Zeffiro Furiassi is one of Lazio’s greats. A wonderful defender, not particularly tall (1.67 metres), but physically strong and fast. Marvellous man-to-man marker, he was part of that steel defence Lazio had in the 1950s together with Francesco Antonazzi, Stefano Malacarne, Romolo Alzani and the two Sentimenti brothers Vittorio and Lucidio. An extremely intelligent player, he would often be fundamental for counter attacks when he managed to stop the opposition and recover the ball. He was also a middle distance runner and he liked high jump.
Born in Pesaro on January 19 1923, he started his professional career with Vis Pesaro in Serie C in 1939-40 and a year later signed for Fiorentina where he stayed until 1949, with the exception of the war years when he played for Carpi and Biellese. In his second stint he really showed how great he was. In 1949 he signed for Lazio and established himself as one of the best defenders in Serie A. He was called to play for Italy in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil and played against Sweden (Italy lost 3-2) and Paraguay (Italy won 2-0).
At Lazio, he was part of the team that came fourth for three consecutive years. He played for 6 seasons and appeared in 122 games in Serie A and 2 in the Zentropa Cup. He won a reserves team scudetto in 1952-53. In his last year at Lazio, Furiassi only played with the reserves team. In 1955-56 he played his last professional season for Foligno.
In 1957 he started his career as a manager. He was head coach for quite a number of teams (Savona, Perugia, Latina, Taranto to mention some) but always in the lower tiers.
Furiassi died in Florence on November 4, 1974. In Pesaro, a road has been named after him.
Lazio Career
Season | Total Appearances | Serie A | Zentropa Cup |
1949-50 | 36 | 36 | - |
1950-51 | 32 | 30 | 2 |
1951-52 | 30 | 30 | - |
1952-53 | 22 | 22 | - |
1953-54 | 4 | 4 | - |
Total | 124 | 122 | 2 |
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