Giuliano Taccola (28 June 1944 in Uliveto Terme – 16 March 1969 in Cagliari) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a striker.
Taccola began his football career in 1961, and played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, including Genoa, Alessandria, Varese, Entella, and Savona, before joining Roma in 1967, where he spent two seasons in the Italian Serie A, playing 41 games and scoring 18 goals.
He made his Serie A debut with Roma on 24 September 1967, marking the occasion with a goal in a 1–1 away draw against Inter.
He died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, at the age of 24, with official cause of death being heart failure due to pneumonia.
[1][3][4] 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.