February 26, 1978: Lazio Inter 1-0

Updated: Sep 20

Last gasp win for Lazio

A goal from Sergio Clerici in the dying minutes gave Lazio a well-deserved win.

Also on this day: February 26, 1984, Roma Lazio 2-2. The Biancocelesti were two up after 24 minutes, but Roma equalised also thanks t o Manfredonia's sending off. After that, they managed to hold off the Giallorossi attacks and clinch a well-deserved and m uch needed point. Player of the day: Mauro Della Martira

The season so far

The positive 1976-77 season with the “explosion” of home grown talent such as Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia and Andrea Agostinelli, and perhaps more importantly the lack of money, meant that little was going to be done in the summer transfer window. President Umberto Lenzini signed Luigi Boccolini and Sergio Clerici. It was up to Manager Luis Vinicio to work the magic, like he had done the previous season.

In August of 1977 Lazio were knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the group stage. In Coppa UEFA Lazio passed the first round, but in the second round they lost to Lens 6-0 in extra time in the second leg and had to say goodbye.

Lazio did not start exceptionally well in Serie A, but on October 2 came probably one of the best victories in Lazio history. Lazio Juventus finished 3-0 for the Biancocelesti. A triumph. But the rest of the season was pretty dismal. Where was the team that had played so well last season? If one asked a fan at that time he/she would have probably said it was all Claudio Garella’s fault. Garella was the keeper chosen to substitute fan favourite and Lazio hero Felice Pulici. The new goalkeeper, who would later win the scudetto both with Verona and Napoli, had slippery hands, was very young and prone to making mistakes, but Vinicio thought very highly of him. Pulici was sold to Monza in the winter transfer session.

But the truth was that the players had probably had enough of the Brazilian manager and the chaos in the changing rooms was obvious looking at the performances on the pitch.

After having beaten Milan in January, Lazio earned only two points in the subsequent 5 games. Not good. The game against Inter was fundamental.

The match: Sunday, February 26, 1978, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio had to face Inter without Pietro Ghedin and Vincenzo D’Amico, both injured, as well as Ciccio Cordova suspended. Vinicio therefore decided to move Bruno Giordano behind the forwards Renzo Garlaschelli and Sergio Clerici.

It had been raining for days in Rome and the pitch was in a terrible state. The first half however was enjoyable with chances for both sides. In the 16th minute Alessandro Scanziani, just inside the box, had a good chance but Garella saved. Not long later Clerici’s header hit the woodwork. In the 38th minute Pietro Anastasi’s header following a crossed free kick from Scanziani was well saved by the Lazio goalkeeper. At the end of the first half, Giordano dribbled a few Inter players and once in the box gave the ball a whack. Ivano Bordon saved.

The second half was all Lazio. Inter just defended and prayed. In the 46th minute Bordon sent a Giordano header onto the crossbar. In the 14th minute Roberto Badiani had a chance but again Bordon saved as he did again a minute later when Clerici was in the perfect position to head the ball into the goal.

Lazio continued to attack, occasionally also with defenders Pino Wilson and Manfredonia, since the Inter attack was practically non-existent. Badiani had another chance in the 29th minute but the Inter goalkeeper saved again.

A comical referee error in the 34th minute. Clerici took a free kick on the right just outside the penalty box. As soon as the ball was shot, Sergio Gonella decided Garlaschelli was offside. But there was an Inter player on the goal line so it was impossible for the Lazio forward to be offside. Gonella realised his mistake and decided on a drop ball just outside the box but more central. Garlaschelli, first to the ball, was fouled, but the ref said to play on!!! Too much confusion, better to get the ball away from the Inter goal, the referee must have thought. Gonella would later ref the 1978 World Cup final between Argentina and the Netherlands not without controversy.

In the last 15 minutes the conditions of the pitch and the incessant rain started to take their toll on the Biancocelesti as they struggled to create anything decent. It was getting dark too.

In the 87th minute corner for Lazio. Boccolini crossed the ball into the box from the left, Scanziani cleared but it went back to Boccolini who dribbled an Inter player and crossed again into the box, Bordon fumbled, Giordano shot but Bordon saved, ball to Garlaschelli who shot towards the goal but Scanziani saved on the line. The ball was dancing on the line (and may have even gone in) but in came Clerici and tapped it in. 1-0 for Lazio. Game over!!!

