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Writer's pictureSimon Basten

January 4, 1976: Lazio Cesena 2-2

Lazio dominate but do not win

 

A free kick six minutes from time denies Lazio a deserved win



Also on this day:


Photo by Marcello Geppetti. Source Lazio Wiki

The season so far


The previous season Lazio had arrived fourth. The team was deeply affected by their manager’s illness. Tommaso Maestrelli had cancer so he could not lead the Biancocelesti for the 1975-76 season. President Umberto Lenzini had waited until the last possible moment, and then he was forced to look elsewhere. The new manager was Giulio Corsini, a young trainer who had done well with Atalanta.


Corsini’s idea was to get rid of some of the players that had been the backbone of the scudetto team. So goodbye Mario Frustalupi and Giancarlo Oddi, who were sold to Cesena in exchange for Paolo Ammoniaci and Francesco Brignani, plus Franco Nanni, sold to Bologna. The other signing of any significance was Antonio Lopez from Pescara.


Giorgio Chinaglia was a problem.


Long John’s family had been forced to return to the US following threats by Roma supporters. Chinaglia really missed his family so in the summer he went to the States. While he was there he was invited to play a game for the Hartford Bicentennials against Poland. His participation was a media event and Chinaglia felt very important.


Pele joined the New York Cosmos and Chinaglia was invited to see the Brazilian champion’s first game with the club. While he was there he asked if Cosmos would want to sign him too. He really missed his family and he felt that life without them, the current difficult situation in Italy, plus Maestrelli’s illness were a sign that his Lazio adventure was over. Lenzini refused any negotiations and threatened Chinaglia with fines and suspension. Long John was forced to come back to Rome but when he arrived he saw that some of his teammates had been sold and that the new manager wanted to rule. Chinaglia demanded to play in Coppa Italia as soon as he returned, the manager said no. War had begun.


In Coppa Italia Lazio did rather well, qualifying for the second phase, which would be played at the end of the campionato. They won their two matches at home and drew the two away games.


In the UEFA Cup Lazio faced Chernomorets Odessa in the first round. After losing 1-0 away in the first leg, Lazio managed to take the tie to extra time thanks to a Chinaglia penalty with one minute to go. Long John then scored another two goals and the Biancocelesti went through. In the next round, Lazio were drawn against Johan Cruijff’s Barcelona. A few weeks before the first leg, General Francisco Franco had ordered a few dissidents shot and this had created great indignation in Italy. There was strong pressure from Italian politicians on Lazio to refuse to play against the Spanish team. Lenzini did what he could to get the game played, but in the end gave up. As a consequence UEFA gave the victory to the Spaniards 3-0. The return game was pointless and the Biancocelesti, packed with reserves, lost 4-0. The stupidity of the decision was blatant: Barcelona had always been against Franco.


Lenzini had then granted Chinaglia the possibility of going to the US once a month to see his family. Corsini did not agree and told the Lazio centre forward that “until I am the Lazio manager you will never be going to the States”. The situation reached its pinnacle in the interval of the first derby of the season. Chinaglia and Corsini clashed, the old Lazio guard was with their leader and all hell broke loose. Long John scored Lazio’s equaliser and that night flew to the US. The next Sunday Lazio lost and Corsini was sacked. Lazio were 13th, in the relegation zone with just 5 points.


Tommaso Maestrelli was feeling much better and had returned almost to a normal life. Lenzini offered him his job back and the Maestro accepted. But there were problems. Lazio did not have a playmaker since Frustalupi had been sold. Lots of runners, but nobody to feed the ball to the forwards. The Biancocelesti were 11th in the company of Fiorentina and Sampdoria. They had won only two games and really needed the two points today in a difficult match against Cesena who were 4th.


The match: Sunday, January 4, 1976, Stadio Olimpico, Rome


Lazio hoped that they would be able to win like they had done against Cagliari but Cesena were in a good moment of form helped by past Biancoceleste heroes Mario Frustalupi and Giancarlo Oddi.


In the 12th minute Vincenzo D’Amico from the right crossed low in the box and Renzo Garlaschelli with a marvellous back heel put Lazio ahead.


The lead did not last long. A spectacular volley from Sergio Zuccheri from outside the box fell right where no goalkeeper could ever manage a save and it was 1-1. The Biancocelesti were in shock and Cesena almost scored with Giovanni Urban who, in front of Felice Pulici tried a shot which was parried by the keeper and then his attempted tap in was saved into corner by Luigi Polentes. In the 24th minute Pulici managed to close the angle on a Giorgio Mariani shot inside the box.


