The 1973-74 scudetto, as we all know, was made possible thanks to a wild and talented bunch of players managed by the maestro Tommaso Maestrelli. But, behind the scenes, there were also others who made that miracle possible. Among these we must certainly place Renato Ziaco, legendary doctor of that team.
Renato Ziaco was born in Rome on February 20, 1927. At 23 he graduated in Medicine with specialisation in orthopaedics. In 1960 he was part of the medical unit at the Olympic Games. In 1961 he was called by Lazio to substitute Professor Domenico Bolognese. Ziaco worked for the Biancocelesti for 25 years. He was not just a doctor. He was a psychologist, an innovator. The team went to him not just when they were injured but also when they needed a word of advice or of encouragement. He was able to magically cure players who thought they would never play again, or others who overnight became available even if it had seemed impossible the day before. Once he even went on the bench as manager. In 1963 Juan Carlo Lorenzo could not sit on the bench during matches due to the fact that he was not Italian, and a couple of times when Bob Lovati was sick or suspended, it was Ziaco who had given the tactical orders.
Ziaco was the one who was not able to celebrate on May 12, 1974. He was doing surgery on Gigi Martini’s fractured shoulder. He was the first to notice that Tommaso Maestrelli was not well, and the one who desperately tried to save Luciano Re Cecconi after he was shot.
In the early 1980s after the Totonero scandal, he briefly left the Lazio medical unit, only to return when Giorgio Chinaglia became president. On January 7 1985, he slipped on the icy track at the Olimpico and fractured a rib. At the hospital they realised he had cancer. He died on June 25.
Renato Ziaco was a heroic, legendary character, a true gentleman and Lazio supporter.
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