Chinaglia goal not enough but decent point
Lazio not at their best come away with acceptable draw
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had been promoted back to Serie A under "Il Maestro", Tommaso Maestrelli. Top scorer had been "Long John" Giorgio Chinaglia with 26 goals (21 in B). Lazio had also had the satisfaction of beating Roma in a Coppa Italia game (1-0, Chinaglia).
This season Maestrelli was obviously still the manager but there had been some important changes to the squad. The main players arriving were: goalkeeper Felice Pulici (Novara), defender Sergio Petrelli (a rare deal with Roma), midfielders Mario Frustalupi (Inter), Pierpaolo Manservisi (Napoli-end of loan), Ferruccio Mazzola (Fiorentina- end of loan) and Luciano Re Cecconi (Foggia) plus forward Renzo Garlaschelli (Como).
Leaving were keepers Claudio Bandoni (Catanzaro) and Rosario Di Vincenzo (Brindisi), defender Giuseppe Papadopulo (Brindisi), midfielders Arrigo Dolso (Alessandria), Giuseppe Massa (Inter) and Alessandro Abbondanza (Napoli-end of loan) plus forwards Carlo Facchin (retiring) and Giuliano Fortunato (Lecce).
So quite a lot of changes to the squad. The main sacrifice was letting go of Massa but the arrival of Frustalupi would turn out to be a history changer for Lazio.
The season had started in August with the Coppa Italia. It went badly and Lazio were out, after losing 3 (Napoli 0-1 at home, Brindisi 0-1 away and Taranto 1-2 at home) and drawing 1 (Palermo 0-0 away).
In Serie A fortunately things had gone much better. After 13 games Lazio had 18 points and were joint 2nd with Milan and Juventus, one point behind leaders Inter. The Biancocelesti had won 6 (Fiorentina 1-0 and Vicenza 2-1, both away, Ternana 2-1 at home, the derby 1-0, Palermo 2-0 and Cagliari 2-1 at home), drawn 6 (Inter 0-0 and Juventus 1-1, both at home, Atalanta 1-1 and Sampdoria 0-0 both away then Torino and Bologna both 0-0 at home) and lost 1 (Milan 1-3 away).
So, Lazio were in a good position but had not won for 4 games in which they had only scored one goal. Time to get back to winning ways.
Verona had finished 13th the previous season under manager, and former Lazio player (1957-61) Ugo Pozzan. Top scorer was Angelo 0razi with 8 goals (7 in A).
This season the manager was Giancarlo Cadè. The main new arrivals were defenders Klaus Bachlechner (Pisa - back from loan), Glauco Cozzi (Civitavecchia - back from loan), midfielders Pierluigi Busatta (Catanzaro), Roberto Mazzanti (Brescia) plus forwards Carlo Jacomuzzi (Novara), Livio Luppi (Torino) and Gianfranco Zigoni (Roma).
Leaving Verona were midfielders Sergio Ferrari (Catanzaro), Angelo Orazi (Roma) plus forwards Fabio Enzo (Novara), Giorgio Mariani (Napoli) and Alberto Reif (Atalanta then Mantova).
So far, the Scaligeri were joint 9th with Atalanta, Cagliari and Napoli on 11 points, two above the last relegation slot (Vicenza and Palermo on 9). The Gialloblu had won 2, drawn 7 (including Juventus 1-1 away) and lost 4. Their most recent game was a 1-0 away win at Sampdoria. The Gialloblu had not won at home in the league all season or for the last nine months for that matter. This fact would not relax Lazio but would probably have the opposite effect.
By no means an easy game for Lazio today, but one they should win if they wanted to keep up with the front runners.
The match: Sunday, January 7, 1973, Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona
A sunny day in Verona, at least initially, with just under 30,000 spectators in attendance.
Neither side had any injury problems. A curious fact was that both sides fielded a Franco Nanni but they were not related. The Lazio player was from Pisa while the Verona defender was from Riccione (Rimini).
Lazio had the first chance in the 5th minute with a dangerous cross by Pierpaolo Manservisi but then went very quiet and Verona got the upper hand.
The Scaligeri attacked continuously and Felice Pulici was called into action on several occasions. In the 25th minute he seemed beaten on a Livio Lupi shot, but Luciano Re Cecconi was there to clear it near the goal line.
It was a siege but the home side were too imprecise in front of goal and Lazio resisted. Halftime Verona 0 Lazio 0.
A poor Lazio who would have to improve to get anything out of the game.
Several things changed in the second half. Firstly, fog started to descend on Verona and secondly Lazio were finally dangerous.
In the 47th minute Re Cecconi hit the post and six minutes later Lazio scored. In the 53rd minute Renzo Garlaschelli passed to Giorgio Chinaglia, in a possible offside position, Long John headed on while Pier Luigi Pizzaballa half-heartedly came off his line, expecting a whistle that never came, and beat him with a low strike. The hosts protested but the goal stood. Verona 0 Lazio 1.
Verona were under shock but Lazio made the mistake of not insisting. The referee, meanwhile, with doubts in his mind about the goal was possibly already thinking of a way to make amends.
His chance came in the 68th minute. Giancarlo Oddi challenged Luppi in the area and the forward fell on the ball, got up, saw there was no reaction and then fell into Pierpaolo Manservisi. This time the referee surprisingly pointed to the penalty spot. Emiliano Mascetti put it away for the Scaligeri's equaliser. Verona 1 Lazio.
