Today we will talk about a player who never played for Lazio but has entered into Roman folklore due to a particular episode in 1981.
Maurizio Turone, known as Ramón, was born on October 27, 1948 in Varazze (Savona-Liguria).
He was a defender who started his career in 1968 with nearby Genoa in Serie B. He played four years with the "Grifone", finishing 6th, 20th (relegated), 1st (promoted) and 8th. He played 100 league games with 9 goals.
In 1972 he joined Milan where he stayed six seasons. With the Rossoneri he won a Cup Winners Cup (1973) and the Coppa Italia twice (1973 and 1977). He played 136 league games in Milan with 2 goals.
In 1978-79 he spent a season in Calabria with Catanzaro in Serie A. He played 17 league games and the "Regina del Sud" finished 9th and reached the semi-finals of Coppa Italia (Juventus 3-5 on aggregate)
In 1979 he joined Roma and stayed three seasons. The Giallorossi finished 6th, 2nd and 3rd. They won the Coppa Italia twice, in 1980 and 1981. Turone played 74 league games and scored 2 goals.
Turone however is an important and recurring name in Roman football, obviously especially on the Giallorosso side of the Tiber.
In the 1980-81 season, Roma under manager Nils Liedholm were going head-to-head with Juventus for the league title. On May 10, 1981 came the crunch match in Turin, Juventus were on 40 points and Roma on 39, with only three games to go.
It was an ugly game and Juventus were down to ten men when, in the 74th minute, Bruno Conti crossed into the area where Roberto Pruzzo headed on to Maurizio Turone whose diving header beat Dino Zoff. The goal would in all likelihood mean the Scudetto was on its way to Rome but unfortunately the linesman's flag was up. No goal, the match ended up goalless and two weeks later Juventus won the league title.
Nothing exceptional some might think. Football history is full of crucial disallowed goals. Not for the Romanisti. That goal came to represent the proof of the unfairness of Italian football in favour of the powerful northern clubs and Juventus in particular.
Even with technology it has never been proved that it was a legitimate goal but more than forty years later it is still talked about by the Roman media and fans. "Er gol de Turone era bono" (Turone's goal was good) has become a mantra on the other side of the Tiber.
There has been a film made about it, documentaries, books and special news editions. It has sparked a fierce rivalry with Juventus ever since, although realistically mainly felt by the Romanisti. It is a goal that will never be forgotten but has also helped the Giallorossi to play the victims for all these years.
It is a pity the Roman media never made much of a fuss when Lazio had similar episodes, for example Gianni Seghedoni's potential promotion goal in 1962 (referee claimed it went in through a hole in the net) and Christian Vieri's potential Scudetto winning goal against Milan in 1999 (unjustly disallowed for offside). It is only Turone's goal which has come to represent northern power on and off the field.
Turone, having guaranteed his name in Roman folklore, then spent the rest of his career with Bologna (A, 1982-83), Savona (C2, 1983-85) and Cairese near Savona (C2, 1985-86).
Turone retired at 37.
He was a solid, strong defender who had a good career, also winning silverware. He will however always be remembered for his disallowed goal in 1981. When asked about it he claims he is not bothered and never really thinks about it. The Romanisti however still lose sleep over it 43 years later.
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