April 11, 1971: Sampdoria-Lazio 2-3
- Dag Jenkins
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Its not over yet
Lazio give themselves survival hopes by defeating fellow strugglers Sampdoria away
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous year Lazio, under Roberto Lovati and Juan Carlos Lorenzo as technical director, had finished 8th in Serie A.
This year Lorenzo was officially manager and Lovati his assistant. There had been no major movements on the transfer market. The main players coming in were midfielders Pierpaolo Manservisi (Napoli) and Arrigo Dolso (Monza-end of loan). Leaving were defenders Carlo Soldo (Monza), Giancarlo Oddi (Massese-on loan), midfielder Bruno Gioia (Parma) and forward Gian Piero Ghio (Napoli).
Lazio were already out of the Coppa Italia despite two wins out of three (Palermo, Catanzaro), unfortunately the defeat was in the derby 0-2. Lazio were also out of the Fairs Cup having lost to Arsenal 2-4 on aggregate.
In Serie A things were not going well. Lazio were currently 15th on 17 points, three from safety (Varese, Vicenza, Torino and Sampdoria on 20). A week earlier however Lazio had left the bottom of the table by beating Foggia 2-1 at home. So far Lazio had won 4, drawn 9 (including both derbies) and lost 11. Today was an important clash against fellow strugglers Sampdoria.
Sampdoria had finished 13th the previous season under former Lazio player and manager, Fulvio Bernardini. The Blucerchiati had lost both games against Lazio. Top scorer was Ermanno Cristin with 4 league goals.
This season Bernardini was still in charge. The main new signings were: defender Marcello Lippi (Savona - back from loan), Marco Rossinelli (Spezia), midfielders Giovanni Lodetti (Milan after 288 games) plus forwards Luis Suárez (Inter after 333 games) and Dino Spadetto (Bari).
Leaving were: defender Angelo Colletta (Mantova), Giovanni Delfino (Gaviese after 236 league games), midfielders Romeo Benetti (Milan), Giancarlo Morelli (Taranto), Mario Frustalupi (Inter after 202 league games) plus forward Harald Nielsen (retiring). Some important losses.
In Serie A the Doriani were in joint 10th place on 20 points but only two above Fiorentina in the last relegation slot. The Blucerchiati had won 4 (including Juventus 2-0 at home), drawn 12 (including 7 0-0) and lost 8 (including Lazio 0-1). Their last two games had been goalless draws away to Torino and Fiorentina.
In Coppa Italia, Samp had been eliminated in the group phase after 1 win (Perugia 1-0 away) and 2 draws (Torino 3-3 at home and Ternana 1-1 away).
A crucial game to avoid relegation for both sides today.
The match: Sunday, April 11, 1971, Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
A sunny and mild day in the "Città della Lanterna" saw about 20,000 spectators gather in the Marassi area of the Ligurian capital.
Lazio had to do without defenders Mario Facco and Giuseppe Papadopulo plus forward Juan Carlos Morrone while Sampdoria had no real absences.
Lazio looked sharp and fitter from the start. They played at a higher tempo than the hosts and took the lead in the 21st minute. It came courtesy of a mistake by Marcello Lippi who missed the ball and Giuseppe Massa was quick to set up Giorgio Chinaglia who blasted a right foot past Pietro Battara. Sampdoria 0 Lazio 1.
The Blucerchiati stirred and equalised in the 39th minute. Luisito Suárez floated in a freekick and Giancarlo Salvi rose up and headed in. Sampdoria 1 Lazio 1.
Just before halftime however, Lazio were in front again. In the 44th minute a nice touch by Ferruccio Mazzola reached Giuliano Fortunato who skilfully went past a defender and went for a shot that took a deflection off Giovanni Lodetti and flew past Battara. Sampdoria 1 Lazio 2 at the break.
The second half was balanced with Sampdoria attacking more but Lazio defended well. They absorbed the pressure and struck again in the 74th minute. It was Mazzola again who started the move heading forward to Massa, the Neapolitan then had a quick one-two with Chinaglia and hit a low strike which, although not particularly powerful or angled, beat a hesitant Battara. Sampdoria 1 Lazio 3.
The game seemed under control for the Biancocelesti but two minutes from time Samp pulled one back. Suarez crossed from the right to Ermanno Cristin who chested the ball down and shot towards goal and on its way Salvi pounced and headed past Rosario Di Vincenzo. Sampdoria 2 Lazio 3.
There were a few anxious last minutes, but Lazio's defence cleared a few hopeful high balls into the area and Lazio managed to clinch a precious first away win. Final score Sampdoria 2 Lazio 3.
A good team effort by Lazio. Di Vincenzo had been safe, the defence tight and concentrated, the midfield compact and fluid with a superb Mazzola while Massa, playing further forward, had been a constant threat and Chinaglia had kept the whole Sampdoria defence busy.
