The Spanish Connection at Lazio

Spain is famous for many reasons; its vibrant culture, its artists and explorers, delicious food like paella, jamón Ibérico and tapas, Rioja wine and Cava, iconic landmarks such as the Alhambra and the Sagrada Familia, its islands, bullfighting, flamenco, the movida, its sunshine and beaches, its regional divisions and the Spanish civil war and in jumbled order characters such as El Cid, Charles V, Ferdinand II, Francisco Franco, Felipe González, Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, El Greco, Diego Velásquez, Francisco Goya, Antoni Gaudí, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Miguel de Cervantes, Federico Garcia Lorca, Luis Buñuel, Pedro Almodovar, Fernando Rey, Angela Molina, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Antonio Banderas, Placido Domingo, Monserrat Caballé, Julio Iglesias and in sport Rafa Nadal, Arantxa Sanchez, Carlos Alcaraz, Miguel Indurain, Severiano Ballesteros, Fernando Alonso, Pau Gasol, Oriol Ripol and lots more but it is also a great footballing nation with two of the most famous clubs in the world, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

As mentioned the most successful clubs are the Merengues (105 total honours-36 leagues) and the Blaugrana (102-28) but also Athletic Bilbao  (36-8), Atlético Madrid  (33-11), Valencia (23-6) and Sevilla (15-1).

The Spanish national team has also been successful, especially in recent history. "La Roja" have won one World Cup (2010), 4 European Championships (1964, 2008, 2012 and 2024) and one Nations League (2023).

Spain have obviously had some great players, these include Ricardo Zamora, Antoni Ramallets, Francisco Gento, Alfredo Di Stefano, Luis Suarez,  Pirri, Luis Arconada, Quini, Juan Manuel Asensi, Francisco Carrasco, Jesus Maria Zamora, Santillana, José Antonio Camacho, Juanito, Rafael Gordillo, Manuel Sanchez, Michel, Pep Guardiola, Andoni Zubizarreta, Julio Salinas, Emilio Butragueño, Fernando Hierro, Raúl, Luis Enrique, Txiki Begiristain, Andoni Goikoetxea, José Mari Bakero, Carles Puyol, Fernando Torres, Gaizka Mendieta, Fernando Morientes, Xabi Alonso, Raúl Albiol, Sergio Busquets, Sergio Ramos, Cesc Fabregas, David Villa, Iker Casillas, Koke, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba, Xavi and many more to present day Pedro, Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Nico and Iñaki, Williams, Gavi and Pedri.

Spanish players traditionally struggled in Italy but this has changed in more recent times. Lazio have had several Spanish players and others who had a brief connection.

Emilio Morollón Estébanez - forward, he arrived on loan from Valladolid in August 1963 to play the "Bodas de Oro" tournament in Santander. He played against Racing Santander and Sporting Lisbon and then returned to Valladolid. He won 2 caps for Spain.

Joaquín Lucas Peirò - forward, he played one game on loan for Lazio in March 1965, a friendly against a selection from Moscow. He was playing for Inter at the time (previously Atletico Madrid, Torino) and later played for Roma and Atlético Madrid again. He won 12 caps for Spain with 5 goals.

Ivan de la Peña - midfielder, he arrived in 1998 from Barcelona. He played for Lazio for one season with 23 games and 1 goal. He then left for Olympique Marseille and Barcelona on loan and returned to Lazio in 2001-02 but only played 2 games. His career then continued at Espanyol for ten seasons. He won 5 caps for Spain.

He was a central midfield playmaker with great positioning, timing and geometry but less efficient defensively and not overly physical.

At Lazio he disappointed, after impressing at Barcelona. He however won a Cup Winners Cup and an Italian Supercoppa.

Gaizka Mendieta - midfielder, he arrived in 2001 from Valencia. He only stayed one season, playing 31 games (20 in A). He then went to Barcelona on loan for a year and then signed for Middlesbrough for four seasons. He won 40 caps for Spain with 9 goals.

He is possibly Lazio’s worst buy ever considering what they paid for him (89 billion lire). At Valencia he was a brilliant box to box midfielder and voted best player of the Champions League two years in a row but at Lazio he never settled and rarely put in even remotely decent performances.

Alfonso Delgado - forward, he arrived as a young boy to the Lazio youth sector. He played two seasons with the first team squad from 2003 to 2005, playing 5 league games. He then played for SPAL, Potenza, Vaslui (Romania), Universitatea Cluj (Romania), Pergocrema and then various amateur clubs in the Rome area.

His highlight for Lazio was setting up Luciano Zauri's winner in a 2-1 win over Inter.

