One can certainly say that being a centre forward with the Lazio jersey on has something magical about it. Just a look at the names of the players who have been at the centre of the Biancoceleste attack must bring shivers down their spines.
With this article we want to give a brief overview of the Lazio centre forwards throughout history.
Types of centre-forwards
The role of the centre-forward is varied. Sometimes, the former number nine was the big chap for whom you had to cross the ball, like John Charles, a type of can-opener for your attacking play. There has also been the little forward who would move around and pounce on the ball at any moment, a-la Paolo Rossi or Pippo Inzaghi. In some circumstances the centre forward was the most skilful player of the team who managed the entire attack moving left and right, opening the opponents’ defence and allowing other teammates to score but who also scored plenty of goals himself, like Andriy Shevchenko.
In more recent years the role has changed and the centre forward has become the first defender of the team, trying to break up or disturb the start of opponents play from the back. Some clubs have even gone without a classic centre forward, using more attacking players but nobody fixed in the middle, similar to what Felipe Anderson did a few times. The new 4-2-4 formations have practically eliminated the classic role, but have made the attack more varied.
Early days
The first and perhaps among the more mythical figures in the history of the club was Sante Ancherani. He was a football pioneer and Lazio's first captain. A legendary figure, part of those early Lazio years when football was only just born in the capital of Italy. He was one of the protagonists of the famous Pisa Interregional Tournament where Lazio managed to win three games in one day. With the Biancocelesti he also won the first Roman championship of 1907 and the Third Category Lazio Championship three times (1909-10, 1910-11 and 1911-12).
1910's
Marcello Consiglio was part of the team that made it to the national finals in 1913 against Pro Vercelli and again in 1914 against Casale. He was a good centre forward despite not being particularly tall. He was powerful, skilful and fast. He played 76 games for Lazio scoring 56 goals.
1920's
Fulvio Bernardini was probably among the best players Lazio have ever had, despite actually starting as a goalkeeper. In 1921 he changed position from goalkeeper to forward. There are two versions of the reason that led him to this decision. One is he was demoralized after conceding four goals against Naples while another is he fainted after a bad knock and decided, advised by his family, to play in a "safer" role. He became Lazio captain and in 1922-23, with his 24 goals, Lazio reached the scudetto final, then lost to Genoa. He played 101 league games for the Biancocelesti with an impressive 73 goals. He left Lazio because he wanted to turn professional and the Biancocelesti were still firm believers of the necessity to remain amateurs. He played for Inter briefly and then joined Roma where he stayed for 11 years. As a manager he won the scudetto twice (Fiorentina 1955-56, Bologna 1963-64) and the Coppa Italia with Lazio in 1958
Another important player in the history of Lazio’s centre forwards was Piero Pastore. With Juventus he made 66 league appearances and scored 55 goals, winning a scudetto in 1925-26. He arrived in Rome in 1929 and in his first stint stayed two years scoring 23 goals in 57 appearances. After a year in Milan, he came back but he preferred an acting career to playing football. He played minor roles in over 60 films including Roman Holiday alongside Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, Ulysses, starring Kirk Douglas, and Barabbas with Anthony Quinn. He was a fan favourite at the time, the typical number 9 of the 1920s.
1930's
One of the great centre forwards of all time, and not just for Lazio, was obviously Silvio Piola. He is the top Serie A goal scorer of all time with 274 goals (290 if one also adds the 1945-46 championship which was divided into two groups of teams due to the post-war difficulties), the current leading Serie A goal scorer for Pro Vercelli and Novara, third goal scorer in Nazionale behind Gigi Riva and Giuseppe Meazza, and second with Lazio behind Ciro Immobile. He arrived in Rome in 1934 and stayed for nine years. He played 243 games and scored 159 goals. He was twice top scorer in Serie A (1936-37 and 1942-43). In total Piola played 635 professional games and scored 349 goals. The great SIlvio never won a scudetto, but he won a World Cup in 1938.
1940’s
Once Piola left, and when Serie A returned after the war, Lazio’s centre-forward was Romano Penzo. Penzo joined Lazio in 1947 and stayed for three seasons. A strong, powerful, acrobatic centre forward, he was an excellent player. He played 91 games in Serie A for Lazio and scored 36 goals.
1950's
There are three centre forwards who are worth mentioning for this decade.
