Fighting derby
The usual Rome derby: a draw and fights between players
Also on this day: March 24, 2010, Lazio Siena 2-0. Lazio beat Siena 2-0 and start to see light at the end of the tunnel. Player of the day: Stephan Lichtsteiner
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had avoided relegation by drawing 2-2 in the last game at Pisa. They had battled all season, changed manager from Giancarlo Morrone to Paolo Carosi, lost their star striker Bruno Giordano due to injury for many months, but in the end a Giordano double allowed Lazio to stay in Serie A.
“We will never suffer like this again”, said President Giorgio Chinaglia at the end of Pisa-Lazio.
But the club still had debts and it did not look like anybody in the US would come to the rescue. Chinaglia had a plan though. He was going to sell Giordano and Lionello Manfredonia, settle the debts and start building the club and team.
Giorgio in 1984 sold the Lazio golden boys to Juventus in exchange for money and a number of players. Giordano was going to be substituted by Massimo Briaschi who would be bought by Juventus from Genoa and given to Lazio. Once this deal was done, it was going to be Manfredonia’s turn.
First problem: Briaschi had no intention of coming to Lazio. Chinaglia offered him an amazing salary but he was not interested. Juventus would have offered Aldo Serena as a replacement but he also refused. Second problem: the Bianconeri offered Giordano a lower wage compared to what he got at Lazio. Juve had a policy of low salaries but rich bonuses. Giordano refused. At this point both deals fell through and the two players stayed in Rome. But this meant that all Chinaglia’s plans for a better team also collapsed. A few players were signed but they were not all that great: forward Oliviero Garlini (Cesena), defenders Massimo Storgato (Verona) and Arturo Vianello (Pisa) and midfielder Fortunato Torrisi (Catania). Ernesto Calisti returned from his loan to Cavese. Leaving Lazio were Angelo Cupini (Bari), Mauro Meluso (Cremonese), Mario Piga (Palermo), Rinaldo Piraccini (Pistoiese) and Massimo Piscedda (loan to Taranto).
The season started in August with the Coppa Italia. Lazio had not done too badly and were almost through to the second stage. The last game was against Roma. A point each would have meant that they would both go through. But a ridiculous penalty given to Roma and an Antonio Di Carlo goal gave Roma the win. Lazio could still have got to the round of 16 anyway on goal difference. Genoa had to beat Pistoiese 5-0 to overtake Lazio and unfortunately this is exactly what happened with three goals in the last 8 minutes. The Biancocelesti were out and Chinaglia was furious. His temper did not improve after Lazio lost the first Serie A game against Fiorentina and most certainly not after losing 5-0 against Zico’s Udinese. He blamed Carosi for being too soft with the players and sacked him. Juan Carlos Lorenzo was called in his place.
Juan Carlos Lorenzo had been Lazio manager when Chinaglia joined in the 60's and he was very fond of him. However, Lorenzo was past his prime, as far as managerial style was concerned. The beginning was comforting, draws against Diego Maradona’s Napoli and Roma, a couple of wins, maybe Chinaglia was right after all.
After a 2-2 draw against Sampdoria with Lazio 2-0 down but scoring two goals in the last minutes of the game, the Biancocelesti lost seven consecutive games. Then, after a goalless draw at home against Ascoli, the Biancocelesti lost 4-0 against Napoli and that was the end of Lorenzo. In came Giancarlo Oddi and Bob Lovati. Lazio were second from last, six points away from safety. A miracle was needed. Two matches and two draws later, the situation was the same.
The match: Sunday, March 24, 1985, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Certainly not a great moment for football in the city of Rome and only 50,000 spectators attended.
Compared to how Lazio had played under Lorenzo, this was champagne football. Not a lot happened in the first half, but the Biancocelesti did try to win. In the 13th minute Giordano scored but the referee decided that he had fouled Ubaldo Righetti and gave a free kick to Roma. In the 42nd minute Giordano was fouled in the box but again D’Elia said play on.
