G & G duo sink Fiorentina
Goals by Garlaschelli and Giordano give Lazio a good win
Also on this day: September 23, 2015: Lazio Genoa 2-0. After eight consecutive defeats Lazio overcome "bête noir" with goals by Djordjevic and Anderson. Player of the day: Filip Djordjević
The season so far
Lazio had finished a respectable 8th the previous season, under Roberto "Bob" Lovati. Lazio had also won a derby after three years. Bruno Giordano had been top Serie A scorer with 19 goals and 21 in total.
This year Lovati had kept his place. There were some changes to the squad. The main new signings were: defender Filippo Citterio (Palermo), midfielders Maurizio Montesi (Avellino- back from loan), Vincenzo Zucchini (Pescara) and young forward Enrico Todesco (Como).
The players leaving were: defenders Paolo Ammoniaci (Palermo), Pietro Ghedin (Pescara-on loan), Scudetto legend Gigi Martini (Chicago Sting), Andrea Agostinelli (Napoli-on loan), midfielders Roberto Badiani (Napoli-on loan), Franco Cordova (Avellino), Massimo de Stefanis (Palermo) and forward Aldo Cantarutti (Pisa).
On paper it looked as if Lazio had not come out strengthened by the transfer market, far from it.
So far, the Biancocelesti had played one league game and drawn 0-0 away at Avellino. Today was their home debut.
In August and September Lazio had got through the first Coppa Italia group phase against Matera 5-0, Brescia 2-0, Pistoiese 2-1 and Udinese 0-0. They would now play Torino home and away in November and January in the quarter-finals.
Fiorentina had finished 7th the previous season, under manager Paolo Carosi. The Viola had beaten Lazio 3-0 at home but lost 0-4 in Rome. Top scorer was Ezio Sella with 10 goals (8 in A).
This season Carosi was still manager. The Florentines had not been active on the transfer market and had pretty much the same squad. On their debut Fiorentina had drawn 1-1 at home to Udinese.
In Coppa Italia the Viola were already out. In the group phase they won 2 (Verona and Como, both 1-0 at home), drew 1 (Ternana 0-0 away) and lost 1 (Avellino 1-3 away).
A difficult game to predict between two similar level teams today.
The match: Sunday, September 23, 1979, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Torrential rain fell on the capital all day and the pitch was heavy. About 35,000 fans turned up for Lazio's home league debut.
Before the game Bruno Giordano was given the "Chevron" award for being Serie A top scorer the previous season. Maurizio Montesi was also given an award, the "Enzo Petrucci" trophy as best Roman player from the youth sector.
Lazio had everyone available while Fiorentina could not choose defender Giovanni Guerrini or forward Claudio Desolati.
The game got under way in pouring rain.
In the 12th minute Lazio took the lead. Filippo Citterio burst down the wing, beat a defender, stumbled but regained his balance and crossed into the middle where the keeper dived but missed it and it bounced and reached Bruno Giordano on the far post who twisted his body and sent a low header back towards and into the goal. Lazio 1 Fiorentina 0.
Fiorentina had chances to equalise but a Dino Pagliari header went wide and one by Ezio Sella was excellently saved by Massimo Cacciatori. The game was balanced, Lazio had a central Vincenzo Zucchini shot blocked by Giovanni Galli and Pagliari had another header just out again. Halftime Lazio 1 Fiorentina 0.
In the second half Fiorentina pushed forward constantly but the best chances were for Lazio. Renzo Garlaschelli had a powerful shot saved and Zucchini fired wide from a favourable position after a clever back heel by Giordano.
Fiorentina forced Cacciatori to a flying save on a Giancarlo Antognoni shot and tried for an equaliser until the end.
In the 90th minute one of their last desperate attempts to get the ball into the area was intercepted by the Lazio defence. The ball reached Montesi who took it 30 metres forward and with a brilliant through pass with the outside of his foot set up Garlaschelli in front of goal, the forward took the ball on for a few metres and from edge of the area blasted a right foot into the roof of the net to Galli's left. Lazio 2 Fiorentina 0.
Lazio then scored again but Garlaschelli's close range header was disallowed for offside. Final score Lazio 2 Fiorentina 0.
An even game but the quality of Lazio's strikers had made the difference. For Fiorentina, Antognoni had confirmed to be by far their best player. Lazio were momentarily top of the table, albeit with another five teams.
