Win closes the year
Despite falling behind after just 22 seconds, Lazio manage to overturn the result thanks to D'Amico and Citterio
Also on this day:
The season so far
Lazio have had bad years, but the 1979-80 season must be considered as one of the worst in their history.
The previous season Lazio had missed out on a UEFA Cup qualification by just three points. The club did not have much money and could only afford minor signings. In came Filippo Citterio from Palermo, Vincenzo Zucchini from Pescara and Enrico Todesco from Como plus the return of Mauro Manzoni, who was on loan to Cerretese, and Maurizio Montesi, who had been sent to Avellino for a year.
Lazio said goodbye to scudetto hero Luigi Martini, who left to play in the NASL, Ciccio Cordova (Avellino), Paolo Ammoniaci (Palermo) and Aldo Cantarutti (Pisa). Roberto Badiani, Andrea Agostinelli and Pietro Ghedin were loaned out.
The Biancocelesti started relatively well and in the first 9 games lost only one against Inter and even beat Juventus. This game came after a derby that nobody had wanted to play.
On October 28 Rome was ready for the first derby of the season. An hour before the match, Vincenzo Paparelli was sitting in Curva Nord having a sandwich. From the Curva Sud Giovanni Fiorillo fired two flares towards the Lazio Curva. They zig zagged over the top. For the third attempt, the Roma supporter lowered his aim. The flare hit Vincenzo Paparelli in the eye and killed him. He was 33 years of age and had two children.
What happened then was complete chaos. The Lazio fans did not want the game to go on but the police decided that it was best to play for security reasons. In a climate of warfare with few Lazio supporters left in the stands, the game was played. Every time the ball went into the stands with Lazio supporters, the fans did not give the ball back. Captain Pino Wilson and Bruno Giordano were forced to go under the Curva Nord in an attempt to calm down the Laziali. The game was a farce and finished 1-1. In the last minutes there was a clear penalty for Lazio but the ref decided that there was no way he was going to make matters worse. A game and day nobody will forget.
In the next two games the Biancocelesti beat Juventus and Pescara but then they lost two and drew two. They were currently 7th with four other teams, including Roma, but not far off third place which was only three points away, held by Cagliari and today’s opponent Torino.
The match: Sunday, December 30, 1979, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
The last time Lazio had beaten Torino at the Olimpico was on Sunday February 14 1971, almost 9 years before. And it certainly looked as if the curse was not going to be lifted as after just 22 seconds the Granata scored. Ciccio Graziani went off on the left and passed to Mariani, ball back to the future World Champion in the box who tried a shot, Massimo Cacciatori managed to parry but in came Pietro Mariani and it was 1-0 for Torino.
An ideal situation for the Granata as Lazio were now forced to attack so they could easily manage the game and go for a second goal on the counter attack. And this is exactly what happened in the first half. In the 23rd minute Lionello Manfredonia anticipated Graziani after a free kick taken by Claudio Sala from the right. One can presume his intention was to head the ball into corner but instead it hit the woodwork. Lazio attacked but confusedly and were hardly ever dangerous.
Everything changed in the second half. Torino started to tire and the Biancocelesti became more precise in their passing. In the 50th minute Manfredonia sent a long ball into the box, Bruno Giordano headed it towards the goalkeeper, Vincenzo D’Amico managed to get it before Giuliano Terraneo and equalise.
Torino reacted and could have scored with Andrea Mandorlini who in front of Cacciatori kicked the ball out. The Granata attacked, wanting the win, but it was Lazio who scored. Filippo Citterio in the 68th minute passed to D’Amico on the left, the Lazio Golden Boy raced down the wing and then passed back to the upcoming left back who with a clinical shot towards the front post made it 2-1 for the Biancocelesti.
The Granata continued to push but to no effect.
Good win for Lazio, now third in the company of Torino, Perugia, Cagliari and that other team from Rome.
Who played for Lazio
Cacciatori, Tassotti, Citterio, Wilson, Manfredonia, Manzoni, Garlaschelli (82’ Lopez), Montesi, Giordano, D’Amico, Viola
Manager: Lovati
Who played for Torino
Terraneo, Volpati, Mandorlini, P.Sala, Danova, Masi, C. Sala, Pecci, Graziani, Zaccarelli, Mariani (68' Sclosa)
Substitutes: Copparoni, Paganelli
Manager: Radice
Referee: Barbaresco
Goals: 1’ Mariani, 50’ D’Amico, 68’ Citterio
What happened next
Then an already bad and tragic season got even worse. At Pescara Wilson, Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia and Massimo Cacciatori were arrested for match fixing.