This was the last goal by a foreign player in Italy until the clubs were allowed to sign foreigners again in 1980.

Who played for Lazio

Garella, Pighin, Badiani, Wilson, Manfredonia, Lopez, Garlaschelli, Agostinelli, Clerici, Giordano, Boccolini

Substitutes: Cari, Perrone, Ferretti

Manager: Vinicio

Who played for Inter

I. Bordon, Canuti, G. Baresi, Oriali, Gasparini, Facchetti, Scanziani, Marini, Anastasi, Chierico (62' Merlo), Muraro.

Substitutes: Cipollini, Altobelli.

Manager: Bersellini.

Referee: Gonella

Goal: 87’ Clerici

What happened next

Four games after Lazio Inter, Vinicio was sacked. In those four matches Lazio had got just one point (against Roma) and were in a dangerous position. There was a need for somebody to pick the team up, regroup, and sail them to safer harbours. That man was Bob Lovati and despite losing the first match to Napoli, Lazio managed to win three games and get out of trouble.

The last game of the season saw Lazio play Bologna at home. Despite Lazio losing, I was a very happy boy since it was my first time at the Olimpico!!!

At the end of May Lazio played the Intertoto Cup in a group made up of Nantes, Sparta Rotterdam and Beerschot. Lazio came second in their group on goal difference.

The Intertoto was a football competition that started in 1961 until 2008. The idea was to create a sort of European League which could allow minor teams that had not won any national trophy or were not playing the Inter City Fairs Cup to play European games. It was managed by a Swiss betting company until 1995 when UEFA took over. Initially there was a single champion, but from 1967 the competition ended with group winners receiving cash prizes. From 1995 it became a UEFA CUP pre-qualification for teams that had not qualified.

Lazio 1977-78

Competition	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals scored
Serie A	30	8	10	12	31
Coppa Italia	4	2	-	2	7
UEFA Cup	4	2	-	2	7
Intertoto Cup	6	4	1	1	13
Total	44	16	11	17	58

Top five appearancs

Player	Total	Serie A	Coppa Italia	Uefa Cup	Intertoto Cup
Agostinelli	42	29	4	4	5
Giordano	42	29	3	4	6
Garella	41	29	2	4	6
Lopez	41	28	3	4	6
Cordova	39	27	4	3	5
Badiani	39	25	4	4	6

Top goal scorers

Player	Total	Serie A	Coppa Italia	Uefa Cup	Intertoto Cup
Giordano	27	12	3	4	8
Garlaschelli	12	7	-	2	3
D'Amico	3	2	1	-	-

Let's talk about Sergio Clerici

After José Altafini, Nené and Angelo Sormani retired from Italian football in 1976, Sergio Clerici was the last foreigner playing in Italy until the reopening in 1980. Following the defeat in the 1966 World Cup against North Korea, the Italian federation had prohibited Italian clubs from signing any foreign players. This was a disaster for some Italian clubs but particularly Inter who had already signed Franz Bekenbauer and Eusebio.

Sergio Clerici, born in Sao Paulo on May 25 1941, had arrived in Italy in 1960-61 when he signed for Lecco coming from Portuguesa Santista (incidentally Neymar’s first youth club). A centre-forward, he stayed in Lombardy for six years, two in Serie A (where he did not score very much) and four in Serie B where he gave a considerable contribution in goals.

In 1967 he signed for Bologna but again had difficulty in scoring in Serie A. Then, starting from 1968-69 with Atalanta, he became a very valid goal scorer and continued to score for Verona, Fiorentina and especially Napoli under manager Luis Vinicio. In 1975-76 he went back to Bologna and stayed for a couple of years.

Vinicio convinced Lazio to sign him in 1977 and he stayed a year as an alternative centre-forward. He did not play much and his contribution was minimal. At the end of the season he left for Montreal Castors in the Canadian National Soccer League.

Lazio fans remember him for his goal against Inter which was the last goal scored by a foreign player in Italy until Daniel Bertoni scored for Fiorentina against Catanzaro on September 28, 1980.

Once he stopped playing football he became a manager and was in charge of Palmeiras, Santos and Inter de Limeira.

He played 16 games for Lazio (11 in Serie A, 4 in Coppa Italia and one game in the UEFA Cup) and scored two goals, one in Serie A and one in Coppa Italia.