Who played for Lazio
Cacciatori, Tassotti, Citterio, Wilson, Manfredonia, Zucchini, Garlaschelli, Montesi, Giordano, D'Amico (85' Lopez), Viola
Substitutes: Avagliano, Todesco
Manager: Lovati
Who played for Fiorentina
Galli, Lelj (63' Ferroni), Tendi, Galbiati, Zagano, Orlandini, Sacchetti, Restelli, Sella, Antognoni, Pagliari
Substitutes: Pellicanò, Ricciarelli
Manager: Carosi
Referee: Casarin
Goals: 12' Giordano, 90' Garlaschelli
What happened next
There were no signs after this good win but 1979-80 would turn out to be Lazio's "annus horribilis".
Firstly, just over a month later a Lazio fan, Vincenzo Paparelli, was killed inside the stadium before a local derby. A nautical flare was fired from the Roma end and, after having crossed the entire pitch, entered the Curva Nord tragically hitting 33- year-old and father of two Paparelli, in the eye. He died on the way to hospital. I came into the Curva soon after the event and hearing of the incident and sensing the inevitably sombre, tense atmosphere my father decided to take my brother and I home. A huge tragedy. The game went ahead to avoid further crowd trouble and ended in a 1-1 of convenience.
On the pitch things were not going too badly until another disaster struck. By March Lazio were having an average season despite beating Juventus but then, on March 23, four Lazio players were arrested after a defeat at Pescara. The players were Giordano, Manfredonia, Pino Wilson and Cacciatori and they were accused of being involved in the "Totonero" (betting scandal). Lazio managed to avoid relegation thanks to Vincenzo D'Amico leading a team full of youth players to victory over Catanzaro but then Lazio were punished for their players' alleged involvement in the scandal and relegated anyway, along with Milan. Lazio won 5, drew 15 and lost 10. Top scorer was Giordano with 12 goals (9 in A)
In Coppa Italia Lazio were eliminated in the quarters by Torino on penalties.
Giordano and Manfredonia would not play again until 1982 and only because of the World Cup winning armistice. Lazio would spend three years in the purgatory of Serie B and only get promoted in 1982-83 (with the help of Giordano and Manfredonia).
Fiorentina improved and finished 6th. The Gigliati won 11 (including Juventus 2-1), drew 11 (including Lazio 0-0) and lost 8. Top scorer was Antognoni with 9 goals (8 in A).
Inter won the Scudetto for the 12th time. Lazio went down with Milan (also for betting scandal) and Pescara.
Lazio 1979-80
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 30 | 5 | 15 | 10 | 21 |
Coppa Italia | 6 | 3 | 3 | - | 9 |
Total | 36 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 30 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Citterio | 36 | 30 | 6 |
D'Amico | 33 | 28 | 5 |
Viola | 33 | 28 | 5 |
Tassotti | 32 | 27 | 5 |
Zucchini | 30 | 25 | 5 |
Cacciatori | 30 | 24 | 6 |
Top goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Giordano | 12 | 9 | 3 |
D'Amico | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Garlaschelli | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Zucchini | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Let's talk about Renzo Garlaschelli
Renzo Garlaschelli was born on March 29, 1950, in Vidigulfo, half way between Pavia and Milan. It is a small village of 3,000 souls, often covered in thick fog, where they live growing rice, maize or grazing cows. A land of farmers, the alternative being to move towards Milan to a factory, which is what Garlaschelli's father did, finding work in a paper mill.
Renzo Garlaschelli started playing for his home village team before joining Sant'Angelo Lodigiano in Serie D, where he played 32 games and scored 6 goals. At 18, like all boys of his age, he was called up for the year of compulsory military service. He was terrified of being sent far from home, especially down South, so luckily for him the option of joining Como in Serie B came up, enabling him to get off doing a lighter stint in the army not far from home. At Como he played for 3 years making 72 appearances, scoring 6 goals and narrowly missing out on promotion in 1971-72.
In the summer of 1972, while on holiday at the sea, he received a call from Como informing him he was to be sold to Brindisi, in Puglia. Garlaschelli's reaction was to refuse, saying he would rather retire than be sent to play in the deep South. It was only at this point that the director told him it was all a joke, and that in reality he had been sold to Lazio in Serie A, and was now heading for the capital.
Prior to his definite move to Rome, he met Lazio manager Tommaso Maestrelli and club director Antonio Sbardella, who both warned young Renzo of the “temptations and distractions” Rome could bring. It was all in vain however. In the capital Garlaschelli would live the good life, especially at night… He became known as the Dandy, a snappy dresser, a regular face in the nightclubs and definitely a ladies’ man. He would later claim that in the 10 years he lived in Rome he never once had an evening meal at home. Despite his lifestyle however, he trained hard and Maestrelli turned a blind eye on his nocturnal off-pitch antics as long as he performed well on it. In fact, he proved to be an ideal attacking partner for “Long John” Giorgio Chinaglia, the Lazio centre-forward. A larger-than-life character, Chinaglia, brought up in South Wales, gave Renzo one piece of advice, “Garla, give me the ball and I'll score”.
