The greatest match ever
Lazio demolish Juventus in an epic match
Also on this day: October 2 1994: Fiorentina Lazio 1-1. In a man less for most of the match, 1-0 down on the hour mark, and seemingly doomed, Lazio thank Bergodi for 94th minute equaliser. Lazio Hero of the day: Cristiano Bergodi
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had done very well arriving fifth and obtaining a UEFA Cup qualification thanks to youngsters Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia and Andrea Agostinelli managed by Luis Vinicio.
There was a lot of expectation this year and it was hoped that the team could repeat itself. There was not a lot of money hence the transfers were limited to the signing of Sergio Clerici from Bologna and Luigi Boccolini from Catanzaro. Fernando Viola was loaned to Bologna and Maurizio Montesi to Avellino whilst Renzo Rossi signed for Catanzaro.
Lazio made a false start. They lost their first Coppa Italia match against Serie B team Varese. It had been a dismal performance. Perhaps part of the problem had been the negotiations over the players' prize money for the UEFA Cup qualification. The team wanted 80 million lire, the club offered 20. But this was no excuse. They then beat Monza at home and lost at Bologna and were virtually out. The win against Ternana in their final game could have allowed them to top their group but only thanks to a series of lucky circumstances which did not occur since Monza beat Bologna in their final match and came top.
Lazio did not start exceptionally well in Serie A either, in the first three games they had lost one and drawn two.
In the UEFA Cup first round they had lost away to Boavista 1-0, but thrashed them 5-0 at home. The negative thing was that Vincenzo D’Amico suffered a serious injury and would be out of action for some time.
Next up Juventus!!!
The match: Sunday, October 2, 1977, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Minute number 3. Totò Lopez passed to Renzo Garlaschelli at the centre of the penalty area, big whack, Lazio ahead.
This was perfect for Lazio and disastrous for Juventus. The Biancocelesti were able to take a long breather and concentrate on defence whereas the Bianconeri had to get organised and go on the attack. As a consequence, nothing else happened in the first 45 minutes, with an exception of a Lopez attempt parried by Dino Zoff in the 28th minute, as Lazio managed to control play easily.
In the second half the Biancocelesti were immediately dangerous with Lopez who shot at Zoff in the 49th minute and 360 seconds later welcome to the Giordano show part one. Ciccio Cordova to Pietro Ghedin on the left, perfect cross and wonderful acrobatic volley from the Lazio centre forward. Lazio 2 Juventus 0.
Juventus finally began to be dangerous and a Giuseppe Furino shot shaved the post. In the 66th minute a Roberto Bettega header was parried by Claudio Garella. Ball back to Lazio, another Ghedin cross, Francesco Morini missed the ball that arrived to Giordano. Welcome to the show part two. Lob over Morini, Zoff advanced, lob over Zoff. Lazio 3 Juventus 0. One of the most spectacular goals seen at the Olimpico.
Juve had nothing more to lose but were only dangerous in the dying minutes when Bettega missed a goal from a few metres.
Spectacular match from Lazio. The crowd was so wild with excitement that the noise they made was used for the Biancocelesti’s famous anthem “So’ già du’ ore”.
Who played for Lazio
Garella, Ammoniaci, Ghedin, Wilson, Manfredonia, Cordova, Garlaschelli, Agostinelli, Giordano, Lopez, Badiani
Manager: Vinicio
Who played for Juventus
Zoff, Cuccureddu, Gentile, Furino, Morini, Scirea, Causio, Tardelli, Boninsegna (53' Virdis), Benetti, Bettega
Substitutes: Alessandrelli, Cabrini
Manager: Trapattoni
Referee: Michelotti
Goals: 3’ Garlaschelli, 55’ Giordano, 67’ Giordano
What happened next
The rest of the season was pretty dismal. Where was the team that had played so well last season? If one asked a fan at that time, he/she would have probably said it was all Claudio Garella’s fault. Garella was the keeper chosen to substitute fan favourite and Lazio hero Felice Pulici. The new goalkeeper, who would later win the scudetto both with Verona and Napoli, had slippery hands, was very young and prone to making mistakes, but Vinicio thought very highly of him. Pulici was sold to Monza in the autumn transfer session. (Luigi Polentes also left in this transfer window, he was sold to Modena).
