Lazio Jersey 1976-77
A season of several shirts, marked by a slightly deeper shade of celeste and, ultimately, by the tragedy of Luciano Re Cecconi
The 1976–77 season saw Lazio wear several different versions of their traditional celeste shirt, reflecting a period when there was still considerable variation in the design and manufacture of football jerseys.
One of the first shirts used that season was a summer short-sleeved version produced by Tuttosport, made from a particularly lightweight cotton in a plain light celeste. It featured the classic V-neck, finished with white cuffs, while the white shirt number was made from smooth plastic and sewn directly onto the shirt.
The shirt had visible stitching along the sides and shoulders, while a Tuttosport label was positioned centrally inside the collar.
Another version worn during the season had a slightly deeper shade of celeste than Lazio's traditional colour. This shirt was distinguished by a thin white trim around the collar and celeste cuffs, again edged in white. The numbers were made from white plastic.
Tuttosport supplied several different Lazio shirts during the campaign, including both a lightweight short-sleeved cotton version for warmer weather and a long-sleeved woollen version.
Another set of shirts was produced by Ennerre, underlining the variety of equipment used by Lazio during the period.
The different versions are a reminder of how football shirts were made and supplied in the 1970s. Unlike the increasingly standardised modern game, clubs could use different materials and manufacturers during the same season, with shirts adapted to the weather and the practical requirements of the players.
There was even a white version used occasionally on away games.
But the most poignant shirt associated with the 1976–77 season was one that was never worn.
Luciano Re Cecconi had been one of the defining figures of Lazio's great side of the early 1970s. Signed from Foggia in August 1972 by his former coach Tommaso Maestrelli, the blond midfielder quickly became one of the most popular players among the Lazio supporters.
During the 1976–77 campaign, however, his season was interrupted by a serious injury suffered on 24 October 1976. Re Cecconi was expected to return after the Christmas break and spent the final months of the year undergoing rehabilitation.
His return was planned for the beginning of 1977. Lazio even had a new Tuttosport shirt prepared for him.
He would never wear it.
On 18 January 1977, Re Cecconi was tragically shot and killed by a jeweller in Rome. The Lazio community was devastated.
The final shirt prepared for the “Angelo biondo” therefore became something far more than a piece of football equipment. It was intended for his return to the pitch, but instead became a poignant symbol of a player whose life and career had been cut tragically short.
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