Gianni Guigou: The forgotten member of our Scudetto side

February 22nd marks Gianni Guigou’s 45th birthday and, while the understated Uruguayan so often flew under the radar at Roma, his contribution to Scudetto glory should never go unnoticed.

Guigou arrived at the Stadio Olimpico from Nacional in the summer of 2000, in a recruitment drive that also saw Emerson added to the Giallorossi midfield, while Walter Samuel and Jonathan Zebina bolstered the defence and Gabriel Batistuta strengthened the attack.

Already a full Uruguay international and Copa America runner-up by then, the 25-year-old arrived with a fine reputation but not the same fanfare as Messrs Batistuta, Emerson, Samuel and Zebina.

He was brought in by Fabio Copello to bring balance to a luxurious midfield that already contained the likes of Marcos Assunção, Hidetoshi Nakata, Damiano Tommasi and Cristiano Zanetti - although as the season progressed, it proved harder for anyone to dislodge Tommasi and Emerson from that central area, leaving just one more spot for the rest to tussle over.

As Guigou later explained himself: “I played for the national team and they talked about me, but no-one had looked for me before Roma. I was 25 and living in South America when I arrived in the capital, and in the end I found myself playing with the strongest champions.”

Guigou also provided versatility, though, which gave him a few more opportunities to contribute to the cause.

His ability in wide areas allowed Capello to deploy him at either wing-back slot, as he did so 20 years ago to the day - as Guigou turned 25 in style against Liverpool in one of his most memorable Roma matches.

Trailing Liverpool 2-0 on aggregate just over half an hour into the second-leg of the UEFA Cup last-16 tie at Anfield, Guigou replaced Alessandro Rinaldi on the right-side of Capello’s team.

And following Francesco Antonioli’s 62nd-minute penalty save to deny Michael Owen, Gigou had his side back in the game seven minutes later as he lashed home with his left-peg from the best part of 30-yards; Not bad for a man Capello described just months earlier as “the only Uruguayan who doesn’t shoot”.

An incredulous Roma saw now infamous referee Jose Maria-Garcia-Aranda then award the visitors a penalty before shockingly overturning his decision and Guigou was ultimately sent-off in the dying moments as the valiant Giallorossi crashed out.

But all was not lost and Capello ultimately led Roma to their third - and most recent - Serie A crown, with Guigou featuring 15 times in the league that year, to go with his seven out of seven UEFA Cup appearances that included five starts.

He was also responsible for teeing up Batistuta for one of his most memorable goals of his career - a savage volley that broke hearts of Batigol’s former club Fiorentina that was made possible by Guigou’s cushioned header.

Both his strike against Liverpool and Batistuta’s in the win over La Viola largely epitomise Guigou’s Roma career - one of glory and magic but remembered mostly with the Uruguay midfielder at the periphery.

Not that Guigou’s own memory of his two-year spell in the capital - that also included lifting the Supercoppa Italia trophy - is at all tainted.

“I have always thanked Roma for the possibility of moving to Europe,” he subsequently said.

“I was lucky enough to win the Scudetto and an Italian Super Cup in the first year, and being a Roma player is never something given out easily. I would have liked to have stayed a little longer, but that's football.”

Guigou went on to represent Uruguay at the World Cup in 2002, picking up two of his 39 international caps in his country’s three Group A matches before their exit.

A year later, he moved to Siena on-loan and then permanently to first Fiorentina and then Treviso in Italy before returning to first club Nacional to see out his career when Biancocelesti were wound-up having gone bankrupt and been relegated from Serie A at the end of the 2009-09 season.

After one year back where it all began at Nacional, Guigou hung up his boots in 2010 and although he may not be the first name that springs to mind when recalling Roma’s famed Scudetto winners under Capello, his role in securing the league title should neither be forgotten, nor underplayed.

Happy birthday, Gianni!