The first is Sükrü Gulesin. He played just one full season with the Biancocelesti, 1951-52, and scored 16 goals in 29 games. Sükrü was a giant. At 1.91 metres tall and weighing around 100 kilos he was an imposing figure. Despite his size he was quick and relatively technical and he was a penalty, freekick and corner specialist. He holds the record of goals directly from corners (without assists), 32. He also had an exceptionally powerful shot. One story tells of the Padova goalkeeper, when playing Palermo, literally moving away from Sükrü's penalty kick to avoid getting hurt. One weakness in his game was that he was surprisingly poor at tackling.
Another important number 9 was certainly John Hansen. He played just one season for Lazio but he is a legend. He is probably one of the best Danish players of all time and certainly one of Juve’s best. As a Bianconero he played for six seasons appearing in 189 matches with 124 goals. He won the scudetto in 1949-50 and 1951-52. He arrived at Lazio at the end of his career and he was marred by injury that did not allow him to train properly. Still, he gave everything he could to the team. He was perhaps not all that skilful, but always knew how to be in the right place at the right time, and that is fundamental for a centre forward. He scored 15 goals in 27 appearances.
Towards the end of the 1950s Lazio had Humberto Tozzi. Mad. Crazy. Lazy. Genius. These are four of the many words which fans and media used when they had to describe him. A centre-forward with great potential, he did not like to train and sometimes he did not even want to play, but he could change the course of a game in a second. He was a fundamental part of the Lazio team and formed a spectacular attacking partnership with Arne Selmosson. He often had disagreements with managers, was always late for training, he loved spending money and loved partying. But he did score goals and was an exceptional player, so everything was forgotten and forgiven. He played 103 games for Lazio and scored 45 goals. He was a key member of the team that won the Coppa Italia in 1958, Lazio’s first ever national trophy.
1960's
Lazio did not score much in the 60s but there are two centre forwards that stood out.
Orlando Rozzoni was a massive centre forward for the time, similar, so they say, to Christian Vieri if one wants to have a general idea. He signed for Lazio in 1959. He was big, powerful, a classic old-fashioned centre forward. He was nicknamed “Orlando Furioso” like the main character of the Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto. He played 100 games for Lazio scoring 41 goals.
Gian Piero Ghio was one of the most important Lazio players in the 1968-69 season and gave a huge hand in the promotion to Serie A. He was a good centre-forward who could also play on the wing. He played 76 times for Lazio and scored 22 goals.
1970's
Two of Lazio's best players of all time were certainly Giorgio Chinaglia and Bruno Giordano.
Chinaglia is the Lazio hero, symbol of what being a Biancoceleste supporter is all about. An impressive centre forward, he had everything: the shot, header, speed, could also dribble. He was a leader, loved passionately by the fans. He arrived in 1969 and stayed until March 1976 when he left for New York Cosmos. With Lazio he scored 140 times in 263 games. He won a scudetto and a promotion to Serie A. In 1983 he came back as President of the club but the adventure did not go well. But this did not intact the deep love the fans still have for him.
Bruno Giordano was technically Lazio’s best centre-forward ever. He grew up in the youth team and debuted in Serie A in Chinaglia’s last season. He was practically "Long John's" heir in attack and he did not disappoint. Giordano became one of the best players of his generation and was top Serie A goal scorer in 1979 with 19 goals. In 1980 however his career suffered a dramatic setback. He was accused of being involved in the “Totonero” match fixing scandal. The punishment was a three-and-a-half year suspension. Lazio as a club were also penalized for their players' alleged involvement and were relegated to Serie B. Giordano has always proclaimed his innocence. “I had nothing to do with it. The ban was a blatant injustice, a ban based on no proof and none of the accusers mentioned my name”. After Italy's World Cup triumph in 1982, two years were taken off all the bans. Giordano returned for the 1982-83 season with Lazio still languishing in the second division. He took up where he left off however and helped the Biancocelesti back into the big time with 18 goals. The following season saw him experience another blow, breaking his leg at an away match at Ascoli. He was out for much of the second half of the season but did manage to return in time to help Lazio avoid relegation. A fate not even he could prevent a year later when, after a dismal season, Lazio were relegated. Giordano played a total of 260 games for his beloved home team and scored 117 times. He would later go on to win the scudetto in Diego Armando Maradona’s Napoli.
1980's
Apart from Giordano, there are three centre forwards which in some way or form were fundamental for Lazio in the 1980s: Oliviero Garlini, Giuliano Fiorini and Paolo Monelli.
Garlini was essential in the 1985-86 season when Lazio in Serie B went from favourites for promotion to candidates for relegation. His 18 goals avoided the worst possible outcome.
