Relegation fears diminish
With a fundamental win against Foggia, Lazio leave the relegation zone
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had done rather well. Coming back from the hell of two years in Serie B they had arrived eighth under manager Juan Carlos Lorenzo. The Argentinian was offered a contract renewal despite the club not having much money. He had agreed and given his word, but in a typical coup de theatre, he signed for Roma instead who offered him a large advance. Umberto Mannocci was the new head coach.
The terrible financial situation did not allow much as far as summer transfers were concerned. The club had to say goodbye to Massimo Giacomini (Genoa), Juan Carlo Morrone (Fiorentina), Egidio Fumagalli (Frosinone), Graziano Landoni (Atalanta), Mario Maraschi (Bologna) and Orlando Rozzoni (loan to Catania). The newcomers were midfielders Giampiero Vitali (Triestina), Can Bartu (Fiorentina), Eugenio Fascetti (Messina) and Kurt Christensen (Atalanta) and forwards Gianfranco Petris (Fiorentina), Giampaolo Piaceri (Genoa) and Antonio Renna (Bologna).
The season had opened with the first round of the Coppa Italia in early September and Lazio had won at Trani 3-0. In the second round later on in the month they faced Napoli. The match ended 0-0 and was also goalless after extra time. In those days there was no penalty shootout but a flip of the coin and the Biancocelesti lost the toss.
The first half of the season had not been exceptional. Lazio were 15th with a four-point cushion over the relegation zone. They had won four (Varese, Cagliari, Mantova and Messina) all at home. They drew the derby and got a good point in Turin against Juventus.
In the first 11 matches of the second half of the season, Lazio had won just once, at Varese. They were third from last and would be relegated if the campionato ended now. But then a win at home against Sampdoria in the game the previous week took them out of the relegation zone. They really needed to win today to continue the positive trend. There were only four games to the end of the season.
The match: Sunday, May 16, 1965, Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Manager Umberto Mannocci decided to use Vincenzo Gasperi in place of suspended Paolo Carosi and Giampaolo Piaceri was preferred to Alberto Mari.
Lazio started strongly and in the 16th minute opened the score. Corner taken by Can Bartu, low cross in the box, ball was missed by Vito D’Amato but not by Gasperi who with a low left foot shot put the ball in the back of the net.
Around the half hour, first the Foggia goalkeeper parried an Antonio Renna missile with his fist and then anticipated a possible tap-in by Piaceri. A minute later D’Amato could have made it two but his shot went too high. In the 36th minute, a handball in the box by Vasco Tagliavini. Penalty. Bartu took the spot kick but Giuseppe Moschioni saved. But he had left his goal line too early and the referee ordered to re-take it. This time Renna took the responsibility, Lazio 2 Foggia 0.
In the second half the Satanelli tried to reduce the deficit but Lazio parked the bus in front of the goal and went on the counter attack. In the 59th minute Bartu with a splendid volley shaved the post and a little later Moschioni saved a D’Amato attempt. In the 77th minute Idilio Cei made his first save of the day on a close-range Paolo Lazzotti shot. Foggia managed to score one minute from the end with Dante Michelli.
The match ended with a fight between the players and the police had to intervene to separate them.
Good win for the Biancocelesti who now had a point lead over Genoa and the relegation zone.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Mannocci
Who played for Indesit Foggia
Moschioni, Valadè, Micelli, Tagliavini, Rinaldi, Micheli, A.Favalli, Lazzotti, Nocera, Maioli, Patino
Manager: Pugliese
Referee: Campanati
Goals: 16’ Gasperi, 36’ Renna (pen), 89’ Micelli
What happened next
In the next match Lazio won at Mantova and a point against Atalanta in the penultimate game was enough to allow the Biancocelesti to avoid relegation. They finished 14th.
The player with the most appearances was Pierluigi Pagni (35), top scorers were Nello Governato and Renna with a meagre 5 goals.
Lazio 1964-65
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 25 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 3 |
Total | 36 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 28 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Pagni | 35 | 33 | 2 |
Gasperi | 34 | 32 | 2 |
Zanetti | 34 | 32 | 2 |
Cei | 33 | 31 | 2 |
Governato | 32 | 30 | 2 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Governato | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Renna | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Mari | 3 | 3 | - |
Christiansen | 3 | 3 | - |
D'Amato | 3 | 3 | - |
Galli | 3 | 3 | - |
Let's talk about Giampiero Vitali
Giampiero Vitali, real name Giampietro, was born in Milan on August 1, 1940. He began his footballing career with Fanfulla in Serie C where he played for three years before moving to Trieste. After two very good years with Triestina, he signed for Lazio.
He played for two years in the capital. The Biancocelesti were not really that good but he was a strong defender and made 49 appearances with three goals.
In 1966 he signed for Fiorentina and a year later played for Brescia, both in Serie A. In 1968 he moved to Spal in Serie B and in 1969 he started a long career with Massese. In eight years, the club won one promotion to Serie B (1969-70) and he made 245 appearances with 25 goals. He was captain of the team and holds the record for the most games played for the club. He retired in 1977.
Once he stopped playing he immediately began a career as manager for Empoli. After a brief stint with Pisa (he was sacked despite leading the Serie C1 Group B), he coached Lucchese for another couple of years before returning to Empoli in 1981. The following year he led the Tuscans up to Serie B. This experience was followed by years with Perugia, Varese, Sambenedettese, Campobasso (where he lost the play off to remain in Serie B, beaten by Eugenio Fascetti’s Lazio), Parma (in place of Zdenek Zeman), Como, Empoli again, Taranto and Modena. These were followed by years with Palermo (twice), Pistoiese and Carrarese where he was also Technical Director. In 2000 he was in charge of the Italy Under 16’s for the Tuscany, Umbria and Marche regions.
He was a good manager, specialising in teams in the second and third tiers, where he spent most of his career. At Lazio he left good memories, despite the fact that the team was not exactly strong.
He died in Milan on May 20, 2001.
Lazio Playing Career
Season | Appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1964-65 | 12 | 12 | - |
1965-66 | 37 (3) | 34 (2) | 3 (1) |
Total | 49 (3) | 46 (2) | 3 (1) |
Sources
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