Giorgio Chinaglia, Legend

April 3rd, 2012 | by: elaine | Comments Off

You may have heard of the passing of Giorgio Chinaglia on Sunday, a footballer who left his mark on three countries. But did you know about his career with the Azzurri?

If you’ve read any of the obituaries, you’ll know he was born in Italy, moved to Great Britain when he was very young, and thus played his first professional football there, specifically at Swansea. When his family moved back to Italy, he was not allowed to play in Serie A for three years, so he found clubs in the lower divisions to play for. When he did move to Serie A, it was to Lazio, where he would score 98 goals in 209 appearances. He became legendary there, helping them to their first ever Scudetto, winning the Capocannoniere, and would eventually return to serve as club president. When Lazio held their centennial celebration, he was named their most influential player in their first 100 years.

But he became perhaps more beloved in the United States, when he moved there to play with the New York Cosmos. He played there from 1976 to 1983, with a few more years devoted to their indoor team. At the Cosmos, he played alongside Pele, amongst others. Someone asked him, “I heard you played with Pele?”….. “No, no, Pele played with me” That’s the kind of guy he was.

His time with the Azzurri was based on his performances at Lazio. He didn’t make it to the final 22-man squad for coach Ferruccio Valcareggi for the 1970 World Cup, but got to travel with the team to Mexico for the tournament. After Lazio were relegated to Serie B in 1971, he became the first Italian national team player to be called up from a lower tier club in modern times.

His infamy in Britain was sealed when he traveled to England with the Azzurri to play a friendly in 1973. In that match, he beat the legendary Bobby Moore to cross it in to one Fabio Capello, who tapped it in. This match marked Italy’s first win on England on English soil.

The 1974 Azzurri Squad – Chinaglia is the one on the left looking at the camera

His fiery character both helped and hurt him. He played in the 1974 World Cup, and when substituted off, offered Valcareggi some choice words and an obscene gesture, while storming to the locker room, where he broke water bottles for good measure. This tantrum spelled the end of his time with the national team, a brief career that saw 14 just appearances and 4 goals.

But he never stopped being involved in football. At the time he died, he was hosting a football show on satellite radio with Charlie Stillitano. He scolded his co-host, “Charlie, don’t compare Lionel Messi with Digo Maradona, please.” Charlie replied, “Everyone else has, Giorgio.” His reply to that? “Everyone else is an idiot.”

Fiery to the end, and unfortunately for the Azzurri, maybe a bit too fiery for his own good. But still a legend, and a gift to football in three nations. Ciao, Giorgio.

Elaine is on Twitter, where she randomly breaks water bottles and makes obscene gestures. @ItalyWCB