On a winter morning, 9 January 1900, a group of young athletes in Rome set up a running club. They had no idea they were creating the oldest active football club in the Italian capital. Lazio celebrate their 127th birthday this year, and for Greek fans the club holds something special: its colours are a tribute to Greece.

A runners' club in Prati

The club was born as Società Podistica Lazio, a running club, in the Prati district. The group was led by Luigi Bigiarelli, a non-commissioned officer of the Bersaglieri and a runner himself. Football came a little later, and the football section was officially set up in 1910. In 1921 the club was recognised as an ente morale, a body of public interest, and in 1926 it took the name Società Sportiva Lazio, which it still carries today.

White and sky blue for Greece

Why does a Roman club wear sky blue and white? President Fortunato Ballerini adopted the colours in honour of Greece, the home of the Olympic Games. Ballerini had worked to bring the 1908 Games to Rome, which in the end were held elsewhere, and the Olympic ideal meant a lot to him. That is where the nicknames Biancocelesti and Biancazzurri come from. The first kit was white, sometimes with the word "Lazio" in sky-blue letters on the chest. Later the club tried a shirt quartered in white and sky blue, before plain sky blue became the team's identity.

The eagle of the legions

Bigiarelli himself chose the emblem: an eagle, a symbol of power and victory and the standard of the Roman legions. This gave rise to the names Le Aquile (the Eagles) and Gli Aquilotti (the Young Eagles). The first badge, in 1906, had a shield with vertical white and sky-blue stripes and an eagle gripping a ribbon. In 1979 Piero Gratton designed a modern, stylised sky-blue eagle, and from 1982 to 1987 the club used Cesare Benincasa's version. The current badge, with a golden eagle above a shield, arrived in 1993.

The 125th anniversary shirt

For the 125th anniversary, in January 2025, Mizuno dressed Lazio in a retro-style anniversary shirt. A white base, three bands in different shades of blue and the old stylised badge with its wide wings recall the kits of the 1980s. The founding date is embossed on the back, under the collar. You can find it here: Mizuno 125th anniversary shirt. For everyday wear there is also the light blue Vintage 99/00 t-shirt. Over the years the team has worn shirts by Umbro, Ennerre, adidas, Puma and Macron, before switching to Mizuno in 2022.

Two titles to remember

The first Scudetto came in 1973–74, with Tommaso Maestrelli as coach and Giorgio Chinaglia scoring the goals. The club also survived hard times, such as the forced relegation of 1980 over illegal betting. The golden era came under president Sergio Cragnotti and Sven-Göran Eriksson. On 19 May 1999, at Villa Park, Lazio beat Mallorca 2-1 with goals from Christian Vieri and Pavel Nedvěd to lift the last ever Cup Winners' Cup. A few months later they also won the Super Cup against Manchester United. On 14 May 2000 the second league title arrived: Lazio beat Reggina 3-0, Juventus lost at Perugia and the Biancocelesti finished first by a single point. With the Coppa Italia that same year, they completed the double.

A derby since 1929

In 1927 the fascist regime merged the city's clubs to create Roma. Lazio were the only major Roman club to refuse, thanks in part to Giorgio Vaccaro. Since 1929 the Derby della Capitale has split Rome in two, with both sides sharing the Stadio Olimpico. Among the club's great figures are Silvio Piola, with 159 goals, and Ciro Immobile, the all-time top scorer with 206.

Happy birthday to the Eagles of Rome. Every time we see the sky-blue shirt walk out at the Olimpico, we remember that part of its story begins in Greece.

See Lazio shirts and merchandise at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Stadio Olimpico – galkiux, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Public domain.