Goals count...posts do not
Lazio score twice early on while the Swiss then hit the woodwork three times
Also on this day: June 9, 1929, Juventus Lazio 0-1. A Lamon second half goal hands Lazio victory in Turin and keeps them on course for the future single Serie A tournament. Player of the day: Gino Lamon I
The season so far
Lazio were newly promoted after a year in the purgatory of Serie B. They had won the championship and promotion under Juan Carlos Lorenzo. He had only been allowed to sit on the bench from March 30 as foreigners were not officially allowed to be managers, so until he obtained his passport Roberto Lovati had carried out the Sunday afternoon dug out duties.
This year officially the manager was Bob Lovati and the technical director was Juan Carlos Lorenzo. Some important changes had been made to the squad. Lazio had brought in some players who would prove to change the entire club's history.
An unknown young forward called Giorgio Chinaglia was signed from third division Internapoli. Also from the Neapolitan club arrived defender Giuseppe Wilson. Both players had British connections: Chinaglia grew up in South-Wales while Wilson was born in Darlington to an English father and Neapolitan mother. These two facts would later be one of the reasons for myself becoming a lifelong Lazio fan.
Along with the two “Brits” Lazio had added other players; defender and local lad Giancarlo Oddi (Sora - back from loan), defender Giuseppe Papadopulo (Livorno), goalkeeper Michelangelo Sulfaro (Sambenedettese) plus, in the autumn session, defender Luigi Polentes (Perugia) and above all midfielder Franco Nanni (Trapani). Four of these players; Chinaglia, Wilson, Oddi and Nanni, would play key roles some years later in Lazio's Scudetto winning team.
The main players leaving were defenders Pietro Fontana (Ternana) and Guido Onor (Juventus - end of loan) plus, in the autumn, forward Arrigo Dolso (Monza - on loan) and defender Pietro Adorni (Piacenza).
Serie A finished early this year due to the upcoming Mexico World Cup. Lazio had a positive campaign and finished 8th. The Biancocelesti had won 11 (including Milan 1-0, Fiorentina 5-1, both at home), drawn 7 (including a derby 1-1) and lost 12 (including first derby 1-2). In the last five matches they had won 3 (Palermo, Inter and Juventus, all at home) and drawn 2 (Napoli and Verona, both away), so finishing the league strongly. The new "Welsh-Italian" striker Giorgio Chinaglia had done well and had scored 12 league goals and Anglo-Italian defender Pino Wilson had also proved an excellent buy.
Lazio had then played the Anglo-Italian Cup with mixed fortune, two home wins and two away defeats against Wolves and Sunderland.
Now it was time for the Alps Cup. It was a tournament between four Italian clubs who could not play each other and four Swiss and this was the tenth edition. The format was that the teams from each nation with the most points would then play in the final. Lazio had drawn the first game 3-3 away at Lugano.
Young Boys, from Berne, had just finished 5th in the Swiss top flight. The manager was Walter Eich who had taken over in January from German Albert Brülls. In the first game the YB had drawn 1-1 at home with Fiorentina.
The match: Tuesday, June 9, 1970, Wankdorfstadion, Berne
It was a rainy evening in Berne but the pitch despite being slightly slippery was perfectly playable. There were less than 5,000 spectators in the unfortunately named, for English speakers anyway, Wankdorf stadion.
Lazio fielded a strong side for this cup game. The only absences were defender Nello Governato, midfielder Giuliano Fortunato and forward Juan Carlos Morrone.
Lazio looked interested and started strongly. In the 5th minute they took the lead. A freekick from the left vertex of the area was floated in by Franco Nanni and headed down into the net by Gian Piero Ghio. Young Boys 0 Lazio 1.
The Swiss reacted and had a Willy Allemann effort go wide.
In the 12th minute however, Lazio doubled their lead. It was a good team move involving Giuseppe Massa, Mario Facco and Ghio who lobbed a ball through to Giorgio Chinaglia, "Long John" then went past his marker and scored from close range. Young Boys 0 Lazio 2.
At this point the Yellow and Black shirts surged forward and created several goal scoring opportunities. Rosario Di Vincenzo made a couple of good saves, Pino Wilson bicycled kicked to safety near the goal line and then in the 26th minute Jean-Claude Bruttin hit the crossbar.
Lazio defended for long periods and occasionally threatened on the break. Half time, YB 0 Lazio 2.
For the second half the hosts replaced Ulrich Guggisberg with Hans-Peter Schild. The Swiss continued to attack and to be unlucky. Schild had a shot saved onto the post by in form Di Vincenzo and then Otto Messerli hit the crossbar in the 68th minute.
Messerli then went off two minutes later and on came Marti. Lazio also put a fresh defender on, replacing Polentes with Giancarlo Oddi.
