October 13, 1974: Vicenza Lazio 1-2

Two on two

Second win of the season as Lazio win in Vicenza for the third year running

Also on this day: October 13, 2001: Lazio Atalanta 2-0. A lucky own goal and a Fernando Couto strike give Lazio flattering 2-0 win. Player of the day: Giuliano Giannichedda

The season so far

The previous season Lazio had won their historic first Scudetto. Led by manager Tommaso Maestrelli the Biancocelesti had beaten Foggia on May 12 to become Italian champions. The celebrations had gone on all summer in Rome and all over the region.

In the meantime, Italy had taken part in the World Cup in Germany. There had already been some controversy because Lazio as title holders had hoped and expected to have a few more players called up. Instead, only three were included and of those only Giorgio Chinaglia had got playing time. His campaign ended in a black cloud too as he openly criticised the manager Ferruccio Valcareggi's decision to substitute him in the game against Haiti, with eloquent hand gestures. The gesture itself was quite tame for modern standards and was not openly rude but clearly lacking respect. In Italy however there was an uproar and Chinaglia was a sort of scapegoat for Italy's fiasco. Lazio, already unpopular for having broken Juventus' dominance, were now whistled everywhere they went in their northern pre-season friendlies due to Chinaglia's antics.

More disappointing was Lazio not being able to represent Italy in the European Cup, due to a one-year ban after the previous year's Lazio vs Ipswich incidents (pitch invasion, brawls etc) in a UEFA Cup tie.

The summer market the squad had gone largely untouched. The main arrival was midfielder Roberto Badiani (Sampdoria) while leaving were midfielders Pierpaolo Manservisi (Mantova) and Ferruccio Mazzola (Sant' Angelo).

The league had started a week earlier and Lazio had won 2-1 at home against Cesena.

In August-September there had been the Coppa Italia to play. Lazio were in a group with Atalanta, Genoa, Pescara and Roma. Lazio had drawn two 0-0 away to Atalanta and 2-2 at home to Genoa and lost two, 1-2 away at Pescara and the derby 0-1. Lazio were therefore out of the cup but now it was back to Serie A.

Vicenza had finished 12th the previous season, under Uruguayan manager Héctor Puricelli, known in Italy as Ettore Puricelli. The "Lane" (Woollies) had lost both matches to Lazio 0-3. Top scorers were Oscar Damiani and Angelo Sormani with 5 league goals.

This season Puricelli was still head coach. The main new arrivals were midfielders Gianluigi Savoldi, Beppe's brother (Juventus - on loan) and Gian Paolo Galuppi (back from Como).

Leaving were forwards Ezio Vendrame (Napoli), Luciano Speggiorin, Walter's brother (Lucchese) and Oscar Damiani (Juventus).

Vicenza had a former Lazio player in their squad, goalkeeper Michelangelo Sulfaro (1969-71).

On their league debut on October 6 the Vicentini had drawn 0-0 away at Cagliari.

The Biancorossi were out of the Coppa Italia. They had won 1 (Ascoli 1-0 away), drawn 1(Brindisi 3-3 at home) and lost 2 (Novara 0-1 away and Inter 1-2 at home).

So, it was early days but Italian champions Lazio were expected to win in "La città del Palladio" today if they were serious about defending their title.

The match: Sunday, October 13, 1974, Stadio Romeo Menti, Vicenza

A sunny day in Vicenza but with a fresh wind blowing. The pitch was slightly heavy due to the previous days' rain. There were about 15,000 present at the old Menti ground.

Lazio were without defender Sergio Petrelli and played Luigi Polentes as full-back instead. Vicenza were missing defender/midfielder Giorgio Bernardis. The Vicenza fans used all their energy whistling and booing Giorgio Chinaglia and this would go on for the whole 90 minutes.

The hosts started strongly. In the first minute Emiliano Macchi weaved his way past several defenders but was then tackled into corner before he could shoot. In the 2nd minute Angelo Sormani had a low freekick saved by Felice Pulici and two minutes later "Felix" had to block a Gianluigi Savoldi effort.

Vicenza continued to attack and Pulici had to make further saves on Alessandro Vitali in the 7th minute and a Sormani freekick in the 13th.

At this point the home side's aggressiveness subsided and Lazio started to have more control.

In the 27th minute Franco Nanni shaved the post and a minute later a Chinaglia shot was deflected for a corner. In the 29th minute Lazio scored. Mario Frustalupi dispossessed Macchi and the ball reached Nanni on the right, Bombardino this time used precision more than power as he scooped a left footer over the keeper. Vicenza 0 Lazio 1.

