History of S.S. Lazio

Foundation and early years

Plaque commemorating the foundation of S.S. Lazio at Piazza della Libertà (Roma, Prati).

Società Podistica Lazio, or Lazio Athletics Club was founded on January 9, 1900 in the Prati district of Rome. Therefore Lazio is the oldest Roman football team. Wanting to encompass more than just the city of Rome that they were from, the club's nine original founding members^[1] chose to name Lazio, the same name as the region where the city of Roma was built. The primary color of sky blue was chosen as a tribute to ancient Greece and pays homage to the advent of the Olympic Games.

Their first ever match of football came in 1902 against Virtus, a match considered, albeit unofficially, to be the first Rome Derby. That match was played at Piazza d'Armi, near Piazza Mazzini, and Lazio duly won 3-0 with a hat-trick from centre-forward Sante Ancherani.

In 1907, the Italian Football Federation sponsored a Roman championship called I Categoria, which Lazio won, defeating early rivals Virtus in the final. Nonetheless, they were not invited into any national championship despite their success.

After this friendly football activity, Lazio officially gave birth to its football section in 1910 and joined official league competition in 1912 as soon as the Italian Football Federation began organising championships in the center and south of Italy, and reached the final of the national championship playoff three times, but never won, losing in 1913 to Pro Vercelli, in 1914 to Casale and in 1923 to Genoa.

In 1927 Lazio was the only major Roman club which resisted the Fascist regime's attempts to merge all the city's teams into what would become A.S. Roma the same year. This was due to Giorgio Vaccaro, a general in the Fascist regime and influential in the sporting landscape. A true Lazio fan, Vaccaro defended the club's right to keep its identity and Lazio were the sole opposition to the new team.

The 1930s: A unified national championship

The club played in the first organised Serie A in 1929 and made their league debut on 6 October 1929, defeating Bologna 3-0 at the Rondinella ground on Via Flaminia. However, the inaugural championship was less than brilliant for Lazio, who on the final day managing a meagre 15th placed finish.

Lazio also had a considerable Brazilian influence in their early Serie A years, known as Brasilazio. Their coach of the day, Amílcar Barbuy, was the first Brazilian to become involved with Italian football.^[2] However, this did not bring them success, as they finished 8th in 1930-31 and 13th in 1931-32.

In the summer of 1932, Barbuy was replaced by an Austrian coach, Karl Stürmer, and he led the club to their first eve win in a Rome Derby, beating the giallorossi 2-1 at home. Two straight tenth placed finishes under Stürmer, saw him replaced by a compatriot, Walter Alt, in 1934. His arrival also coincided with those of two star players of the day, Silvio Piola and Attilio Ferraris IV. Ferraris had arrived from Roma, where he had played over 200 games, while Piola went on to become a legend of Lazio, the highest goalscorer in Serie A history and, in 1938, he also became a World Cup winner with the national team.

Led by the legendary striker Piola,^[3] Lazio achieved a second place finish in 1937, their highest pre-war result. The coach that season was Hungarian József Viola. They also competed in European competition for the first time, losing in the final of the Central European Cup against Ferencváros.

Lazio rounded out the decade with a memorable away derby win by 2-0 at the Campo Testaccio in 1939 and a credible 4th-placed finish in 1940.

The 1940s: World War II and mediocrity

This particular decade was dominated by Il Grande Torino, and Lazio could achieve no better than mid-table finishes. The championship was suspended in 1943 due to the effects of World War II, and the club, now without the national hero Piola, participated in the local Campionato Romano until 1945-46 when the national championship returned, albeit in a regionalised and unofficial format. The following year, the Serie A returned to its usual format and Lazio duly finished 10th, a mediocre season, albeit ahead of Roma, who narrowly avoided relegation.

The 1948-49 season was a difficult one for the biancocelesti as players were reduced to the minimum wage and several went on strike. They finished 13th, however recovered the following season to record an impressive 4th-placed finish, made even sweeter by the difficulties of the previous year and the miserable campaign of Roma, who once again narrowly avoided the drop to Serie B.

