Lazio end disappointing season with consolation win
Lazio bid farewell to fans with a good win and hope for a brighter future
Also on this day: June 15, 1958, Lazio Napoli 3-1, Coppa Italia. Lazio win again to keep Coppa Italia dream alive. Player of the day: Marco Colombo
The season so far
Lazio's new dawn under Giorgio Chinaglia had failed and they were back in Serie B. Despite changing manager twice (Paolo Carosi to Juan Carlos Lorenzo and finally to Bob Lovati/Giancarlo Oddi) Lazio came second bottom and made the drop. Chinaglia's financial partners had never materialized and he had been forced to leave. From February this year the new president was Franco Chimenti. Turbulent times on and off the pitch.
This year the new manager was much respected Gigi Simoni. Lazio had been obliged to sell their star players: Bruno Giordano (Napoli), Lionello Manfredonia (Juventus) and Michael Laudrup (Juventus - end of 2-year loan). Also leaving were keepers Massimo Cacciatori (Gubbio) and Fernando Orsi (Arezzo), defender Renato Miele (Triestina), midfielder Giancarlo Marini (Genoa) plus Brazilian Joāo Batista had left in the autumn session (Avellino).
Lazio had brought in some players more suitable to the new financial and sporting situation. A rare deal with Roma was made and in came goalkeeper Astutillo Malgioglio. Three defenders arrived, Fabio Calcaterra (Inter-loan), Roberto Galbiati (Torino) and Giorgio Magnocavallo (Atalanta), a midfielder, Domenico Caso (Torino) and two forwards, Giuliano Fiorini (Genoa) and Fabio Poli (Cagliari). The two forwards would later prove to be history changers for Lazio.
After a decent start (4 wins, a draw and a defeat in the first 6 games) things were not going well. The team suffered from the uncertainty at club level and had a very mediocre season. Lazio had a decent record at home with 9 wins, 7 draws and 2 defeats but awful away with only 1 win, 7 draws and 11 defeats. That solitary away win had come a week earlier, 3-2 at Catanzaro, and had been vital to get Lazio out of a worrying situation, in the middle of the relegation battle. A positive note had been the goal scoring of Oliviero Garlini who was on 17 goals (despite Lazio not scoring in 15 of the games).
So a disappointed Lazio, but also relieved after being unexpectedly dragged down into the survival scrap and coming out unscathed. Today was all about saying goodbye to the fans with a win, in the hope of better times to come.
Brescia were newly promoted as they had won the C1 championship the previous year under Antonio Pasinato. This year the "Rondinelle" (The Swallows) had done even better and won promotion to Serie A with 2nd place behind Ascoli. Still under Pasinato, the "Leonessa" (The Lioness) had won 17 (including Lazio 2-0) drawn 13 and lost 7. Top scorer was Tullio Gritti with 16 goals.
Two teams without any particular motivation, but Brescia with a fuller belly and Lazio with the home crowd to maybe tip the scales.
The match: Sunday, June 15, 1986, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A warm, sunny June day did not attract more than 25,000 for what was basically a friendly.
Lazio started strongly and attacked continuously. They had three chances in the first quarter of an hour and then scored in the 18th minute. A rare goal by Claudio Vinazzani who at the edge of the box seemed to stumble but then regained his balance and beat Luigi Belletta with a low diagonal left foot. Lazio 1 Brescia 0.
Brescia looked as if they had come to Rome to see the Pope rather than play a game of football and ten minutes later Lazio doubled their lead. Fortunato Torrisi made a good run down the left and put in a perfect cross which Garlini headed in. Lazio 2 Brescia 0.
Brescia showed no reaction and Lazio cruised to halftime two nil up.
For the second half Brescia brought on Luca Bressan for Tiziano Ascagni while Tulio Gritti had already been replaced by Gianpiero Piovani just before the break. Lazio decided to bring on the inventiveness of Vincenzo D'Amico in the 52nd minute in place of Domenico Caso.
