Today would’ve been the 96th birthday of legendary Scudetto-winning Lazio Coach Tommaso Maestrelli, who died 18 months after the historic title.
He joined the club in 1971-72 with the Aquile in Serie B following relegation, but kept hold of Giorgio Chinaglia and Pino Wilson, who would go on to prove decisive for the title a short while later.
In their first season back in the top flight, Maestrelli took them to third place and was only pipped to the post by Juventus.
Today would’ve been the 96th birthday of legendary Scudetto-winning Lazio Coach Tommaso Maestrelli, who died 18 months after the historic title.
He joined the club in 1971-72 with the Aquile in Serie B following relegation, but kept hold of Giorgio Chinaglia and Pino Wilson, who would go on to prove decisive for the title a short while later.
In their first season back in the top flight, Maestrelli took them to third place and was only pipped to the post by Juventus.
It was only a warm-up, as the Biancocelesti took their historic first Scudetto in 1973-74, achieving it with a round to spare and with Chinaglia as Capocannoniere on 24 goals.
During the 1974-75 season, Maestrelli tried to defend the Serie A title despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
They finished fourth and after a break for experimental treatment, Maestrelli returned to the Lazio bench to lead his team to Serie A safety in objectively difficult circumstances.
He saw out his career as director of sport at Lazio, succumbing to his illness on December 2, 1976.
Il 7 ottobre di 96 anni fa nasceva l’allenatore del primo Scudetto biancoceleste, Tommaso Maestrelli pic.twitter.com/ztn8FnYAdy
— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) October 7, 2018