Darlington-born footballer who took Lazio to glory in Italy
PINO WILSON, who has died aged 76, led Lazio to their first ever Serie A league title in 1974 and was regarded by the Italian club’s fans as its most totemic captain – even though he was half-english.
Wilson’s father, Dennis, an iron and steel worker at Darlington Forge, served in Italy during the Second World War, and met and married Lina Di Francesca.
On October 27 1945, back in England, she gave birth to a son, Joseph. Winter in Darlington proved, however, too much of a trial for Lina, and when Joseph was six months old the family moved to her home city of Naples, where Dennis worked as a supervisor at a Nato base.
When Joseph undertook his national service in Italy, he changed his name to its Italian form, Giuseppe, or Pino for short. After finishing his legal studies, he began to make his mark as a skilful, tough defender with Internapoli.
He won a regional title with them, coming to the attention of the Roman club Lazio, for whom he signed in 1969. They were relegated in 1971, but with Wilson as captain they won promotion back to Serie A at the first attempt. For the next few years, like Leeds in England, Lazio revelled in shaking up the established order.
Wilson was the team’s undisputed leader, and as sweeper set the tone for their free-flowing, hardpressing style – and an unyielding spirit that often spilled over into intimidation, which often found its outlet in the striker Giorgio Chinaglia.
He had also come from Internapoli, having grown up in Cardiff. Known for his confrontations with referees, managers and even teammates, Chinaglia became a cult hero to the rowdy crowds of the time.
The period was the beginning of the so-called “years of lead”, an explosion of violence in Italian society that stemmed from the tensions caused by its rapid post-war industrialisation. Lazio became associated with neo-fascist fans, and stories of its players bringing guns to the training ground for high jinks burnished their outlaw image.
A dinner with a visiting Arsenal side turned into a punch-up, while a match against Ipswich became a near-brawl that saw Lazio banned from European competition for a year.
In Italy they prospered under the guidance of their manager Tommaso Maestrelli and marshalled by Wilson, who did not miss a match for four seasons. In 1972-73, Lazio lost the Serie A title to Juventus in the last game, then the next year they claimed the Scudetto.
Wilson made his international debut shortly before the 1974 World Cup and played in two of Italy’s three matches at the tournament. In the opening game, Chinaglia swore at the manager Ferruccio Valcareggi when substituted, leading to splits in the squad which hastened the side’s exit.
Things also deteriorated rapidly at Lazio as the team began to break up and Maestrelli died in 1976. In 1978, Wilson followed Chinaglia to play for New York Cosmos alongside Franz Beckenbauer, winning the NASL title.
He returned to Lazio, but in 1980 became a central figure in the Totonero betting scandal. This resulted from the friendship of several Lazio players, including Wilson, with a pair of small-time Rome businessmen who paid them to fix certain matches.
When the results differed from those supposedly guaranteed, the pair faced ruin because of the money they had wagered, as well as threats from gangsters. The scandal spread, and in March 1980 officers waited on the touchline at matches to arrest players, including Wilson, as they came off.
Lazio were relegated and Wilson banned for life, although this was later commuted to three years. He rehabilitated himself as a television pundit, and when he died his coffin was taken to lie at Rome’s city hall on the Capitoline Hill.
Pino Wilson is survived by his partner Daniela and by his son and daughter.
Pino Wilson, born October 27 1945, died March 6 2022