Vicenza responded two minutes later but Pino Wilson put his body in front of a dangerous Savoldi strike and blocked the danger. Halftime Vicenza 0 Lazio 1.

Lazio had struggled initially but grown into the game. The game however was balanced and hard-fought and far from over.

For the second half Puricelli replaced defender Fabrizio Gorin with Mario Perego. As at the start of the first 45 minutes the "Lane" pushed forward but it was Lazio who scored again. Frustalupi touched a freekick to Chinaglia who blasted a low shot into the corner of the net. The crowd went silent for a few seconds, realising public enemy number one had scored, but then started off relentlessly targeting "Long John" again.

Lazio seemed to be cruising at this point but ten minutes later Vicenza were back in the game. A dubious freekick was awarded to the hosts just outside the area and Giuseppe Longoni stepped up and beat Pulici. Vicenza 1 Lazio 2.

In the 62nd minute the home crowd were seething when the referee denied them a penalty. On a Longoni bicycle kick the ball hit Nanni's hand but Menicucci deemed it involuntary (those were the days when you did not have to amputate your arms to play in defence).

In the 65th minute Lazio too had a penalty appeal. Roberto Badiani was fouled by Attilio Berti and then keeper Adriano Bardin crashed into him too. The linesmen waved his flag for a non-existent offside while Menicucci pointed to the corner flag.

In the 74th minute went close to an equaliser. Sormani teed up Macchi but his shot caressed the outside of the post and went wide.

In the 76th minute Lazio had the chance to close the game but, from Gigi Martini cross, Renzo Garlaschelli's header did not hit the target from a favourable position.

The last part of the game saw the teams tire and despite some pressure by Vicenza the score line did not change again. Final score Vicenza 1 Lazio 2.

Lazio had been far less dominant than in the previous two winning games in Vicenza (another 2-1 and 3-0) but still came away with the two points. A hard-fought win which kept Lazio top of the table, in the company of Fiorentina.

Vicenza were later fined for their fans' treatment of Chinaglia.

Who played for Vicenza

Bardin, Berti, Longoni, Gorin II (46' Perego), Ferrante, Berni, Macchi, Savoldi II, Sormani, Faloppa, Vitali

Substitutes: Sulfaro, Galuppi

Manager: Puricelli

Who played for Lazio

Pulici, Polentes, Martini, Wilson, Oddi, Nanni, Garlaschelli, Re Cecconi, Chinaglia, Frustalupi, Badiani

Substitutes: Moriggi, Inselvini, D'Amico

Manager: Maestrelli

Referee: Menicucci

Goals: 29' Nanni, 48' Chinaglia, 58' Longoni

What happened next

In Serie A Lazio continued well, a week later they beat Sampdoria 3-0 at home for their third consecutive win. They then slowed down but in January beat Juventus 1-0 and were consistently 2nd for much of the year but ultimately did not repeat the previous triumphant season despite still challenging for the Scudetto until March. Then a derby defeat and Tommaso Maestrelli having to take a pause due to a diagnosis of cancer definitely ended their hopes. The players with tears in their eyes then crumbled 1-5 at home to Torino. In the end Lazio finished 4th and qualified for the UEFA Cup. For the last five games the "Maestro" was replaced on the bench by Bob Lovati. Top scorer was Giorgio Chinaglia with 14 league goals.

Vicenza ended up 14th and relegated. The Berici replaced manager Puricelli with Manlio Scopigno after 25 games but it was too late. In total Vicenza won 5, drew 11 and lost 14 (0-1 away to Lazio too). Top scorer was Alessandro Vitali with 8 goals (6 in A). Vicenza would be back in Serie A in 1977-78 with a surprise 2nd place finish but that's another story.

The Scudetto was won by Juventus for their 16th title. Vicenza went down with Ternana and Varese. Varese nor Ternana have ever made it back since.

Lazio 1974-75

Competition	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals scored
Serie A	30	14	9	7	34
Coppa Italia	4	-	2	2	3
Total	34	14	11	9	37

Top appearances

Player	Total	Serie A	Coppa Italia
Oddi	34	30	4
Chinaglia	34	30	4
Wilson	34	30	4
Pulici	34	30	4

Top goal scorers

Player	Total	Serie A	Coppa Italia
Chinaglia	14	14	-
Garlaschelli	6	6	-
Martini	3	2	1

Let's talk about Franco Nanni

Franco Nanni is one of the heroes of the 1974 Lazio scudetto. A great dynamic midfielder whose main characteristic was his cracking shot from outside the penalty box which earned him the nickname “bombardino” (little bomber). He was called "Franchino" too by family and teammates and even "mostro" by the captain Pino Wilson but it was not clear if this referred to his football skills or his physical appearance.