Óscar López - defender, he arrived in 2004 from Barcelona on loan. He was one of the many players brought in by Lotito at the end of the summer transfer market. He stayed one year, playing 14 league games. He then went to Betis Sevilla, Gimnàstic, Numana and Go Ahead Eagles.

He has then had a coaching career in the Barcelona youth sector.

He was a right full-back, quick and with good athleticism but had difficulties at Lazio and never really played regularly.

Javier Garrido - defender, he arrived in 2010 from Manchester City (previously Real Sociedad) and stayed two seasons. He played 23 games with 1 goal. He then left for Norwich City, Las Palmas and AEK Athens.

He was a left full-back who was better going forward than defending but at Lazio did neither particularly well.

Domingo Berlanga - forward, he arrived in 2011 from Cornella (Barcelona) to play for the U19s but due to bureaucratic issues never played and in March 2012 left for Espanyol. He then played for several minor Catalan clubs, returned to Italy in 2021 to play for Turris Val Pescara before returning to Figueres in Spain.

Source Wikipedia

Keita Balde - forward, he arrived in 2011 from Barcelona but was officially signed in July 2012. He initially played for the U19s (winning a Scudetto in 2013 and Coppa Italia in 2014) but in 2013 broke into the first team squad where he stayed four years, playing 137 games with 31 goals. His best season was 2016-17 with 16 goals in A (including two in 3-1 derby win). He left for Monaco, then Inter on loan, Monaco again, Sampdoria, Cagliari, Spartak Moscow, Espanyol on loan, Sivasspor (Turkey) and Monza.

He has both Spanish and Senegalese citizenship and has 40 caps for Senegal with 6 goals. In 2021 he won the African Cup.

He is a forward, playing mainly wide on the right. He is fast with good dribbling skills and possesses a good shot.

He did well at Lazio and in fact has never reached those levels of performance since.

José Antonio Delgado - goalkeeper, he arrived in 2012 from Cadiz to play for the U19s. He struggled to impose himself and returned to the Andalusian club.

Mamadou Tounkara - forward, he arrived in 2012 from Barcelona B and joined the U19s (winning a Scudetto, the Coppa Italia twice and a Supercoppa). In May 2014 he made his debut for the first team. He played two games for the Biancocelesti before leaving for Crotone on loan in 2015. He came back in January and was sent out on loan to Salernitana. Back at Lazio in 2016-17 he was initially excluded but then re-enlisted in February and made one more league appearance.

His career then continued with Flamaturi on loan (Albania), Schaffhausen on loan (Switzerland), Zemplin Michalovce on loan (Slovakia), Viterbese, Cittadella, Avellino, Foggia, Avezzano and Guidonia Monteveglio.

He is both Spanish and Senegalese. In 2012 he received a call up for the Spain U17s but in 2016 revealed his decision to play for Senegal. His career then never actually earned him a call up.

He showed great potential initially at Lazio, possibly more than Keita, but in the end he had an extremely mediocre career.

Antonio Quintero Luque - defender, he arrived in 2012 from Seville to play for the U19s. He won a Primavera Scudetto in 2013. In 2014 he left for Lucerne in Switzerland.

Moustapha Seck - defender, he arrived in 2013 from  Barcelona's cantera to play for the U19s (winning the Coppa Italia twice and a Supercoppa). In 2014 he played a friendly for the first team against Levski Sofia. He played for the Primavera until 2016 when he did not renew his contract and signed for Roma. He played once for Roma in a Europa League game. In January 2017 he went on loan to Carpi, then Empoli, Novara, Almere City (Germany) and Livorno before signing for Portuguese club Leixões.

Cristian Fibra - midfielder, he arrived on trial for the U19s in 2014 from Espanyol. After pre-season training he was not signed and returned to Espanyol.

Fortía Munts - defender, he arrived in 2014 from Espanyol on trial for the U19s. He was not signed and returned to Catalonia.

Patricio Gabarrón Gil, "Patrìc" - defender, he arrived in 2015 from Barcelona B. He is still at Lazio. He has played 228 games with 6 goals. He has won a Coppa Italia (2019) and the Supercoppa twice (2017, 2019). In the most recent 2024-25 season he was out for most of the year injured.

Official SS Lazio photo

After an uncertain start in Rome he has improved and gained the respect of Lazio fans. Under Maurizio Sarri in particular he became a solid and reliable asset in defence. He started as a right full-back but has evolved into a central defender. He is now a real Laziale.

