Società Sportiva Lazio

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The club's earliest major honour was a domestic cup win in 1958. In 1974, they won their first Serie A title. The 1990s were the most successful period in Lazio's history: they reached the UEFA Cup final in 1998; won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 1999; and clinched the Serie A title in 2000. Due to a severe economic crisis in 2002 that forced the departure of president Sergio Cragnotti and the selling of several star players, Lazio's success in the league declined. In spite of the lower funds, the club has won four Coppa Italia titles since then: 2004, 2009, 2013 and 2019. Current president Claudio Lotito took charge of the club in 2004, ending a two-year period without a president. Lazio's traditional kit colours are sky blue shirts and white shorts with white socks; these reflect Rome's ancient Hellenic legacy. Sky blue socks have also been interchangeably used as home colours. Lazio share a long-standing and fierce rivalry with AS Roma, against whom they have contested the Derby della Capitale since 1929. Despite initially not having any parent–subsidiary relation with the male and female professional team (that was incorporated as S.S. Lazio S.p.A.), the founding of Società Sportiva Lazio allowed the club to participate in over 40 different sports disciplines in total.

In Their Own Story

The 1990s marked the most successful period in Lazio's history. After a severe economic crisis in 2002 forced the departure of president Sergio Cragnotti, the club faced financial struggles but still secured four Coppa Italia titles in 2004, 2009, 2013, and 2019. The golden era began with Cragnotti's arrival in 1992, bringing star players like Paul Gascoigne, Juan Sebastián Verón, Christian Vieri, and record-signing Hernán Crespo. Under manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, Lazio won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 1999, defeating Manchester United in the latter. They clinched their second Serie A title in 2000, completing a historic double with the Coppa Italia. Earlier triumphs include their first league title in 1974 under coach Tommaso Maestrelli and captain Giuseppe Wilson. Despite tragic losses of key figures like Luciano Re Cecconi and Maestrelli shortly after that win, the club recovered to become European champions. In 2024-25, Lazio topped the 36-club UEFA Europa League group stage table with 19 points before reaching the quarter-finals.

Reader's Guide

Società Podistica Lazio was founded on 9 January 1900 in the Prati district of Rome. Until 1910, the club played at an amateur level until it officially joined the 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 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. The 1950s produced a mix of mid and upper table results, with a Coppa Italia win in 1958. Lazio was relegated for the first time in 1961 to Serie B, but returned in the top flight two years later. After a number of mid-table placements, another relegation followed in 1970–71. Back to Serie A in 1972–73, Lazio immediately emerged as surprise challengers for the Scudetto to Milan and Juventus in 1972–73, only losing out on the final day of the season, with a team comprising captain Giuseppe Wilson, as well as midfielders Luciano Re Cecconi and Mario Frustalupi, striker Giorgio Chinaglia, and head coach Tommaso Maestrelli. Lazio improved such successes the following season, ensuring its first title in 1973–74. However, tragic deaths of Re Cecconi and Scudetto trainer Maestrelli, as well as the departure of Chinaglia, would be a triple blow for Lazio. The emergence of Bruno Giordano during this period provided some as he finished League top scorer in 1979, when Lazio finished eighth. 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. The 1984–85 season would prove harrowing, with a pitiful 15 points and bottom place finish. In 1986, Lazio was hit with a nine-point deduction (a true back in the day of the two-point win) for a betting scandal involving player Claudio Vinazzani. An

Did You Know?

• Lazio's colours of white and sky blue were inspired by the national emblem of Greece, due to the fact that Lazio is a mixed sports club this was chosen in recognition of the fact that the Ancient Olympic Games and along
• Originally, Lazio wore a shirt which was divided into white and sky blue quarters.