March 9, 1966: Milan-Lazio 0-2
- Dag Jenkins
- Mar 9
- 7 min read
Lazio dump Milan out of the title race
A solid Lazio end the Rossoneri's Scudetto hopes
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season had been pretty nondescript. Lazio had finished 14th and only been certain of survival after the penultimate game. The manager was Umberto Mannocci and top scorers were Nello Governato and Antonio Renna with 5 goals (4 in A).
This season Mannocci stayed on. There was not a lot of money so the transfers were few. Arriving were midfielder Giovanni Sacco (Juventus-on loan) plus forwards Nicola Ciccolo (Mantova) and a returning Orlando Rozzoni (Catania-end of loan). Leaving was midfielder Eugenio Fascetti (Messina, he would be back in 1986 as manager).
So far Lazio had played 23 games. The Biancocelesti had started the season with a 0-0 home draw against today's opposition and then won 5 (including derby 1-0), drawn 10 (including second derby 0-0) and lost 7. Lazio were currently 13th, on 22 points and only six from the last relegation slot (Catania on 16).
In Coppa Italia they had been eliminated in the 3rd round in December by Catanzaro 3-1 away. In the first two rounds Lazio had got the better of Alessandria 3-1 and Venezia 1-0, both away.
Milan had finished 2nd the previous season under Swedish manager Nils Liedholm. Top scorer was Amarildo with 14 league goals.
This season the "Barone" Liedholm was still on the bench and the Rossoneri had been reasonably active on the summer transfer market.
The main new signings were: defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (Roma), midfielders Nevio Scala (Roma - back from loan) and Sergio Maddė (Alessandria) plus forwards Angelo Sormani (Sampdoria) and Angelillo (Roma).
The main departures were: midfielders Victor Benítez (Roma), Mario David (Sampdoria) plus forwards José Altafini (Napoli after 161 goals) and a young but future star Pierino Prati (Salernitana - on loan, he would be back).
The Rossoneri were currently 4th in the table on 30 points, six points behind leaders Inter. The Diavolo had won 11, drawn 8 (including derby 1-1) and lost 4 (including the most recent game 1-2 at home to Fiorentina). Liedholm, in bad health, had been replaced by Giovanni Catozzo.
It is important to note that today's game had originally been scheduled for January 23. It had been called off in the 54th minute due to thick fog with the score on 0-0. They tried again on February 2 but again the fog descended and after 67 minutes it was abandoned with Milan leading 2-0. In those days the games were replayed from the beginning. Third time lucky today?
Milan were favourites and had to win to give themselves a chance of getting back in the title race.
The match: Wednesday, March 9, 1966, Stadio San Siro, Milan
A Wednesday afternoon game which attracted about 35,000 spectators to San Siro.
Lazio had no injury worries while Milan were without defenders Karl-Heinz Schnellinger and Giovanni Trapattoni plus midfielder Giovanni Lodetti.
Lazio started better than the hosts and Vito D'Amato immediately had a thundering effort saved with some difficulty by debutant Luigi Balzarini.
Milan reacted with a fantastic Amarildo bicycle kick but Idilio Cei was well placed.
Cei then had no problems saving efforts by future Lazio Giuliano Fortunato and Angelo Sormani.
On the 24th minute Lazio scored. Giovanni Sacco from midfield teed up Nello Governato who raced between Gilberto Noletti and Cesare Maldini and fired an unstoppable shot past Balzarini. Milan 0 Lazio 1.
Milan attacked but without creating any particular threats.
In the 33rd minute Lazio went close but Nicola Ciccolo put a good assist by Paolo Carosi wide and then a few minutes later had a dangerous header saved by Balzarini. Ciccolo had two more chances before the break but first blasted over the bar and then lost the moment to shoot on an excellent Diego Zanetti pass. Halftime Milan 0 Lazio 1. A deserved lead so far.
The Rossoneri came on far more determined in the second half. After only two minutes Cei was miraculous on a Sormani attempt, despite only seeing the ball at the last moment.
A few minutes later an Amarildo powerful strike was headed away from near the goal line by Governato.
It looked as if an equaliser was coming instead it was Lazio who scored again. Ambrogio Pelegalli passed to Noletti on the vertex of his own area but the Milanese defender hesitated and was dispossessed by D'Amato who reached the by-line from where, instead of squaring to Ciccolo in the middle, he scored from a seemingly impossible angle. Milan 0 Lazio 2.
Milan now attacked head down while Lazio defended and waited for chances on the break.
In the 67th minute Amarildo looked certain to score but Governato cleared the line again.
In the 74th minute a similar thing happened but this time it was Zanetti who saved on the line from a Urano Benigni strike.
Milan were tired, Lazio defended impeccably and the game ended. Milan 0 Lazio 2.
A surprising but clear victory by Lazio. A rock steady defence and a superb goalkeeper, an excellent Governato in midfield and an always threatening D'Amato up front had resulted in a fantastic win.
