No easy games in Serie A
Catania despite being doomed and backed by a particularly hostile crowd force Lazio to settle for a point
Also on this day: April 1, 2000, Juventus Lazio 0-1. A Simeone second half header gives Lazio victory and cuts Juventus' lead to 3 points ... it's still possible. Lazio Legend of the day: Diego Simeone
The season so far
Lazio were finally back in Serie A after three difficult years in the second division, the "purgatory" of Serie B.
The legendary Giorgio Chinaglia was back as president with promises of massive American partners investing in Lazio's bright future.
The summer market had seen major changes to the squad. The main arrivals were defenders Daniele Filisetti (Atalanta), Massimo Piscedda (back from loan-Sanremese), midfielders Joāo Batista (Palmeiras and Brazilian national), Angelo Cupini (Cavese), Rinaldo Piraccini (Pistoiese), Claudio Vinazzani (Napoli) plus forward Michael Laudrup (loan for 2 years- Juventus).
So, apart from a young Laudrup and the experience of Batista, not much to get excited about, but at this point the Laziali had blind faith in Long John Chinaglia. Giancarlo Morrone, who had substituted Roberto Clagluna towards the end of the previous season, had been confirmed.
Leaving Lazio were several Serie B faithful: keeper Maurizio Moscatelli (Cavese- he never really recovered from his serious injury), defenders Ernesto Calisti (loan-Cavese), Carlo Perrone and Paolo Pochesci (both to Ascoli), Marco Saltarelli (Monza), midfielders Roberto Badiani (Vigor Senigallia), Maurizio Montesi (retired), Roberto Tavola (end of loan-Juventus), forwards Claudio Ambu (Monza), Stefano Chiodi (Prato) and Leonardo Surro (Siena).
No great losses for various reasons: injuries (Moscatelli and Montesi), age (Badiani), unfulfilled potential (Pochesci, Perrone and Saltarelli) or lack of Serie A quality (Chiodi, Tavola and Surro). The one player Lazio fans were extremely sad to see leave was Enrico Vella when he left in the autumn for Atalanta.
Whatever opinion was given to the squad, Lazio came into the season with great enthusiasm and packed out the Olimpico in the early games. The long-awaited return to Serie A and even more so that of a Chinaglia was enough to excite even the most laid-back fans.
In Coppa Italia, in August and early September, Lazio had been eliminated in a group with: Catanzaro 0-0, Perugia 2-0, Taranto 0-1, Bari 0-0 and Juventus 1-1.
So far, the season in Serie A had, as expected, been difficult. Lazio lost the first but then surprisingly crushed Inter 3-0 at home. It was an illusion as Lazio then struggled.
In December, Morrone was replaced by Paolo Carosi and things were not helped by Bruno Giordano breaking his leg at Ascoli on December 31. After the 15 away fixtures the Biancocelesti were 15th (out of 16), on 9 points, but only 2 from safety. In the first 6 return games Lazio had then picked up 7 points (including two wins, an away draw at Inter and a recent draw in the derby in ten men). There was still hope.
In the last 3 Lazio had picked up another 4 points (Milan 0-0, Avellino 0-3 and Torino 1-0). Lazio's most recent game therefore had been a good home win against the Granata.
Lazio were currently 13th, on 19 points, the same as Napoli. Pisa occupied the 3rd bottom slot on 18 points.
The table was not a pretty sight: Catania 10, Genoa 15, Pisa 18, Napoli 19, Lazio 19, Avellino 21.
Lazio really had to win this one today against bottom placed Catania especially as it was not being played at the dreaded Cibali ground. The Catanesi had to play in neutral venues for the rest of the season due to a solitary pitch invasion during a home game to Milan on February 12. A bit harsh but that was the punishment.
Catania too had been promoted, after a three-team playoff with Cremonese and Como. The manager was Gianni Di Marzio and the top goal scorer was, former Lazio, Aldo Cantarutti with 12 goals (11 in B).
