Giuliano Taccola
Encyclopedia
Giuliano Taccola was an Italian
professional football player.
He played for 2 seasons (41 games, 18 goals) in the Serie A
for A.S. Roma
.
During his second Serie A season in 1968/69, his level of performance dropped due to fever and high heart rate, but the manager Helenio Herrera
decided to continue to play him. On March 2, 1969 he injured his ankle in a game against U.C. Sampdoria
, and two weeks later, after a game against Cagliari Calcio
, to which he accompanied the team, he suffered a seizure in the locker room. He died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, with official cause of death being heart failure due to pneumonia.
According to a 2004 interview by Ferruccio Mazzola in L'espresso
, Taccola was a victim of performance-enhancing drugs, the use of which allegedly was widespread under Helenio Herrera.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
professional football player.
He played for 2 seasons (41 games, 18 goals) in the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
for A.S. Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
.
During his second Serie A season in 1968/69, his level of performance dropped due to fever and high heart rate, but the manager Helenio Herrera
Helenio Herrera
Helenio Herrera Gavilán was a Franco-Argentine football player and manager.Although born in Argentina, Herrera's parents were both Spanish, his father being a well-known Spanish anarchist in exile...
decided to continue to play him. On March 2, 1969 he injured his ankle in a game against U.C. Sampdoria
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...
, and two weeks later, after a game against Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B....
, to which he accompanied the team, he suffered a seizure in the locker room. He died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, with official cause of death being heart failure due to pneumonia.
According to a 2004 interview by Ferruccio Mazzola in L'espresso
L'Espresso
l'Espresso is an Italian newsmagazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies, the other being Panorama. Since the latter has been acquired by right-wing tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi, l'Espresso enjoys the reputation of being the main politically independent newsmagazine...
, Taccola was a victim of performance-enhancing drugs, the use of which allegedly was widespread under Helenio Herrera.