Fabio Firmani

Born in Rome, Firmani began his career with local club Lodigiani in 1995, before moving the following season to Vicenza. He remained at the latter club for seven years, making his Serie A debut on 26 January 1997 in a 3–2 home win against Fiorentina, going on to collect nearly 100 official appearances. He also scored in the quarter-finals of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup against Roda JC, in a 9–1 aggregate routing. During his time in Veneto, Firmani headed south for a year, spending the 1998–99 campaign on loan at Reggina and splitting 2001–02 between Chievo (co-ownership with Vicenza) and Bologna. After competing in Serie B in 2002–03 with Venezia, he was finally released and joined Catania, helping them to two mid-table positions in the competition. The following year, Firmani signed with Lazio, replacing Juventus-bound Giuliano Giannichedda. He made a good start to his career in the capital, but suffered a serious injury in November 2005, causing him to miss to rest of the campaign. On 25 November 2007, Firmani scored his first goal for the Biancocelesti against Parma at the Stadio Olimpico, in a 1–0 victory. The goal, which was scored in the 90th minute, came only a week after the death of his good friend Gabriele Sandri, who was shot by a policeman, and the player's celebration with fans in Curva Nord earned him their recognition; due to injuries, he only managed seven appearances for the season but still netted three times, the other two being successful strikes…

Firmani was never called up to the Italy national team, but collected ten caps for the under-21 side, scoring once. He was a member of the side which won the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, and also played Olympic football in the same year, in Sydney.