Robbed
A non-existent penalty denied Lazio a win
Also on this day: January 26, 1969, Lecco Lazio 1-2.Lazio had to battle right to the end of the match to clinch these two very important points at Lecco. Player of the day: Gian Piero Ghio
The season so far
The 1984-85 season had seen Lazio relegated to Serie B. This meant that there had to be a revolution in the team to sign players that could adapt to the new circumstances. President Giorgio Chinaglia, keen to amend the disastrous season where he had made many mistakes, chose Gigi Simoni as manager. Simoni had been able to help promote Genoa (twice) and Brescia to Serie A plus Pisa the previous season, so he was considered the best possible manager for Lazio.
As far as players were concerned, goodbye Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia, Joāo Batista, Michael Laudrup among many, and welcome Domenico Caso, Giuliano Fiorini, Fabio Poli, Roberto Galbiati, Giorgio Magnocavallo and Astutillo Malgioglio.
But there was a big financial problem. Chinaglia was sure he would get money from the US but this did not happen and he was forced to step down as President in December 1985. The new president, Franco Chimenti, could not sustain the financial commitment alone so he started looking for partners. Giorgio and Gian Marco Calleri arrived and helped out, so at least a part of the wage debt could be paid off.
Meanwhile the team was not doing well. Financial insecurity and injuries were not helping. Out of the Coppa Italia early, in Serie B, despite being one the favourites on paper, the situation was not looking good. At home Lazio did not do too badly but away from home the results were terrible. At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were 10th, three points away from the promotion zone. Today’s game was the first of the second round of fixtures.
The match: Sunday, January 26, 1986, Stadio La Favorita, Palermo
The environment was hostile to say the least. Stones thrown against the Lazio bus on arrival at the stadium was the warm welcome from the Palermo supporters. In a climate of hate the match began on a very wet pitch and the Biancocelesti decided to play it safe, erecting a wall in front of defence. Early in the match Mario Ielpo was exceptional in blocking a Silvano Benedetti header. In the second half Lazio took control of the match and Alessandro Toti missed an easy chance. In the 59th minute the Biancocelesti scored. Oliviero Garlini to Gabriele Podavini on the left, cross into the box and Garlini again was ready for the header. Franco Paleari parried but Bum Bum Garlini was quick to tap the ball in.
Five minutes later a Giuseppe Corti foul on Oliviero Di Stefano near the box was transformed into a penalty for the Islanders. Furious protests from the Lazio players and both Corti plus Astutillo Malgioglio from the bench were sent off. Former Lazio Mario Piga took the spot kick and scored.
At this point Palermo pushed Lazio back looking for a winner but the Biancoceleste defence managed to resist and take home a point.
Who played for Palermo
Paleari, S. Benedetti, Guerini, De Biasi, Bigliardi, Majo, Pallanch, Barone, Sorbello, M. Piga, O. Di Stefano.
Substitutes: Pintauro, Cecilli, Falcetta, Ranieri, Casabianca
Manager: Veneranda.
Who played for Lazio
Ielpo, Podavini, Calcaterra, Galbiati, Spinozzi, Fonte, G. Corti, Vinazzani, Dell’Anno (84’ G. Damiani), Toti (78’ Filisetti), Garlini
Substitutes: Malgioglio, Poli, A.Damiani
Manager: Simoni
Referee: Bruschini
Goals: 59’ Garlini, 63’ Piga (pen)
What happened next
The last boat for Serie A was against Vicenza at home on March 2. Lazio went two goals up, then 3-2 but in the end lost due to a mistake by Malgioglio. The goalkeeper, who had not had a good season, after the umpteenth insult from fans, took off his jersey and spat on it. Not a good idea. He was sacked.
Back at the club things were not going any better. Chimenti made the mistake of confirming Simoni for another year without telling his new partners. The Calleri brothers backed out of Lazio and asked for their money back. Chimenti tried to look for new investors but found none. Lazio were bust.
At this point, fortunately the Calleri’s came back but they did not want to do it alone. Renato Bocchi, a Parma born entrepreneur who had always lived in Rome, came in and bought 51% of the club with the other 49% left to the Calleri brothers. Lazio were saved.
In the ten games after the match against Vicenza, Lazio won just one and had not scored a goal in the last four matches. They were 14th together with Pescara, Perugia and Palermo, one point ahead of Sambenedettese and two above Catanzaro.
The situation was desperate. The next game was against Catanzaro who needed to win to keep their own hopes alive. Lazio desperately needed to wake up. They managed to win 3-2 in Calabria hence avoiding any worries of relegation.
In the last match of the season Lazio beat Brescia 4-2. It was the last Lazio game for many players including fan favourite Vincenzo D’Amico.
A difficult year for Lazio. Oliviero Garlini was the player with most appearances (43) and the top scorer (18).
There was hope for the future but dark clouds were already looming over Lazio.
Lazio 1985-86
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie B | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 38 |
Coppa Italia | 5 | 2 | 3 | - | 5 |
Total | 43 | 13 | 17 | 13 | 43 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
Garlini | 43 | 38 | 5 |
Podavini | 39 | 34 | 5 |
Calcaterra | 37 | 33 | 4 |
Galbiati | 35 | 30 | 5 |
Vinazzani | 35 | 30 | 5 |
Top goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
Garlini | 18 | 18 | - |
Caso | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Fiorini | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Podavini | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Let’s talk about Mario Ielpo
Mario Ielpo was born in Rome on June 8, 1963.
He started his footballing career in the Lazio youth teams and in 1984 he was sent on loan to Siena in Serie C in order to gain experience. He came back the following year and was promoted to second goalkeeper behind Astutillo Malgioglio. Following a bad year for the former Roma player, which ended with him spitting on the Lazio jersey after the Biancocelesti lost 4-3 at home to Vicenza, basically the last possible bus for Serie A that season, he became the main goalkeeper and played 19 games. But for the following season, the new manager, Eugenio Fascetti, wanted an experienced keeper since the situation was a difficult one with Lazio given a docking of 9 points in Serie B following the alleged involvement of Claudio Vinazzani in a match fixing scandal. Ielpo made only three appearances (only one in Serie B) and at the end of the season he was sold to Cagliari. Lazio avoided Serie C with a goal by Giuliano Fiorini seven minutes to the end of the last game of the season which took the Biancocelesti to a playoff where, in another dramatic match, a Fabio Poli goal allowed Lazio to stay in Serie B. Ielpo was on the bench in both of those matches.
At Cagliari, Ielpo did very well and stayed for five years. He made 205 league appearances taking the Sardinians to a UEFA Cup qualification in 1992-93. He then signed for AC Milan but in three years made only 3 league appearances. He did however use the “free” time to finish his degree in law. In 1996 he signed for Genoa and stayed for two years with 55 league appearances. In 1998 he quit football.
Since then he has worked as a lawyer in Milan with a little punditry on the side for some Lombard private channels.
Ielpo was a good goalkeeper, tall, and strong. It was a pity he did not stay at Lazio, he would certainly have been an asset.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1985-86 | 19 | 19 | - |
1986-87 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Total | 22 | 20 | 2 |
Sources
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