Looking good
The Biancocelesti crush Bologna. The new course seems to be going in the right direction.
Also on this day: October 24, 1993: Roma Lazio 1-1. For the seventh time in a row the derby ends in a draw. Player of the day: Fabrizio Di Mauro
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth. Needing at least a draw in the last match of the season at Como, the Biancocelesti fell behind 2-0 after just 15 minutes. But then two goals, by Bruno Giordano and Roberto Badiani, gave them the vital point.
Lazio had started with Giulio Corsini as manager but following problems with the team, and Giorgio Chinaglia in particular, he was sacked and replaced by Tommaso Maestrelli. The maestro had been diagnosed with cancer in 1975, but apparently a new treatment had cured him and he was able to go back to his job. He however got worse towards the end of the season so President Umberto Lenzini was forced to make a change. Maestrelli stayed as Technical Director.
Brazilian Luis Vinicio was chosen. Vinicio had been manager at Napoli and he was the first in Italy to play the Dutch "Zona" (new deal) style of football, thus breaking away from the traditional man to man marking. Especially from his second year, with the arrival of defender Tarcisio Burgnich, Vinicio played the "total football" way. A revolution in Italy.
Lenzini, Maestrelli and Vinicio decided to avoid risks and to choose players that could adapt to the new style of play. In came second goalkeeper Claudio Garella (Novara), defender Dario Pighin (Palermo) and forward Renzo Rossi (Como). Also returning was midfielder Fernando Viola from his loan to Cagliari.
Lazio also scored a coup and signed the Roma captain Ciccio Cordova. Cordova in 1972 became Roma captain and was one of the more popular players, but he was linked to the past president Alvaro Marchini (he had married Marchini’s daughter Simona) and never got on with the new one, Gaetano Anzalone. After a disappointing 1975-76 season, Anzalone decided to get rid of the old players and start from scratch with a new, younger and more motivated team. Cordova was up for sale after 285 games for the Giallorossi in nine years. Anzalone sold him to Verona without saying anything to the player during the negotiations. Ciccio, heartbroken, felt betrayed by the club he supported and broke his contract with Rome thus becoming a free agent.
Nobody was interested in signing him and he risked having to quit football at 32. He really wanted to stay in Rome, so when Lazio knocked at his door, he took the opportunity and signed for the Biancocelesti. With this move he continued to play football, in the city he loved, and could be a thorn in Anzalone’s side. Perfect. Lazio had been looking for a playmaker ever since they disastrously sold Mario Frustalupi and Cordova was their ideal player. Not everybody at Lazio was happy, especially Luciano Re Cecconi, but the fans accepted him immediately.
In Coppa Italia Lazio had lost the first two games against Atalanta and Milan so were already out at a very early stage. They then won the next two games and arrived third.
In Serie A, so far they had lost 3-2 at home to Juventus then won in Florence. Today was the third match of the season.
The match: Sunday, October 24, 1976, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio were absolutely brilliant in the first minutes of the game and after only four went ahead. Roberto Badiani from the right crossed into the box and Gigi Martini on the other side headed the ball down under the goalkeeper's legs for Lazio’s first goal of the day.
Martini was the main change in the squad compared to the first games and he was devastating. But after 20 minutes Lazio were forced to a change as Luciano Re Cecconi went off injured. Pietro Ghedin came in as left back and Martini was moved further forward. This created a little bit of a stalemate in the Biancocelesti’s game as it took a while to get their bearings straight.
But in the second half it was an onslaught. In the 50th minute Ghedin crossed from the left, Renzo Garlaschelli headed the ball towards the goal, out by a whisker. In the 63rd minute Vincenzo D’Amico went forward looking for a way to give the ball to the forwards. Badiani, silently, moved next to him on the left and went forward. Vincenzino gave him the ball and the hero of last year’s final match at Como beat Franco Mancini with a clinical shot.
In the 67th minute a Bruno Giordano freekick was brilliantly saved by the Bologna keeper. Two minutes later Martini on the right passed to Garlaschelli, who tried a shot parried by Mancini, on a second attempt Mancini was again in the way. In the 90th minute D’Amico on the right, despite being injured, dribbled past a Bologna defender and scored Lazio’s third.
Spectacular game from the Biancocelesti. A pity losing Re Cecconi and D’Amico through injury though.