At this point the fog thickened and visibility was extremely bad. The meteorological conditions and the fact that for both sides the fear of losing was stronger than the desire to win meant that not much happened from then on. In the last five minutes especially, the fans would not have seen anything anyway…
A decent draw for Lazio despite a disappointing first half. Lazio were still joint 2nd but now with Inter who had lost the big match against new leaders Juventus 0-2 at home.
Verona were still joint 9th, now with Napoli, Cagliari and Atalanta, and still with a two-point cushion on the last relegation slot.
Who played for Verona
Pizzaballa, Nanni, Sirena, Busatta, Cozzi, Mascalaito, Bergamaschi, Mascetti, Jacomuzzi (66' Zigoni), Ciccolo, Luppi
Substitutes: Colombo
Manager: Cadè
Who played for Lazio
Pulici, Facco, Martini, Wilson, Oddi, Nanni, Garlaschelli, Re Cecconi, Chinaglia, Frustalupi, Manservisi
Manager: Maestrelli
Referee: Monti
Goals: 53' Chinaglia, 68' Mascetti (pen)
What happened next
Lazio beat Napoli 3-0 a week later and kept up their Scudetto challenge. In the following 14 games the Biancocelesti then won 9 (including another derby 2-0, Milan and Verona both 2-1), drew 4 and only lost 1 (Juventus 0-1 away).
This meant that going into the last fixture the table read; Milan 44, Lazio and Juventus 43. Milan were soon 0-4 down at Verona (Milan had played Cup Winners Cup final midweek) and at halftime Lazio were drawing 0-0 in Naples and Juventus losing 0-1 to Roma, in Rome. A playoff between Lazio and Milan was on the cards. Then unfortunately, almost surely thanks to "financial incentives" and personal interests, Roma stopped playing and lost while Napoli, also apparently paid off by the "Old Lady" played the game of their lives, scored in the 89th minute and acted as if they had won the World Cup. Milan lost 3-5 in the end in "fatal Verona".
A pity for Lazio but they had played great football and had an excellent season finishing 3rd. They also won both derbies (1-0, 2-0). Top scorer was Giorgio Chinaglia with 11 goals (10 in A). The following year would be different but that's another story.
Verona ended up 10th. The Gialloblu finally won a home game on March 25, beating Ternana 1-0. They also made the headlines by surprisingly destroying Milan's title hopes in the last game of the season (winning 5-3 in only their second home win). Top scorer was Gianfranco Zigoni with 8 goals (7 in A).
Juventus were champions for the 15th time while leaving Serie A were Palermo, Atalanta and Ternana. The Sicilians would not be back for another 31 years.
Let’s talk about Antonio Sbardella
Antonio Sbardella is certainly one of the people behind the 1974 Lazio scudetto. Hated and loved by fans, at times a scapegoat, he had a long relationship with the Biancocelesti. But he must also be remembered as one of the best Italian referees of all time.
Born in Palestrina near Rome on October 17, 1925, he started his life in football as a goalkeeper in the Lazio youth teams. He had to stop playing following a serious injury. “A stroke of luck” he called it as he decided to become a referee. He refereed 167 Serie A games and 70 international matches. The highlight of his career was in Mexico for the 1970 World Cup where he was referee for two games: Peru-Bulgaria and the third-place final between West Germany and Uruguay. He would have probably refereed the final but Italy got there first.
He was also referee for two Coppa Italia finals and the 1967 Fairs Cup final between Leeds United and Dinamo Zagreb.
Once he retired as a referee he was called by Umberto Lenzini to be sporting director for Lazio. It was 1971 and the club had just been relegated and was going through a difficult time due to the tensions between Lenzini and the manager Juan Carlos Lorenzo which had marred the previous season. Sbardella chose Tommaso Maestrelli as new head coach, forced Giorgio Chinaglia, who had asked to leave, to stay and began buying players that could be functional to Maestrelli’s idea of football.
In the summer of 1971 in came two fundamental players: Gigi Martini, left winger who Maestrelli would transform into a left back, and Giancarlo Oddi, magnificent man-marker returning from a loan to Massese. Also important was Claudio Bandoni, an experienced goalkeeper. Lazio obtained second place and promotion.
There was still work to do to complete the team so Sbardella in the summer of 1972 sacrificed Giuseppe Massa, sold to Inter in exchange for Mario Frustalupi plus money. With the money he bought Luciano Re Cecconi, Sergio Petrelli, Felice Pulici and Renzo Garlaschelli, all virtual unknowns. The first year in Serie A Lazio almost won the scudetto playing beautiful football. The second, with the inclusion of youngster Vincenzo D’Amico, they won the league for the first time. A masterpiece.
Sbardella had had clashes with Lenzini and Maestrelli (he thought that they were too friendly with the team) during the years, and he had backed a group led by advisor Riccardo Riva to take over the club. Lenzini was not pleased and Sbardella resigned in 1974. He was not present at the celebrations since he had left earlier. Roma President Gaetano Anzalone offered him a job which he accepted, but he stayed on the wrong side of the Tiber just a few months due to internal hostility and the fact that his restructuring plan for the club was dropped.
After working briefly for Triestina as CEO, he returned to Lazio in 1981 as general manager first and then sporting director. He stayed until 1983. It was not a happy period for Lazio, in Serie B, and he had numerous power clashes with Luciano Moggi who was sporting director when he arrived.
He was regional Commissioner for the Lazio region in the Referee Association from 1978 to 1983, director of the Amateur 5-a-side association from 1989 to 1992 and Lazio Regional Football President for ten years.
He died in Rome on January 14, 2002.
Sources
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