Lazio go through to the knock stage of the Coppa Italia
By beating Taranto 5-0, the Biancocelesti qualify for the next round of the Coppa Italia
The season so far
There was new ownership. The Calleri brothers and Renato Bocchi had taken over from the disastrous Giorgio Chinaglia Presidency and possibly even worse Franco Chimenti brief regency, so everything was new. New manager, Eugenio Fascetti, new Sports Director, Franco Regalia, new players. There were many farewells and in particular the Biancocelesti said goodbye to Vincenzo D’Amico (Ternana), Arcadio Spinozzi (Reggina) and Oliviero Garlini who was a necessary sacrifice and sold to Inter.
The most important signings were Antonio Acerbis (Pescara), Angelo Gregucci and Giancarlo Camolese (Alessandria), Gabriele Pin (Juventus) plus Giuliano Terraneo (Milan).
There was a certain degree of optimism but any hope of promotion was shattered by the summer events.
On May 2, 1986, Armando Carbone, right hand man of Italo Allodi was arrested. Allodi was a well-known figure in Italian football and worked for a number of clubs, including Juventus and Inter. In 1986 he was working for Napoli. Carbone told the magistrates that there was a match fixing association with clubs at all levels involved. Numerous clubs were investigated: Bari, Napoli and Udinese in Serie A, many more in Serie B and C. Plus Lazio.
Why were Lazio involved? Carbone was a good friend of Claudio Vinazzani, a Lazio player. Vinazzani had played for Napoli for seven years before joining Lazio in 1983. He did like to bet but never on matches he played in.
In Italy one could not legally bet on the result of a single game or on the scores of multiple games. There was just the Totocalcio, where one had to guess the result of 13 games. There was however an illegal betting system called Totonero run by illegal bookmakers similar to how legal bets were organised in the UK. Lazio had already been involved in the 1980 scandal when, despite a total lack of proof or wrongdoing by the club itself, since four players had been involved, they were relegated to Serie B.
If there was basically nothing in 1980, in this case there was even less. There was a telephone conversation between Carbone and Vinazzani where the former asked whether the Lazio player was interested in “buying” a Lazio win against Palermo. Vinazzani’s answer was vague and nothing happened. The vagueness in the response was an indication of Lazio’s guilt, according to the prosecution. For this Lazio were sentenced to relegation to Serie C on August 5.
A difficult summer for the Lazio fans, but a very difficult summer for the new owners, Calleri and Bocchi. “If Lazio go down to Serie C, what are we going to do?” they must have asked themselves. It would have been the end of Lazio, the new owners would probably have backed out. Lazio fans mobilised, there were demonstrations and protests. It was simply not possible to relegate Lazio for nothing.
The appeal started on August 21 with many Lazio fans outside the Hilton hotel in Rome waiting to see what would happen. Carboni should have testified but the court refused to have him present. The decision therefore had to be based on the material provided in the first court case. Hence, the written declaration from Carboni saying that Lazio had nothing to do with the match fixing and that he never fixed a match for the Biancocelesti could not be used.
On August 27, the Biancocelesti had to play Napoli at the Olimpico for the Coppa Italia. Minutes before the match, the Italian State Television, RAI, announced that the sentence had been confirmed. An overzealous member of the court had leaked the news. This ultimately saved Lazio. The court could not confirm the previous sentence otherwise it would have lost face. In the end Lazio stayed in Serie B but with a docking of nine points. This was a very heavy burden with only two points for a victory, but it at least meant that the new owners could continue.
Fascetti told the players: “This is the situation. You can leave, and it would be perfectly normal if you did, or stay and fight. Decide”. All the players stayed.
Before the start of Serie B Lazio had to face the group stage in Coppa Italia. They were paired with Napoli, Cesena, Vicenza, Taranto and Spal. Today was the last game of this phase and the table read: Napoli 8 points, Cesena 6, Lazio 4, Taranto 3, Vicenza 2, Spal 1. The first two qualified for the knockout phase, so at the moment Napoli was qualified, with Lazio and Cesena battling for the next spot. Lazio had to play Taranto and Cesena was away to Napoli, so if everything had gone as hoped, Lazio could clinch that second place. The possibly decisive goal difference was Lazio on 0 whereas Cesena were on +2.
The match: Sunday, September 7, 1986, Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Lazio needed to win by several goals and hope that Napoli did their duty. And this is exactly what the Biancocelesti did, scoring four goals in the first 30 minutes.
In the 3rd minute Domenico Caso took a free kick, cross into the box for Massimo Piscedda who headed the ball into the net. Seven minutes later Antonio Elia Acerbis dribbled past a couple of players and from a long distance sent a cracking shot that beat Daniele Goletti. Unfortunately, Cesena also scored. But this did not depress the team.
In the 22nd minute Gabriele Podavini sent a long pass to Giuliano Fiorini who stopped the ball, beat the defenders for speed and gave Lazio the triple advantage. In the meantime, Napoli equalised with Andrea Carnevale. There was hope.
