Lazio is regarded as a dark horse in Italian football competition. Although this club only two times won the Serie A, Lazio is considered a strong competitor for three biggest clubs in Serie A: Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. The club also has produced many talented players who are able to improve the reputation of Italian football.
Through this article, I want to present the profiles of some of the Lazio's best players of all time, such as Hernan Crespo, Giuseppe Signori, Juan Sebastian Veron, Pavel Nedved, and many others. Among the fifteen players on this list, which one is your favorite?
15. Hernan Crespo
Hernan Crespo is a retired player who once made history by becoming the most expensive player in the world. He was signed from Parma in 2000 for a fee of 35 million pounds. Crespo paid off the high price with a good performance, where he became a Serie A's top scorer in his debut season at Lazio. Unfortunately, he only got to play with the club for two years because in the end he had to be sold to Inter Milan to cover the financial crisis experienced by Lazio in the beginning of 2000s.
14. Sinisa Mihajlovic
Sinisa Mihajlovic was a tough central defender from Yugoslavia who often scored goals from free kicks. Although he has short stature, Mihajlovic also possesses great speed, work-rate, and power that made him a mainstay of Lazio defense line during six years playing for this club. Over 14 years of playing in Serie A with Lazio and Inter Milan, Mihajlovic scored a total of 27 goals from free kicks.
13. Marcelo Salas
Marcelo Salas is a former Chilean striker who had a major role in helping Lazio to be Serie A champions in the 1998-1999 season. His duet with Claudio Lopez at that time was regarded as the most dangerous striker-duo in Serie A. Just like most players of Lazio in the early 2000s, he eventually had to be sold to another club to cover the club's debts. During his career in Lazio, Salas scored 34 goals in 79 appearances.
12. Giuseppe Wilson
Giuseppe Wilson is one of the most successful English defender who had a career in the Italian League. This player joined Lazio for a decade, from 1969 to 1979. He was also a mainstay of the club's defense line when they claimed Scudetto in the 1973-74 season. With a total of 394 performances for Lazio, Wilson became the player with the second highest numbers of appearances for the club. Although both of his parents are from England, Wilson chose to play for the Italian national team.
11. Juan Sebastian Veron
Veron is Argentine midfielder who is regarded as one of the best playmakers in the history of football. Although only two seasons playing for Lazio, this player had a very vital role in helping his club win three championship titles in 2000. The combination of Veron-Stankovic-Nedved-Conceciao was regarded as the best midfield combination in the Italian League. In total, Veron played 53 times for Lazio and scored 11 goals.
10. Dejan Stankovic
Although he won more trophies during his period at Inter Milan, Dejan Stankovic got his recognition as a great midfielder when he played for Lazio. The Yugoslavian midfielder was signed from Red Star in 1998 and played for six years for Lazio. Stankovic is known as a hardworking midfielder who can play as an attacking midfielder, winger, or defensive midfielder. Together with Lazio, he won a Serie A title and a Coppa Italia trophy.
9. Tommaso Rocchi
After the period of Lazio's golden generation under the leadership of Sven-Goran Eriksson, Rocchi is regarded as the most talented player who played for this team in the mid 2000s. He played for Lazio for four years, from 2004 to 2008, scoring 82 goals in 235 appearances. He is known as a fast and agile striker who can also play as a winger. One of his best achievements in Lazio was winning the Coppa Italia in 2009.
8. Pavel Nedved
Nedved was a hardworking midfielder who played for Lazio in the period 1996-2001. During his career, Nedved is known as an energetic midfielder with high stamina who scored a lot of goals. During playing for Lazio, Nedved won a Serie A title, a Coppa Italia trophy, a Cup Winners trophy and a UEFA Cup trophy. Nedved was also praised by Sven-Goran Eriksson as an example of a complete midfielder.
7. Giorgio Chinaglia
Giorgio Chinaglia is one of the most successful Lazio strikers. He led the club win the 1973-74 Serie A season and twice became the top scorer of the Italian League. Chinaglia also played 14 times for the Italian national team and scored 11 goals. This player left Lazio in 1976 to join a club in the United States League, the New York Cosmos. At the club, Chinaglia played alongside some football legends such as Pele and Franz Beckenbauer, and achieved a record as the top scorer of all time in the U.S. Soccer League.
6. Luca Marchegiani
Considering his achievements and loyalty, Marchegiani should be referred as Lazio's best goalkeeper of all time. This player joined Lazio from 1993 to 2003 and won the Serie A title, a Coppa Italia trophies and a Cup Winners Cup trophy. Marchegiani also briefly held record as the most expensive goalkeeper in the world when he was transferred from Torino to Lazio with a fee of six million pounds. In total, Marchegiani played in 339 matches for Lazio.
5. Paolo Negro
Paolo Negro is one of the most loyal players ever to play for Lazio. He played for the club for 12 years, from 1993 to 2005. Negro is known as a complete defender, where he could play as a central defender or right-back. This player is regarded as the best companion Alessandro Nesta in the Lazio's defense line during the period of the 1990s. Negro also briefly played for the Italian national team in eight international matches.
4. Giuseppe Favalli
Giuseppe Favalli holds the record as the player with the highest number of appearances for Lazio, with a total of 401 appearances. He joined this club for 12 years, from 1992 to 2004. Compared to other players on this list, Favalli is the most players to win a trophy with Lazio. He won a Serie A trophy, three Coppa Italia trophies and one Cup Winners' Cup trophy. This player left Lazio in 2006 to join AC Milan.
3. Giuseppe Signori
Giuseppe Signori is a former Italian striker who became three-time Serie A's top scorer while he was playing for Lazio. Signori known as a striker with high technique and ability to score goals from set-pieces. Unfortunately, during the five years playing for Lazio from 1992 to 1997, Signori did not win even a single trophy. He eventually moved to Sampdoria in 1998 after he was regularly benched by Lazio's coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson.
2. Alessandro Nesta
If only Nesta does not move to AC Milan in 2002, he might be the best player in the history of Lazio. Nesta is a player who was raised by the Youth Academy of Lazio. His figure is often being compared with Francesco Totti, the player who became a hero at Lazio's rival club, AS Roma. During his period played for Lazio, Nesta won a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia, and a Winners' Cup trophy. He was also elected three times as the best defender for Serie A.
1. Silvio Piola
Silvio Piola is a legendary Italian striker who holds the record as Lazio's top scorer of all time with a total of 148 goals. He played for Lazio for nine years, from 1934 to 1943 and twice became the top scorer of Serie A. His best achievement occurred in 1938, where he led the Italian national team win the World Cup. Unfortunately, although he was very prolific in scoring goals, Piola did not win any trophy at club level. Nevertheless, he managed to create a brilliant record as all-time leading scorer in the Italian league, with a total of 290 goals.