Paolo Monelli arrived at Lazio in 1987 and was one of the protagonists of Lazio’s return to Serie A, scoring 13 league goals, some of fundamental importance, like the one in injury time at Catanzaro which basically secured promotion.
Giuliano Fiorini was the last of his kind. A classic 1970s centre forward. He never scored an enormous number of goals but was a team player, one of those forwards who would open up spaces for others. He was big, very vocal with everybody, but much loved by fans and teammates. Fiorini was Lazio’s centre-forward for the 1986-87 season. This was the dramatic -9 season as Lazio started with a nine-point docking following the 1986 match fixing scandal. Fiorini played 30 league games and scored 7 goals, the last one allowed Lazio to go to the play off and avoid Serie C. Relegation would have certainly meant the end of the club. His goal, his run under the Curva Nord, his tears. All of this made him a legendary, almost mythical, player at Lazio. One to be remembered forever.
1990's
The 1990s can be considered the golden age of Lazio’s centre forwards.
We can start with Karl-Heinz Riedle. Despite the fact that he was not particularly tall, he had incredibly good aerial abilities, probably one of the best in football history. This was because, thanks to his high jumping training as a boy, he was able to stay in the air for longer than anyone else and he was also extremely accurate. He was much loved by Lazio fans and by his attacking teammates Ruben Sosa and Beppe Signori, who thanks to him were able to have excellent scoring opportunities, as he terrified defenders every time there was a cross into the box. He played 84 games in Serie A, scoring 30 goals, and 10 matches in Coppa Italia (2 goals).
When Riedle was sold he was replaced by Gigi Casiraghi and Alen Boksic. Casiraghi particularly thrived under manager Zdenek Zeman and his 4-3-3. Despite probably not being the Czech’s ideal centre forward, he opened spaces for Signori and scored lots of goals, at least by his usual standards. Between 1993 and 1998 he made 188 appearances with 56 goals.
Alen Boksic, the alien as he was called, is still today one of the fan favourites. He was an exceptional talent who, despite not living up to his potential, delighted Lazio fans for many years. Boksic was a modern attacker. He was 1.89 metres tall, physically strong and dynamic. He would drop from the box, switch flanks, attract and disorientate defenders with his runs, accelerations and dribbling. Running at defenders at full force he was devastating. He had power and skill enabling him to open up defences and give depth to his team. He was never a 20-plus goal striker (except for his season at Marseille) but all his other attributes made up for his lack of efficiency in front of goal. When he did score however, they were often quality, he was no tap-in goal scorer. He made 157 appearances for the Biancocelesti with 43 goals.
In the summer of 1998 Chile scared Italy in the World Cup. Only a dubious penalty allowed them to draw. The hero for the South Americans that day was Marcelo Salas, soon to become one of the most loved centre-forwards for the Biancocelesti. Salas was not very tall but very skilful and fast. He could control a ball and score before the defenders could even realise he was there. He also had good aerial qualities. He was one of the heroes of the Lazio second scudetto and played 117 times in three years with 48 goals. He will be forever remembered for the historic goal against Manchester United in the UEFA Super Cup of 1999.
Christian Vieri was a Chinaglia 2.0. Tall, powerful, good skills, excellent header of the ball, he had everything. Nobody can forget his marvellous header in the Cup Winners Cup final in Birmingham against Real Mallorca. He did not stay long, but is fondly remembered. He got injured immediately and took a while to come back but when he did Lazio flew and just missed out of a deserved scudetto due mainly to controversial refereeing decisions. His main fault was the fact that he thought that the ship had flown and decided to move to Inter. Lazio got a lot of money plus Diego Simeone, but if he had stayed, the club’s fortunes could have changed and he certainly would have won a lot more in his career than he actually did. He scored 14 goals for Lazio in just 28 games.
2000’s
President Sergio Cragnotti after the scudetto wanted to give Lazio a big name as centre forward. He first sought Gabriel Batistuta but Fiorentina asked for way too much money for a player of his age and also tried to get Vieri back but he preferred to stay in Milan. Hence the next on the list was Hernan Crespo. He spent an enormous amount of money for him, also sacrificing Sergio Conceição and Matias Almeyda. Crespo was potentially one of the best forwards we could ever have had but he never completely fulfilled his potential. He scored 48 goals in 73 appearances, but also missed a lot of chances particularly when he was out of form. He could have been lethal, but was not.
