[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":261},["ShallowReactive",2],{"player-en-manuel-romero-pirolo":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"achievements":6,"affiliate":11,"birthPlace":12,"birthYear":13,"body":14,"boules":13,"boulesModel":13,"club":224,"description":225,"extension":226,"faq":227,"flag":243,"fullName":50,"height":13,"image":244,"lastUpdated":245,"meta":246,"nationality":247,"navigation":11,"nickname":60,"path":248,"role":249,"seo":250,"socialLinks":13,"stem":251,"tags":252,"worldTitles":13,"__hash__":260},"players\u002Fplayers\u002Fen\u002Fmanuel-romero-pirolo.md","Manuel Romero 'Pirolo' - Spain's European Precision Shooting Champion | Petanque Player Profile",[7,8,9,10],"European Precision Shooting Champion (Albertville, France, 2023), beating Belgium's Logan Baton 45-35 in the final","Defeated Italy's Diego Rizzi 32-27 in the 2023 European Precision Shooting semifinal","Spanish Individual Champion (El Ejido, Almería, 2017), beating Diego M. Guzmán of the Canary Islands 13-2 in the final","Long-time captain of Spain's national men's team, representing Spain at six FIPJP World Championships",true,"Elche, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain",null,{"type":15,"value":16,"toc":214},"minimark",[17,22,100,104,108,112,123,134,150,153,157,164,168,207,211],[18,19,21],"h2",{"id":20},"manuel-romero-pirolo-quick-facts","Manuel Romero \"Pirolo\" - Quick Facts",[23,24,25,36],"table",{},[26,27,28],"thead",{},[29,30,31,34],"tr",{},[32,33],"th",{},[32,35],{},[37,38,39,51,61,70,80,90],"tbody",{},[29,40,41,48],{},[42,43,44],"td",{},[45,46,47],"strong",{},"Full name",[42,49,50],{},"Manuel Higinio Romero Rubio",[29,52,53,58],{},[42,54,55],{},[45,56,57],{},"Nickname",[42,59,60],{},"Pirolo",[29,62,63,68],{},[42,64,65],{},[45,66,67],{},"From",[42,69,12],{},[29,71,72,77],{},[42,73,74],{},[45,75,76],{},"Role",[42,78,79],{},"Shooter (tirador)",[29,81,82,87],{},[42,83,84],{},[45,85,86],{},"Club",[42,88,89],{},"Vergel Petanca Club (Elda)",[29,91,92,97],{},[42,93,94],{},[45,95,96],{},"Signature title",[42,98,99],{},"European Precision Shooting Champion, 2023",[18,101,103],{"id":102},"spains-precision-shooting-specialist","Spain's Precision Shooting Specialist",[105,106,107],"p",{},"Manuel Higinio Romero Rubio, universally known in Spanish petanca circles as \"Pirolo\", is one of the country's most respected tiradores (shooters) and a long-serving captain of Spain's national men's team. Federated since 1986 and based at Vergel Petanca Club in Elda, on the Costa Blanca, Romero built his reputation over four decades of domestic and international competition, culminating in the biggest individual title of his career: gold at the 2023 European Precision Shooting Championship in Albertville, France.",[18,109,111],{"id":110},"career-overview","Career Overview",[105,113,114,115,118,119,122],{},"Romero's breakthrough at the national level came in ",[45,116,117],{},"2017",", when he won the ",[45,120,121],{},"Spanish Individual Championship"," in El Ejido, Almería, representing the Comunidad Valenciana federation. Competing in a 32-player Swiss-system field, he advanced through the round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals before defeating Diego M. Guzmán of the Canary Islands federation 13-2 in a one-sided final. The title earned him selection to represent Spain at that year's European Championship in France.",[105,124,125,126,129,130,133],{},"Romero has represented Spain at ",[45,127,128],{},"six FIPJP World Championships"," over the course of his career and served for many years as ",[45,131,132],{},"captain of the Spanish men's national team",", a role in which he has been described as prioritizing squad confidence and morale alongside his own play. He was part of the Spanish squad that competed on home soil at the 2019 World Championship in El Ejido, and has spoken candidly about the gap between petanca's amateur status in Spain and its semi-professional circuit in France, where daily tournaments carry cash prizes; in Spain, he has said, there are typically only two or three international opens a year plus a short summer competition window, so top players cannot make a living from the sport alone. Romero has continued to run a small footwear workshop throughout his competitive career.",[105,135,136,137,118,140,143,144,149],{},"His signature achievement came in ",[45,138,139],{},"2023",[45,141,142],{},"European Precision Shooting Championship"," (Tir de Précision) in Albertville, France - a discipline that tests a shooter's accuracy in isolation, without doubles or triples play. After finishing 19th of 36 entrants in the opening round and advancing through the repechage bracket, Romero defeated Monaco's Jean-Pierre Le Lons 45-38 in the quarterfinal, then beat Italy's ",[145,146,148],"a",{"href":147},"\u002Fplayers\u002Fdiego-rizzi","Diego Rizzi"," 32-27 in the semifinal - a notable result against one of the sport's most decorated active players - before closing out the tournament with a 45-35 final win over Belgium's Logan Baton.",[105,151,152],{},"Beyond individual play, Romero has also captained Vergel Petanca Club triplettes in international