Lazio were joint 14th with Fiorentina on 19 points and now only one point from Varese, safe on 20 points. Next up was a crucial Lazio vs Fiorentina.
Sampdoria had to be careful. They were now joint 12th with Varese on 20 points, only one above Lazio and Fiorentina in the last two relegation slots.
Who played for Sampdoria
Battara, Sabadini, Sabatini, Corni, Spanio, Lippi, Salvi, Lodetti, Cristin, Suarez, Fotia
Substitutes: Pellizzaro, Morello
Manager: Bernardini
Who played for Lazio
Di Vincenzo, Wilson, Legnaro, Governato, Polentes, Marchesi, Massa, Chinellato, Chinaglia, F.Mazzola, Fortunato
Manager: Lorenzo
Referee: Francescon
Goals: 21' Chinaglia, 39' Salvi, 44' Lodetti (og), 74' Massa, 88' Salvi
What happened next
Lazio finished 15th and relegated on 22 points. The Biancocelesti went down with Foggia and bottom placed Catania. They drew 0-0 against Fiorentina and then in the last 4 games they drew 2 (Juventus 2-2 at home and Inter 1-1 away) and lost 2 (crunch game against Varese 1-2 away and nail in the coffin 0-1 at home to Vicenza).
Little did Lazio fans know however that their history was about to change, for the better, with the arrival of Tommaso Maestrelli. Meanwhile they found some consolation in winning the Alps Cup on June 25, beating Basel 3-1 at St. Jakob Stadium. By this time Lorenzo had left (May 30) and was replaced by Bob Lovati. Top scorer was Giorgio Chinaglia with 21 goals (9 in A).
Sampdoria ended up joint 12th on 25 points and only stayed up on goal difference. In the last 5 games Samp won 2, drew 1 and lost 2. Top scorer was Cristin with 10 league goals.
Inter were champions for the 11th time.
Let’s talk about Luis Suárez
Luis Suárez Miramontes known as Luisito was born in La Coruña on May 2, 1935.
He played his first footballing years with local club Deportivo La Coruña and joined the first team squad in 1953. He played 17 league games and scored 3 goals. The Herculinos finished 7th in the top flight.
In 1954 he moved to Barcelona where he stayed seven seasons. He played 176 games and scored 80 goals. In Barcelona he won 2 league titles, 2 Spanish Cups and 2 Fairs Cups. His managers included Francesc Miró-Sans, Franz Platko, Domėnec Balmanya and Helenio Herrera. He played alongside greats such as Antoni Ramallets, Joan Segarra, Jose Seguer, Sigfrid Gràcia, László Kubala, Justo Tejada, Eduardo Machón, Ramón Villaverde to name a few.
In 1961 Suarez joined Inter where he was reunited with manager Helenio Herrera. Suarez stayed nine seasons with the Nerazzurri. He played 355 games and scored 55 goals. Inter won the Scudetto three times, the European Cup twice and the Intercontinental Cup twice. His managers were Herrera for seven seasons, former Lazio Alfredo Foni for one and Heriberto Herrera in the last. Suarez played alongside Inter greats such as Giacinto Facchetti, Aristide Guarneri, Armando Picchi, Sandro Mazzola, Tarcisio Burgnich, Mario Corso, Jair, Giuliano Sarti, Angelo Domenghini and Roberto Boninsegna amongst others.
In 1970 Suarez joined Sampdoria and stayed three seasons. The Blucerchiati finished 12th, 8th and 11th. Suarez played 73 games with 13 goals. His managers were former Lazio Fulvio Bernardini in the first season and Heriberto Herrera in the following two.
He then retired at 38.
He won 32 caps for Spain and scored 14 goals. He won the European Championship in 1964. He also took part in two World Cups, 1962 and 1966.
After retiring he became a coach. He started at Inter in 1974-75 and the Nerazzurri finished 9th. His career then took him to Cagliari (Aug-Nov 1975, Serie A, sacked), SPAL (Feb-Jun 1977, Serie B, 18th and relegated), Como (1977-78, B, 19th and relegated), Deportivo La Coruña (1978-79, SD, 15th), Inter (Jan-May 1992, 8th), Albacete (Sept 1994, PD, resigned) and finally Inter again (Sept-Oct 1995, fill in between Ottavio Bianchi and Roy Hodgson). It is fair to say his coaching career was not nearly as successful as his playing one.
Suarez started his career as an attacking midfielder but then played further back more as a playmaker. He then scored less but still got his share of goals. He was known as "The Architect" for the precision of his passing and shooting. In 1960 he was the first Spanish player to win the prestigious "Ballon d'or.
Suarez died in Milan on July 9, 2023.
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