History of S.S. Lazio

Foundation to post-World War II (1900-1949)

"Società Podistica Lazio", or "Lazio "Track and Field" Club" was founded on January 9, 1900 in the Prati district of Rome. Wanting to encompass more than just the city of Rome that they were from, the club's nine original founding members [Luigi Bigiarelli, a non-commissioned officer in the Bersaglieri, Giacomo Bigiarelli, Odoacre Aloisi, Arturo Balestrieri, Alceste Grifoni, Giulio Lefevre, Galileo Massa, Alberto Mesones, Enrico Venier.] chose to name Lazio after the region in which the city is located (Lazio).

The club's white and sky blue colors are inspired by the Greek flag and more specifically the country which gave birth to Olympic tradition and its revival at the end of the 19th century. On the other hand, the club's traditional symbol, the eagle, is an acknowledgment to the emblem of the Roman Empire. In 1901 [http://www.sslazio.it/it/InfoPage.aspx?id=33753] , a member of Racing Club de Paris [Bruno Seghettini] first introduced the club to football making it the oldest active one in Rome and one of the oldest in Italy. [Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio. Edizioni Panini SpA] A team was formed immediately, however official matches were played the following year in 1902 [Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio. Edizioni Panini SpA] , the very first one being a 3-0 victory on May 16th, 1902 against the now defunct "Società Sportiva Virtus", a break-away club consisting of ex-Lazio players.

Lazio joined league competition in 1912 as soon as the Italian Football Federation began organising championships in the center and south of Italy, and reached the final of the national championship playoff three times, but never won, losing in 1913 to Pro Vercelli, in 1914 to Casale and in 1923 to Genoa 1893.

In 1927 Lazio was the only major Roman club which resisted the Fascist regime's attempts to merge all the city's teams into what would become A.S. Roma the same year.

The club played in the first organised Serie A in 1929 and, led by legendary Italian striker Silvio Piola, achieved a second place finish in 1937—its highest pre-war result.

1950s and 60s

The 1950s produced a mix of mid and upper table results with an Italian Cup win in 1958.

Lazio was relegated for the first time in 1961 to the Serie B, but returned two years later. Under Argentine coach Juan Carlos Lorenzo, Lazio's tight defence ensured a credible 8th place finish in 1964 with a paltry 21 goals scored and a stingy 24 conceded. A 3-0 away win over Juventus was a highlight of the season.

Stars of the side in those years included midfielder Nello Governato, who later went on to work as a manager for the club. Lazio were relegated in 1967 and returned to Serie A two years later finishing 8th in the top flight.

1970s

The 1970s began just as the 1960s did, with relegation following the 1970-71 season. However promotion the following year ushered in Lazio's first truly successful period. They took to the field in the 1972-73 season with a team comprising English-born captain Giuseppe Wilson in defence, Luciano Re Cecconi and Mario Frustalupi in midfield, Renzo Garlaschelli and Giorgio Chinaglia up front, and coach Tommaso Maestrelli. With Chinaglia providing the goals and the defence giving little away, Lazio emerged as surprise challengers for the Scudetto to Milan and Juventus in 1972-1973, only losing out on the final day of the season after conceding a late goal at Napoli (whilst Juventus left it late to secure a win at Lazio's bitter rivals Roma).

It served as a prelude to a breakthrough for the 1973-74 season, when Lazio would sweep all before them to win their first league title, having lead throughout the season. Unfortunately this was not built upon, as 4th place the following year would be followed by a struggle against relegation in 1975-76 and a mid-table finish in 1977-78 (with a 5th place finish in 1976-77 in between). The tragic deaths of Luciano Re Cecconi and scudetto trainer Tommaso Maestrelli in addition to the departure of Chinaglia would be a triple blow for Lazio. The emergence of Bruno Giordano during this period provided some relief as he finished League top scorer in 1979, when Lazio finished 8th.

1980s

Lazio were forcibly relegated to Serie B in 1980 due to a remarkable scandal concerning illegal bets on their own matches, along with Milan. They remained in Italy's second division for three seasons in what would mark the darkest period in Lazio's history. They would return in 1983 and manage a last-day escape from relegation the following season. 1984-85 would prove harrowing, with a pitiful 15 points and bottom place finish despite the emergence of promising, though albeit unfulfilled talent of Francesco Dell'Anno and Francesco Fonte.

