Giuseppe Favalli is second in Lazio history for number of appearances behind Stefan Radu.
Giuseppe Favalli was born in Orzinuovi (Brescia) on January 8, 1972.
He grew up with the Cremonese youth sector and made his debut with the Grigiorossi on April 16, 1989 in Cremonese -Sambenedettese in Serie B. "Le Tigri" (The Tigers) were promoted and the following year. Favalli made his Serie A debut and played 28 league games. Cremonese were then relegated but won promotion again the next year so he played another season in the top flight. In this 1991-92 campaign he also scored his first Serie A goal (Verona). The Cremonesi were relegated again but Favalli would stay in Serie A. He played a total of 102 games for "I Violini" with 3 goals (2 in Serie B and 1 in A).
In the summer of 1992 he joined Lazio. He came with another two promising Italy U21 Cremonese players, Mauro Bonomi and Dario Marcolin.
Favalli had some difficulties adapting to a bigger club and was timid at first in his approach to games. Dino Zoff stood by him, he gradually improved and in his first year he played 32 league games and scored 1 goal (Pescara).
He would stay for 12 seasons. He played under Zoff, Zeman, Sven Goran Eriksson, Zoff again, Alberto Zaccheroni and Roberto Mancini. His time in Rome was full of satisfactions as Lazio gradually rose to being one of the best teams in Europe. Favalli won a Scudetto (2000), 3 Coppa Italia (1998, 2000, 2004), a European Cup Winners Cup (1999), 2 Italian Super Cups (1998, 2000) and 1 European Super Cup (1999).
On a personal level Favalli played 401 matches for the Biancocelesti and scored 6 goals (4 in A, 1 in Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk and 1 in Coppa UEFA against Dinamo Minsk). He is second in Lazio history for number of appearances behind Stefan Radu. He was also captain for 3 years (1997-98, 2002-04).
In 2004, with Lazio in a deep financial crisis, Favalli moved to Inter with Mancini. He stayed two seasons playing 68 games for the Nerazzurri. In his first year they came third and won the Coppa Italia (beating Roma). In his second they won the Scudetto (taken away from Juve due to Calciopoli), the Coppa Italia (beating Roma again) and the Italian Supercoppa.
In 2006 he changed Milanese allegiances and went to Milan. He would stay four successful seasons winning a Champions League (2007 Liverpool 2-1), 1 UEFA Super Cup (2007 Sevilla 3-1) and 1 World Cup for clubs (2007 Boca Juniors 4-2). He played under Carlo Ancelotti for three years and one under Leonardo. Favalli made 99 appearances for the "Diavolo" (80 in A, 7 in Coppa Italia and 12 in Europe).
At 38 after winning everything there was to win he retired.
At international level he won 8 Italian caps, 24 U21 caps with 2 goals and won the European Championship in Spain' 92, 6 Olympics caps and 9 games for Italy U18's with 1 goal.
Favalli was a left full-back although he could also play in the middle. He was 1.81 for 73 kilos. He was an extremely intelligent player tactically, possessed good technical skills and was athletic. He was a defender but gave a good contribution up front serving assists and crosses with his precise left foot. He was a hard but clean player.
At Lazio, after the initial scepticism, he became a legend. He gradually won over the fans with his reliable, solid performances. He was known as "Il Professore" for his calm character and his above average culture. His tactical acumen was greatly appreciated by his various managers at the club and he was first choice for all of them despite their diverging tactical approaches. Favalli was a model professional and well liked at Lazio for his modest, reserved character. The feeling was mutual, when he left for Inter he gave Lazio plenty of warning and paid for a whole page in the most popular local sports paper to thank all the fans, colleagues and staff for his fantastic 12 Roman years.
Favalli was captain for three seasons and won 8 trophies in Rome, including an elusive Scudetto, definitely legendary material.
On a final curious note, Favall's uncle Erminio played for Juventus in the 60's (winning a Scudetto) and Palermo amongst other teams in the 70's. Favalli's own son Alessandro is also a professional footballer and currently plays for Siena.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Cup Winners Cup | UEFA Cup | Super Coppa |
1992-93 | 36 (1) | 32 (1) | 4 | - | - | - | - |
1993-94 | 25 (1) | 23 (1) | - | - | - | 2 | - |
1994-95 | 32 (1) | 22 | 5 | - | - | 5 (1) | - |
1995-96 | 32 (1) | 26 (1) | 3 | - | - | 3 | - |
1996-97 | 31 | 26 | 3 | - | - | 2 | - |
1997-98 | 41 | 24 | 8 | - | - | 9 | - |
1998-99 | 34 | 25 | 4 | - | 5 | - | - |
199-00 | 25 | 18 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - |
2000-01 | 37 (1) | 27 | 6 | 6 (1) | - | - | 1 |
2001-02 | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - |
2002-03 | 35 (1) | 26 (1) | 3 | - | - | 6 | - |
2003-04 | 43 | 29 | 6 | 8 | - | - | - |
Total | 401 (6) | 298 (4) | 45 | 25 (1) | 5 | 27 (1) | 1 |
Sources