Vincenzo Gasperi was born on June 27, 1937, at Roncadelle near Brescia.
He started playing football with Brescia with whom he debuted in Serie B on December 4 1955 in the match won against Parma. In 1956 he signed for Bologna in Serie A and stayed two years with 26 league appearances.
In the next three years he played in Serie A for Spal, Padova and Atalanta and in 1961 he moved to the capital of Italy to play for the Biancocelesti. Lazio had just been relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history and were hoping to get back to the first tier as soon as possible. They missed out in 1961-62 due to the fact that in a decisive match against Napoli the referee did not give Lazio a goal after claiming the ball had gone through a hole in the net. The Biancocelesti missed out on promotion by just one point and Napoli went back to Serie A by one point.
In 1962-63 Lazio managed to get promoted and Gasperi stayed until 1966. He made 148 appearances for the Biancocelesti with six goals. He was a great defender and played at very high levels, giving Lazio stability at the back.
In 1966 he was sold to Varese after a bad injury the previous season. The manager Umberto Mannocci thought that his career was over. It wasn’t. He returned to form and helped the Lombards get promoted to Serie A. After a final year at Varese, he played for Modena and Vis Pesaro in Serie C, followed by many years in the lower leagues.
When he finished playing, he became a manager and coached a number of minor Emilia-Romagna teams.
At Lazio he was very highly considered. Having played at midfield for most of his career, in Rome he moved to the defensive line and his experience always allowed him to be a point of reference for the team. His long passes were fundamental to start counter attacks and he had a good shot , often surprising goalkeepers with his long-range strikes.
He died on June 25, 2003, in Monte San Pietro near Bologna.
Lazio Playing Career
Season | Appearances (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1961-62 | 32 (2) | - | 29 (2) | 3 |
1962-63 | 37 | - | 37 | - |
1963-64 | 30 | 29 | - | 1 |
1964-65 | 34 (2) | 32 (2) | - | 2 |
1965-66 | 15 (2) | 13 (2) | - | 2 |
Total | 148 (6) | 74 (4) | 66 (2) | 12 |
Sources
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