Robbed, as usual
A controversial late Roma equaliser denied Lazio their first win of the season. Dolso had scored in the second half with a header following an excellent cross by Chinaglia, but it was all in vain.
Also on this day:
The season so far
The 1970-71 season had not started well. Deep contrasts between the manager, Juan Carlos Lorenzo and the President, Umberto Lenzini, over the summer transfer window would have deep consequences on the team's performance.
Following a decent 8th place in the 1969-70 season, Lenzini was looking for an improvement and had set eyes on the future Turin goalkeeper Luciano Castellini, but Lorenzo did not agree, preferring Michelangelo Sulfaro. Lorenzo was also unimpressed with Lenzini signing Pierpaolo Manservisi.
Giorgio Chinaglia did not help the situation by saying that if he was the problem, he would have no issue leaving, perhaps hoping for a transfer during the November window. He did stay obviously. Leaving Lazio was however Gian Piero Ghio to Napoli.
So the first five matches saw Lazio draw three times and lose two. The derby could have been a turning point for the season.
In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti did not go beyond the group stage. Lazio even played the first round of the last Inter-Cities Fairs Cup but was knocked out by Arsenal.
The match: Sunday, November 15, 1970, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio desperately needed a win but in the first half basically nothing happened, apart from a Roma effort by Walter Franzot saved by Pino Wilson, and a weak header from Giuliano Fortunato. The teams were too scared to lose to effectively try to win.
The change came in the second half when Juan Carlos Lorenzo substituted Nello Governato with Arrigo Dolso in the 65th minute. Four minutes later Giorgio Chinaglia tried to spearhead the Roma defence but was forced to move to the right wing. The subsequent cross was headed in by Dolso to make it 1-0. The Lazio midfielder tried again a few minutes later but his shot was easily saved.
The game appeared to be in Lazio’s hands, but with four minutes to spare, Ciccio Cordova, unopposed, cut through the entire Lazio midfield and defence and handed Sergio Petrelli an easy equaliser. Luigi Polentes could have salvaged the situation but Gianfranco Zigoni clearly and unfairly held him back. The referee however was the only one present in the Olimpico not to see the foul. Roma almost won the match in injury time but a good save from Michelangelo Sulfaro avoided defeat.
Who played for Lazio
Sulfaro, Wilson, Facco, Governato (65’ Dolso), Polentes, Marchesi, Manservisi, Massa, Chinaglia, Mazzola II, Fortunato
Substitute: Di Vincenzo
Manager: Lorenzo
Who played for Roma
Ginulfi, Scaratti, Petrelli, Franzot (70' La Rosa), Bet, Santarini, Salvori, Del Sol, Zigoni, Cordova, Amarildo.
Substitute: De Min
Manager: Helenio Herrera
Referee: Toselli
Goals: 69' Dolso, 86' Petrelli
What happened next
The feud between the manager and president did not relent for the entire season. Lorenzo was sacked a few times, only to come back following protests by a particularly passionate group of fans loyal to the manager. Lazio was never capable of leaving the bottom part of the table and finished second from last with only four wins in 30 matches.
Chinaglia was the top scorer with 9 goals and the player with the most games (30).
A shock relegation, but in the end it was a blessing. Lenzini was finally able to kick Lorenzo out and call in Tommaso Maestrelli. The rest is in the history books.
One positive thing did happen this season. In June Lazio won the Coppa delle Alpi (Cup of the Alps). This was a tournament that was jointly organised by the Italian and Swiss football federations and ran from 1960 to 1987. Italian and Swiss teams only played until 1966, but from 1967 until 1969 they were joined also by West German clubs (and in 1969 also by a Belgian team). Back to the original formula in 1970, from 1972 to 1987 only French and Swiss teams played.
Lazio dominated their group stage and met Basel in the final. A Chinaglia double and another goal by Pierpaolo Manservisi brought the trophy to Rome.
Let’s talk about Sergio Petrelli
Despite being in the enemy squad and scoring against Lazio on this particular day in 1970, Sergio Petrelli remains a Lazio hero. He is nicknamed “Pedro” by the Lazio fans and by his former team mates.
Born in Ascoli Piceno on July 27 1944, Petrelli first started playing football in the local amateur club Del Duca Montedinove, where he was noticed by Juventus. He progressed through all the Juve youth teams from 1960 but just as he was about to start his adventure with the pros, he suffered a bad injury. He played the 1964-65 season with Carrarese in Serie C and the following year with Pisa.
His breakthrough year is 1966-67 in Serie B with Hellas Verona who were promoted to Serie A. Verona had invested in him and under manager Nils Liedholm, Petrelli started playing full back. He would play 90 games for Verona in three years with 7 goals.
1969 saw the move to Roma. Everyone predicted he would become a nazionale player but instead he had big problems with the Roma manager Helenio Herrera and did not get the expected playing time. Following 64 games and five goals in three years with the Giallorossi, he moved to Lazio, one of the very rare deals between the two clubs.
His first year with Lazio was complicated. Tommaso Maestrelli preferred Mario Facco and he appeared only 9 times in the 1972-73 season. He was about to change clubs the following year but Facco got injured and Maestrelli gave him an opportunity. He will no longer sit on the bench. He became one of the strongest players of the Lazio team that went on to win the first scudetto.
Despite originally being a left-winger, Maestrelli moved him to right back and he became one of the main pieces of that strange puzzle that made up the victorious Lazio 1973-74 squad.
In four years of Lazio, Petrelli played 47 games with two goals in Serie A, 12 in Coppa Italia (three goals) and six in the UEFA Cup.
He left Lazio in 1976 and played the rest of his career in Serie C and D nearer to home, with Anconitana, Tortoreto and Aquila. He retired from football in 1982 at 38 years of age.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup | Anglo Italian Cup |
1972-73 | 12 | 9 | 1 | - | 3 |
1973-74 | 31 (1) | 22 (1) | 5 | 4 | - |
1974-75 | 12 (2) | 8 (1) | 4 (1) | - | - |
1975-76 | 12 (2) | 8 | 2 (2) | 2 | - |
Total | 68 (5) | 47 | 12 | 6 | 3 |
Sources
Comments