On This Day: Lombardo appointed Palace caretaker manager (1998)

Club

13 Mar 2025

Perhaps the most remarkable of Crystal Palace’s managerial appointments took place on this day (13th March) in 1998, as Attilio Lombardo became Player-Manager.

Stepping into the void vacated by Steve Coppell, the popular Italian – who in SE25 added “The Bald Eagle” to his raft of other nicknames including “Popeye” and “The Ostrich” – took the reins at just 32 years of age, having only moved to south London the previous summer.

Lombardo was already well-known to Palace fans before his move to south London thanks to Channel 4’s Football Italia, the programme which broadcast his lanky stride, lethal instincts in front of goal, and trophy-laden spells with Sampdoria and Juventus.

After arriving at Palace in the summer of 1997, said reputation was only bolstered further.

With some hailing Lombardo as the club’s most exciting transfer ever, the Italian did not disappoint, scoring on his debut against Everton – a 2-1 win at Goodison Park on the opening day of the 1997/98 season.

In what eventually proved a topsy-turvy season back in the Premier League, Lombardo provided multiple moments of inspiration on the pitch, including goals at Leeds United and, of course, Wimbledon, to see his side sit tenth in November.

"Everything is a good memory,” Lombardo smiled, speaking to Palace TV in 2018.

“I played here for one year and I love the fans, I loved the job, I put everything into the pitch for this team. It was my first experience outside of Italy, which wasn’t easy for me because I didn’t know my teammates.

"I didn’t understand when Steve Coppell, my manager, spoke. But it didn’t matter if I didn’t understand, it’s important to put everything into the football."

Yet injury while on international duty would disrupt his – and subsequently Palace’s – campaign; the Eagles were tenth at the time of Lombardo’s injury, but – save for a fleeting appearance against Liverpool in December – bottom of the Premier League upon his return to return to full fitness in March ’98.

And then, just two days after playing against Chelsea, Lombardo’s Palace career took a somewhat unexpected twist.

With the Eagles’ season floundering and constant speculation rife regarding takeover talks, Coppell formally accepted the role of Director of Football, with Lombardo handed the chance to lead the side.

The Italian recalled: "When Mark Goldberg said to me, ‘do you want to become manager for Crystal Palace?’, it was difficult for me to say yes. I called my friend Gianluca Vialli, and I said to him, ‘Luca, what do you think about this?’.

“He said, ‘Attilio, player-manager is a very difficult job. It’s a beautiful moment in your life but remember, yesterday they were your teammates, now those days are finished because you’re manager. This was a bit difficult.”

Swedish forward Tomas Brolin, who had only joined the club two months prior himself, became Lombardo’s unofficial interpreter, with the Italian smiling: “At that time, I tried to communicate with them.

“It didn’t matter if I spoke English badly with my teammates – they knew me, I knew them, and they helped also.”

Sadly, however, Lombardo’s managerial reign got off to a poor start the following day, with a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park – despite a marvellous Matt Jansen volley for Palace – and the club’s fate felt out of his hands.

They did recover to win their next game, four days later – Lombardo naming himself in the starting XI against Newcastle United, and duly opening the scoring at St James’ Park with an outside-of-the-boot finish to set Palace on their way to a 2-1 win.

But five defeats in their final eight matches saw the Eagles finish bottom of the Premier League, returning to the second-tier after just one season.

Lombardo’s biggest achievement as manager was perhaps ending an almost-season-long hoodoo at home, with a 3-1 win over Derby County on 18th April 1998 being Palace’s first league win at Selhurst Park in the whole campaign.

Ever-confounding expectations, Lombardo remained in SE25 despite Palace’s drop in division, scoring three goals in the first half of the 1998/99 season as the Eagles sought an immediate return to the top-flight, before departing in January 1999 for a Lazio side managed by future England boss Sven-Göran Eriksson.

But such was his impact in a relatively brief stint, the Italian was voted by supporters into a Centenary XI in 2005 – despite having played far fewer games than his peers.

“I stayed [after relegation] because I wanted to bring Crystal Palace up again,” Lombardo said. “For me, leaving Palace after they got relegated was not in my character.

“I lived well here and I wanted to stay. I played only for four or five months in Division One before the chairman, Mark Goldberg, said it was the moment to leave Crystal Palace – they were having problems financially – so I had to choose to come back to Italy.

“It had been a fantastic time [in south London]. When I came to London and worked for the fans, they remember me as being a good player. I put my heart every time into the game, and it was a very nice thing for the fans.”

While his time in charge of Palace did not end quite as he would have hoped, he would return to England in a coaching capacity in the summer of 2010, helping Manchester City attain an FA Cup in 11/12 and their first-ever Premier League title under Roberto Mancini in 12/13.

Further silverware alongside Mancini would follow with Galatasaray in 13/14, and he went on to coach at Schalke 04 and Torino, before rejoining Mancini as the assistant coach for the Italian national team, who went on to win the final of Euro 2020 against England at Wembley.

Wherever he would later soar, The Bald Eagle remained one of the Selhurst faithful’s own.

For more exclusive interviews with Palace legends past and present, discover Palace TV.

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