Giampiero Vitali, real name Giampietro, was born in Milan on August 1, 1940.
He began his footballing career with Fanfulla in Serie C where he played for three years before moving to Trieste. After two very good years with Triestina, he signed for Lazio.
He played for two years in the capital. The Biancocelesti were not really that good but he was a strong defender and made 49 appearances with three goals.
In 1966 he signed for Fiorentina and a year later played for Brescia, both in Serie A. In 1968 he moved to Spal in Serie B and in 1969 he started a long career with Massese. In eight years, the club won one promotion to Serie B (1969-70) and he made 245 appearances with 25 goals. He was captain of the team and holds the record for the most games played for the club. He retired in 1977.
Once he stopped playing he immediately began a career as manager for Empoli. After a brief stint with Pisa (he was sacked despite leading the Serie C1 Group B), he coached Lucchese for another couple of years before returning to Empoli in 1981. The following year he led the Tuscans up to Serie B. This experience was followed by years with Perugia, Varese, Sambenedettese, Campobasso (where he lost the play off to remain in Serie B, beaten by Eugenio Fascetti’s Lazio), Parma (in place of Zdenek Zeman), Como, Empoli again, Taranto and Modena. These were followed by years with Palermo (twice), Pistoiese and Carrarese where he was also Technical Director. In 2000 he was in charge of the Italy Under 16’s for the Tuscany, Umbria and Marche regions.
He was a good manager, specialising in teams in the second and third tiers, where he spent most of his career. At Lazio he left good memories, despite the fact that the team was not exactly strong.
He died in Milan on May 20, 2001.
Lazio Playing Career
Season | Appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1964-65 | 12 | 12 | - |
1965-66 | 37 (3) | 34 (2) | 3 (1) |
Total | 49 (3) | 46 (2) | 3 (1) |
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