S.S. Lazio
S.S. Lazio (
Italian:
Società Sportiva Lazio SpA) is an
Italian football club based in
Rome. They are known as the
biancocelesti. They play in light blue shirts, with white shorts and socks.
History
The club was founded in January 1900 as Società Podistica Lazio. The name Lazio was taken from the Latin word "Latium", that means "wide", meeting the aim of the founders to symbolize something that encloses Rome, but which is not limited to Rome (in fact, Lazio is the name of the region where Rome lies). The pale blue and white strip colours were inspired by the Greek flag. At the very beginning of his history, the club ran a number of different sporting activities and, from 1902, the club started the football section.
The club did not join the league competition until 1913. They made the national decider a number of times but lost, often heavily - 9-1 on aggregate to Casale in 1914 and 6-1 on aggregate to Genoa 1893 in 1923.
The club played in the first Serie A, but their highest pre-war finish was second in 1937. Post-war the club continued to fail in the league, but did win the Coppa Italia in 1958. However, they had to wait until 1974 for their first scudetto.
However when Sergio Cragnotti became president of the club, he was prepared to invest long-term in new players for the club. In 1993 Lazio finished fifth in Serie A, fourth in 1994, second in 1995, third in 1996, and fourth again in 1997 before winning the scudetto for the second time in 2000. They had Coppa Italia victories in 1998, 2000 and 2004 and they also won the last UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1999.
The club plays at the 82,656 seater Stadio Olimpico, shared with A.S. Roma. The two teams play one another each year in the Rome derby, a fiery, emotional match often marked with tension and fights in the stands.
Famous Lazio players include: Alen Boksic; Giorgio Chinaglia; Paul Gascoigne; Silvio Piola; Giuseppe Signori; Pavel Nedved; Juan Sebastian Veron and Alessandro Nesta.
Team honors
\n*Italian Champions 2 1973/74 1999/00
External links
\n*Official site (in Italian)\n*SS Lazio News (FC Italia, in Italian)
\n\nLazio