The 1950s: The first taste of silverware

Lazio made a return to Europe in 1950, playing in the Latin Cup, then considered the most prestigious continental title. The following season, the aquilotti again played in Europe, this time finishing fourth in the Mitropa Cup. These European campaigns were also complemented with successful domestic campaigns, with two further 4th-placed finishes.

From 1952 to 55, the club had to endure three poor mid-table finishes, but these were followed by two straight seasons in which they finished third. The two major signings of this time were Swedish forward Arne Selmosson and Juventus mainstay Ermes Muccinelli.

In 1958 though, came Lazio's first major piece of silverware, with a victory in the Coppa Italia.

First they had topped their group of four, consisting of Palermo, Napoli and rivals Roma, before eliminating Marzotto and Juventus on the road to the final, where they met Fiorentina. Led by coach Fulvio Bernardini, Lazio beat la Viola 1-0 with a goal from striker Maurilio Prini, who had ironically just left Fiorentina.

The 1960s: The first seasons of Serie B

The 1960s did not start brightly for Lazio. They finished their 1960-61 campaign in a record low 18th place, last, and were relegated alongside Napoli and Bari.

Their first season in B, 1961-62, ended in grave disappointment as they missed out on direct promotion back to the top flight by a solitary point. The following season made up for that though, as they were promoted back to A with a third placed finish. Their coach of the day was an Argentine, Juan Carlos Lorenzo, and Lazio's tight defence ensured a credible 8th place finish in 1964 with a paltry 21 goals scored and a stingy 24 conceded.^[4] A 3-0 away win over Juventus was a highlight of the season.

The club was soon hit by a financial crisis, and the presidency of the club was taken up by Umberto Lenzini, an Italian American, who made a significant impact upon the history of the club. Lazio were soon relegated back into Serie B and despite being expected to challenge for promotion, they could only manage a poor 11th place. Juan Carlos Lorenzo returned to the bench which he had left four years earlier, and with some new signings, he led Lazio to win Serie B in 1969. Stars of the side in those years included midfielder Nello Governato, who later went on to work as a manager for the club.

1970s

The 1970s began just as the 1960s did, with relegation following the 1970-71 season. However promotion the following year ushered in Lazio's first truly successful period. They took to the field in the 1972-73 season with a team comprising English-born captain Giuseppe Wilson in defence, Luciano Re Cecconi and Mario Frustalupi in midfield, Renzo Garlaschelli and Giorgio Chinaglia up front, and coach Tommaso Maestrelli. With Chinaglia providing the goals and the defence giving little away, Lazio emerged as surprise challengers for the Scudetto to Milan and Juventus in 1972-1973, only losing out on the final day of the season after conceding a late goal at Napoli (whilst Juventus left it late to secure a win at Lazio's bitter rivals Roma). It served as a prelude to a breakthrough for the 1973-74 season, when Lazio would sweep all before them to win their first league title, having led throughout the season.

Unfortunately this was not built upon, as 4th place the following year would be followed by a struggle against relegation in 1975-76 and a mid-table finish in 1977-78 (with a 5th place finish in 1976-77 in between). The tragic deaths of Luciano Re Cecconi and scudetto trainer Tommaso Maestrelli in addition to the departure of Chinaglia in 1976 would be a triple blow for Lazio. The emergence of Bruno Giordano during this period provided some relief as he finished League top scorer in 1979, when Lazio finished 8th.

1980s

Lazio were forcibly relegated to Serie B in 1980 due to a remarkable scandal concerning illegal bets on their own matches, along with Milan. They remained in Italy's second division for three seasons in what would mark the darkest period in Lazio's history. They would return in 1983 and manage a last-day escape from relegation the following season. 1984-85 would prove harrowing, with a pitiful 15 points and bottom place finish despite the emergence of promising, though albeit unfulfilled talent of Francesco Dell'Anno and Francesco Fonte.

