Luciano Zauri was born in Pescina on January 20 1978.
He started his career in the youth teams of Atalanta and played his first match in Serie A in the 1996-97 season. The next year he went to Chievo in Serie B to gain experience but he was back at Bergamo in 1998 and stayed with the Lombardy club for five more years, the first two in Serie B and the next three in Serie A.
Unfortunately, Atalanta were relegated at the end of the 2002-03 season so for the following year he was up for sale. He signed with Lazio together with his team mate Ousmane Dabo. His first stint with Lazio lasted five years and towards the end he even became captain. He will be remembered particularly for his handball on the line in 2005 in a decisive match against Fiorentina, fortunately not seen by the referee. The consequent draw allowed Lazio to stay in Serie A.
In 2008 he was loaned to Fiorentina where he stayed for a year and a year later to Sampdoria where he stayed for two years.
Back at Lazio in 2011, he played very little and was sold to Pescara in January 2013. In 2014 he quit football.
He played a total of 177 games for Lazio (139 in Serie A, 16 in Coppa Italia, 10 in Champions League, 7 in Europa League, 4 in Intertoto and one Super Coppa final) and scored 6 goals (4 in Serie A, one in Coppa Italia and one in Champions League). He was part of the team that won the Coppa Italia in 2003-04. Zauri also played five times for Italy.
After quitting football he became manager, first for the youth teams of Pescara and then as assistant to Massimo Oddo at Udinese. In 2018 he was back at Pescara to manage the Primavera team and a year later he was promoted to the A side in Serie B but he resigned in January. In 2021 he was in charge of the Bologna Primavera but Pescara called him again in April 2022 in order to improve their 5th place position in Serie B. He did not and the team lost in the first round of the playoffs. He was not confirmed.
In April 2023 he became head coach for Ħamrun Spartans in the Maltese top tier with who he won a Maltese title and Super Cup. In November 2024 he became manager at Foggia in Serie C.
Zauri was very appreciated by the various managers at Lazio. He was a player you could put almost anywhere, he played at midfield, left back, right back, wherever he was needed, always with a positive outcome. He was not a classy player, but very reliable.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Intertoto Cup | Super Coppa |
2003-04 | 30 (3) | 20 (3) | 6 | 4 | - | - | - |
2004-05 | 24 | 21 | - | - | 2 | - | 1 |
2005-06 | 45 (1) | 37 (1) | 4 | - | - | 4 | - |
2006-07 | 39 (1) | 36 | 3 (1) | - | - | - | - |
2007-08 | 27 (1) | 18 | 3 | 6 (1) | - | - | - |
2011-12 | 12 | 8 | - | - | 5 | - | - |
Total | 177 (6) | 140 (4) | 16 (1) | 10 (1) | 7 | 4 | 1 |
Sources
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