Best Lazio Forwards of All Time

Before anything else, we should say that some of the footballers on the list of best Lazio forwards of all time like Ciro Immobile and Miroslav Klose are also among the

best Lazio players of all time

, too. Other than that, some of them like Ciro Immobile are not only among Lazio top scorers of all time but also Lazio best players in 2022, though they are not the only ones on these two latter lists, either.

Anyway, as we mentioned above, in this post, we are neither to best Lazio players of all time nor Lazio top scorers of all time nor Lazio best players in 2022, though the list of best Lazio forwards of all time have players in common with all the three lists mentioned above; players who actually can make up the best Lazio team ever, too.

A List of Best Lazio Forwards of All Time

Well, let’s see which footballers populate the list of best Lazio forwards of all time. The list starts with the top passed Italian forward, Silvio Piola, who is actually considered as one of the top Italian footballers of all time, too, however, there are also other ones on the list, too. Let’s see who they are.

Silvio Piola

Number one on the list of best Lazio forwards of all time occupying the second position on the list of

Lazio top scorers of all time

with 159 goals, Silvio Piola is a passed Italian footballer who served Lazio more than any other club during his career; actually for 9 years between 1934 and 1943 during which he made a total of 227 appearances and scored 143 goals for them - 1.2 goals in every two appearances - only at league level. Piola is not only one of the best Lazio forwards of all time but also one of the best forwards of his generation and even more, one of the most memorable figures in the Italian football history due to the records he set during his play time.

Before anything else, we should say that Piola was a top prolific goalscorer. He scored 333 goals in his 619 club appearances - 1.06 goals in every two appearances - and 30 goals in 34 appearances for the Italian national team - only four more goals and he had scored 1 goal in each of his international appearances. Piola is the only Italian footballer who is the all-time Serie A top scorer of three different Italian clubs, namely Pro Vercelli, Lazio and 

, and the highest Italian goalscorer in all competitions with a total of 364 goals. He’s also the Italian national team third top scorer of all time with his 30 international goals and the highest scorer in the Italian top tier league with 290 goals - collectively in Serie A and Divisione Nazionale. And finally he is the fourth footballer with most appearances within Serie A (566).

With all these records, it’s no wonder Piola is considered as a memorable figure not only in the history of Lazio but the Italian football. As mentioned above, the most prominent feature of Piola was his goalscoring capabilities, however, it should also be mentioned here that he was also an intelligent player with great passing abilities who could play as a midfielder or winger, too, though he acted best as a center forward with his speed and positional sense which enabled him lose his markers and open his way toward the goal easily. Indeed, if there is any best Lazio team ever, he should, surely, be on it.

Ciro Immobile

Considered as one of

Lazio best players in 2022

, Ciro Immobile currently tops the list of Lazio top scorers of all time, too, with 176 goals. Can we call him one of the best Lazio players of all time, too? Most probably, yes, because he’s at least on the list of best Lazio forwards of all time, but enough of this “best” business! Let’s get more to the player himself. Well, it might be interesting for you to know that Lazio is probably the last or at least the previous-to-last club Immobile is serving. He signed a five-year contract with them in 2020 which keeps him a Lazio player up until 2025 that he will be 35 years old, of course, if he remains with the club up until the end of his contract, and that age, you know, signals the end of an outfield player’s career, especially if he’s a forward.

So, Lazio is not the club Immoblie served while at the peak of his performance, yet, he’s considered as one of the club’s best players ever which should not be overlooked, especially if you consider that’s happening at the end of his career. You might say Lazio is not a big name in Serie A and becoming one of their best players may not be an achievement, but please consider that the club have been competing in Serie A since the launch of the top-tier league except for a season or two.

Since having joined Lazio,

has set a few records which might be interesting for you to know: In 2017-18 season, he broke Giorgio Chinaglia’s previous record of most goals scored in a single season by a Lazio player by two goals, and in 2019-20 season, not only he scored the most number of goals he had scored in a single season for Lazio (36) but also equaled the all-time records of Gino Rossetti and Gonzalo Higuain for most goals scored in a single Serie A season. Up to this date, Immobile has scored 176 goals in all his 254 club appearances for Lazio which translates to around 2 goals in every 3 appearances averagely and is actually the most number of goals he has scored for a club since the start of his career. It should also be mentioned here that in the same season that Immobile scored his most number of goals for a club in a single season (2019-20), he also won the European Golden Shoe, and was named Serie A Best Forward and Lazio Player of the Season.