This season Di Marzio had started but then been replaced after 12 games by Giovan Battista Fabbri. The main novelties to the squad were Brazilian defender Pedrinho (Vasco da Gama), defender Giuseppe Sabadini (Catanzaro), Brazilian midfielder Luvanor (Goiás), future Lazio Fortunato Torrisi (Torino) plus forward Andrea Carnevale (Cagliari).
The main players leaving were defender Domenico Labrocca (Ancona), midfielders Roberto Barozzi (Cesena), Antonio Crusco (Cagliari), Marcello Gamberini (Sambenedettese) plus forward Mirco Paganelli (Ancona).
One interesting player on the Catania books was future manager Sir Claudio Ranieri (Premier League winner with Leicester).
So far, Serie A was proving too tough for the Etnei and they were bottom on 10 points. The Rossazzurri had won 1, drawn 8 (including Inter and Milan at home) and lost 15 (including Lazio 0-3). Their last match had been a 0-2 away defeat to Juventus.
The "Elefanti" were also out of Coppa Italia as in August/September the Rossazzurri had won 1 (Cagliari 1-0 at home), drawn 2 (Reggiana 1-1 at home and Campobasso 1-1 away) and lost 2 (Verona and Carrarese both 0-2 away).
Lazio were favourites today but 9 out of the 10 points the Etnei had conquered so far were from home fixtures, whether in Catania or neutral locations (Messina and Palermo), so Lazio could not be too complacent.
The match: Sunday, April 1, Stadio La Favorita, Palermo
A sparse crowd of 5,000 were present at La Favorita. The few who were there however were vociferous and hostile to Lazio, remembering their recent clashes with the Romans, especially last year's promotion clash in Rome. Even the Roman journalists in the press box were not made particularly welcome.
The Catanesi soon made their intentions clear with two dirty fouls on Lionello Manfredonia within the first minute, followed by oranges thrown at the midfielder from the stands. This was definitely not a friendly.
The game continued with Lazio more technical and classier while Catania were more physical and practical.
Catania somewhat unexpectedly took the lead in the 19th minute. Fortunato Torrisi to Maurizio Giovanelli whose cross was headed clear by Manfredonia but only as far as Andrea Carnevale who hammered a left footed strike past Fernando Orsi. Catania 1 Lazio 0. The fans went wild and dreamt of taking Lazio down with them, chanting "Serie B, Serie B" at the Romans.
Lazio struggled to have any sustained pressure and the first half ended with the "Elefanti" in front.
In the second half Lazio attacked more, albeit without managing to create any real danger. In the 58th minute Claudio Vinazzani was taken off for a striker, Mauro Meluso.
In the 61st minute however, it was the Rossoazzurri who had a huge chance to double their lead. Carnevale went on a good run and perfectly set up Cantarutti with only Orsi to beat. The former Lazio striker tried a lob but put it over the bar. A bad miss by the big striker from Friuli.
Five minutes later Lazio equalised. Meluso was fouled by Damiano Morra in the area and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. The home crowd in exile saw it differently and all sorts of objects flew down on the pitch. When order was restored Vincenzo D'Amico coolly slotted in a low spot kick to Roberto Sorrentino's left. Catania 1 Lazio 1.
At this point the home crowd threw everything they had left onto the field: the rest of their packed lunches, oranges, plastic bottles, coins and even large stones. The game had to be interrupted for about ten minutes.
Eventually, thanks to the help of the Catania players themselves the game could restart.
It did not have much more to say except for a penalty appeal by Lazio for another foul on Meluso. The referee, probably thinking of his well-being and his family, maybe wisely gestured to play on.
The two teams equally wisely seemed to play in a more sportsmanlike fashion in the last minutes, they too thought of getting out of the stadium in one piece. Final score Catania 1 Lazio 1.
No revenge for the Sicilians while Lazio seeing the atmosphere and how the game had panned out were reasonably pleased with the point.