But the truth was that the players had probably had enough of the Brazilian manager and the chaos in the changing rooms was obvious looking at the performances on the pitch.
In the UEFA Cup Lazio were knocked out by Lens in the second round.
After having beaten Milan in January, Lazio only earned two points in the subsequent 5 games. Not good. Lazio then beat Inter but four games and one point later Vinicio was sacked. The Biancocelesti were in a dangerous position and there was the need for somebody to pick the team up, regroup, and sail them to safer harbours. That man was Bob Lovati and despite losing the first match to Napoli, Lazio managed to win three games and get out of trouble.
At the end of May Lazio played the Intertoto Cup in a group made up of Nantes, Sparta Rotterdam and Beerschot. Lazio came second in their group on goal difference.
The Intertoto was a football competition that ran from 1961 until 2008. The idea was to create a sort of European League which could allow minor teams that had not won any national trophy or were not playing the Inter City Fairs Cup to play European games. It was managed by a Swiss betting company until 1995 when UEFA took over. Initially there was a single champion, but from 1967 the competition ended with group winners receiving cash prizes. From 1995 it became a UEFA CUP pre-qualification for teams that had not qualified.
Giuseppe Wilson was the player with most appearances in the season (38), Giordano the top goal scorer (19).
Lazio 1977-78
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 31 |
Coppa Italia | 4 | 2 | - | 2 | 7 |
UEFA Cup | 4 | 2 | - | 2 | 7 |
Intertoto Cup | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
Total | 44 | 16 | 11 | 17 | 58 |
Top five appearancs
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Uefa Cup | Intertoto Cup |
Agostinelli | 42 | 29 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Giordano | 42 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
Garella | 41 | 29 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Lopez | 41 | 28 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
Cordova | 39 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
Badiani | 39 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Top goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Uefa Cup | Intertoto Cup |
Giordano | 27 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
Garlaschelli | 12 | 7 | - | 2 | 3 |
D'Amico | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
Let's talk about Giuseppe Avagliano
Giuseppe Avagliano was born in Capitello di Ispani, near Salerno, on January 29, 1953.
He arrived at Lazio very young from Monopoli and played in the youth team. In 1973-74 he became third goalkeeper and made a number of appearances on the bench during the course of the season. On May 12, 1974, due to an injury, he substituted second goalkeeper Avelino Moriggi on the bench, and was one of the witnesses of Lazio’s first scudetto.
In 1974-75 he was loaned to Como in Serie B as second goalkeeper. He never played but Como were promoted to Serie A. In 1975 he was loaned to Siracusa in Serie C and made 14 appearances. Third goalkeeper for the Biancocelesti in 1976-77, he made one appearance in the following season debuting in Serie A against Atalanta. In 1978-79 he was loaned to Modena in Serie C1 making 24 league appearances.
In 1979 he was back in Rome as second goalkeeper behind Massimo Cacciatori. When the latter was arrested at Pescara for alleged match fixing, it seemed that it was time for him to take on the major role, but manager Bob Lovati chose Riccardo Budoni instead. Once Lazio were out of trouble, Avagliano played the last two games.
In 1980 he signed for Ragusa in Serie C2 but did not play much. He did better in the subsequent season at Savoia, in the same tier, with 27 appearances. His last seasons in active football were with Marsala, Sulmona and Penne.
Avagliano was the classic number 12 of the 1970s, one who would always be on the bench and perhaps have a few occasions in which to shine. He made a total of three appearances for Lazio, all of them defeats.
Lazio Career
Season | Total Serie A Appearances |
1977-78 | 1 |
2 | |
Total | 3 |
Sources
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