In playstyle, Immobile is often known for his off the ball movements and space exploits that when is combined with his pace and physical abilities turns him into a dangerous forward the opposition defenders should keep an eye on. He also possesses a good technique and is a hard-working player who can play anywhere in the front plus that he’s a good penalty taker, too. The proof to that is the new record he has set concerning the same ability: 14 penalties scored in a single season which is actually the record for most number of penalties scored in a single Serie A season.

Giuseppe Signori

You may ask why Giuseppe Signori is among

best Lazio forwards of all time

, and the definite answer to that is he became the club’s top scorer in three almost consecutive seasons (1993, 1994, and 1996) within Serie A. He served Lazio between 1992 and 1997 when he was at the peak of his performance, and that you can easily find out from the number of goals he scored for them, of course, compared to other clubs he served during his career: 126 goals in 195 appearances - almost 2 goals (exactly 1.92) in every 3 appearances. This is as the most number of goals he scored for a club after Lazio was 81 and for Bologna at the end of his career.

Signori was part of the Italian national team who finished as runner-up in 1994 World Cup. He played in all the competition’s matches except for the final and although he didn’t score a goal in any of them, he provided 2 assists: Once in a group-stage match against Norway where he played as a second striker, and another time in a quarter-finals match against Spain where he played as a midfielder. In general, he played in 28 matches for the Italian national team between 1992 and 1995 and managed to score 7 goals for them. At club level, if not for other clubs, he was, for sure, a prolific goalscorer for

, and within Serie A, he was actually one of the best penalty takers managing to finish as the fifth highest penalty scorer within the top-tier Italian league at the end of his career; the rank he has kept to this date. Besides, when he was with Lazio, he became one of the two players in the history of Serie A, of course alongside the Serbian defender, Sinisa Mihajlovic, to have scored a hat-trick from free kicks - he was, indeed, a free kick specialist, too.

Tommaso Rocchi

Having served 12 clubs during his career, Tommaso Rocchi is a 44-year-old retired Italian forward who served Lazio more than any other club during his career; actually for 9 years between 2004 and 2013 during which he made a total of 293 appearances and scored 105 goals for the club - 1.05 goals in every 3 appearances averagely. This is as he played for the other clubs he served during his career at most for three years and usually for a year or two. The number of appearances he made and the goals he scored for Lazio are also at least two times and at most ten times higher than the other clubs he served during his career.

With that number of goals for Lazio (105), Rocchi is actually Lazio’s sixth top scorer of all time with only three goals behind his fellowman, Bruno Giordano. Although Rocchi served Lazio at the peak of his performance and scored many goals for them, he only won two trophies with them: An Italian Cup and an Italian Super Cup in 2008-09 season, and that’s actually all the trophies he won during his career since he didn’t win any other trophies with the other clubs he served during his career. It should also be mentioned here that Roochi made three appearances for the Italian national team between 2006 and 2007 but never scored a goal for them.

Bruno Giordano

Lazio’s all-time top scorer in

, Bruno Giordano is a 65-year-old retired Italian footballer who served Lazio more than any other club and at the start of his career; actually for 10 years between 1975 and 1985 during which he scored a total of 86 goals in the 203 appearances he made for them - 2.1 goals in every 5 appearances averagely. While with Lazio, Giordano helped them promote to Serie A from Serie B in 1982-83 season- becoming the Serie B top scorer with 18 goals in the same season contributing to the overall 44 goals his team scored in that season, and you might also like to know that before that, Giordano had already become Serie A top scorer with Lazio in 1978-79 season with 19 goals.

Unlike some other footballers already mentioned in this post who had their best time with Lazio, it was not the case with Bruno Giordano. He was not only a top player with Lazio but also with the club he served afterwards, Napoli, with whom he actually won a Serie A title and a Coppa Italia in 1986-87 season becoming the latter top scorer, too, with 10 goals. Alongside Diego Maradona and later Careca, Giordano actually formed the “magical” front line of Napoli during his service to them helping the team in their achievements. He also served the Italian national team between 1978 and 1985 making 13 appearances and scoring one goal for them in the process, but his stats with the Italian Olympic team and Italy U21 team were better: 3 goals in 2 appearances for the former and 5 goals in 13 appearances for the latter. In playstyle, as they say, the retired Italian forward had a good technique and dribbling abilities who could also send powerful and accurate shots with both his feet.

