Giacomo La Rosa was born in Messina, on August 25, 1946. He was nicknamed "Il Sivori di Messina" (the Sivori of Messina).
His formative years were spent with the Messina youth set up and then he was added to the first team squad in 1965.
The Giallorossi were in Serie B and he stayed four seasons. The Sicilians finished 7th, 11th, 19th (relegated) and 8th (in C). La Rosa played 88 league games and scored 19 goals. His managers were Tonino Colomban the first two seasons, Umberto Mannocci (Lazio 1964-66) the third and Paolo Todeschini (former Lazio player and manager) the last.
In 1969 he changed teams but not colours when he joined Roma. He stayed three seasons in the capital. The Giallorossi finished 10th, 6th and 7th. La Rosa played 19 league games with 4 goals (Milan, Inter, Inter x2), 2 games in the Cup Winners Cup, 3 in Coppa Italia and 4 in the Anglo-Italian Cup with 1 goal (Stoke City). The managers were Helenio Herrera, Luciano Tessari from the 25th game on in the second season and then Herrera again in the third. His teammates at Roma included future Lazio connections Sergio Petrelli (1972-76), Ciccio Cordova (1976-79) and Luciano Spinosi (assistant manager to Eriksson 1997-2000) plus future top manager Fabio Capello (Milan, Real Madrid, Roma, England)
In 1972 he joined Varese in Serie B but after 6 league games left and came to Lazio. For the record the Biancorossi finished 6th under Pietro Moroso and in the squad was a young Claudio Gentile (future Juventus and World Champion in 1982).
In Rome with Lazio, he was a reserve behind Giorgio Chinaglia and Renzo Garlaschelli but still managed to play 6 league games with 2 goals (Palermo, Atalanta) and 4 games in the Anglo-Italian Cup with 1 goal. The manager was Tommaso Maestrelli and Lazio played great football, fighting for the Scudetto until the last game of the season but ending up 3rd.
In 1973 he moved back to Sicily and joined Palermo in Serie B. He stayed two seasons with a 7th and 5th place, playing 50 league games with 21 goals. His manager was Corrado Viciani in both seasons. His teammates included Dario Pighin (Lazio, 1976-82).
In 1975-76 he spent a season with Catanzaro in Serie B. It was a great year under Gianni Di Marzio and the "Regina del Sud" won promotion to Serie A for the first time in their history. La Rosa played 17 league games with 3 goals (Ternana, Brindisi, Foggia). One of his teammates was future top manager Claudio Ranieri (Premier League winner with Leicester).
In 1976 La Rosa joined Brindisi in Serie C but after 5 league games and 1 goal he left and moved to fellow Adriatici Pescara in Serie B. Brindisi ended up 10th.
He stayed in Pescara two seasons. The Dolphins finished 3rd (promoted after playoff) and 16th (relegated). In the promotion year he played 29 league games with 8 goals (Ternana, Novara, Rimini, Cagliari, Lecce, Varese, Brescia, Taranto), while in Serie A he played 8 league games with 1 goal (Bologna). The manager was Giancarlo Cadè both seasons. His teammates included Vincenzo Zucchini (Lazio 1979-80), Roberto Galbiati (Lazio 1985-86).
In 1978-79 he spent a season with Salernitana in Serie C1. La Rosa played 19 league games with 4 goals. The manager was first Domenico Rosati and then Franco Viviani and the Granata finished 6th.
In 1979-80 he played for Civitavecchia, a port on the coast north of Rome, in C2. He played 27 league games and scored 20 goals with the Nerazzurri finishing 9th.
His last two years of active football were played for Banco di Roma in C2. He played 57 games, scoring 15 goals and the Giallorossi finished 13th and 14th. The Bankers team also guaranteed him a job as a bank clerk seeing he had a degree in Economics.
At this point at almost 36 he retired and continued to work in the bank.
La Rosa was a forward. He was not a physical player but based his game on his technique and skill. His nickname, "Sivori of Messina", better explains his style. He played 33 games in Serie A and 159 in B. He won two promotions to Serie A and in 1973-74 was the second highest goal scorer in Serie B, winning the Chevron Award.
At Lazio he only stayed one season but went very close to winning the Scudetto. He played a total of 10 games (6 in A) with 3 goals. He played alongside Chinaglia and Garlaschelli up front and had Felice Pulici, Gigi Martini, Pino Wilson, Giancarlo Oddi, Franco Nanni, Luciano Re Cecconi and Mario Frustalupi as teammates and Tommaso Maestrelli as manager...priceless.
Lazio Career
Season | Total Appearances (goals) | Serie A | Ango Italian Cup |
1972-73 | 10 (3) | 6 (2) | 4 (1) |
Sources
Comments