Due to financial issues that marred the last years of the Cragnotti presidency, after two seasons he was replaced by Bernardo Corradi. He was an excellent centre forward. His time at Lazio was the probable highlight of his career and his best level of football. Very dangerous on headers, he often missed easy chances with his feet, but a cross in the box was always a good idea when one had Corradi in the team. He did not score that much – 22 in 82 appearances – but opened up space for others. His goal in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus was fundamental and iconic. The last silverware of the Cragnotti era (even if Sergio was no longer president).
Corradi in turn was replaced by Tommaso Rocchi. Rocchi was one of those players signed at the last minute once Claudio Lotito became president. And what a signing. He would go on to score 105 goals in 293 appearances, win the Coppa Italia twice and the Supercoppa. With Goran Pandev he made up a formidable attacking duo which characterised Lazio from 2004 to 2009. Like Salas, he was not particularly tall but was good at headers, was fast and skilful. He also had a great right foot.
2010’s
This was another golden decade for Biancocelesti centre forwards with probably one of the best in the world and one of the greatest goal scorers in history.
Miro Klose arrived towards the end of his career when in Germany everybody thought he was finished. He certainly was not. He played five seasons for Lazio. Lots of ups and a few downs. No discussion on how good he was, but at times he gave fans the feeling that the German national team and the World Cup had priority. He consistently missed at least a couple of months a year due to injury, often in the worst possible moments. But when he was on the pitch, he did what he was famous for: scoring goals. His passion for fishing (he was often spotted in nearby Lake Bracciano) gave him the nickname “Goal Fisher”. He made 171 appearances with 63 goals in five seasons, winning the legendary Coppa Italia against Roma. He currently still holds the record of number of goals scored in the World Cup (16).
When he retired, in came Ciro Immobile. It is enough just to list what he did: player who has scored most goals for Lazio in all official competitions (207), most goals for Lazio in Serie A (169), UEFA Cup/Europa League (16) and UEFA competitions (26). Lazio player, along with Beppe Signori, who has been Serie A top scorer most times (3); one of three players to have won the trophy for top Serie A scorer with two different teams; player, together with Gonzalo Higuain, to have scored most goals in a season in Serie A; first Italian Serie A player to have scored at least 25 league goals three times; player in activity with most goals scored in Serie A. What else can we say? He can score in every way: headers, acrobatically, volleys, outside the box, left or right foot. He may not always be pretty, but he is lethal. There will probably never again be a centre-forward who can score so consistently.
Alongside the greats we must add one of our favourite players: Felipe Caicedo. His speciality? Last second goals. He is the player who holds the Serie A record for goals in injury time (6) and his goal against Cagliari in the 98th minute alone allows him to be added to this list. Powerful, very skilful, often used as backup forward but also paired alongside Immobile, in his 139 appearances he scored 33 times. Caicedone is one of the most popular players in recent times, a favourite for the fans who do not stop sending him their love via social media even if he does not play for Lazio anymore.
And today?
The history of all these Lazio centre-forwards brings us to today. Taty Castellanos is potentially one of the forwards that could make this list in the years to come. He has everything to become a legend - skills, power, header, vision. It is up to him now to carry the weight of all this history.
Top twenty goals centre-forwards
Player | Years played | Appearances | Goals |
Ciro Immobile | 2016-24 | 340 | 207 |
Silvio Piola | 1934-43 | 243 | 159 |
Giorgio Chinaglia | 1969-76 | 263 | 140 |
Bruno Giordano | 1975-1985 | 260 | 117 |
Tommaso Rocchi | 2004-13 | 293 | 105 |
1942-47 | 103 | 79 | |
Fulvio Bernardini | 1919-26 | 110 | 73 |
Miroslav Klose | 2011-16 | 171 | 63 |
Pierluigi Casiraghi | 1993-98 | 188 | 56 |
Marcello Consiglio | 1911-21 | 76 | 56 |
1999-10 | 196 | 55 | |
Marcelo Salas | 1998-01 | 117 | 48 |
Hernan Crespo | 2000-02 | 73 | 48 |
Humberto Tozzi | 1956-60 | 103 | 45 |
Alen Boksic | 1993-00 | 157 | 43 |
1936-40 | 117 | 41 | |
Orlando Rozzoni | 1959-66 | 100 | 41 |
Romano Penzo | 1947-50 | 92 | 36 |
1940-41, 1943-48 | 77 | 36 | |
Felipe Caicedo | 2017-21 | 139 | 33 |
Comments