The Swiss pressure however subsided and Lazio took control in the last twenty minutes. Chinaglia was teed up superbly by Ghio and then fouled from behind in the area but the referee denied the Romans the blatant penalty. Chinaglia also got injured in the tackle and had to go off for Mario Tomy.
The last five minutes were played under torrential rain and saw Lazio have one more chance when, after a one-two with Massa, Ferruccio Mazzola darted into the area but Walter Eichenberger did well to dive low at his feet and save. Final score Young Boys 0 Lazio 2.
Lazio had been cynical in the first quarter of an hour and then were lucky to keep a clean sheet. The Swiss had hit the woodwork three times but as they say it's the goals that count.
Lazio moved top of the Italian table with 3 points together with Fiorentina.
The Young Boys were still on one point while Basel were top with 4 points.
Who played for Young Boys
Eichenberger, Bosshard, Allemann, Anderegg, Schmocker, Messerli (70' Marti), Guggisberg (46' Schild), Heer, Müller, Bruttin, Rebmann
Manager: Eich
Who played for Lazio
Di Vincenzo, Papadopulo, Facco, Wilson, Polentes (75' Oddi), Marchesi, Massa, Mazzola II, Chinaglia (80' Tomy), Ghio, Nanni
Manager: Lorenzo
Referee: Schneuwly (France)
Goals: 5' Ghio, 12' Chinaglia
What happened next
Lazio beat Zurich 3-0 at home next but then lost 2-3 away at Basel. The Biancocelesti finished 2nd on 5 points, behind Fiorentina on 6.
Young Boys then lost 1-2 away to Bari and then beat Sampdoria 4-0 at home. The Yellow and Blacks finished 3rd in the Swiss group.
The final was between Fiorentina and Basel. It was played at the St. Jakob Stadium and the Swiss "Rotblau" triumphed 3-2 for their second consecutive Alps Cup.
Lazio 1969-70
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 33 |
Coppa Italia | 3 | - | 1 | 2 | - |
Mitropa Cup | 2 | - | - | 2 | 2 |
Total | 35 | 11 | 8 | 16 | 35 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Mitropa Cup |
Marchesi | 35 | 30 | 3 | 2 |
Massa | 32 | 27 | 3 | 2 |
Chinaglia | 31 | 28 | 1 | 2 |
Wilson | 31 | 28 | 1 | 2 |
Ghio | 29 | 25 | 2 | 2 |
Top goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Mitropa Cup |
Chinaglia | 14 | 12 | 2 |
Massa | 5 | 5 | - |
Ghio | 5 | 5 | - |
Mazzola | 3 | 3 | - |
Let’s talk about The Cup of the Alps
The Alps Cup started in 1960. For the first two years it was played between eight Italian clubs (including Lazio the second year) and 8 Swiss teams. The nation with the most points won the cup. Both editions were won by the Italians (Catania were the only club to win home and away, against Freiburg while Lazio beat Grasshoppers 5-0 and then drew 3-3)
In 1962 it was played between two Italian clubs, two Swiss and two French and was won by Genoa.
In 1963 it became an open tournament between four Italian clubs and four Swiss. In the final Juventus beat Atalanta 3-2.
The Cup continued in this format until 1967 when it became a tournament between three Italian, three Swiss and two German clubs.
In 1969 a Belgian club, KSV Waregem, participated in just one edition.
It continued this way until 1970 when the Germans dropped out and so it was just four Italians and four Swiss. The teams from the same nation could not play against each other.
In 1972 it was played between four Swiss and four French clubs and continued in this format until 1987 when the tournament was abandoned.
Apart from the 1961 edition, Lazio also played in the 1970 edition (arriving second behind Fiorentina) and in 1971 where they won, beating Basel 3-1 in the final.
Since 2007 a new tournament has been organised by FIFA for Under 19 clubs from all over Europe.
Edition | Winner | Runner-up |
1960 | Serie A selection | Swiss League selection |
1961 | Serie A selection | Swiss League selection |
1962 | Genoa | Grenoble |
1963 | Juventus | Atalanta |
1964 | Genoa | Catania |
1966 | Napoli | Juventus |
1967 | Eintracht Frankfurt | TSV 1860 |
1968 | Schalke 04 | Basel |
1969 | Basel | Bologna |
1970 | Basel | Fiorentina |
1971 | Lazio | Basel |
1972 | Nîmes | Bordeaux |
1973 | Servette | Lausanne |
1974 | Young Boys | Basel |
1975 | Servette | Basel |
1976 | Servette | Nîmes |
1977 | Stade Reims | Bastia |
1978 | Servette | Lausanne |
1979 | AS Monaco | Metz |
1980 | Bordeaux | Nîmes |
1981 | Basel | Sochaux |
1982 | Nantes | Neuchâtel Xamax |
1983 | AS Monaco | Auxerre |
1984 | AS Monaco | Grasshopper |
1985 | Auxerre | AS Monaco |
1987 | Auxerre | Grasshopper |
Sources
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