Garlaschelli's early years at Lazio were a great success. He was an attacking winger with great speed, agility, dribbling skills and had a good cross. He soon became a permanent first XI choice. In the 1972-73 season he only missed one match, scoring 7 goals with Lazio going very close to winning the title.
In 1973-74 he did even better, again only missing one match (the last against Bologna), scoring 10 goals. In the penultimate and decisive game of the season Lazio were one win away from the scudetto and played Foggia - who were desperately battling against relegation - at the Olimpico. It was Garlaschelli who procured the penalty, which Chinaglia scored to put Lazio 1-0 up. The Foggia players then targeted Garlaschelli, who eventually retaliated and got himself sent off. With 10 men and with Gigi Martini stoically playing on with a broken shoulder, Lazio managed to cling on and conquer their first historic league title. In the post-match celebrations Maestrelli hugged Garlaschelli warmly, but added "Garla, you got off lightly today".
After the glory years of the scudetto, luck turned its back on Lazio. Manager and father figure Tommaso Maestrelli became ill and died in 1976. Midfield dynamo Luciano Re Cecconi was killed in a prank, which tragically ended with him being shot dead. In the meantime, midfield playmaker Mario Frustalupi (the wonderfully named "Wolfwhipper" or "Wolfthrasher") and central defender Giancarlo Oddi had been sold to Cesena in 1975. A year later in the spring of 1976, star goal scorer and charismatic leader Chinaglia, with his American wife, left to play for New York Cosmos.
Garlaschelli stayed however, alongside captain Pino Wilson and Vincenzo D'Amico. He stayed on but the 1981-82 was to be his last for Lazio after a dismal 11th place in Serie B (Lazio had been relegated due to the betting Scandal of 1980). He played 279 times for Lazio (199 in Serie A, 29 in Serie B, 38 in Coppa Italia, 10 in the UEFA Cup and 3 in the Intertoto Cup), scoring 67 goals (49 in Serie A, 2 in Serie B, 9 in Coppa Italia, 4 in the UEFA Cup and 3 in the Intertoto Cup).
After Lazio, despite some offers from medium level teams, he decided to return home to Pavia in C2. He went back to his family home and played 2 more years (46 appearances and 11 goals). Pavia was promoted to Serie C1 in Garlaschelli’s last professional season.
He then retired and, after his parents passed away, sold his family home and bought a smaller one with his sister. For many years he completely cut himself off from football. He spent his days playing cards in his village, cycling and reading. A far cry from his lively and eventful Roman days.
Today Garlaschelli still lives his quiet life in the provinces, but he has rekindled an interest in football and especially Lazio. He now collaborates daily as a pundit with a Roman radio station that talks exclusively about Lazio, the highlight of his career and life. He recently came back to the Olimpico on May 14 2024 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that incredible feat. He did a lap of honour with his surviving teammates (Martini, Petrelli, Oddi, Nanni, Borgo), plus the sons and daughters of others and Maestrelli's son Massimo. A wonderful occasion.
Garlaschelli is probably one of the best Lazio players to have never played for Italy, but he certainly played a major role in the 1973-74 league triumph. His ability to open up space and to play for Chinaglia was fundamental but he also contributed with 10 goals of his own. He will always be remembered as part of that unrivalled and magical team whose line-up any self-respecting laziale can reel off in their sleep!
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup | Intertoto Cup |
1972-73 | 33 (7) | 29 (7) | - | 4 | - | - |
1973-74 | 38 (14) | 29 (10) | - | 5 (2) | 4 (2) | - |
1974-75 | 26 (6) | 23 (6) | - | 3 | - | - |
1975-76 | 36 (9) | 29 (7) | - | 5 (2) | 2 | - |
1976-77 | 27 (5) | 23 (5) | - | 4 | - | - |
1977-78 | 35 (12) | 26 (7) | - | 2 | 4 (2) | 3 (3) |
1978-79 | 23 (5) | 17 (5) | - | 6 | - | - |
1979-80 | 27 (5) | 23 (2) | - | 4 (3) | - | - |
1980-81 | 31 (4) | - | 26 (2) | 5 (2) | - | - |
1981-82 | 3 | - | 3 | - | - | - |
Total | 279 (67) | 199 (49) | 29 (2) | 38 (9) | 10 (4) | 3 (3) |
Sources
Guy Chiappaventi, Pistole e palloni: 12 maggio 1974: il primo scudetto della Lazio nel cuore degli anni Settanta, Ultra Sport
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