Roberto Bacci was certainly not the best player that has ever worn the Lazio jersey, but he gave balance to the team and was held in high esteem by Dino Zoff.
Born in Barga on June 15 1967, Bacci began to play football in defence for Torino youth teams. In 1986-87 he began his professional career in Serie C2 for Derthona and then two years at Pavia in Serie C1 and C2. After a very brief stint with Como in 1989, he was sold to Mantova where he played the rest of the season.
His adventure with Lazio started in 1990-91 under Dino Zoff and he played quite a number of games, despite not being one of the major members of the squad. He played a lot more in the subsequent three years, despite the increased quality of the Lazio players, because Zoff could always rely on his adaptability, spirit and application. Once Zoff became President and Zdenek Zeman arrived, he played a lot less. He was certainly not a player that could adapt well to Zeman.
Lazio sold him to Torino and he played the 1995-96 season for the Granata before going on loan to Verona in Serie A a year later and then to Modena in Serie C1 in 1997-98. He ended his career with Arezzo where he stayed until 2002.
Bacci later became a manager and trained youth teams for Torino and Fiorentina, followed by minor league teams in Italy. He is currently manager for Pianese in Serie D.
He played 143 games for Lazio (124 in Serie A, 12 in Coppa Italia and 7 in the UEFA Cup) and scored two goals (one in Serie A and one in Coppa Italia).
Appearances and goals for Lazio
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1990-91 | 22 | 20 | 2 | - |
1991-92 | 37 | 33 | 4 | - |
1992-93 | 35 (1) | 31 | 4 (1) | - |
1993-94 | 33 | 29 | - | 4 |
1994-95 | 16 (1) | 11 (1) | 2 | 3 |
Total | 143 (2) | 124 (1) | 12 (1) | 7 |
Sources