Towards the end of the first half Lazio pulled themselves together and in the 44th minute a Garlaschelli shot was well saved by Lamberto Boranga into corner.


In the second 45 minutes the Biancocelesti put their foot on the accelerator and first Giorgio Chinaglia with a spectacular bicycle kick in the 55th minute shaved the crossbar. In the 63rd Roberto Badiani in front of Boranga kicked the ball straight into the keeper's face. In the 73rd minute a spectacular goal from Gigi Martini with a shot from outside the box found the net but the referee disallowed it for a dubious offside. No problem. Two minutes later Lazio got their deserved lead. Luciano Re Cecconi from the by-line sent in a high ball which Chinaglia headed into the goal.


In the 84th minute there was a free kick for Cesena just outside the box. Frustalupi touched the ball for Giorgio Rognoni who with a clinical shot beat Pulici.


A cold shower for Lazio who had dominated in the second half. Mind you, if the referee had given at least one of the two blatant penalties – in the 49th minute for a Zuccheri foul on Pino Wilson and in the 89th for a Luigi Danova handball – the two points would have been theirs.

 

Who played for Lazio


Substitutes: Moriggi, Di Chiara

Manager: Maestrelli


Who played for Cesena


Boranga, Zuccheri, Oddi, Festa (65' Ceccarelli), Danova, Cera, Bittolo, Frustalupi, Urban, Rognoni, G.Mariani

Substitutes: Bardin, Petrini S.

Manager: Marchioro


Referee: Panzino


Goals: 12’ Garlaschelli, 19’ Zuccheri, 75’ Chinaglia, 84’ Rognoni



What happened next


With four games to the end of the season Lazio were third from bottom, one point behind Sampdoria and Ascoli. Three teams went down (two points for victory). The Biancocelesti had to play against Torino who were Serie A leaders. Lazio scored in the second half but an unfortunate own goal with 60 seconds to go gave Torino the equaliser. With three games left, Cagliari were doomed on 15 points, Como had 18, Lazio and Sampdoria 20, Ascoli 21 and Verona 22.

 

The Torino game was Chinaglia’s last ever for Lazio. He left that evening to join New York Cosmos. His last goal had been against Ascoli on March 21.

 

Lazio lost the next match 4-3 in Florence. So now Como and Lazio were on 20, Ascoli 21, Verona and Sampdoria 22. Lazio needed to beat AC Milan in the last game at home and they did. Not only, they literally destroyed them, scored four goals and could have scored many more.

 

Como had 20 points, Lazio, Sampdoria and Ascoli 22, Verona 23. Last match at Como. After 17 minutes the Biancocelesti were 2-0 down but then Giordano managed to pull one back. At the end of the first half the situation was Lazio and Como on 22 points, Ascoli, who were winning against Roma, on 24, Sampdoria, who were 1-0 up against Napoli, also on 24, as were Verona who were losing in Florence.

 

In the second half, Badiani equalised and the Biancocelesti managed to bring back the necessary point that allowed them to reach safety. Lazio and Ascoli were on 23 points but the Biancocelesti had a better goal difference so it was Ascoli who joined Como and Cagliari in Serie B.

 

Great celebrations and tears of joy at the end of the game. But there was still a problem.

 

We mentioned that Frustalupi and Oddi had been sold to Cesena in the summer of 1975. Lazio, however, still owed them some money. Furthermore, in the home match, the Cesena goalkeeper Lamberto Boranga had had his car damaged by some Lazio fans (in 1971 Boranga had feigned being hit by Chinaglia during a game and Long John had been sent off) and Lazio had promised to reimburse him. So, when Lazio went to Cesena in April 1976, the club took the opportunity to pay off their debts.

 

CORRUPTION!!!! Lazio have bribed the Cesena players!!! There was an enquiry and nothing happened but the club and tifosi had to wait until the end of July to be certain.

 

At the end of a complicated season there was the second phase of the Coppa Italia to play. The eight winners of the first phase groups were divided into two groups of four. Lazio had to play against Verona, Inter and Genoa. In the end they arrived third, just one point behind leaders Verona who qualified for the final (which they lost to Napoli).


What happened in Serie A 1975-76


Source Wikipedia

Juventus had won the scudetto the previous season with a two-point lead over Napoli. Roma had arrived third and Lazio fourth.

