Giorgio Chinaglia, who has died aged 65, began his footballing career as a boy in inner-city Cardiff but ended it playing alongside Pele and Franz Beckenbauer; in the meantime he became one of the greatest stars in the history of the Italian club Lazio.
Adored by the Lazio fans, Chinaglia was a volatile figure whose antics frequently got him into trouble. Once, when he visited a cinema, he was recognised by a fan of Lazio’s great rivals Roma. The fan mouthed an insult at Chinaglia, who did not react until the lights were dimmed; then he punched the man in the face.
When he was substituted while playing for Italy against Haiti in a World Cup group match in 1974, Chinaglia stormed down the tunnel, broke down the dressing room door and smashed eight mineral water bottles against the wall. It was the end of his international career.
Giorgio Chinaglia was born in Carrara, Tuscany, on January 24 1947, but when he was eight his family emigrated to Wales, his father later opening an Italian restaurant in Cardiff. Giorgio was educated at St Mary’s Catholic School in the Canton district of the city, and as a teenager was taken on by Swansea Town, where he soon exhibited his unpredictable temperament: when the club’s handyman asked him to help with a painting job, the young player picked up the paint tin and flung its contents against the wall of the stand.
In 1966 he returned to his native country, playing first for Massese before being talent-spotted in 1969 by Lazio. The turning point of his career came in 1971 when the club, relegated to Serie B, appointed Tommaso Maestrelli manager. Under Maestrelli, Chinaglia prospered, scoring 21 times as the team won promotion to Serie A.
In the 1973-74 season Chinaglia scored 24 goals, helping Lazio to secure their first ever Scudetto (Serie A championship). In 209 appearances for Lazio between 1969 and 1976, he scored 98 times, and has since been voted the club’s favourite player by Lazio’s fans.
In his 14 appearances for Italy, he was on the scoresheet on four occasions, but is perhaps best remembered in Britain for setting up the winning goal for Fabio Capello when the Azzurri beat England 1-0 in a friendly at Wembley in November 1973.
In 1976 Chinaglia moved to America to play for the New York Cosmos, where he turned out alongside a host of ageing stars including Pele, Beckenbauer, the Dutchman Johan Neeskens, Brazil’s Carlos Alberto and the Belgian Francois van der Elst.
There is a famous story that Chinaglia once complained that his team-mates were failing to provide him with adequate service on the pitch. When Pele replied that the striker was shooting from impossible angles, Chinaglia shouted: “I am Chinaglia. If I shoot from a place, it’s because Chinaglia can score from there.” It is claimed that Pele left the dressing room in tears.
Poor service or not, Chinaglia scored a remarkable 242 goals in 254 matches for the Cosmos, making him the North American Soccer League’s all-time leading scorer; he won four NASL titles with the team. In 2000 he was admitted to the US Soccer Hall of Fame.
After retiring as a player, Chinaglia served as president of Lazio from 1983 to 1985.
Chinaglia became an American citizen in 1979 and lived there following allegations that an organised crime ring tried to buy Lazio in 2006; at the time he was one of nine people for whom Italian authorities issued arrest warrants on charges of extortion and insider trading, but in the event he was never detained.
Latterly he worked as a radio show host. He died in Florida after suffering a heart attack.
Giorgio Chinaglia is survived by his wife, Angela, and five children, three of them from his first marriage.
Giorgio Chinaglia, born January 24 1947, died April 1 2012
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