In 1986, Lazio was hit with a 9-point deduction (a true deathblow back in the day of the two-point win) for a betting scandal involving one player, Claudio Vinazzini. An epic struggle against relegation followed the same season in Serie B, with the club led by trainer Eugenio Fascetti only avoiding relegation to the Serie C after play-off wins over Taranto and Campobasso. This would prove a turning point in the club's history, with Lazio returning to Serie A in 1988 and, under the careful financial management of Gianmarco Calleri, the consolidation of the club's position as a solid top-flight club.

1990s

The arrival of Sergio Cragnotti, in 1992, changed the club's history forever as he was prepared to invest long term in new players for the club in order to make the team a competitor on the Serie A level. Cragnotti repeatedly broke transfer records in pursuit of players who were considered major stars - Juan Sebastian Veron for £18million, Christian Vieri for £19million and breaking the world transfer record, albeit only for a matter of weeks, to sign Hernan Crespo from Parma F.C. for £35million.

In 1993 Lazio finished fifth in Serie A, fourth in 1994, second in 1995, third in 1996, and fourth again in 1997, then it lost the championship just by one point to AC Milan on the last championship's match in 1999 before, with the likes of Sinisa Mihajlovic, Alessandro Nesta and Pavel Nedved in the side, finally winning its second scudetto in 2000, as well as the Italian Cup in an impressive and rare (by Italian standards) "double" with Sven-Göran Eriksson (1997–2001) as manager.

In addition to the aforementioned one, Lazio had two other Coppa Italia triumphs in recent years, in 1998 and 2004. Lazio also won the last ever UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1999 and reached the UEFA Cup final in 1998, but lost 0-3 against a Ronaldo-inspired Inter Milan. Lazio won the Italian Super Cup twice and defeated Manchester United in 1999 to win the European Super Cup. Lazio was also the first Italian football club to be quoted on the Italian Piazza Affari stock market.

2000 to present - Decline and revival

Lazio began the decade brightly by winning the Italian Super Cup and finishing in 3rd place in the league - but the departure of Sven Goran Eriksson accelerated the decline of the club. With money running out, or wasted on transfer flops like Gaizka Mendieta for £28million, Lazio missed the all-important qualification for the UEFA Champions League in the 2001/2002 season, finishing in a disappointing 6th place.

A financial scandal involving Cragnotti and his food products multinational Cirio forced him to leave the club in 2002, and Lazio was controlled until 2004 by caretaker financial managers and a bank pool. This forced the club to sell their star players & even the "symbol" of the club - club captain Nesta - in quick succession. Lazio was subsequently sold to entrepreneur Claudio Lotito, who is the current majority share owner.

That summer, 36-year old former Lazio star Paolo Di Canio accepted to join the club he supported as a youth, taking a 75 per cent paycut. The 2005-2006 season saw Lazio lose veterans such as Fernando Couto, Paolo Negro and Giuliano Giannichedda who were let go by the club, among other things, to lower its salary expenditure. The 2005-2006 season under the coaching of Delio Rossi saw the club compete beyond all expectations with a team which blends remaining veterans such as Angelo Peruzzi and midfield fan favourites Fabio Liverani and Ousmane Dabo with an infusion of motivated players with lower salary demands. The policy had proven successful as the club qualified for the 2006-07 UEFA Cup.

On July 14, it was announced that they had been relegated to Serie B with a 7 point penalty for their supposed involvement in match-fixing scandal. The club's appeal was successful and in a judgment released on July 25, Lazio's penalty was reduced to an 11 point deduction in the following Serie A season (subsequently further reduced to 3 points) and a 30 point deduction in the previous Serie A season, resulting in the loss of their qualification to the following UEFA Cup.

Despite a later-reduced points deduction, Lazio achieved a 3rd place finish in the 2006/2007, just falling short of breaking the club record for games won in succession - the current squad racked up 8 wins in a row, compared to the 2000 Scudetto winning squad who set the record of 9.

In the season 2007-08 and 2008-09, S.S. Lazio finished in the 12th and 10th place, but won Coppa Italia on 13 May 2009.

Lazio started the 2009-10 season playing the Supercoppa against Inter in Beijing, and winning the match 2-1 by the scores of Matuzalem and Rocchi.

References