 

For the 1975-76 season Juve were the obvious favourites but Napoli had made a major coup in the transfer window signing Beppe Savoldi from Bologna, one of the best centre forwards in the country. Torino had changed manager and given the team to Gigi Radice as did Lazio who chose Giulio Corsini to replace Tommaso Maestrelli who was fighting cancer.

 

August & September

 

Coppa Italia started in August and there was a decision not to have a  seeding system. Hence it was an interesting first group round where Inter qualified ahead of Juventus, who lost to the Nerazzurri. Other qualifiers were Genoa, Napoli, Lazio, Milan, Sampdoria and Verona. They would be joined by holders Fiorentina in a second group phase to be held in May.

 

In the first leg of the first round of the European Cup Juventus won away against CSKA Sofia. In the first round of the Cup Winners Cup Fiorentina crushed Besiktas 3-0. In the UEFA Cup, Milan drew 0-0 with Everton away, Lazio lost 1-0 to Chornomorets Odessa also away, Roma beat Dunav Ruse 2-0 at home and Napoli were thrashed 4-1 by Torpedo Moscow.

 

October

 

Just three games were played in October with Juventus and Napoli taking the lead.

 

In the second leg of the first round of the European Cup Juventus beat CSKA Sofia at home too and proceeded to round 2 where they faced Borussia Mönchengladbach and lost 2-0 away. In the Cup Winners Cup Fiorentina won again 3-0 against Besiktas, this time away from home. In the first leg of the second round, they beat Sachsenring Zwickau 1-0 at home. In the UEFA Cup Milan beat Everton and went through, just like Lazio, who won 3-0 after extra time against Chornomorets Odessa and Roma despite losing 1-0 to Dunav Ruse. Napoli drew at home 1-1 with Torpedo Moscow and were eliminated. In the first leg of the second round, Milan drew 0-0 away to Athlone Town and Roma lost 1-0 to Oster.

 

Lazio were to face Barcelona but strong internal political pressure caused the Biancocelesti not to turn up for the game as a protest against the General Franco regime (not understanding that Barcelona was one of the anti-Franco bastions) Lazio hence lost 3-0.

 

Juventus 5, Napoli 5, Ascoli 4, Inter 4, Milan 4, Torino 3, Roma 3, Bologna 3, Cesena 3, Lazio 3, Perugia 3, Cagliari 2, Sampdoria 2, Verona 2, Como 1, Fiorentina 1

 

November

 

Juventus continued to lead and in November beat Milan away as did Napoli at home. The Rome derby ended in a draw. At the end of November Lazio manager Giulio Corsini, who had never got on with the old guard, was fired and replaced by Maestrelli who had seemingly won his cancer battle.

 

Juventus were eliminated from the European Cup. They had gone 2-0 up at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach but then the Germans managed to equalise. Fiorentina were also eliminated. In the Second leg of the Cup Winners cup, they were eliminated by Sachsenring Zwickau on penalties. In the UEFA Cup Milan crushed Athlone Town 3-0 and went through to the third round as did Roma who beat Oster 2-0. Lazio lost 4-0 in Barcelona and were eliminated. In the third round Roma lost 1-0 away to Club Brugge and Milan beat Spartak Moscow 4-0 at home.

 

Juventus 12, Napoli 11, Torino 9, Cesena 8, Bologna 8, Inter 8, Milan 7, Roma 7, Ascoli 7, Perugia 6, Verona 6, Sampdoria 6, Como 5, Lazio 5, Fiorentina 4, Cagliari 3

 

December

 

Napoli won in Rome against Lazio and went top due to Torino's win in the derby. But their solitary lead did not last long since they then drew at home with Ascoli and were caught up by Juve who beat Inter. In the last game of the year, Napoli lost against Inter and Torino moved up to second place.

 

In the UEFA Cup third round second leg, Roma lost at home to Club Brugge and were eliminated. Milan instead went through to the quarter finals despite losing 2-0 away to Spartak Moscow.

 

Juventus 16, Torino 15, Napoli 14, Cesena 13, Bologna 12, Milan 11, Roma 11, Inter 10, Perugia 9, Ascoli 9, Fiorentina 8, Lazio 8, Sampdoria 8, Verona 7, Como 5, Cagliari 3

 

January

 

Juve went +2 on Torino, taking advantage of the Granata’s draw in Cagliari. Napoli lost further ground after losing to Juve and a couple of draws. They were caught up by surprise Cesena, who thanks to former Lazio scudetto heroes Mario Frustalupi and Giancarlo Oddi were doing very well. The Biancocelesti on the other hand were in a tough spot.