In 1986, Lazio was hit with a 9-point deduction (a true deathblow back in the day of the two-point win) for a betting scandal involving one player, Claudio Vinazzini. An epic struggle against relegation followed the same season in Serie B, with the club led by trainer Eugenio Fascetti only avoiding relegation to the Serie C after play-off wins over Taranto and Campobasso. This would prove a turning point in the club's history, with Lazio returning to Serie A in 1988 and, under the careful financial management of Gianmarco Calleri, the consolidation of the club's position as a solid top-flight club.

1990s

The arrival of Sergio Cragnotti, in 1992, changed the club's history forever as he was prepared to invest long term in new players for the club in order to make the team a competitor on the Serie A level. Cragnotti repeatedly broke transfer records in pursuit of players who were considered major stars - Juan Sebastian Veron for £18million, Christian Vieri for £19million and breaking the world transfer record , albeit only for a matter of weeks, to sign Hernan Crespo from Parma for £35million.

In 1993 Lazio finished fifth in Serie A, fourth in 1994, second in 1995, third in 1996, and fourth again in 1997, then it lost the championship just by one point to AC Milan on the last championship's match in 1999 before, with the likes of Sinisa Mihajlovic, Alesandro Nesta and Pavel Nedved in the side, finally winning its second "scudetto" in 2000, as well as the Italian Cup in an impressive and rare (by Italian standards) "double" with Sven-Göran Eriksson (1997-2001) as manager.

In addition to the aforementioned one, Lazio had two other Coppa Italia triumphs in recent years, in 1998 and 2004. Lazio also won the last ever UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1999 and reached the UEFA Cup final in 1998, but lost 0-3 against a Ronaldo-inspired Inter Milan. Lazio won the Italian Super Cup twice and defeated Manchester United in 1999 to win the European Super Cup. Lazio was also the first Italian football club to be quoted on the Italian "Piazza Affari" stock market.

2000 to present - Decline and revival

Lazio began the decade brightly by winning the Italian Super Cup and finishing in 3rd place in the league - but the departure of Sven Goran Eriksson accelerated the decline of the club. With money running out, or wasted on transfer flops like Gaizka Mendieta for £28million, Lazio missed the all-important qualification for the UEFA Champions League in the 2001/2002 season, finishing in a disappointing 6th place.

A financial scandal involving Cragnotti and his food products multinational Cirio forced him to leave the club in 2002, and Lazio was controlled until 2004 by caretaker financial managers and a bank pool. This forced the club to sell their star players & even the "symbol" of the club - club captain Nesta - in quick succession. Lazio was subsequently sold to entrepreneur Claudio Lotito, who is the current majority share owner.

That summer, 36-year old former Lazio star Paolo Di Canio accepted to join the club he supported as a youth, taking a 75 per cent paycut. The 2005-2006 season saw Lazio lose veterans such as Fernando Couto, Paolo Negro and Giuliano Giannichedda who were let go by the club, among other things, to lower its salary expenditure. The 2005-2006 season under the coaching of Delio Rossi saw the club compete beyond all expectations with a team which blends remaining veterans such as Angelo Peruzzi and midfield fan favourites Fabio Liverani and Ousmane Dabo with an infusion of motivated players with lower salary demands. The policy had proven successful as the club qualified for the 2006-07 UEFA Cup.

On July 14, it was announced that they had been relegated to Serie B with a 7 point penalty for their supposed involvement in match-fixing scandal. The club's appeal was successful and in a judgment released on July 25, Lazio's penalty was reduced to an 11 point deduction in the following Serie A season (subsequently further reduced to 3 points) and a 30 point deduction in the previous Serie A season, resulting in the loss of their qualification to the following UEFA Cup.

Despite a later-reduced points deduction, Lazio achieved a 3rd place finish in the 2006/2007, just falling short of breaking the club record for games won in succession - the current squad racked up 8 wins in a row, compared to the 2000 Scudetto winning squad who set the record of 9.

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