Franco Chimenti was born in Naples on August 7, 1939.
His two passions in life are sport and medicine.
His medical titles and roles include; Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at La Sapienza University of Rome, Head of the faculty of Pharmacy at La Sapienza University, academic of Medical Biological Sciences, member of the New York Academy of Sciences and academic of the Noble Pharmaceutical Chemistry College. So, a respected medical figure but we will focus on his sports and Lazio connections.
In February 1986 he became Lazio president. The return of Giorgio Chinaglia in 1983 had not been the success the fans had dreamed of. He arrived with promises of big American partners who would invest in Lazio but these never materialised. Financial difficulties plus mistakes in the running of the club itself led to him returning to the States in December 1985. By now Lazio were in Serie B so they were struggling economically and on the field.
The story is a long one. After Giorgio Chinaglia became President in 1983, he realised that there was a 13 billion lire debt (approximately 6.5 million euros). Not having any money and with no possibility of acquiring US partners from a world that had seen US Soccer fail and go bust, his plan was to play it safe in the first year and then sell Bruno Giordano and Lionello Manfredonia in his second to eliminate the debt and start building the club. The plan failed and the two Lazio golden boys stayed. This, plus some disastrous decisions by Chinaglia (the return of manager Juan Carlos Lorenzo for example) contributed to Lazio’s relegation to Serie B. Giorgio was however optimistic that new US partners could provide the necessary capital to solve Lazio’s financial problems, but no money came in and he was forced to sell to Franco Chimenti and his group on December 2 1985, with Lazio on the verge of bankruptcy.
To fill the void, awaiting potential investors interested in buying the club, Franco Chimenti stepped up. Encouraged by Giovanni Malagò, a well-known, rampant entrepreneur and future president of CONI (the Italian Olympic Committee), who despite being a Roma fan advised Chimenti's financial group to become majority shareholders of S.S Lazio.
So Chimenti became the 36th president of Lazio (28th without returns such as Zenobi). On the field the manager was Gigi Simoni and the squad was put together with the intention and ambition of an immediate return to Serie A. Things went differently as amid all this change and uncertainty, with unfulfilled promises to the players, late or unpaid wages, the team underperformed. The club's instability led to a terrible season where at one point Lazio even risked relegation to Serie C. Ultimately a 3-2 away win at Catanzaro avoided the unmentionable and Lazio finished 11th.
Chimenti however did not have the money to continue and looked for partners. In came the Calleri brothers, owners of a security firm and with previous experience at Alessandria. During the season, in March, Chimenti got Simoni to sign a new contract but did so without consulting the brothers. The Calleri's decided to leave and wanted their money back.
The frantic search for partners was dramatic but farcical. Every Tom, Dick and Harry with 10 euros in the bank looking for five-minutes of notoriety turned up in Chimenti’s office.
Chimenti gave up and Lazio were technically bankrupt. The Calleri brothers at this point stepped in again and bought out Chimenti, but they needed a partner since the financial situation was terrible. In came Renato Bocchi, Roman entrepreneur, who bought 51% of the shares with 49 % remaining with the brothers. Financially safe, Lazio also avoided relegation.
Chimenti's reign as Lazio president therefore was short lived. On July 25 1986 he sold the club to the Calleri brothers, Giorgio and Gianmarco plus Renato Bocchi.
Chimenti's main sporting passion is golf. He is president of the Italian Golf Federation and in 2022 managed to bring the prestigious Ryder Cup to Rome.
In 2009 he was a candidate for the presidency of CONI but lost out to Gianni Petrucci. The president is now Chiment's old friend Malagò and in 2013 Chimenti was made president of CONI servizi (the financial branch of CONI).
Chimenti is a Lazio fan. His direct connection however was brief but important. He will be remembered for his involvement in the difficult period between Chinaglia's shattered dreams and the Calleris' new beginnings.
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