 

Juventus 24, Torino 22, Napoli 18, Cesena 18, Milan 17, Inter 16, Bologna 16, Perugia 14, Fiorentina 13, Roma 12, Verona 11, Ascoli 11, Sampdoria 10, Lazio 9, Como 7, Cagliari 6

 

February

 

Juventus went +5 on Torino who lost away to Perugia and Inter. The Milanese clubs moved up to third and fourth places. Cagliari and Como lost ground behind as did Lazio who with a couple of wins moved to less dangerous waters.

 

Juventus 32, Torino 27, Milan 26, Inter 24, Napoli 23, Cesena 22, Roma 20, Bologna 20, Fiorentina 19, Perugia 19, Lazio 14, Verona 14, Ascoli 14, Sampdoria 13, Como 9, Cagliari 8

 

March

 

Juve lost both to Cesena and the derby, so Torino were now within one point of the leaders followed very closely by Milan. The Rome derby ended in a draw, Milan beat Inter consolidating third place.

 

The Rossoneri were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup. They had lost 2-0 away,  recovered the deficit at home but then a Brugge goal 16 minutes from time gave the qualification to the Belgians.

 

Juventus 35, Torino 34, Milan 32, Napoli 28, Inter 28, Cesena 26, Bologna 25, Perugia 24, Fiorentina 22, Roma 22, Lazio 17, Verona 17, Ascoli 17, Sampdoria 16, Como 13, Cagliari 12

 

April

 

In the Turin-Milan ties, Torino beat Milan and Inter defeated Juve so the Granata went top and then increased the lead to two points following the Juve draw in Naples and the Torino 4-3 victory against Fiorentina. Lazio were sucked back down without Giorgio Chinaglia who left to join New York Cosmos. The relegation battle involved five teams since Cagliari were already virtually in Serie B.

 

Torino 41, Juventus 39, Milan 36, Napoli 32, Inter 32, Bologna 31, Cesena 29, Perugia 28, Fiorentina 24, Roma 24, Verona 22, Ascoli 21, Lazio 20, Sampdoria 20, Como 18, Cagliari 15

 

May

 

In the scudetto fight, Torino in the penultimate game drew at Verona and Juve beat Sampdoria so now, with one game left, the Granata had a single point lead. They needed to beat Cesena while Juventus had to face Perugia. After the first half the two games were still goalless but then a Renato Curi goal for Perugia gave Torino their first scudetto since the Superga tragedy.

 

As far as the relation battle was concerned, with two games to the end Sampdoria and Verona were on 22 points, Ascoli on 21, Como and Lazio on 20. But in the penultimate game the Biancocelesti thrashed Milan 4-0, Como lost at Cesena, Samp were beaten by Juve and Ascoli drew with Bologna. Now Lazio (goal difference -5), Sampdoria (-12) and Ascoli (-15) were on 22 points, Como on 20. Last games: Como-Lazio, Roma-Ascoli, Sampdoria-Napoli. The goal difference would be fundamental.

 

After 17 minutes Lazio were in Serie B. Trailing 2-0, that would have been the end, but they scored in the 20th minute so a draw was still possible. At the end of the first 45 minutes Ascoli were winning in Rome and Sampdoria were also 1-0 up. The table read Samp 24 and Ascoli 24, Lazio and Como 22. But in the second half both Roman teams scored and Lazio were safe. One final miracle by Tommaso Maestrelli.

 

In Coppa Italia, the eight qualified teams were divided into two groups of 4. In Group A Verona came first on goal difference ahead of Inter, Lazio and Genoa. In the second group Napoli came top ahead of Fiorentina, Milan and Sampdoria. In the final played at the Olimpico, Napoli thrashed Verona 4-0 and won the cup.

 

Torino would be playing in the European Cup next season, Napoli in the Cup Winners Cup, Juventus, Milan, Inter and surprise Cesena in the UEFA Cup.

 

Ascoli, Como and Cagliari were relegated, Genoa, Catanzaro and Foggia were promoted.

 

Paolo Pulici (Torino) was top scorer with 21 goals

 

Final table: Torino 45, Juventus 43, Milan 38, Inter 37, Napoli 36, Cesena 32, Bologna 32, Perugia 31, Fiorentina 27, Roma 25, Verona 24, Sampdoria 24, Lazio 23, Ascoli 23, Como 21, Cagliari 19


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