Who played for Lazio
Pulici, Ammoniaci, Martini, Wilson, Manfredonia, Cordova, Garlaschelli, Re Cecconi (20’ Ghedin), Giordano, D’Amico, Badiani
Manager: Vinicio
Who played for Bologna
Mancini, Roversi, Cresci, Paris, Battisodo, Massimelli, Rampanti, Maselli, Clerici, Nanni (64' Chiodi), Grop
Substitutes: Adani, Valmassoi
Manager: Giagnoni
Referee: Ciacci
Goals: 4’ Martini, 63’ Badiani, 90’ D’Amico
What happened next
In the first six games the Biancocelesti had done well and were fourth. Vinicio had introduced a few young players to the squad: Bruno Giordano, who had played well the previous year in Serie A both with and in place of Giorgio Chinaglia, plus Lionello Manfredonia and Andrea Agostinelli.
On December 4 Maestrelli died. The Biancoceleste derby win was the last present his boys were able to give him. Furthermore, on January 18 Luciano Re Cecconi was shot by a jeweller as he walked into his shop. He was only 28 years of age.
Despite all this the season was a great one on the pitch and Lazio surprised everybody by arriving fifth and qualifying for the UEFA Cup. A young team with experienced players too, a great cocktail that worked well.
Three players had the most appearances this season: Badiani, Cordova and Pulici (34). Top scorer was Giordano with 13 goals overall.
Lazio 1976-77
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 34 |
Coppa Italia | 4 | 2 | - | 2 | 8 |
Total | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 42 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Cordova | 34 | 30 | 4 |
Badiani | 34 | 30 | 4 |
Pulici | 34 | 30 | 4 |
Ammoniaci | 33 | 29 | 4 |
Wilson | 33 | 29 | 4 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Giordano | 13 | 10 | 3 |
Garlaschelli | 5 | 5 | - |
Rossi | 4 | 4 | - |
Martini | 3 | 3 | - |
Cordova | 3 | 2 | 1 |
D'Amico | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Let's talk about Roberto Badiani
Roberto Badiani was born in Prato, near Florence, on October 9, 1949. He started his youth career with Club Sportivo Firenze and in 1968-69 played for Sangiovannese in Serie D. A year later he moved up to Serie B and played two seasons at Livorno. In November 1971 he signed for Mantova in Serie A. The team was relegated to Serie B and Badiani moved to Genoa to play for Sampdoria. He played fairly regularly there and attracted the attention of Lazio who signed him for the 1974-75 season. He was the only signing of that year for the club.
Badiani suffered from the strong personalities in the team and was often the victim of pranks by his teammates. But he was fundamental at Como in 1976, when he scored the equaliser that allowed Lazio to stay in Serie A. He played fairly regularly for four years. In his last year he played less and at the end of the season he was loaned to Napoli.
At Napoli he hardly ever played and after a year he signed for Pistoiese in Serie A, again on loan. Despite the relegation, he became a hero for the Tuscan team when he scored the winning goal against Fiorentina away.
He returned to Lazio in 1981-82 and a year later helped the Biancocelesti to promotion in Serie A.
His last year of professional football came in the 1983-84 season with Vigor Senigallia in Serie C2.
After he quit football he went to work for the family business together with his brother-in-law, another former Lazio player, Walter Speggiorin.
He appeared in 226 games for Lazio and scored 7 goals. He was a good midfield player, one of those players that can be defined as a runner. He also played on the wing a few times.
One of Badiani’s characteristics was that when he scored, which did not happen very often, he usually went beserk!!!
Lazio career
Seasons | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup | Intertoto Cup |
1974-75 | 33 | 29 | - | 4 | - | - |
1975-76 | 43 (2) | 30 (2) | - | 10 | 3 | - |
1976-77 | 34 (2) | 30 (1) | - | 4 (1) | - | - |
1977-78 | 39 (1) | 25 | - | 4 | 4 | 6 (1) |
1978-79 | 18 | 13 | - | 5 | - | - |
1981-82 | 33 (1) | - | 31 (1) | 2 | - | - |
1982-83 | 26 (1) | - | 24 (1) | 2 | - | - |
Total | 226 (7) | 127 (3) | 55 (2) | 31 (1) | 7 | 6 (1) |
Sources
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