footballers from Mendoza Province Men's association football forwards Argentine men's footballers Chilean men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Argentine people of Basque descent Argentine sportspeople of Chilean descent Argentine emigrants to Chile Naturalized citizens of Chile Torneo Argentino A players Sportivo Desamparados footballers Argentine Primera División players Primera Nacional players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Club Atlético Tigre footballers Rosario Central footballers Defensa y Justicia footballers Deportivo Maipú players Uruguayan Segunda División players C.A. Progreso players Serie A players Serie B players Siena FC SSD players ACF Fiorentina players Torino FC players Chilean Primera División players Unión La Calera footballers O'Higgins F.C. footballers Audax Italiano footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Uruguay Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile 21st-century Argentine sportsmen