Luis Alberto - midfielder, he arrived in 2016 from Liverpool (previously Sevilla Atlético,  Sevilla, Barcelona B, Malaga on loan and Deportivo La Coruña on loan). He stayed eight seasons at Lazio and won a Coppa Italia (2019) and the Supercoppa twice. He played 307  games with 52 goals (including two in a 3-0 derby win).

Official SS Lazio photo

After a hesitant start he became a superb player, delighting the fans for many years. The "Mago" (Magician) is a number 10 with vision, brilliant ball control, inventiveness and good shooting skills. A complete midfielder he also helped Ciro Immobile pile up the goals in his Roman stay with his numerous assists.

He strangely only has one cap for Spain.

He left in 2024 for Al-Duhail in Qatar.

One can safely say he is the best Spanish player Lazio have ever had and even one of the best of any nationality.

Joaquin Ibañez - forward, he arrived in 2018 from River Plate U20s to play for Lazio U19s. Not to be confused with Roma defender Roger (Lazio hero of several derbies..).

Cristóbal Muñoz - midfielder, he arrived from Barcelona B (previously Almeria, Malaga and Pavia) in 2018 to play for the U19s. A great talent he is one of the many to have been compared to Lionel Messi. He then returned to Barcelona B.

Jony - left winger, he arrived in 2019 from Malaga (previously Real Oviedo, Marino de Luanco, Getafe B, Real Avilés and Sporting Gijón). In 2019-20 he played 32 games (24 in A). Lazio were fighting for the Scudetto until March when Covid-19 and lockdown destroyed their dream.

Jony then joined Osasuna on loan, came back to Lazio in 2021-22 until January but without playing and then joined Sporting Gijón.

At Lazio he was not a great success despite a few flashes (the cross for Caicedo injury time winner at Cagliari comes to mind) but he did win a Supercoppa Italiana when Lazio defeated Juventus 3-1.

Raul Moro - forward, he arrived in 2019 from Barcelona B. He initially played for the U19s but made his debut for the first team on July 20, 2O20. He stayed three and played 20 games. In his third , under Maurizio Sarri, he played more regularly, 18 games (11 in A).

In 2022 he left for Ternana on loan and then Real Oviedo. From 2023-25 he played for Real Valladolid and now is with Ajax.

He has 12 Spain U21 caps.

He is a left wing with good technique, agility and dribbling skills. Lazio had high hopes for him but they were not rewarded. He however seems to be coming into his own at the moment.

"Pepe" Reina - goalkeeper, he arrived in 2020 from Milan  (previously Barcelona, Villarreal, Liverpool, Napoli on loan, Bayern Munich, Napoli again, Milan and Aston Villa-on loan from Milan) and stayed two seasons, playing 54 games. He left for Villarreal and then Como and retired in May 2025.

He earned 36 caps for Spain and won a World Cup in 2010 and 2 European Championships in 2008 and 2012.

He arrived at Lazio at 38. He started off well but then lost his place to Thomas Strakosha.

Pedro Rodríguez - forward,  he arrived in 2021 from Roma. He previously played for Barcelona and Chelsea winning plenty of trophies (5 Ligas, 3 Coppa del Rey, 4 Spanish Super Cups, a Premier League, an FA Cup, 3 Champions Leagues, 3 UEFA Super Cups, a Europa League, 2 World Cups for Clubs.

Official SS Lazio photo

He has just completed his fourth season at Lazio. He has played 176 games with 34 goals and is still competitive and immensely popular. He has his own song chanted by the Curva Nord (a Raffaella Carra song called Pedro). He recently renewed his contract for another year so will wear the Lazio jersey in 2025-26 too.

He earned 65 caps for Spain and scored 17 times. He won a World Cup in 2010 and European Championship in 2012.

He is a forward who can play on the left and the right. He can play with both feet, is quick and agile and has excellent dribbling and shooting skills. He is known for his coolness in front of goal and scored in nine of the finals he played in.

Mamadou Balde - forward, he arrived in January 2023 from Nocerina to play for the U19s. He made his debut for the first team in January 2025 in Lazio v Real Sociedad. He was then sold in the summer of 2025 to Club Deportivo Tenerife.

He is Keita Balde's youngest brother and possesses both Spanish and Senegalese passports.

Mario Gila - defender, he arrived in 2022 from Real Madrid Castilla B (plus 2 games for Real Madrid). He has just completed his third season at Lazio. In the first he did not impress with only 5 league games and 12 in total. In the following two he has imposed himself as one of the best defenders in Serie A. He has so far played 84 games with 2 goals.

He is a central defender, strong and quick with good technique. He is also known for his sudden attacking forays, surging out of defence.

He has been called up once for Spain but is yet to make his debut.