Ridiculous refereeing, once again
Lazio miraculously manage to draw in Ferrara despite the referee.
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had gone agonisingly close to an immediate promotion to Serie A. A missed penalty in the penultimate match had condemned the Biancocelesti to another year of Serie B.
Lazio had changed ownership and Gian Casoni was the new president. There was not a lot of money so the club was forced to sell a few of their best players, Filippo Citterio and Giuseppe Greco. The transfer window saw the return of scudetto heroes Felice Pulici and Vincenzo D’Amico plus Roberto Badiani. Also signed were Walter Speggiorin, Vincenzo Chiarenza and Claudio Vagheggi. There was a surprise deal with Roma which saw Michele De Nadai and Carlo Perrone swap sides of the Tiber. Manager Ilario Castagner had been confirmed.
Lazio had ambition but the team was not helped by the internal dualism between Luciano Moggi, who had been confirmed as sporting director, and Antonio Sbardella, newly appointed general director. The players were under constant pressure and that did not help either.
Lazio, after having been immediately eliminated in Coppa Italia, had not played well. Lazio were very inconsistent in the first half of the season but after 18 games they were just a couple of points off the promotion zone. But in the next game Lazio crumbled against Palermo and Castagner was sacked. He was replaced by the head coach of the Primavera team Renato Clagluna, his first experience with an A team.
They were currently eighth in the company of Palermo, Pistoiese and Cavese, four points away from the promotion zone. They needed to pick up the pace if they wanted to reach Serie A.
The match: Sunday, February 14, 1982, Stadio Comunale, Ferrara
Since Walter Speggiorin was not playing up to par, manager Roberto Clagluna decided to put young debutant Mauro Viviani in the centre of the attack, maybe also to try and stimulate the older forward.
The first half was however a shambles with lots of fouls and two almost casual goals. In the 31st minute Giorgio Redeghieri was the only player to jump following a corner kick and easily beat Felice Pulici who had stayed on the line. Six minutes later on a free kick, Nando Viola took a shot which hit Gian Filippo Reali in the wall and wrong footed William Vecchi.
At this point, the excellent referee, Paolo Milan from Treviso, who had booked everybody he could in the first half an hour, sent off Giorgio Mastropasqua, presumably for a second yellow, even if he showed a direct red card to the Lazio defender, for a non-existent foul. Clagluna was forced to put Alberto Bigon in defence and call in Stefano Ferretti who took Viviani’s place during the interval.
At this point, with an extra man, Spal pressed Lazio and three times had shots at goal. In the first, Pulici managed to parry an Alberto Bergossi attempt, in the second it was Vincenzo Chiarenza who deflected a Costante Tivelli missile into corner. But in the 51st minute there was nothing Pulici could do on a great shot by Luciano Malaman from outside of the box on the left.
Lazio pulled their socks up and in the 63rd minute equalised. Viola to Ferretti to Claudio Vagheggi who in front of the keeper made no mistake
The Biancoceleste forward went into a state of grace and was rampant while Spal were in great confusion. He forced Massimo Albiero to be booked and later, when he was in the box ready for the kill, the Spal libero brought him down. Penalty? Not for the ref, who to the general surprise gestured to play on. Not content in denying Lazio the win, in the 83rd minute he sent off Paolo Pochesci for dissent. The Biancocelesti held on for the last minutes and took home a valuable point.
Very, very poor refereeing.
Who played for Spal
Vecchi, Giovannone (67' Capuzzo), Artioli, G.Reali, Albiero, Malaman (63' Castronaro), Giani, Redeghieri, Bergossi, Veronesi, Tivelli
Substitutes: Gavioli, Ioriatti, Pieri
Manager: Rota
Who played for Lazio
Pulici, Spinozzi, Chiarenza, Mastropasqua, Pochesci, Badiani (84’ Sanguin), Vagheggi, Bigon, Viviani (46’ Ferretti), De Nadai, Viola
Substitutes: Moscatelli, Benini, Speggiorin
Manager: Clagluna
Referee: Milan
Goals: 31’ Redeghieri, 37’ Reali (og), 51’ Malaman, 63’ Vagheggi
What happened next
In the next 15 games Lazio managed to win just three. With two games left to the end of the season, Lazio were only three points clear of relegation. Varese, on the other hand, had had a splendid season and were just one point away from promotion. A very difficult match for Lazio.
The Biancocelesti went 2-0 down but then D’Amico came to the rescue and scored a hat trick to avoid any possible danger of relegation.
In conclusion, a dismal season for Lazio who had started the campionato with high hopes. Chiarenza was the player with most appearances (41) and D’Amico with the most goals (10), with two hat-tricks.
Let’s talk about Mauro Viviani
Mauro Viviani was born on August 6, 1963, in Grotte di Castro near Viterbo. He began playing as a forward for the Lazio youth teams and debuted in Serie B in the 1981-82 season in the game against Spal. After that season with two appearances he signed for Forlì in Serie C1 where he played for a season. He then moved to Frosinone in C2 where he made 65 league appearances with 17 goals.
In the 1985-86 season he played for Lucchese. That year the Tuscan club was promoted to Serie C1 and he contributed with 4 goals in 23 games. After one further year he stayed in Tuscany but began to play for Siena. In the following seasons he played for Carpi, Centese and finished his professional career with a two-year stint at Lecco. His last year of active football was with Narnese.
He then went on to work for the Grotte di Castro city council. His son, Federico, was also a professional footballer and played for Pescara, Latina, Verona, Bologna, Spal, Frosinone, Livorno and Brescia.
Overall, Mauro Viviani had a good career in Serie C2 with 228 appearances and 28 goals, but the highlight was his period with Lazio even if it was not really a great season for the club.
Lazio Career
Season | Serie B Appearances |
1981-82 | 2 |
Sources
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