Lucky Lazio
The Biancocelesti beat Verona thanks to a Fortunato goal
Also on this day: October 22, 1961: Lazio Simmenthal Monza 4-0. Biancocelesti make mincemeat of Monza. Player of the day: Dimitri Pinti
The season so far
The previous season had been a disaster and Lazio had dropped into Serie B for the second time in their history. Following the World Cup elimination of 1966 by North Korea, the Italia federation had decided to reduce the number of Serie A teams to 16 hence for the 1966-67 season four teams would be relegated. With one game to go, Spal, Vicenza and Lazio had 27 points and Brescia 28. Foggia, Venezia and Lecco had already been mathematically relegated so there was one place left. Final games: Juventus-Lazio, Brescia-Cagliari, Vicenza-Bologna and Spal-Venezia.
At the end of the first half Vicenza and Lazio were 0-0, Spal and Brescia were losing. There was still hope, but in the second half Lazio collapsed and Spal turned the game around. The Biancocelesti were relegated by one point.
Maino Neri, who had taken the place of Umberto Mannocchi earlier the previous season, was not confirmed as manager and in came Renato Gei. New arrivals were goalkeeper Rosario Di Vincenzo (Potenza), Pierluigi Ronzon (Napoli), Piero Cucchi (Varese), Nello Governato back from his loan to Vicenza, Costantino Fava (Treviso) and Giuliano Fortunato (Milan). Leaving Lazio were Piero Dotti and Vito D’Amato, both to Inter, Can Bartu (Fenerbahce), Enrico Burlando (Varese) and Roberto Gori (Livorno). In the Autumn transfer window Carlo Soldo had arrived from Inter.
In Coppa Italia Lazio had been eliminated by Reggina in the second round.
In Serie B it was early stages and the Biancocelesti still had to find their rhythm. So far, they had won 2, drawn 2 and lost 2.
The match: Sunday, October 22, 1967, Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Not an easy game for Lazio as Verona so far had never lost. A slow start but the Biancocelesti were dangerous almost immediately with Giancarlo Morrone who managed to anticipate Sergio Bertola but his header went over the crossbar. In the 12th minute Lazio scored. Giuliano Fortunato intercepted a pass between Sergio Petrelli and Gianni Tanello. Once at the limit of the box he sent a cracking shot that beat the keeper.
Verona got organised and started to create chances. In the 16th minute Italo Bonatti, thanks to a Paolo Nuti assist, found himself unmarked in front of Rosario Di Vincenzo but shot at the keeper’s knees. In the 23rd minute Petrelli charged off and once inside the box instead of shooting gave the ball to Nuti for the simplest of goals. However, the Verona forward fumbled and allowed Di Vincenzo to dispossess him. In the 38th minute Piero Cucchi tried a shot which shaved the crossbar.
In the second half Elio Rinero had a chance in the 55th minute, but his close-range shot went out. In the 62nd minute Alberto Battistoni for a brutal foul on Morrone was shown the red card. In the 71st minute splendid ball from Nuti to Sergio Maddè who with an open goal kicked the ball wide. In the 84th Morrone got a second yellow card and was sent to the changing rooms early. Verona tried a last-ditch forcing but the Lazio defence held.
A good win for Lazio, Verona though wasted numerous chances
Who played for Lazio
Substitute: Cei
Manager: Gei
Who played for Verona
Substitute: De Min
Manager: Liedholm
Referee: Toselli
Goal: 12’ Fortunato
What happened next
In Serie B Lazio did not do very well. At the halfway point of the season, they were 12th, though only four points away from the promotion zone (there were 17 teams in just eight points). Since then, things had not improved. Gei was sacked in February and the team was handed over to Bob Lovati. With two games to the end of the season they had a four-point cushion over the relegation zone. They beat Foggia so got out of trouble. They ended 11th, ten points away from promotion but just two above relegation. With 12 0-0s in one season and no victories away from home, promotion was impossible.
The player with the most appearances was Ronzon with 42, and top scorer Fortunato with just 5 goals.
Lazio 1967-68
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie B | 40 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 33 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
Total | 42 | 11 | 18 | 13 | 34 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
Ronzon | 42 | 40 | 2 |
Fortunato | 36 | 34 | 2 |
Gioia | 36 | 34 | 2 |
Zanetti | 31 | 31 | - |
Governato | 31 | 30 | 1 |
Top Goal Scorers
Player | Serie B |
Fortunato | 5 |
Morrone | 4 |
Massa | 3 |
Let's talk about Giovanni Masiello
Giovanni Masiello was born in Rome on January 2 1946. He arrived at Lazio at 12 years of age, played for the Primavera in 1964-65, and for the reserves league in 1965-66 and 1966-67. Starting from the latter season he joined the first team and in two years made 15 appearances.
In 1968 he was loaned to Chieti in Serie C and a year later he signed for Mantova in Serie B where he managed to help them get promoted to Serie A in 1971. In 1972-73 he was at Torino though he rarely played. In 1973 he signed for Ternana and stayed four years, winning promotion to Serie A in 1974. He retired in 1977.
As he was a very promising defender, Masiello also played for the Italian junior team which participated in the 1967 Mediterranean Games. Italy won the gold medal. He made three appearances.
When he stopped playing, he was briefly manager for Ternana in 1985-86. He was also assistant at Narnese in 1991.
Masiello was a defender who had a good career over all in the minor leagues.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia | Mitropa Cup |
1966-67 | 8 | 6 | - | - | 2 |
1967-68 | 7 | - | 6 | 1 | - |
Total | 15 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
Sources
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