In the 62nd minute Lazio made it three. A forty-metre long ball by Torrisi was well brought down by Fabio Poli who then took it forward a few steps and hammered it under the crossbar. Great goal and 3-0.
Brescia at this point woke up, maybe reminding themselves they were a Serie A side now. In the 68th minute they pulled one back. D'Amico was dispossessed, probably unfairly, outside his own area and the ball was then put through to Giorgio De Giorgis who inside the left hand side of the box beat Mario Ielpo. 3-1.
Lazio still seemed in control until a freakish own goal reopened the match. In the 84th minute Massimo Piscedda, in an attempt to clear, miskicked and sent a lob spinning over the incredulous Ielpo. 3-2.
Any chance of a Brescia comeback was swept away four minutes later. Oscar "Flipper" Damiani went down the right wing and put a low assist into the middle for the incoming D'Amico. Vincenzino beat the keeper coming off his line to make it 4-2. This was his last goal in his last match for the Biancocelesti.
A classic end of season game with nothing at stake but a feel-good win for Lazio after the disappointment of not going up and then the scare of actually maybe going down. Lazio paraded around the athletics track to thank and bid farewell to their fans. Next year the Serie A fight would surely go better. Things could only improve or so everyone thought ... the reality would be far different. Lazio’s history is full of twists and turns and yet more black clouds were already hovering over the Madonnina statue on the Monte Mario hill.
Who played for Lazio
Ielpo, G.Corti, G. Carillo, Galbiati, Piscedda, Magnocavallo, Torrisi (81' Damiani), Vinazzani, Poli, Caso (52' D'Amico), Garlini
Substitutes: Carlini, Toti
Manager: Simoni
Who played for Brescia
Belletta, Chiodini, G.Giorgi, Bonometti, Paolinelli, Gentilini, De Giorgis, Zoratto, Gritti (44' Piovani), Gobbo, Ascagni (46' Bressan)
Manager: Pasinato
Referee: Bruschini
Goals: 18' Vinazzani, 28' Garlini, 62' Poli, 68' De Giorgis, 84' Piscedda (o.g), 88' D'Amico
What happened next
Lazio finished 11th, after 11 wins, 14 draws and 13 defeats. A satisfaction was Garlini being top Serie B scorer with 18 goals.
The club changed hands. Franco Chimenti sold Lazio to the Calleri brothers, Giorgio and Gianmarco, and entrepreneur Renato Bocchi.
In the early summer Lazio brought in a new manager Eugenio Fascetti and several good players to boost their new promotion push (Giuliano Terraneo, Angelo Gregucci, Elia Acerbis, Giancarlo Camolese and Gabriele Pin to name a few).
The promotion dream was already shattered in the late summer. Lazio player Claudio Vinazzani was accused of being involved in the "Totonero- bis" match fixing scandal. On August 6 Lazio were sentenced to relegation to Serie C. A big burden on the new owners. 8,000 angry fans caused urban warfare under the Football Federation headquarters. The players, already in pre-season training in Gubbio decided to stay on for now, awaiting the final CAF verdict (the appeal).
On August 26 the appeal court changed the verdict to a lighter nine-point docking in the following season's Serie B. It was still a harsh sentence with two points per victory and especially considering the scant evidence against Lazio, but it meant survival and some hope for the future.
What followed was an epic season but that's another story.
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 Claudio Vinazzani
Claudio Vinazzani was born in Carrara, on April 18, 1954.
Vinazzani started playing for nearby Massese. He made his debut for the "Apuani" in the 1971-72 season in Serie C but only played one game.
In 1972 he went just up the road and returned home to Carrarese in Serie D. He played 24 games for the Giallazzurri and scored 1 goal.
In 1973 he went to Sardinia and joined Olbia in Serie C. He played 31 games for the "Galluresi" and scored 3 goals. The islanders were relegated to Serie D.
In 1974 he went back to Massese for two years in Serie C. He played another 68 games for the "Zebre" and scored 1 goal.
