Surro to joy as Lazio get late winner
Lazio end Olimpico drought with late Surro winner and revive promotion hopes
Also on this day: March 27, 1938, Lazio Napoli 0-0. A sunny and lively first half was followed by a rainy and dull second half resulting in a goalless draw. Player of the day: Emilio Capri
The season so far
Lazio in their third consecutive year in Serie B, after the betting scandal and relegation of 1979-80, had renewed ambitions this year. The previous season had been a depressingly mediocre 11th place but with the return of striker Bruno Giordano and midfielder Lionello Manfredonia (after the world Cup win armistice) they could finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.
The main players who had joined Lazio were keeper Fernando Orsi (Parma), defenders Renato Miele (Catania), Gabriele Podavini (Brescia) and Marco Saltarelli (Lodigiani), midfielders Enrico Vella (Catania) and Roberto Tavola (Juventus) plus forward Claudio Ambu (Perugia).
Players to leave were the scudetto legends of 1974, keeper Felice Pulici and attacking winger Renzo Garlaschelli plus defenders Giorgio Mastropasqua (Catania), Dario Pighin (Taranto), midfielders Alberto Bigon (Vicenza), Dario Sanguin (Perugia), Fernando Viola (Genoa) and forwards Lorenzo Marronaro (Monza) and Walter Speggiorin (Massese).
This reshuffling of the squad plus the return of clearly superior level players such as Giordano and Manfredonia, added to the talent of fan favourite Vincenzo D'Amico, gave the whole Lazio environment renewed enthusiasm and optimism.
Roberto Clagluna had been confirmed as manager after taking over from Ilario Castagner halfway through the previous campaign.
After a slow start (3 draws) Lazio had started to show their superior quality and after seven consecutive wins were top for a lengthy period.
Since January, however, Lazio had slowed down. They had several draws and lost at Monza and Campobasso. They had not won at home since January 9 (Arezzo 2-0). They were still in the promotion positions but needed to change gear if they were to remain there. Today against lowly Bari the two points were a must.
Bari were struggling and desperate for points. The "Galletti" had won the derby with Foggia a week earlier but were still very much in relegation trouble. They had replaced manager Enrico Catuzzi after 25 matches with Luigi Radice (scudetto winning manager with Torino 1976) and the impact had been positive.
A player of interest in a Lazio connection was Antonio Elia Acerbis who would later play more than 100 games for the Biancocelesti, be a -9 team hero and win a promotion to Serie A in 1988.
The match: Sunday, March 27, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A mild, sunny, spring day brought a crowd of 35,000 to the Olimpico.
Lazio started strongly and almost scored immediately. With only one minute played, Vella's shot from outside the area went just wide. Bari came up to Rome with a very defensive mindset, determined to leave with a point. The Pugliesi did have the occasional foray into Lazio's half however, and after eight minutes had a Danilo Ronzani shot saved by Orsi and then a Michele Armenise effort again blocked by the Roman keeper. For Lazio, Giordano saw his shot shave the post. So the first half ended 0-0. Lazio attacked more but the chances were evenly balanced. Giordano was lively and threatening but he was given little support by Stefano Chiodi.
The second half was predominantly in the same pattern, Lazio constantly with the initiative and Bari occasionally dangerous on the break. The substitution of Chiodi with D'Amico gave the home side some more creativity up front. In the 53rd minute Giordano set up Leonardo Surro but his close range shot failed to hit the target. In the 74th minute Bari almost stole the game on the counter attack but Giovanni Loseto's shot was deflected into corner by a defender.
In the last fifteen minutes Lazio really piled on the pressure and Bari were forced into their own area. First Manfredonia went close and then Lazio scored in the dying minutes. A D'Amico freekick reached Giordano who burst down the right side of the box and put in a perfect cross which Surro headed in. When Lazio had almost lost hope the goal had finally come and it was almost inevitably set up by the player with the most class on the field, Bruno Giordano. Lazio 1 Bari 0.
A fundamental win for Lazio. They confirmed to be going through a period of difficulty but had found a way through an extremely defensive and gritty Bari outfit. Promotion was still on the cards but would be a struggle on current form. Lazio had a world class striker in Giordano but were not supplying him enough ammunition.
Bari had defended well, fought hard and were well organized but fell at the last hurdle. Their hopes of avoiding relegation were fading fast.
