Astutillo Malgioglio is probably one of the most hated players ever to have played for Lazio. He committed an unforgivable sin: he spat on his jersey.
Born on May 3 1958 in Piacenza, he started playing football in the San Lazzaro amateur team before joining the youth teams of Cremonese. In 1975 he moved to Bologna and debuted in Serie A in the match against Roma on May 22 1977. He then signed for Brescia where he stayed for five years. In the 1979-80 season the Rondinelle were promoted to Serie A and he was considered one of the best goalkeepers of Serie B. Brescia did not stay in the first tier long and in 1981-82 he was put on the bench and the year later he signed for Pistoiese in Serie B.
In 1983 he went to play for the wrong side of the Tiber. He was chosen as number 12 since Franco Tancredi was the Giallorosso number one. In two years, he made just six appearances and only one in Serie A. He was promised to be on a par with Tancredi but that never happened. He did win a Coppa Italia in 1983-84 but he really wanted to play so he accepted to cross the river and play for Lazio. The Biancocelesti had just been relegated and were seeking an immediate return to Serie A. But the situation at the club was disastrous. President Giorgio Chinaglia had no more money and the club was on the verge of bankruptcy.
It was a complicated season. After the first half of the campionato Lazio were 10th. They were doing OK at home (7 wins and two draws) but away from home they were terrible with just 3 draws and seven losses. The fans, who had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, could not understand why a team that was built to go back to Serie A with potentially good players, could perform so badly. Malgioglio was nervous. He had been sent off at Catania after Carlo Borghi had scored a penalty and he kicked the player out of frustration. By March 2, Serie A was 5 points away. But Lazio had one more possibility. If they beat Vicenza (who were third) in the next game, there was still a chance.
The Biancocelesti started well and after half an hour they were winning 2-0. But Vicenza managed to equalise in the second half. Lazio went ahead again with a penalty but another spot kick this time for Vicenza settled the score on 3-3. Ten minutes from the end there was an innocuous shot from Montani, Malgioglio fumbled and Lazio lost.
The rage of the fans was directed at the keeper, who reacted by spitting on his jersey. Then, as is often the case when it comes to the Biancocelesti, during the course of the years a parallel story was concocted and this is the one that has stayed in the eyes of the media.
Malgioglio’s work with the disabled
The goalkeeper had opened a centre for the disabled where he offered free rehabilitation for children with dystrophy. He was shocked at what he saw at Brescia when he went to visit a centre for the disabled and decided to act. He founded an association, Era77, with his wife and this activity was well known. The association was closed in 2001 but his work continued and in 2021 he was awarded an Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Fake news
Why did Malgioglio react that way after Lazio Vicenza? Here we have two parallel stories. The first one, which almost all can read if you google Malgioglio, is that after his fumble, a banner appeared in curva nord with the words “go back to your monsters”. That is why he reacted like he did.
There is no proof that that happened. No mention of it at the time, he never spoke about it at the time, nobody present at the stadium actually saw this banner, none of the media reported the fact. Malgioglio was nervous, he had lost his father during the week, he was playing badly, had been insulted, his wife had also been insulted. Since he was a former Roma player and he had not really played too well that season, he had become a target of the fans' dissatisfaction. Possibly one person, in the Monte Mario stand (where the seats are more expensive), shouted a phrase similar to the mystery banner and that made him lose it.
During the course of the years, the banner appeared as justification for what he did. Nobody knows why this came out, but this version has stayed.
Inter
He was sacked straight after Lazio-Vicenza. At the end of the season Giovanni Trappatoni, Inter manager, offered him the number 12 role at Inter. He stayed five years in Milan making 19 appearances.
Walter Zenga the week before the away game against Lazio, suffered an injury and Malgioglio had to play against his former club. The game was played at the Flaminio Stadium because the Olimpico was under restructuring for the World Cup. He thought it would be OK and decided to play. The Lazio fans were ready for him. Despite leaving a bunch of flowers under Curva Sud, he was, predictably, insulted throughout the entire game.
With Inter he won, from the bench, a scudetto and a Super Coppa. In 1991 he joined Atalanta, but physical problems did not allow him to play and he retired at the end of the season.
Since then, he has continued to work with the disabled which has earned him a lot of respect both outside and inside the football world. But the Lazio fans have never forgotten.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1985-86 | 25 | 20 | 5 |
Sources
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