open tournaments, including a run at the 2019 Open de Petanca in El Romeral where his team, alongside Juan Jiménez \"Pelao\" and a teammate named Alonso, beat a Belgian tripleta captained by 2000 world champion André Lozano in a closely contested quarterfinal.",[18,154,156],{"id":155},"playing-style-and-technique","Playing Style and Technique",[105,158,159,160,163],{},"Romero is a ",[45,161,162],{},"tirador"," through and through, and his 2023 European title in the dedicated precision-shooting discipline is the clearest evidence of his specialism. Precision shooting isolates the shooter's craft from team play entirely, scoring accuracy at set distances against a single opponent, and Romero's run to gold - which included wins over a Monégasque and an Italian opponent before the Belgian final - reflected the kind of consistency under pressure that the discipline demands.",[18,165,167],{"id":166},"achievements-and-honors","Achievements and Honors",[169,170,171,178,184,190,196,201],"ul",{},[172,173,174,177],"li",{},[45,175,176],{},"European Precision Shooting Champion"," (Albertville, France, 2023), beating Belgium's Logan Baton 45-35 in the final",[172,179,180,181,183],{},"Defeated Italy's ",[45,182,148],{}," 32-27 in the 2023 European Precision Shooting semifinal",[172,185,186,189],{},[45,187,188],{},"Spanish Individual Champion"," (El Ejido, Almería, 2017), beating Diego M. Guzmán (Canary Islands) 13-2 in the final",[172,191,192,193],{},"Long-time ",[45,194,195],{},"captain of Spain's national men's team",[172,197,198,199],{},"Represented Spain at ",[45,200,128],{},[172,202,203,204],{},"Federated petanca player since ",[45,205,206],{},"1986",[18,208,210],{"id":209},"legacy","Legacy",[105,212,213],{},"Manuel \"Pirolo\" Romero represents the backbone of Spanish petanca: a player who never turned the sport into a full-time career, because Spain's competitive scene has never offered one, but who nonetheless reached the top of Europe in his discipline and led his country's national team for years. His 2023 European Precision Shooting title, won at nearly four decades into his competitive career and including a win over an elite Italian opponent, stands as one of the clearest individual accomplishments by a Spanish player at continental level, and his long captaincy tenure has made him one of the most recognizable figures in the Spanish game.",{"title":215,"searchDepth":216,"depth":216,"links":217},"",2,[218,219,220,221,222,223],{"id":20,"depth":216,"text":21},{"id":102,"depth":216,"text":103},{"id":110,"depth":216,"text":111},{"id":155,"depth":216,"text":156},{"id":166,"depth":216,"text":167},{"id":209,"depth":216,"text":210},"Vergel Petanca Club (Elda, Comunidad Valenciana)","Manuel Higinio Romero 'Pirolo' profile: the Vergel Petanca Club shooter who won the 2023 European Precision Shooting Championship in Albertville and captained Spain at six World Championships.","md",[228,231,234,237,240],{"question":229,"answer":230},"Who is Manuel Romero 'Pirolo'?","Manuel Higinio Romero Rubio, known throughout Spanish petanca as 'Pirolo', is a shooter (tirador) from Elche who plays for Vergel Petanca Club in Elda. He has been a licensed federated player since 1986, has captained Spain's national men's team, and represented the country at six FIPJP World Championships.",{"question":232,"answer":233},"What has Manuel Romero 'Pirolo' won?","His biggest individual title is the 2023 European Precision Shooting Championship in Albertville, France, where he beat Belgium's Logan Baton 45-35 in the final after defeating Italy's Diego Rizzi 32-27 in the semifinal. He also won the 2017 Spanish Individual Championship in El Ejido, Almería, beating Diego M. Guzmán of the Canary Islands federation 13-2 in the final, which earned him selection to represent Spain at that year's European Championship in France.",{"question":235,"answer":236},"Which club does Manuel Romero 'Pirolo' play for?","He trains and competes for Vergel Petanca Club in Elda, in Spain's Comunidad Valenciana, though he lives in nearby Elche.",{"question":238,"answer":239},"What position does Manuel Romero 'Pirolo' play?","He is a tirador (shooter), the specialist role responsible for precision strikes that displace an opponent's boules. His 2023 European Precision Shooting title, a discipline that isolates that skill from doubles or triples play, is the clearest evidence of his ability in the role.",{"question":241,"answer":242},"Has Manuel Romero 'Pirolo' played professionally?","No. Like most Spanish petanca players, Romero has said publicly that the sport does not pay a living wage in Spain, unlike France's daily paid tournament circuit, and he has continued to run a small footwear workshop alongside his competitive career.","🇪🇸","\u002Fimages\u002Fplayers\u002Fmanuel-romero-pirolo.png","2026-08-14",{},"Spain","\u002Fplayers\u002Fen\u002Fmanuel-romero-pirolo","Shooter",{"title":5,"description":225},"players\u002Fen\u002Fmanuel-romero-pirolo",[253,254,255,256,257,162,258,259],"manuel romero","pirolo","spain petanca","european champion","precision shooting","vergel petanca club","tiro de precision","bOQHeBX3Gy7qcqrkS1BiIcamjvn7OVQGq2vf_s8JUmA",1790080188494]