Giorgio Chinaglia

Another passed footballer on the list of

best Lazio forwards of all time

, Giorgio Chinaglia served Lazio for seven years between 1969 and 1976 making 246 appearances and scoring 122 goals for them only at league - almost one goal (exactly 0.98) in every two appearances averagely. However, just like the previous footballer to him on the list, Bruno Giordano, Giorgio Chinaglia did not experience success only with Lazio. In fact, he served the American club,

, as long as he had served Lazio - for 7 years - at the end of his career and was much more successful with them concerning the club trophies he won: 19 trophies vs 2 that he had won with Lazio. He actually played in the New York Cosmos team which featured such great players as Pele and Franz Beckenbauer and managed to finish his service to them with 193 goals becoming the club’s top scorer of all time. And he scored that number of goals in 213 appearances - 0.9 goal in every appearance averagely.

While with Lazio, Chinaglia was considered a prolific goalscorer as he really was. He not only became the Serie B top scorer in 1971-72 season with 21 goals helping his team to promote back to Serie A but also became Serie A top scorer in 1973-74 season with 24 goals, this time, leading his team to the league title. He also won a Coppa delle Alpi - a discontinued friendly cup - with Lazio in 1971. It might be interesting for you to know that while in Serie B with Lazio, Chinaglia was called up to the Italian national team and thus became the first Italian footballer in Italy’s modern football history to have been called up to the Italian national team from Serie B.

Known for his leadership qualities, especially when at Lazio, Chinaglia was large in stature but still a fast player who could impress with his powerful and accurate shots both from inside and outside the box. He was an opportunistic player with his own unorthodox attacking style which, in the end, proved useful and made him a prolific goalscorer. He was also an accurate penalty taker and a technical player with the ability to dribble even at high speeds which made him quite a threat in counterattacks. Chinaglia died in April 2012 at the age of 65.

Miroslav Klose

The only German and one of the two non-Italian footballers on the list of best Lazio forwards of all time,

is a 43-year-old retired forward who is best known for his prolific goalscoring at international level which finally culminated in him becoming FIFA World Cup all-time top scorer with 16 and also Germany’s top scorer of all time with 71 goals. Among all the clubs Klose served during his career, the only Italian one was Lazio whom he actually served at the end of his career and for 5 years between 2011 and 2016.

Klose was not actually as prolific a gaolscorer at club level as he was at international level. During his service to Lazio, he scored a total of 64 goals in 170 appearances which translates to 1.1 goals in every 3 appearances averagely. Klose wore the jersey number 11 at Lazio and although he didn’t score so many goals for the club during his service to them, he scored some decisive goals for them - like the one he scored at 93rd minutes in a derby against Roma which won the match 2-1 for Lazio - and provided some assists which endeared him to Lazio fans. Even if he hadn’t done that, he would have been still a great player at Lazio whose importance no one could deny. It might be interesting for you to know that with the 64 goals Klose scored for Lazio, he actually became the club’s seventh highest scorer of all time and also the club’s highest non-Italian scorer of all time, of course, alongside the Serbian footballer, Goran Pandev, who scored the same number of goals for the Italian club.

In playstyle, as they say, Klose was a pacey footballer at his prime and best known for his abilities in the air and as a center forward. He had a good positional sense which enabled him to lose his markers in the penalty area and get at the end of crosses to convert them. And he was not only a good attacker but also a good playmaker with great technical abilities and intelligence which enabled him to provide assists for his teammates when he himself was not through to goal. If there is any

best Lazio team ever

at all, he should surely be on it.