Who played for Lazio
Orsi, Podavini, Spinozzi, Vella, Miele, Manfredonia, Chiodi (46' D'Amico), Tavola (72' Perrone), Giordano, Surro, Sciarpa
Manager: Clagluna
Who played for Bari
Fantini, G. Loseto (II), Armenise, Ronzani (64' De Martino), Caricola, De Trizio, C.Bagnato, Lucchi, De Tommasi (64' Acerbis), L.De Rosa, O.Loseto (I)
Substitutes: Caffaro, Del Zotti, Baldini
Manager: Radice
Referee: Menicucci
Goals: 88' Surro
What happened next
Lazio's scoring difficulties continued. Their next three matches were all 0-0 draws, then they lost at home to Pistoiese and away to Varese, followed by a 3-3 home draw with Reggiana (Giordano hat- trick).
At this point Lazio sacked the manager Clagluna and in came former player Giancarlo Morrone. A week later however Lazio were hammered 5-1 by Milan and to make matters worse city rivals Roma won the Serie A Scudetto.
Things however were about to take a turn for the better. Firstly rumours started to circulate of a possible club takeover by Lazio legend Giorgio Chinaglia and then things picked up on the field too. A home win against Atalanta (2-1), an away point at Arezzo (0-0), a crucial home win against promotion rivals Catania (2-1) and a decisive away draw against Cavese (2-2) handed Lazio the ticket back to the big time after 3 difficult years in Serie B. Bruno Giordano was Serie B top scorer with 18 goals.
It had not been an easy ride and Lazio's second part of the season was not as positive as the first but they had enough talent to get them over the line and win promotion with a 2nd place finish on 46 points, behind Milan but one point more than a trio on 45. The third team to come up would be Catania after a three-team playoff (Cremonese and Como).
Despite Roma's triumph things were looking up especially with the confirmed return of "Long John" Chinaglia from the States as new President, but that's another story.
Bari won 2, drew 5 and lost 4 of the last 11 games. They finished 20th, bottom of the table and were relegated, even if only 4 points from the last safety slot (fierce rivals Lecce). They went down with Bologna, Reggiana and, possibly a small consolation, Foggia.
Lazio 1982-83
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie B | 38 | 14 | 18 | 6 | 44 |
Coppa Italia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
Total | 43 | 16 | 19 | 8 | 52 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
Giordano | 43 | 38 | 5 |
Vella | 42 | 38 | 4 |
Podavini | 39 | 34 | 5 |
D'Amico | 38 | 34 | 4 |
Manfredonia | 38 | 36 | 2 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
Giordano | 21 | 18 | 3 |
Vella | 5 | 5 | - |
D'Amico | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Manfredonia | 4 | 4 | - |
Ambu | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Let's talk about Leonardo Surro
Leonardo Surro was born in Avellino, on September 4, 1962.
Surro's youth career was spent with local club Ariano and then Avellino.
In 1981, at the age of 19 he was signed by Lazio. His time in Rome would prove to be the peak of his career. He played a total of 26 Serie B games and 2 in Coppa Italia for the Biancocelesti over two years. He actively contributed to Lazio’s promotion back to Serie A in 1983 with a goal against Bologna (1-1) and a winner against Bari (1-0).
When Lazio returned to the top flight he was not confirmed and he spent the next year at Siena in C1 (30 games with 11 goals) but "The Robur" were relegated. He then spent two years in Serie B with Catanzaro (34 games with 5 goals). With Catanzaro he is famous for scoring a hat-trick in a Calabrese derby against Cosenza. The Giallorossi fans a few years ago remembered his feat with a banner " Cosenza sogna, Surro segna" (Cosenza dreams, Surro scores).
His career then took him to Siracusa (1 year-6 goals), Rondinella (1 year-4 goals), Cavese (1 year-2 goals), Pro Livorno (1 year-2 goals) and finally Rossanese after which he retired.
After retiring he worked as a talent scout for Inter, general director of Pompei and later for the Avellino youth sector. He is currently President of A.S.D Leonardo Surro, a club founded in 1993 as F.C Ariano and in 2010 changed to its present name.
Surro was a forward. At 1.76 metres and 68 kilos he was an agile and dynamic player. He had an honest career in the Italian lower divisions. He is fondly remembered at Catanzaro but his peak was obviously at Lazio in the promotion year. Without his two goals worth two decisive points, who knows, Lazio's history may have been quite different.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1981-82 | 11 | 11 | - |
1982-83 | 18 (2) | 15 (2) | 3 |
Total | 29 (2) | 26 (2) | 3 |
Sources
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