The Milanisti were whistled off while the Laziali were applauded by their travelling fans. Amongst them was former president Andrea Ercoli who was so overjoyed he opened his wallet and signed a generous cheque to reward and thank the players.
Lazio were now on 24 points and moved up to a more respectable joint 8th place with Vicenza while Milan blew their chance to join the title race.
Who played for Milan
Balzarini, Pelagalli, Trebbi, Santin, Maldini, Noletti, Benigni, Rivera, Sormani, Amarildo, Fortunato
Substitutes: Barluzzi
Manager: Liedholm (Cattozzo on bench)
Who played for Lazio
Substitutes: Gori
Manager: Mannocci
Referee: Bernardis
Goals: 24' Governato, 51' D'Amato
What happened next
Lazio finished 12th, on 29 points, only two above the relegation zone. In the remaining ten games the Biancocelesti only won 1, drew 3 (including Juventus 0-0 away) and lost 6. Top scorer was Vito D'Amato with 7 league goals. Not a great season for Lazio apart from the derby win in October.
Milan finished 7th, on 38 points. In the next ten games they won 2, drew 4 and lost 4 (including derby 1-2). Top scorer was Angelo Sormani with 24 goals (21 in A).
In Coppa Italia Milan lost in the quarter finals to Fiorentina 1-3 at home.
In the Fairs Cup they were eliminated by Chelsea in the last 16 by the toss of a coin (after a 2-1 win each and a 1-1 draw in the decisive game).
All in all, a disappointing season for Milan. Things were not helped by a certain amount of turmoil at the top; on October 8 the president Felice Riva was arrested for bankruptcy and Federico Sordillo took over until April 19 when Luigi Carraro took charge. Unsettled times for the Rossoneri.
The league was won by Inter for their 10th Scudetto and first star (for every 10 titles) while going down were Varese, Catania and Sampdoria.
Let's talk about Roberto Gori
Roberto Gori was born in Piombino (Livorno) on June 19, 1938.
His first club as a youngster was Cinisia (Torino) and he then played for the first team between 1956 and 1958, making 30 appearances in Serie D.
In 1958 he moved to Piedmont and joined Biellese in Serie C. He stayed six seasons and the Lanieri finished 4th, 3rd, 2nd twice,4th and 15th. He made 158 league appearances.
In 1964 he signed for Lazio in Serie A. The manager was Umberto Mannocci and the Biancocelesti finished 14th. The main goalkeeper was Idilio Cei and Gori played 3 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.
In 1965-66 Mannocci stayed on and Lazio finished 12th. The highlight was beating Roma 1-0 and Milan 2-0 away. Cei was still first choice but Gori played 5 league games.
In 1966-67 Lazio were relegated. Mannocci started but was replaced by Maino Neri in early November. The best result was defeating Inter 1-0 at home. Gori played 3 league games.
In 1967 he left Lazio and joined Livorno in Serie B. He stayed five seasons in Leghorn with a 7th place, 11th, 9th, 14th and finally 18th with relegation. He played 104 league games. His managers included Leandro Remondini, Lazio legend Aldo Puccinelli, Costanzo Balleri and Domenico Rosati. He played with Lazio connections Paolo Franzoni (1973-75), Giuseppe Papadopulo (1969-72, 2004 as manager), Gigi Martini (1971-79), Roberto Badiani (1974-79, 1981-83) and Guido Onor (1968-69).
His last club was his hometown club of Piombino in 1972-73. The Topolini Nerazzurri were in Promozione Toscana (5th tier) and finished 5th. Gori only played 5 league games.
He then retired at 35 and went into coaching.
He started back at Biellese from 1977 to 1979 in Serie C. The Lanieri finished 8th and then 7th in the new C1 format.
In 1980 he joined Omegna (Verbano -Piedmont) in C2 and finished 12th.
He then had a year off but returned to Omegna for the 1982-83 season. The Lupi finished 10th.
In 1983 he joined Monza as assistant manager in Serie B. He stayed three seasons working with Guido Mazzetti, Alfredo Magni and former Lazio, Paolo Carosi. The Bagai finished 13th, 9th and 20th (relegated). There were some Lazio connections in the squad; Lorenzo Marronaro (1980-81), Marco Saltarelli (1982-83), Claudio Ambu (1982-83) and a young Gigi Casiraghi (1993-98).
Gori was a goalkeeper. His two main teams, where he played regularly, were Biellese and Livorno.
At Lazio he was bought as a backup keeper and that is what he was, reserve to Idilio Cei. Over three seasons however he did get the satisfaction of getting 11 league games.
Roberto Gori died on May 21, 2024, in Occhieppo Inferiore (Biella-Piedmont).
Lazio Career
Season | Total games | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1964-65 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
1965-66 | 5 | 5 | - |
1966-67 | 3 | 3 | - |
Total | 12 | 11 | 1 |
Sources
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