Simone Inzaghi

Currently the head coach of the top Serie A club, Inter Milan, Simone Inzaghi is a 46-year-old retired Italian forward and the younger brother of the famous Filippo Inzaghi who actually served Lazio for a major part of his career; actually for 11 years between 1999 and 2010 during which he made a total of 196 appearances and scored 55 goals for them - 1.12 goals in every 4 appearances averagely. As you see, he was not at all a prolific goalscorer and at club level he also got the same average - we mean 1.12 goals in every 4 appearances - by scoring 90 goals in all his 328 club appearances. However, concerning his goalscoring, we can say Inazghi was most successful in the first season he joined Lazio (1999-2000) where he actually managed to score 19 goals in 40 appearances - almost one goal in every two appearances - and won two trophies with the team, namely Scudetto and Coppa Italia.

In the same season (1999-2000) Champions League, Inzaghi also scored 9 goals in 11 appearances for Lazio which was quite wonderful for a player of his caliber with 4 of these goals being scored in a single match against Marseille in the competition’s group stage. Inzaghi actually became the competition’s second top scorer behind Raul of Real Madrid, Rivaldo of Barcelona, and Mario Jardel of Porto, each with 10 goals. Just consider that all the three above-mentioned players scored their 10 goals in between 1100 to 1300 minutes of play, while Inazghi scored his 9 goals in 700 minutes. Imagine, if Lazio advanced beyond the quarter-finals and Inazghi played more minutes, how many more goals he would score.

During his playtime, maybe, Simone Inzaghi was not as famous as his older brother, Filippo Inzaghi, however, his playstyle mimicked that of his older brother and the legendary Italian footballer,

. Of course, he was not a very technical player, but he did well what he was wanted from him in the penalty area, especially when he got the ball at close range due to his opportunism and positional sense. Simone Inzaghi is the only footballer on the list of best Lazio forwards of all time who has both played and managed Lazio. As a player, as mentioned above, he served Lazio for 11 years between 1999 and 2010 and won 7 club trophies with them, and as a manager, he served the Italian club for 5 years between 2016 and 2021 and managed to win three club trophies with them including a Coppa Italia in 2018-19 season.

Hernan Crespo

The only Argentinian and the second non-Italian footballer on the list of best Lazio forwards of all time, Hernan Crespo is a 46-year-old retired forward who, unlike the other footballers already mentioned in this post, did not serve Lazio for a major part of his career. He only served the Italian club for 2 years between 2000 and 2002, however his goal-to-appearance ratio at Lazio was higher than his same ratio at the other clubs he served during his career: 0.65 which comes from the 48 goals he scored in his 73 appearances for the Italian club. It might be interesting for you to know that the fee for which Crespo was transferred to Lazio (£35 million) in 2000 was a world record at its own time. Lazio had to sell two of their players, namely Matias Almeyda and Sergio Conceicao, to be able to pay for such a high fee. However, that looked worthwhile because Crespo scored 26 goals in his 32 Serie A appearances for the club becoming the professional Italian league top scorer in the same season.

Unfortunately, that good start of Crespo at Lazio was hampered in the next season (2001-02) as the top Argentinian forward suffered injuries and could not play in all the league matches Lazio had finishing the league with 22 appearances and 13 goals for the Italian club which, of course, is not bad for a player who suffers injury throughout a season. As you see, he proved a prolific goalscorer in the matches he managed to play that season, just like he had done in the season before that, however, Lazio had to sell him alongside several of their players like the top Italian defender,

, due to their financial problems.

Although Crespo was not that prolific a goalscorer with the other clubs he served during his career except for Lazio and Parma, he was a prolific one with the Argentinian national team with the 35 goals he scored in his 64 appearances for them across all competitions. He was capable of scoring with both his feet as well as his head and was also known for his ability to score acrobatic goals during his career. In fact, Crespo is considered as one of the best strikers of his own time and one of the best foreign players to have played in Serie A. He was also a technically intelligent player who could create chances for his teammates, too.

Renzo Garlaschelli

Born to Italian parents but in South America, Renzo Garlaschelli is a 72-year-old retired Italian forward who, like some other footballers on the list, served Lazio more than any other club during his career; actually for 10 years between 1972 and 1982 during which he made a total of 228 appearances and scored 51 goals for the Italian club only at league level - 1.1 goals in every 5 appearances. He also won a Serie A title with them in 1974. What is quite notable about Garlaschelli’s career is that Lazio was the only Serie A club he served during his career. The other teams he served during his career, namely Sant'Angelo, Como, and Pavia, played in lower tiers of the Italian football league system.

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