Fabio Firmani was born in Rome, on May 26 1978.
He started playing football with Lodigiani (formerly Rome's third team after Lazio and Roma). He made his debut for the first team in 1995 playing 26 league games in Serie C1. The Biancorossi finished 11th under Maurizio Viscidi.
In 1996 Firmani moved to Vicenza in Serie A. He stayed two seasons. In his first he only played 2 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia and Vicenza finished 8th under Francesco Guidolin and won a historic Coppa Italia (Napoli 3-1 on aggregate after extra-time). His teammates included, former and future Lazio, Alessandro Iannuzzi and future Lazio Giovanni Lopez.
In his second season Firmani played more, 16 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia, 7 in the Cup Winners Cup plus the Italian Supercoppa. Vicenza finished 14th but reached the semi-final of the Cup Winners Cup and only lost to Chelsea 2-3 on aggregate. The "Lane" lost the Italian Supercoppa final to Juventus 0-3. The squad included past and future Lazio Roberto Baronio.
In 1998 Firmani joined Reggina in Serie B on loan. The Amaranto were promoted in 3rd place. The managers were first Elio Giustinetti and then Bruno Bolchi. Firmani played 27 league games with 2 goals (Monza, Cosenza).
In 1999 he went back to Vicenza, now in Serie B. Under future Lazio manager Edy Reja, the Biancorossi were promoted in 1st place. Firmani played 26 league games with 1 goal (Savoia) and 4 games in Coppa Italia.
Back in Serie A in 2000-01 Firmani played 23 league games with 1 goal (Napoli). The "Nobile Provinciale" however was relegated under Reja.
In September 2001 after playing 3 more league games and 3 in Coppa Italia with Vicenza, under Lazio legend Eugenio Fascetti, he moved to Chievo in Serie A. With the Clivensi however he only played 1 league game under Luigi Del Neri and in January 2002 he moved to Bologna. For the record Chievo had an excellent season and finished 5th (UEFA Cup) with Christian Manfredini, Bernardo Corradi and Daniele Franceschini in the squad.
In Bologna on loan from January, under Francesco Guidolin, he played 5 league games. The Rossoblu finished 7th (Intertoto Cup). His teammates included future Lazio Mourad Meghni and Julio Cruz plus past Lazio legend Beppe Signori.
In 2002-03 Firmani joined Venezia in Serie B on loan. He played 21 league games and scored 1 goal (Livorno). The Lagunari finished 13th under manager Gianfranco Bellotto. One of his teammates was Lazio hero Alessandro Calori (despite never wearing the Lazio jersey) who was with his last club before retiring.
In 2003-04 Firmani went to Sicily and signed for Catania in Serie B. He stayed two seasons, the first under Stefano Colantuono and the second under Maurizio Costantini and then Nedo Sonetti. The "Elefanti" finished 9th and 12th. Firmani played 39 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia.
In 2005-06 he returned home to Rome and joined Lazio. The manager was Delio Rossi and he played 7 league games and 4 in the Intertoto Cup. Firmani's playing time was limited by a serious injury halfway through the season. Lazio had a good season finishing 6th but were then demoted to 16th place (a docking of 30 points) for their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal.
The following year Firmani played 11 league games. Lazio finished 3rd and qualified for a Champions League preliminary. Firmani also won his first derby in 3-0 thrashing of Roma.
In 2007-08 he played 7 league games with 3 goals (Parma, Palermo, Napoli) and 1 game in Coppa Italia. He again suffered a serious injury which hindered his season. He did not play in the Champions League despite Lazio's participation (after defeating Dinamo Bucharest in preliminary round). Lazio finished 12th but won the return derby 3-2 with a Valon Behrami 92nd minute winner.
In 2008-09 Firmani stayed initially but in January left without having made any appearances. He joined Al-Wasl in the Arab Emirates on loan. He only made 3 league appearances for the yellow and black Emperors before returning to Europe.
In 2009-10 he was back at Lazio. Delio Rossi had left after winning the Coppa Italia (Sampdoria on penalties) and the new manager was Davide Ballardini. Things started well with Lazio unexpectedly winning the Italian Supercoppa 2-1 against Mourinho's Inter in Beijing. Then gradually things went downhill and in February Ballardini was replaced by Edy Reja. Lazio had a difficult season but managed to stay up in the end. Firmani played 12 league games.
In 2010 he stayed with Lazio until January, when he left without having played. He consensually terminated his contract and flew to China to join Guizhou Renhe (now Beijing Chengfeng Z.J). He played 18 league games with 2 goals and 1 in the Chinese Cup.
Firmani then retired at 32 after 83 games in Serie A with 4 goals and 139 in Serie B with 4 goals.
He also played 10 games for Italy U21's with 1 goal and winning a European Championship in 2000.
Since retiring Firmani has become an agent and in 2012 became a transfer market consultant for Al-Nassr (Cristiano Ronaldo's current team) in Saudi Arabia.
Firmani was a defensive midfielder. He is 1.78 and 69 kilos. He was a dynamic and hardworking player whose main assets were dispossessing the opposition with his physicality and tackling skills. Unfortunately, his career was affected by numerous injuries which set him back several times for lengthy periods. He however won two trophies and a Serie B title
At Lazio he played a total of 42 games with 3 goals and won an Italian Supercoppa in 2009. He is remembered as a local lad who made the most of his talent, playing for his hometown team. His goal against Parma in the last seconds and his run under the Curva Nord to dedicate the winner to Gabriele Sandri, after the recent tragic death of the Lazio fan, are an important part of Lazio's history.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Intertoto Cup |
2005-06 | 11 | 7 | - | 4 |
2006-07 | 11 | 11 | - | - |
2007-08 | 8 (3) | 7 (3) | 1 | - |
2009-10 | 12 | 12 | - | - |
Total | 42 (3) | 37 (3) | 1 | 4 |
Sources
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