There was nevertheless not great news from the other fixtures. Napoli had surprisingly beaten Milan 2-0 away, Genoa had beaten Ascoli 1-0 at home, Avellino had beaten Verona 1-0 at home while Pisa had got a point at home against high flying Torino.
The new table read: Catania 11, Genoa 17, Pisa 19, Lazio 20, Napoli 21, Avellino 23. Next up was a difficult away trip to third placed Fiorentina.
Who played for Catania
Sorrentino, Ranieri, Pedrinho, Giovanelli, Mosti, Gregori, Morra, Torrisi (65' Chinellato), Cantarutti, Luvanor (76' Crialesi), Carnevale
Substitutes: Costa, Sabadini, Ciampoli
Manager: G.B Fabbri
Who played for Lazio
Orsi, Miele, Filisetti, Spinozzi, Batista, Podavini, Vinazzani (58' Meluso), Manfredonia, D'Amico (75' Piga), Laudrup, Cupini
Substitutes: Cacciatori, Della Martira, Marini
Manager: Carosi
Referee: Pairetto
Goals: 19' Carnevale, 66' D'Amico (pen)
What happened next
In the next game star striker Giordano returned from injury. On April 15, away to Fiorentina, Bruno-Gol finally came back and 10,000 Lazio fans travelled up to Florence to witness the event, but Lazio lost 2-3.
Lazio then won at home against Napoli 3-2, lost at Udine 0-2 and then won another crucial home game against Ascoli 2-1.
So, it all came down to the final game under the leaning tower of Pisa. Catania and Pisa were already down while Genoa on 23 and Lazio on 24 still had hope. Only one of them would stay up. Genoa had Juventus at home but the Bianconeri had already won and celebrated the league title. Lazio however had the advantage in the head-to-head matches, having won 2-1 in Rome and drawn 0-0 in Genova.
A mass exodus of Lazio fans accompanied the team to Tuscany. The Arena Garibaldi was almost entirely light blue and white.
Lazio managed to draw 2-2 with two goals by Giordano so, despite Genoa beating Juventus 2-1, the Biancocelesti reached the agonised target of staying in Serie A. Top scorers were Bruno Giordano, Vincenzo D'Amico and Michael Laudrup with 8 goals each.
Catania as mentioned were obviously relegated. In the last five games they only earned one more point (a 2-2 "home" draw to Roma). Top scorer was Aldo Cantarutti with 5 goals (4 in A out of 14…). The Sicilians would not be back in Serie A for another 22 years although they are currently in Serie C.
Lazio 1983-84
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 35 |
Coppa Italia | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
Total | 35 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 38 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Laudrup | 35 | 30 | 5 |
Vinazzani | 33 | 28 | 5 |
Spinozzi | 32 | 27 | 5 |
Manfredonia | 31 | 26 | 5 |
Batista | 30 | 25 | 5 |
D'Amico | 30 | 25 | 5 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Laudrup | 8 | 8 | - |
D'Amico | 8 | 7 | 1 |
Giordano | 8 | 8 | - |
Manfredonia | 4 | 4 | - |
Cupini | 3 | 3 | - |
Let’s talk about Mario Piga
Mario Piga was born in Palau (Sassari-Sardinia), on May 29 1956. He has a twin brother, Marco, who was also a professional footballer.
Mario started playing football at amateur level with his hometown club Palau.
In 1973 he moved to nearby Torres (Sassari) in Serie C. He stayed two seasons and the Rossoblu finished 15th and 19th. His manager was Giovanni Sanna who was then replaced during the second season by Romano Magherini. Piga played 71 league games and scored 5 goals. His brother Marco was also in the squad. Some years later Gianfranco Zola would spend three seasons at Torres early in his career.
