Nicola Ciccolo was born in Taranto on April 10, 1940.
At 16 he joined the Messina youth sector and then debuted in the first team a year later and stayed five years.
The Giallorossi were in Serie B. They finished 16th, 10th, 8th, 6th and 7th. His managers were Ivo Fiorentini the first year, Bruno Arcari for three seasons and then, future Lazio, Umberto Mannocci in his last. Ciccolo played 89 league games for the Peloritani with 27 goals.
In 1962-63 he spent a season with Verona in Serie B. The manager was Guido Tavellin and the Gialloblu finished 7th and reached the Coppa Italia semi-finals (Torino 1-2). He played 34 league games with 17 goals and 3 in Coppa Italia with another 3 goals.
His goal scoring earned him a call by Italian champions Inter for the 1963-64 season. The manager was Helenio "Il Mago" Herrera and the Nerazzurri lost the Scudetto in the first and last ever playoff, 0-2 to Bologna. Inter however triumphed in the European Cup beating Real Madrid 3-1. Ciccolo played 10 league games with 4 goals (Torino, Catania, Messina, Catania), 1 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Torino) and 2 in the European Cup with 1 goal (winner vs Monaco). He faced stern competition in attack by Jair da Costa, Aurelio Milani and Sandro Mazzola. One of his teammates was former Lazio Carlo Tagnin (1958-59).
In 1964-65 he spent a season with Mantova in Serie A. The managers were Oscar Montez (1-5), Giovanni Bonanno (6-7) and then Giacomo Mari (8-34) and the Biancorossi were relegated. Ciccolo played 25 league games and was top scorer with 10 goals (Messina x2, Atalanta x2, Torino, Cagliari, Bologna, Atalanta, Lazio, Varese). One of his teammates was a young Dino Zoff.
In 1965 he joined Lazio. The manager was Umberto Mannocci from his Messina days. Lazio finished 12th and the highlights were winning a derby 1-0 and beating Milan 2-0 away. Ciccolo played 27 league games with 5 goals (Torino, Varese, Foggia, SPAL, Napoli) and 3 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Alessandria).
In the summer of 1966, he left Lazio and signed for Vicenza where he stayed for six seasons. The Biancorossi were in Serie A and finished 13th, 12th, 12th, 8th, 8th and 12th. He played 86 league games with 8 goals (Roma x2, Cagliari, Foggia, Lazio, Milan,Torino, Atalanta) and 4 games in Coppa Italia with 2 goals. His managers included Arturo Silvestri, Umberto Menti and Ettore Puricelli while his teammates included Lazio connections, Mario Maraschi (1961-64), Nello Governato (1961-66), Diego Zanetti (1961-69), Carlo Facchin (1971-72), Oscar Damiani (1985-86) and Luis Vinicio (manager 1976-78).
In 1972-73 he played a season with Verona in Serie A. The Scaligeri finished 10th under Giancarlo Cadè. Ciccolo played 16 league games and 3 in the Anglo-Italian Cup but failed to score.
He then played for Chievo Verona for five seasons between 1973 and 1978. The Clivensi were in Promozione (5th tier) and finished 11th, 1st (promoted to D), 10th, 14th and 8th. Ciccolo only played 26 league games with 21 goals as between 1974 and 1978 he was player-manager
In 1978-79 he spent one last season with Legnano in Serie D as player-manager. The Biancoblu finished 14th and he played 6 league games.
At 39 he then retired.
In his youth, in 1959, he played 4 games for Italy U21's and won the Mediterranean Games.
Ciccolo was a forward. He had a good club career scoring almost 100 goals. He won a European Cup with Inter.
At Lazio he stayed only one year but did well. He played regularly and scored 5 goals.
His younger brother of two years Ennio was also a footballer and played for Messina in the 1960's.
In the 1980's Nicola Ciccolo went into politics and was a councillor in Verona for the PSDI (Social Democrats). He is still alive today.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1965-66 | 30 (6) | 27 (5) | 3 (1) |
Sources
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