Early goals give Lazio a much-needed win
Lazio scored two in the first six minutes and despite a late scare managed to secure victory
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio arrived 12th. It had been a disappointing season even if there had been a derby win and one in Milan. However, once relegation had been avoided the Biancocelesti stopped playing, getting one point in the last four games.
Manager Umberto Mannocci had been confirmed and new entries had been Sergio Castelletti, Rino Marchesi and the return of Giancarlo Morrone, all from Fiorentina, Arrigo Dolso (Udinese), Giuseppe Massa (Internapoli), Romano Bagatti (Varese) and Enrico Burlando (Massese). Leaving the Biancocelesti were Vincenzo Gasperi (Varese), Giampiero Vitali (Fiorentina), Nicola Ciccolo (Vicenza), Antonio Renna (Varese), Orlando Rozzoni (Spal) plus the loan of Nello Governato to Inter. In the autumn Pietro Adorni arrived from Napoli and Governato, who had not fitted in at inter, was loaned to Vicenza.
In Coppa Italia Lazio had been eliminated by Lecco in the second round. In the Mitropa Cup the Biancocelesti had eliminated Red Star Belgrade 4-2 on aggregate.
In Serie A, the Biancocelesti had been even more disappointing than the previous year. They were 15th, in the relegation zone (four would go down to Serie B due to the decision to reduce the Serie A teams to 16 following the 1966 World Cup debacle against North Korea) and had a long way to go to get out of the troubled waters. Mannocci was sacked in November and replaced by Maino Neri. Lazio were 15th and had won only twice (Lecco away and Inter at home). They really needed another win.
The Match: Sunday January 8, 1967, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Maino Neri decided not to play Can Bartu, with whom he had a heated argument during the week, but had Paolo Carosi back, pardoned by the disciplinary authorities. Enrico Burlando and Pietro Adorni were out due to injury. Bologna, much criticized in recent weeks, had three significant absences: Harald Nielsen, Franco Janich and Ezio Pascutti.
Lazio scored immediately. In the 2nd minute, a Giancarlo Morrone-Arrigo Dolso one-two gave the latter a good chance. With his first shot he hit the post, with his second he scored. It was his first goal in Serie A. Bologna could have equalised immediately with a Helmut Haller header that went just over the crossbar. Lazio doubled their lead in the 6th minute. Corner kick, Vito D'Amato headed towards the goal, Carlo Furlanis cleared short and Morrone volleyed the ball into the net: 2-0 for Lazio in just six minutes! Shortly after Morrone could have trebled, but his shot shaved the post. The Rossoblu reacted and Bruno Pace in the 10th minute, Haller in the 14th and Faustino Turra in the 20th were dangerous but Idilio Cei never lost his cool. Great battle in midfield with Dolso and Rino Marchesi having the better of Romano Fogli and Giacomo Bulgarelli, while Haller took over, confirming himself as one of the strongest footballers in the world. Carosi tried everything to stop the German but with poor results. In the 40th and 41st minutes, a double chance for Pace before Morrone gave a great assist to Romano Bagatti who forced Vavassori into an excellent save.
The second half saw Bologna still projected forward with a superb Haller who forced Cei into an excellent save. Break for Lazio on the counterattack. Morrone gave a great ball to Bagatti who went past Giuseppe Vavassori and passed to the centre for the solitary D'Amato who only needed to accompany the ball into the net, but the number seven fired a shot which hit the crossbar: an unforgivable mistake. In the 55th minute Bulgarelli tried a shot and Cei tipped the ball away from under the crossbar. Six minutes later the goalkeeper repeated himself on a Giovanni Vastola header. His magical series of saves continued in the 73rd minute when he parried a missile from Turra and another shot from Mario Ardizzon. In the 79th minute, however, Bologna crowned their efforts. It was Haller with a very precise low shot. Lazio got scared and retreated to defend their lead. Only Morrone sometimes tried to counterattack, but his initiatives for the attackers were never used properly. Heart-pounding final minutes. Huge mistake by Carosi and Bulgarelli shot towards goal: Diego Zanetti intervened and the ball hit the crossbar with Carosi eventually managing to clear it away. Sixty seconds from the end Marino Perani tried a shot and Dotti's fundamental header saved the victory.
Important two points for Lazio.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Neri
Who played for Bologna
Vavassori, Furlanis, Ardizzon, Turra, Muccini, Fogli, Perani, Bulgarelli, Pace, Haller, Vastola
Manager: Carniglia
Referee: Angonese
Goals: 2’ Dolso, 6’ Morrone, 79’ Haller
What happened next
At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were 14th but the battle to avoid relegation was going to be a long one. With four games to the end, the Biancocelesti were 12th together with Spal and Brescia and one point ahead of Vicenza. Foggia, Venezia and Lecco were already doomed. Lazio played at home to Brescia knowing that a victory would probably get them out of the relegation battle. They lost as they did the next game at Bologna too. With two games to go, Brescia 28 points, Vicenza 27, Spal 26, Lazio 25.
In the last match at home the Biancocelesti managed to beat Foggia while Vicenza and Brescia lost and Spal drew. With one game to go, Spal, Vicenza and Lazio had 27 points and Brescia 28. Final games: Juventus-Lazio, Brescia-Cagliari, Vicenza-Bologna and Spal-Venezia.
At the end of the first half Vicenza and Lazio were 0-0, Spal and Brescia were losing. There was still hope, but in the second half Lazio collapsed and Spal turned the game around. The Biancocelesti were relegated by one point.
The worst thing about this season were the 10 goalless draws. Which really showed that the attack in particular was greatly under par.
The players with most appearances were Carosi and Morrone (38), top scorer was Bagatti with 7 goals.
Let's talk about Aldo Anzuini
Aldo Anzuini was born in Rome on April 29, 1947. He grew up in the Biancoceleste youth sector and debuted in the 1966-67 season. It was not a good year for Lazio who were relegated. Anzuini made 12 appearances in total and in the summer he was sold to Vicenza. He never played for the first team and after a year he returned to Rome. After participating in a few friendlies, he was sold to Savona in Serie C where in three years he made 146 league appearances.
In 1971 he moved to Sambenedettese, still in the third tier. He stayed for five years, participating in the promotion to Serie B in 1973-74, playing in 146 league games. His last five years of active football were with Almas in Serie D and Serie C2.
Once he stopped playing, he had a couple of brief managerial jobs for L’Aquila in 1986-87 and Astrea in 1992-93.
He then worked in an Italian governmental office for many years and now is retired.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1966-67 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
Sources
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