In 1975 Piga joined Lucchese in Serie C. He stayed two years in Lucca and the "Pantere" finished 5th and 4th under Tito Corsi and Giovanni Meregalli. He played 73 league games and scored 3 goals. He again played alongside his twin brother.
In 1977 he joined Atalanta in Serie A but after only 2 appearances in Coppa Italia he moved south to Irpinia and joined Avellino in Serie B. These were the Biancoverdi's greatest years in their history. In his first year the "Lupi" were promoted under former and future Lazio, Paolo Carosi. Piga played 25 league games with 2 goals (Cremonese, Sampdoria). His teammates included Lazio connections Maurizio Montesi (1976-1977, 1979-83), Vincenzo Chiarenza (1981-82, 1983) plus obviously his twin brother.
Over the next ten seasons Avellino managed to stay in Serie A and Piga stayed for four. The Irpini finished 10th, 12th, 10th and 8th. In these years they had victories against Milan three times, Inter, Napoli, Juventus and Roma to name a few of their scalps. The managers were Rino Marchesi the first two seasons, Luis Vinicio in the third and Vinicio then replaced by Claudio Tobia in the fourth. Piga played another 128 league games with 9 goals (Ascoli, winner against Inter, Roma, Fiorentina, Como, Juventus, Torino, Milan, Ascoli) and 6 games in Coppa Italia. His teammates included Lazio connections, Paolo Beruatto (1987-1990), Ciccio Cordova (1976-79) and Giuseppe Massa (1966-72).
In 1982-83 he spent a year with Perugia in Serie B. The “Grifoni" finished 11th under manager Aldo Agroppi. Piga played 25 league games. He played alongside Lazio connections Domenico Caso (1985-89), Dario Marigo (1980-82, 1983) and Dario Sanguin (1980-82).
In 1983-84 he played a season with Lazio. The Biancocelesti were back in Serie A after three seasons in the purgatory of Serie B. The new president was club hero Giorgio "Long John" Chinaglia and there was great enthusiasm. The team however was not really competitive for the level of top-flight football. The manager was initially Juan Carlos Morrone but he was replaced in December by Paolo Carosi. Lazio struggled all season but ultimately avoided relegation in the last game of the season with an away draw at Pisa. Piga played 11 league games.
In 1984 he moved on and joined Palermo in Serie C. He stayed two seasons in Sicily. In the first the Rosaneri finished 2nd and were promoted to Serie B under Domenico Rosati. In the second the Eagles finished 6th, first under Antonio Angelillo and then Fernando Veneranda. In his time in "Paliemmu" (in dialect) he played 59 league games with 5 goals. He too was accused of being involved in the 1986 Totonero bis match fixing scandal and was suspended for one month.
In 1986 he went home and joined Torres again, in C2. He stayed three seasons. In the first the Rossoblu won promotion, in 1st place, to C1, under manager Lamberto Leonardi. He played alongside future Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola.
In his next two seasons the Sardinians finished 7th and 4th, first under Leonardi and then Francesco Liguori. In his three seasons Piga played 71 league games and scored 8 goals.
He then spent his two last seasons at local club Ilva Maddalena in Interregionale (4th tier). He played 61 league games.
At 35 he then retired.
After retiring he had a brief experience as manager with Torres in C2 in 1996-97, managing to avoid relegation. He was then replaced some months later.
Piga was an attacking midfielder. He was diminutive at 1.68 but extremely dynamic. He had his satisfactions in his career, 114 games in Serie A with 9 goals (including the three giants, Juve, Inter and Milan plus Roma). He won a promotion to A with Avellino, scoring the promotion clinching goal against Sampdoria. He also won a promotion to C1 with his local club Torres, again scoring the decisive goal against Alessandria in the last game of the season.
With Lazio he only stayed one season and was not a regular. He played 11 league games but it was ultimately a positive season for the Biancocelesti in that they avoided relegation in dramatic fashion.
Lazio Career
Season | Serie A appearances |
1983-84 | 16 |
Sources
Kommentare