Massimo Silva

Massimo Silva was born in Pinarolo Po near Pavia, on August 24, 1951.

Source Lazio Wiki

A forward, he started playing football in the youth teams of Inter but never debuted in the first team. In 1969 he stayed a year on loan to Monza and the following season he was with Rovereto in Serie C where he made 23 league appearances with 7 goals.

In 1971 he was again on loan, this time at Cremonese where in the third tier he played 22 matches with 9 goals. In 1972 he was sold to Lazio in the Giuseppe Massa deal with the Neapolitan forward going to Milan and Mario Frustalupi and Silva moving to Rome. He did not stay long and after two appearances in Coppa Italia he was sold to Ascoli who were playing their first ever season in Serie B. In four years in the Marche he made 102 league appearances with 25 goals contributing to the promotion to Serie A in 1973-74.

In 1976-77 he signed for Milan. It was probably one of the worst years in their history up to that moment (worse would follow), with the Rossoneri involved in the relegation battle. He made 20 league appearances with 4 goals. Milan did win the Coppa Italia and he played six times in the competition, with one goal, but not the final.

In 1977 he joined Monza in Serie B scoring 15 goals a season in the two he stayed there. Monza almost made it to Serie A in 1978-79 but lost in the playoff to Pescara. He is very much hated there after he missed a decisive penalty against Lecce and in the 1979-80 season signed for their playoff rivals.

He stayed three years in Abruzzo. Pescara were immediately relegated and in the next two seasons failed to get back to the first tier. He made 87 league appearances with 19 goals.

Silva’s last years of active football were with Sambenedettese in Serie B followed by Messina in Serie C1 and two years at Monopoli also in the third tier.

Following his retirement in 1986, Silva moved into football management. Over the years he coached many clubs in Italy’s professional and semi-professional leagues. His coaching career included spells with teams such as Ascoli, Ternana, Taranto, Frosinone and Grosseto.

One notable period came at Ascoli, where Silva worked closely with coach Marco Giampaolo. At the time Giampaolo did not yet hold the required UEFA coaching license, so Silva was officially listed as the club’s head coach while Giampaolo handled much of the tactical work.

Although he never became one of Italy’s most famous players, Massimo Silva built a long and respected career in football both on and off the pitch. His contribution to Ascoli’s historic promotion and his decades of work as a coach have made him a well-known figure in Italian lower-league football.

For Lazio he will always be remembered as part of the deal that welcomed Frustalupi to Rome, one of the smartest moves ever made in the summer transfer window.

Lazio Career

Season	Coppa Italia Appearances
1972-73	2

Sources

WIkipedia