Nanni was born in Pisa on May 11, 1948. He was the sixth of seven children from a working-class family. He began his footballing career in the youth teams of Pisa. In 1964 he joined the Juventus youth set up while he was already working as a delivery boy for a chemist in Pisa. He stayed four years in Turin and in the last joined the first team but never made his debut. He then debuted professionally with Trapani in Serie C in 1968, playing 26 league games with 4 goals.

In November 1969 he signed for Lazio. In the early years with the Biancocelesti he struggled to find space in the team. He was very timid so basically ignored by manager Juan Carlos Lorenzo. But he did play in the reserve team championship, which Lazio won in the 1970-71 season, and the fans repeatedly asked for him to play for the A team. This finally happened with the arrival of Tommaso Maestrelli in 1971-72 and he was a fundamental protagonist of Lazio’s return to Serie A. In the promotion year he played 27 games.

His real breakthrough came on November 12, 1972, when his cracking shot from 30 metres gave Lazio a win in the derby. From then on "Little Bomber" would be in all Lazio fans' hearts forever. Maestrelli gave him the task of man marking the opponents’ playmaker and he did so brilliantly. He also had technical quality and could play the ball, similarly to Nello Governato.

The following year was a difficult one with the onset of Maestrelli's illness and Lazio finished 4th. Nanni played 22 league games. It was also a pity Lazio never got to play the European Cup as Italian Champions due to the incidents on and off the field against Ipswich Town the previous season (Lazio were banned for a year by UEFA).

In the summer of 1975, Lazio unexpectedly sold him to Bologna (Oddi and Frustalupi were also sold to Cesena). He stayed three years with the Rossoblu, playing 68 league games with 8 goals (one a winner in 1978 against Lazio in Rome). He then moved to Brescia in Serie B for a season. He ended his career in Serie D with Viterbese where he played four seasons.

He played 89 games for Lazio in Serie A, 26 in Serie B, 25 in Coppa Italia, four in the UEFA Cup and two in the Intercities Fairs Cup. He scored 15 goals for the Biancocelesti, 12 in Serie A and 3 in Coppa Italia. He won a Scudetto and an Alps Cup.

Once he quit football he became a manager and was head coach for a few minor teams before in 1985 Chinaglia called him up and he started working as assistant coach for the youth teams, scout and later as manager of the Lazio Women team as well. He collaborated with the club for 12 years.

He has since kept busy with minor local teams and in 2014 he opened the Accademia Calcio Franco Nanni very near the former Lazio training facilities at Tor di Quinto.

Nanni still lives near the Olimpico and is still very much part of the Lazio family. His name and his derby goal are engraved in stone in Lazio history.

Lazio Career

Season	Total games (goals)	Serie A	Serie B	Coppa Italia	UEFA Cup	Fairs Cup	Anglo-Italian Cup	Cup of the Alps
1969-70	11	6		-	-	-	2	3
1970-71	7 (1)	1 (1)		2	-	2	-	2
1971-72	35 (3)		26	9 (3)	-	-	-	-
1972-73	35 (7)	30 (7)	-	3	-	-	2	-
1973-74	42 (2)	30 (2)	-	8	4	-	-
1974-75	25 (2)	22 (2)	-	3	-	-	-
Total	155 (15)	89 (12)	26	25 (3)	4	2	4	5

Lazio career

Season	Total games (goals)	Serie A	Serie B	Coppa Italia	UEFA Cup
1971-72	6 (1)	-	1	5 (1)	-
1973-74	33 (2)	27 (2)	-	6	3
1974-75	30 (1)	26	-	4 (1)	-
1975-76	31 (5)	22 (4)	-	8 (1)	1
1976-77	21 (3)	17 (2)	-	4 (1)	-
1977-78	14 (3)	9 (2)	-	2 (1)	3
1978-79	28 (3)	25 (2)	-	3 (1)	-
1979-80	33 (5)	28 (4)	-	5 (1)	-
1981-82	33 (10)	-	30 (10)	3	-
1982-83	38 (5)	-	34 (4)	4 (1)	-
1983-84	32 (8)	25 (7)	-	5 (1)	-
1984-85	25 (3)	22 (2)	-	3 (1)	-
1985-86	11 (2)	-	10 (1)	1 (1)	-
Total	338 (51)	201 (25)	75 (15)	55 (11)	7