Rumours that there was something wrong in Serie A had begun to circulate earlier in the year. At Cagliari Montesi broke his leg and from the hospital spoke to the few journalists who went to see how he was. He was alone, none of the Lazio players had had the decency to drop by. He started talking of match fixing, agreements between clubs over results, and illegal betting. He said that Wilson was the man who was organising all of this in the Lazio team.
In Italy one could not legally bet on the result of a single game or on the scores of a series of games. There was just the Totocalcio where one had to guess the result of 13 games. There was however an illegal betting system called Totonero run by illegal bookmakers similar to how legal bets were organised in the UK.
Match fixing had always been a problem in Italy and taken place since the early 1950s. Clubs and/or players would agree to share points during the season in a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” system. But then the players started to bet on these games. It was easy money; they knew what the result would be so why not have a little wager.
Alvaro Trinca was the owner of a restaurant in the centre of Rome where Lazio and Roma players would often go and eat before games. Massimo Cruciani was a fruit seller and was very friendly with a number of players. Both would hear the players talk of match fixing and therefore started to bet and win large sums of money. They teamed up and devised a plan which was to offer money to the players to fix games as well as bet money for them.
Their plan failed miserably and they were hugely indebted with people with whom you do not want to be indebted with. Apparently, they first asked the clubs for money but not all wanted to pay, then they presented their case to the Italian Football Federation but that was not going to solve the debts, so they then tried by resting their case with the law. They were later both arrested and started talking to the magistrates.
On March 23 1980, the Italian police arrested a number of players of Lazio, Milan, Bologna, Avellino, Genoa and Perugia. The scandal had exploded and Lazio were right in the middle of it.
But there was a Serie A to save. By winning against Catanzaro, they managed to secure a place in Serie A and with two games to go.
Once the season finished there was the Sport Justice court case regarding the match fixing. The Lazio players were allegedly involved in the match fixing of Milan Lazio that ended 2-1 for the hosts and Lazio Avellino which finished 1-1.
The first sentencing between May and June gave Cacciatori and Wilson a life ban, Giordano and Manfredonia an 18-month suspension, Maurizio Montesi four months and Lazio were fined 10 million lire. At the time fans thought that all in all this was acceptable.
Others had even worse sentences. Milan were relegated (there was a direct involvement of the club President), Avellino, Bologna and Perugia given a 5 point penalty. Among the various players, Enrico Albertosi got a life ban and Paolo Rossi 3 years.
The Lazio fans looked at the appeal case with optimism. They were wrong. Lazio were relegated to Serie B for the game against Avellino, Giordano and Manfredonia got a three-and-a-half-year suspension, Cacciatori 4 years and Wilson three years. Paolo Rossi’s suspension was reduced to two years, Albertosi to four.
Why were Lazio relegated? There was no legal reason since none of the club managers were involved. The only reason was the fact that first sentences were considered too lenient and the Sports Justice system wanted to set an example. Hence, Lazio, always everybody’s favourite scapegoat, were relegated because it had a large number of players involved. But others were involved far deeper and got off lightly or with no penalisation at all. Lazio were a sacrificial lamb to keep the media happy.
Were the players guilty? Who knows? Wilson hardly ever spoke about it. In his official biography though, he admitted having reached an agreement with some Milan players regarding Milan-Lazio. The plan was to let them win in Milan and Lazio in Rome. The Biancocelesti did not have much of a chance in Milan and the points at the end of the season could have been useful in case of a battle to stay in Serie A. He had nothing to do with betting, as also shown in the case files and his name appeared only for the Milan match. But Montesi accused him of being the ring leader.
These types of agreements had always happened in Italian football, this was no different from other similar agreements like in the last matches of the season when one team needed a point to stay in Serie A and the other maybe a point for a UEFA Cup qualification. The games would practically be non-starters. This is a violation of every Sports Code, and if the agreement is reached among clubs, if found guilty, these should be relegated or given point deductions. And if it is between players, these, if found guilty, should be suspended. If the players take money all that has to be done is to verify and check.
Manfredonia stated in an interview that he paid a rather large price compared to what he actually did. So maybe when Wilson announced that they were going to lose the Milan game, he complied. He did not play the match against Avellino, so he can’t have been guilty for that.