In 1976 came his big break and he signed for Napoli in Serie A. He stayed seven years, playing 188 league games with 4 goals. He played under Bruno Pesaola, Gianni Di Marzio, Luís Vinicio, Angelo Sormani, Rino Marchesi and Massimo Giacomini. Napoli came 7th (semi-finalists of Cup Winners Cup and winning the Anglo-Italian Cup), 6th (Coppa Italia finalists), 6th, 10th, 3rd, 4th and 9th. From 1980 to 1983 he was also captain.
In 1983 he left Naples and joined Lazio who had just returned to Serie A. In his first season in Rome, first under Giancarlo Morrone and then Paolo Carosi, Lazio avoided relegation in the last dramatic match of the season in Pisa. Vinazzani played 28 league games and 5 in Coppa Italia.
The following year was a disaster. Lazio were relegated, first under Carosi then Juan Carlos Lorenzo and finally Bob Lovati/Giancarlo Oddi. Vinazzani played 14 league games and 4 in Coppa Italia.
In 1985-86 he stayed on in Serie B under Gigi Simoni. Lazio not only failed to win promotion but also narrowly avoided relegation amid the turmoil of Chinaglia's departure. Vinazzani played 30 league games with 1 goal (Brescia) and 5 in Coppa Italia.
Despite his satisfactory contribution on the pitch, Vinazzani became more well-known for the effects of his alleged behaviour off the pitch. At the end of the 1986 season he was accused of involvement in the "Totonero- bis" match fixing scandal.
In reality Vinazzani's only fault was being a friend of Armando Carbone known as "Armandino" from his Napoli days. This Carbone was a shoe salesman and low life wheeler and dealer who apparently called Vinazzani to hear if he was interested in trying to fix a Palermo-Lazio match. Vinazzani was evasive in his answer and anyway only two young Palermo players were interested so nothing came of it. It was known that Vinazzani bet on matches but never of his own team.
The other match he was accused of fixing was Lazio-Pescara but there was even less evidence against him on that one. In the court hearing Carbone was ready to testify that Vinazzani was innocent and even wrote them a letter but they were rejected.
Lazio were first sentenced to relegation and then it was changed to a nine-point handicap for the following Serie B season. This despite the feeble evidence against Vinazzani and the club's complete estrangement from the case. Vinazzani himself was first banned for five years and then for life. He was forced to retire at 32.
The magistrate in the case, Giuseppe Marabotto, a big Juve fan and friend of Luciano Moggi (no crime of course) later ended his career in jail on charges of corruption. Italian football in those years was far from fair and transparent but the theory is the authorities wanted to give the impression of a clean up and Lazio were a convenient scapegoat.
As a player Vinazzani was a dynamic midfielder. He was not overly technical but hardworking, tough and a good team player. He was appreciated by all his various coaches and probably always one of the first on the team sheet. The peak of his career was with Napoli where he was captain for three years and had a good spell, peaking with a 3rd place finish under Marchesi.
At Lazio his three years coincided with a difficult period and were then overshadowed by the repercussions of the accusations against him, which did not exactly improve things. Vinazzani is a name to conjure with at Lazio even if the subsequent -9 season is one of all Laziali's favourites ever.
Since retiring he had a brief spell as coach (no life ban is forever in Italy) first at Virtus Entella (Chiavari), in 1999-2000 in Serie D (The Black Devils were relegated) and then Carrarese, in 2002-03 in Serie C1 (relegation again).
He also had a spell in politics between 1998 and 2011 as a councillor in his hometown of Carrara.
He still has a connection in Napoli, where he is greatly respected, as near the stadium there is a sports shop that bears his name, although he no longer owns it.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1983-84 | 33 | 28 | - | 5 |
1984-85 | 18 | 14 | - | 4 |
1985-86 | 35 (1) | - | 30 (1) | 5 |
Total | 86 (1) | 42 | 30 (1) | 14 |
Sources
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