The Giallorossi had been non-existent in the first half, but in the second they at least tried something. Ernesto Calisti was forced to clear a Giuseppe Giannini shot close to the line before a massive confrontation between the two teams ended up with two red cards. Michael Laudrup went off on the left and to stop him from progressing was grabbed by Carlo Ancelotti. The Dane was not pleased and this started a mini brawl during which Odoacre Chierico punched Giordano. D’Elia sent off the red headed Roma player plus Oliviero Garlini who had not actually done anything. After a possible penalty was ignored by the ref for a foul on Ciccio Graziani by Nando Orsi, Roma scored. In the 71st minute, Aldo Maldera passed to Graziani on the edge of the box, a Lazio defender intervened, Roberto Antonelli tried a volley and what came out was a splendid shot that put Roma ahead.
Lazio attacked venomously. Massimo Storgato tried a shot which Franco Tancredi miraculously managed to get a hand to. From the corner Francesco Fonte crossed, Gabriele Podavini headed the ball towards the centre of the box and Giordano with a second header equalised.
Towards the end of the match Antonelli had a chance to win it for the Giallorossi, but his header was cleared off the line by Podavini.
Not a very exciting match, but at least Lazio did not lose.
Who played for Lazio
Orsi, Calisti, Podavini, Spinozzi, Strogato, Fonte, Garlini, Torrisi, Giordano, Laudrup, Marini (75’ D’Amico).
Substitutes: Cacciatori, Filisetti, Vinazzani, Dell’Anno
Manager: Oddi
TD: Lovati
Who played for Roma
Tancredi, Oddi, Righetti, Ancelotti (80' Buriani), Nela, Maldera III, Chierico, Cerezo, Iorio (46' Antonelli), Giannini, Graziani
Substitutes: Malgioglio, Lucci, Di Carlo
Manager: Clagluna
TD: Eriksson
Referee: D’Elia
Goals: 71’ Antonelli, 73’ Giordano
What happened next
After another home draw against Atalanta, Lazio lost five consecutive games. One last moment of pride arrived in the last game at home against Juventus when, 3-1 down , they managed to equalise and almost win, hence showing that if they had continued with Carosi, the season would probably have been different.
Lazio were relegated despite having a team with Michael Laudrup, Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia, Joao Batista and Vincenzo D’Amico.
Laudrup and Orsi were the players with most appearances (35), Giordano the top scorer with 8 goals.
Lazio 1984-85
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 30 | 2 | 11 | 17 | 16 |
Coppa Italia | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
Total | 35 | 4 | 13 | 18 | 24 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Laudrup | 35 | 30 | 5 |
Orsi | 35 | 30 | 5 |
Manfredonia | 32 | 27 | 5 |
Giordano | 30 | 25 | 5 |
Calisti | 30 | 25 | 5 |
Filisetti | 30 | 25 | 5 |
Top Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Giordano | 8 | 5 | 3 |
D'Amico | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Podavini | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Let's talk about Francesco Fonte
Francesco Fonte was born in Rome on October 8, 1965. He grew up at Lazio and debuted in Serie A on September 16, 1984 in the home match lost to Fiorentina. It was an awful year for the Biancocelesti, but a good season for him with 18 appearances and one goal. Lazio were relegated but he stayed. He was a good midfielder who could mark the opponent’s more dangerous forwards (he even marked Diego Armando Maradona once) and could certainly play the ball.
In the autumn of 1986, he was sold to Barletta in Serie C1 and contributed to their historic return to Serie B. He stayed in the third tier in 1987-88 to play for Monopoli together with his former teammate Mauro Meluso. In the next season he signed for Bari and the Apulians were promoted to Serie A.
In 1989-90 Foggia were in Serie B and President Pasquale Casillo decided to employ Zdenek Zeman as manager. The team took time to absorb his style of football, but once they did, they came an excellent eighth. One of the midfielders was Francesco Fonte who made 33 league appearances and scored 8 goals. He did not remain but moved across Italy to play for Avellino. He stayed for five years, the first two in Serie B, and in his last was vice captain of the team that got promoted to Serie B. His final years of active football were in minor leagues with Sporting Benevento, L’Aquila, Battipagliese, Martina and Fasano.
After he stopped playing, he moved to Monopoli in Apulia, his wife’s hometown, where he manages a seaside resort.
Lazio Career
Season | Total apperances (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1984-85 | 18 (1) | 14 (1) | - | 4 |
1985-86 | 23 | - | 18 | 5 |
Total | 41 (1) | 14 (1) | 18 | 9 |
Sources
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