There was a player that represented a flag, a symbol, for his fans. This player was born in the heart of Rome, in the neighbourhood of Trastevere. His name: Bruno Giordano. One of the best, yet unluckiest, Italian strikers of the 80s.

There is a city, Ascoli Piceno, which has one of the most beautiful Italian squares, Piazza del Popolo, where Giordano finished his player career. And now, in Ascoli Bruno Giordano starts his career again as a coach. Giordano has always suffered at the hands of ill fate, in both his career and private life too.

His star arose when Giorgio Chinaglia's career started to wane. The prayers of Lazio fans, to find a striker to continue the successes of the 70s, were fulfilled. In the first match in Serie A, Giordano scored the deciding goal in the 90th minute in an attack set up by Chinaglia. A perfect unofficial handover between the Biancocelesti strikers.

Giordano arrived when Lazio were already in decline, but still he was able to become the best Serie A scorer in 1979.

 

He caught the attention of Enzo Bearzot, the trainer of the Italian national team (but he made only a few appearances in the azzurri jersey). His bad luck caught up with him in 1980 when Giordano was sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison for his part in Calcioscommesse, the football betting scandal. His misfortune also ran into his private life. His wife Sabrina Minardi had an affair with Renatino De Pedis, one of the bosses of the terroristic Banda della Magliana. The love-story continued until 1990 when the boss was killed. Also his daughter Valentina became famous for all the wrong reasons. In 2008 she was involved in a car accident. Her negligence together with that of her boyfriend, caused the death of two young people.

Thanks to his return in the 1982-83 season, Lazio reached promotion to Serie A. In this season Giordano was the top scorer with 18 goals. Finally the winds of fortune seemed to have changed and Giordano (while Chinaglia was President) could guide Lazio. But the fall, this time, materialized in the figure of defender Antonio Bogoni.

Ascoli - Lazio, 30th December 1983. A tackle by Bogoni broke Giordano's leg, and he was forced out of play for a long time. In the meantime Lazio suffered a great economic crisis. For months the name of Giordano was linked in the media with Juventus and Roma, the latter being the historical enemy of Lazio. But he refused the transfer until 1986, when he was forced to change shirt and accepted Napoli's proposal. After 20 years, the flag of Lazio from Trastevere, changed team.

Under the shadow of the Vesuvius he received what his unlucky career had not handed to him before: a Scudetto and a Coppa Italia in the same season and the possibility to play with Diego Armando Maradona. But at the end of the second season, Bruno Giordano left Napoli due to friction with sporting director Luciano Moggi. Later, he was accommodated by Ascoli and in this city near to the Adriatic Sea he closed his career with a goal against Roma. 

 

Now, Giordano is back in Ascoli, but this time as a coach. The Bianconeri play in Lega Pro, the Italian third division. In the first match against Pisa, he expressed some tongue in cheek compliments to the referee. Result: a red card and a one-match suspension. A difficult start, but Giordano is an old friend of misfortune.

Thanks to our reviewer Caroline Vondy