Top Lazio Stories' Favourites, Part One
- Lazio Stories
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
In our top 100 we obviously could not put every favourite player because some had their technical limits though being fan heroes and others were unlucky to have played in seasons that one cannot really define as exciting.
So for these reasons we have decided to give a list, in order of appearance, of the 20 Lazio Stories' favourite players that, for one reason or another, did not make it to the top 100.
He played for Lazio in the 1976-77 season and then from 1978 to 1982
Viola was a midfielder. He was extremely dynamic but also very technical. He had good vision and was an inventive player, so good to watch. He could play in various midfield roles and had a powerful shot.
He was a cultured man and had degrees in Languages and Law. These off-field interests may have limited his success on the field as he was a very good and versatile player but his life, unlike some, was not only football. He was well liked by all for his pleasant and calm character.
Fernando Viola died tragically in a motorbike accident in Rome, on February 5, 2001. He was not yet 50. A tragic loss for the Lazio family.
He played for Lazio from 1978 to 1980
Aldo Nicoli was an unlucky midfield player who had plenty of talent but whose career was cut short due a very serious injury. He arrived in 1978 . He struggled at first with the Biancocelesti due to an injury in pre-season training but he gradually became increasingly valued and turned into one of the most important players of Bob Lovati’s team. His unforgettable goal in a derby two minutes from the end made him immortal.
Unfortunately on May 6 he suffered a very bad injury at Perugia. He was never the same again. He tried to make a comeback but had to call it a day and stop playing at just 28 years of age.
He played for Lazio from 1980 to 1982.
Bigon started out as a centre forward but later moved to midfield. He was one of Italy’s best attacking midfielders of the 1970s. Before coming to Lazio he played nine years for Milan winning a Scudetto in 1978-79, three Coppa Italias (1971-72, 1972-73, 1976-77) and a UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1973. He played 329 games for Milan in all competitions with 90 goals.
He was at Lazio for two seasons in Serie B and was a fan favourite. He was a great, classy player and even if he only stayed at Lazio briefly he was very fond of the Biancocelesti and Tommaso Maestrelli, as mentioned in many interviews. “Maestrelli was my manager at Foggia and our families were very close, our children grew up together. He was almost like a father to me”, he said in an interview in 2013. He loved Rome. “Despite Chiodi’s missed penalty, I remember it as one of the happiest periods of my life and the fans were just incredible”.
He played for Lazio from 1980 to 1986.
Arcadio Spinozzi is certainly a legend because he epitomises that ruthless Italian man-to-man marking player. And he sure did it well often leaving no breathing space to the unfortunate opposing forward who happened to cross his path.
He arrived in Rome in 1980 full of dreams and was forced to face a harsh Serie B reality and a completely different environment to the one the he was used to up to then. He wrote a book “Vite da Lazio” on his experience in Rome describing that difficult moment in Lazio history. Spinozzi played very well during his Lazio years but was unlucky with his injuries.
The fans will always be very fond of him and they have shown their affection many times over the years.
He played for Lazio from 1981 to 1982.
As a player Vagheggi was a forward. He was extremely dynamic and his speed, especially over long distances, was perhaps his best asset. All this running and movement led to him not being overly prolific. At Lazio he had a good season despite the Biancocelesti's difficulties. He did not score until January but then scored 9 league goals. It was not a great year for Lazio but without Vagheggi it would have been far worse.
He was nicknamed "Vaghigno" as in a Brazilian player of talent, maybe slightly exaggerated but it also says a lot about the quality, or lack of, in the team.
He played for Lazio from 1982 to 1987.
Podavini was a very modern right back who could act like a winger but also defend. He also had a very powerful shot which allowed him to score at least a couple of goals per season in free kicks and penalties. He arrived in 1983 and instantly became a fan favourite. He was also one of the protagonists of the -9 season. In the final league match with Lazio on the brink of relegation, Podavini got the ball and kicked. It was more of a desperate attempt than actual possibility of a goal. He miskicked it but the ball reached to Giuliano Fiorini who turned around and scored. The Biancocelesti were safe for the moment. Thanks to Podavini. Lazio would go on to secure permanence in Serie B with a dramatic play off win against Campobasso in Naples. “When I see Fiorini’s goal I still get emotional. Despite the fact that many years have passed, the memory is very much alive”, he said recently.
Enrico Vella is one of those players who, although he played just a season plus a few months for Lazio, is remembered with great affection by all Lazio fans. He arrived in 1982 and became an immediate fan favourite. His generosity on the pitch had no rivals and for the Laziali it was love at first sight. He was usually in charge of man marking the opponent’s playmaker, but this did not stop him from scoring. In the 1982-83 season he scored some extremely vital goals for Lazio such as at Pistoia and Perugia. Lazio got promoted back to Serie A, and he was one of the protagonists. Unfortunately he had a row with manager Giancarlo Morrone early in the next season and asked to leave.
The Lazio fans have never forgotten him. He received a Prize from a Lazio journal in 1983 for his “Lazialità” and in a Corriere dello Sport poll at the time he was voted second favourite player behind Bruno Giordano, and to this day we can safely define him as a Lazio hero.
Fernando Orsi was Lazio's goalkeeper from 1982-85 and then from 1989-98.
Probably among the best keepers of Lazio, he played a big part in Lazio’s promotion to Serie A in 1982-83.
Initially chosen as second goalkeeper in his first year, he went up the ladder and became first choice. The same thing happened in his second season. He left in 1985 but came back four years later to become Valerio Fiori’s reserve, giving up higher wages and guaranteed first team football to return to his beloved Lazio. He stayed another 9 years where he settled in a reliable reserve role. At 1.82 metres tall Orsi was not an imposing keeper but was strong, agile and above all reliable. He was appreciated and respected by his coaches and teammates for his professionalism. He was always ready when needed and never made a fuss when he was left out.
Domenico Caso, better known as Mimmo, is one of the Lazio heroes of the -9 Serie B championship.
Great midfield player, at the beginning of his career he was a right winger, but later on was made playmaker in front of the defence. After a long career where he played with Fiorentina (winning a Coppa Italia), Napoli, Inter (winning a scudetto), Perugia and Torino, in 1986 he arrived at Lazio.
During his three years in Rome he saw it all. Mimmo Caso went from being favourites for promotion under Giorgio Chinaglia to financial collapse and almost Serie C. And this was only his first year. In his second, the club was financially recovering but was penalised 9 points for an alleged involvement in match fixing. The team managed to do well but then physically and mentally collapsed towards the end of the season. But they managed to reach a playoff and avoided relegation. In 1987-88 Lazio finally got the agonised promotion to Serie A. A great person, a great player and a great teacher of football.
Angelo Adamo Gregucci is another one of the heroes of the -9 season. A splendid defender, tall, but also fast, great man to man marker (Marco Van Basten never had it easy against Lazio), he also scored quite a lot of goals in his career. He arrived in 1986 and immediately became a staple player for the Lazio squad, contributing enormously in both the -9 season and in the promotion the following year. The jump to Serie A was not a problem and he stayed with the Biancocelesti until 1993 when, much to the dismay of the fans, he was sold to Torino. He became a fan and is often heard on local radio stations talking about Lazio.
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