Giordano proclaims his innocence to this day. In his official biography he claims that Trinca and Cruciani tried to blackmail President Umberto Lenzini who refused to pay. When the magistrates asked him if he had got some extra cash Giordano denied it, saying “check my bank statements”. This is probably what they did and as a consequence none of the players were found guilty in the legal court case.
Where does the truth lie? A few facts are almost certain. Milan- Lazio was fixed by the players. The club had nothing to do with it. The rest is just speculation. Lazio, some Lazio players and Lazio fans paid a very high price for the Italian Football Federation's need to find guilty parties, whether they were actually guilty or not. And unfortunately, it would not be the only time. Claudio Vinazzani’s friendship with a Neapolitan illegal bookie, who was fixing games, translated into a 9-point deduction for the 1986-87 season, despite Lazio not being involved. President Claudio Lotito’s requests for decent referees would cost Lazio a 30-point deduction in the 2005-06 season and 3 for the following one in the Calciopoli farce. Stefano Mauri’s friendship with a player who fixed games cost him a six-month suspension and jail time, even if he was innocent.
Lazio had invested a lot for the 1980-81 season and even signed Rene Van de Kerkhof, the Dutch star, but he was not eligible to play in Serie B so the deal did not go through.
It would take Lazio three seasons to get back to Serie A.
Let's talk about Gigi Radice
Luigi Radice was born in Cesano Maderno, near Monza, on January 15,1935.
He started his football career in the youth teams of Milan and played for the Rossoneri until 1959 when he signed for Triestina. In Milan he played very little, just 32 appearances in four years, but his two good years in Trieste in Serie B and Padova in Serie A, earned him a return to the Rossoneri in 1961. He was a left back and a good defender. He even earned 5 caps for Italy. But a serious knee injury brought everything to a halt and he was forced to retire.
At this point he decided to pursue a career as a coach. He started with Monza in 1966 and immediately earned a promotion to Serie B. He stayed on but was sacked in February. After a year at Treviso he came back and was head coach until 1971. In the summer of that year, he was chosen by Cesena and in his second season took the Romagnoli to Serie A.
That exploit earned him a call to Fiorentina where in 1974-74 he led the team to sixth place. He was not confirmed and in December 1974 he signed for Cagliari taking Giuseppe Chiappella's place. He did a good job taking them from last place to a comfortable safety.
In 1975-76 he was chosen as manager of Torino. Among the players were Luciano Castellini, Eraldo Pecci, Claudio Sala, Francesco Graziani and Paolo Pulici. They won the scudetto, the first and only time since the Superga tragedy. A bunch of hungry and great players, masterminded by Radice. It had been a long battle with Juventus but the Granata prevailed in the last game. The following season was even more spectacular and the two Turin teams annihilated the opposition but it was Juventus to prevail with 51 points, one more than the Granata. With four games to the end, they were both on equal points but in the next match Juve beat Napoli and Torino were held to a draw by Lazio which would prove decisive. In the next two seasons he achieved a 3rd and a 5th place.
In 1979 he suffered numerous injuries after a bad car accident. That season, with Torino not doing very well he was sacked in February. In 1980-81 he was manager for Bologna who started the season with a five-point docking due to the Totonero scandal. He took them to a comfortable 7th place. In 1981 he went back to AC Milan but it was a really bad year for the Rossoneri and he was substituted in January. After a few months with Bari in Serie B where he was unable to avoid relegation, he was head coach for Inter in 1983-84 where he obtained a UEFA Cup qualification. He then went back to Torino for another four full seasons and in his first year led the Granata to a great second place. In December 1988 he was sacked.
In 1989 he signed for Roma taking them to a UEFA Cup qualification. The next season he was manager for Bologna, substituting Franco Scoglio but could not avoid relegation to Serie B. In October 1991 he was called to save Fiorentina in difficult waters. He took them to safety and was confirmed for the following season. Their start was fabulous and at Christmas the Viola were in second place. But after a home defeat with Atalanta on January 3 1993, Radice and Vice President Vittorio Cecchi Gori had a ferocious argument and Radice was sacked. Fiorentina would suffer from this decision so badly that at the end of the season they were relegated.
In 1993 he became manager for Cagliari but after the first game, a defeat, he was sacked. In 1995 he was head coach for Genoa but was substituted half way during the season. His last years as manager were for Monza in Serie C. He came in and took them to the playoffs which he won. He was confirmed for the next season but lasted just five games.
He died in Monza on December 7, 2018.
He will always be remembered for being a great manager and for giving Torino an incredible scudetto 27 years after the Superga tragedy.
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