The Taranto defence was in such shock that when Piscedda crossed inside the box in the 27th minute Goletti, despite being alone in the wilderness, decided to put the ball into his own net. Lazio 4 Taranto 0.
At this point it was a waiting game with all ears on the radio to hear what was happening in Naples. In the 53rd minute Napoli scored with Diego Maradona and the qualification was within grasp. Fiorini in the 70th minute received a good ball from a Fabio Poli header and despite being sandwiched between two defenders, scored his brace. Napoli then made it three with Salvatore Bagni and it was all smiles.
A good start to what would be a very difficult season.
Who played for Lazio
Terraneo, Podavini, Piscedda (74’ Sgarbossa), V. Esposito, Brunetti, Fonte, Caso (62’ Camolese), Acerbis, Fiorini (72’ Mandelli), Pin, Poli
Manager: Fascetti
Who played for Taranto
Goletti, Biondo, Serra, Chiarenza (46' Caccialupi), Paolinelli, Rocca, Picci, Dalla Costa (60' Secondini), De Vitis, Maiellaro, Paolucci (60' D'Ottavio)
Substitutes: Incontri, D'Ignazio
Manager: Renna
Referee: Vecchiatini
Goals: 3’ Piscedda, 10’ Acerbis, 22’ Fiorini, 27’ Goletti (og), 70’ Fiorini
What happened next
The start of the season was terrible. Lazio drew the first game away at Parma but then lost a home to Messina. This basically meant that the burden was now practically -11.
After the catastrophic beginning Lazio started to win and reduce the handicap. After 8 games the Biancocelesti finally had a +1 in the table and were only two points from safety. The relegation zone was left in the 15th match with an away win at Cagliari. Lazio were playing very well and showed to be far better than the others in Serie B. At the end of the first half of the season they were 16th, three points above the relegation zone.
Towards May however they started to tire. Being under constant pressure was having repercussions. With one match to go Cagliari were already in Serie C, Lazio and Taranto were on 31 points, Campobasso, Sambenedettese, Vicenza and Catania on 32. Last games of the season Bari-Sambenedettese, Messina-Campobasso, Taranto-Genoa, Cesena-Catania, Lazio-Vicenza. Even a win may not have been enough.
With seven minutes to go, it was still 0-0. Podavini got the ball and shot. It was more out of desperation than an actual goal scoring attempt. He miskicked it but the ball reached Giuliano Fiorini who turned on himself and scored.
Final verdict: Lazio, Campobasso and Taranto needed a playoff to determine who would join Cagliari, Catania and Vicenza in Serie C. In Naples, on June 27, Lazio played their first game against Taranto and lost due to a goal in blatant offside. Then Taranto and Campobasso drew 1-1 on July 1. This meant that Lazio had to beat Campobasso to stay in Serie B. They did thanks to a Fabio Poli goal. The Biancocelesti survived.
In Coppa Italia Lazio had to face Juventus in the round of 16. After an incredible draw in Turin, Lazio then unfortunately lost 2-0 at home in front of 60,000 spectators in the second leg and were eliminated.
Lazio 1986-87
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie B | 40 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 36 |
Coppa Italia | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
Total | 47 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 44 |
Top Five Appearances
Players | Total | Serie B | Serie B playoffs | Coppa Italia |
Caso | 47 | 38 | 2 | 7 |
Pin | 45 | 38 | 2 | 5 |
Terraneo | 45 | 38 | 2 | 5 |
Acerbis | 44 | 37 | 2 | 5 |
Podavini | 40 | 33 | 1 | 6 |
Top Five goal scorers
Players | Total | Serie B | Serie B playoffs | Coppa Italia |
Fiorini | 9 | 7 | - | 2 |
Mandelli | 6 | 6 | - | - |
Poli | 6 | 4 | 1 | - |
Podavini | 5 | 3 | - | 2 |
Marino | 3 | 3 | - | - |
Acerbis | 3 | 2 | - | 1 |
Caso | 3 | 3 | - | - |
Let's talk about Eugenio Sgarbossa
Eugenio Sgarbossa was born on March 17, 1964 in Cittadella near Padua. A product of the Torino youth sector, he started playing professionally for Orbassano in the fifth tier in 1981. In 1983 he moved to Alessandria in Serie C2. Here he stayed for three years making 93 league appearances with 11 goals.
The President of Alessandria was Gianmarco Calleri, so when he bought Lazio in 1986, he brought three players with him: Angelo Gregucci, Giancarlo Camolese and Sgarbossa. Unlike the first two, he stayed just a few months making two appearances, one in Serie B and one in Coppa Italia. In the autumn transfer window, he was loaned to Rondinella in Serie C1 for a year. He came back to Lazio but was unable to make any impact and in November 1987 he was sold to Monopoli in Serie C1. He stayed three years with 108 league appearances and 5 goals.
His dream of Serie A came true later with Reggiana. He arrived in 1991 and played for five seasons with 150 appearances and 2 goals. In 1992-93 Reggiana won the Serie B league and were promoted. They managed to stay two years before being relegated again.
In 1996 he signed for Spal in Serie C1 and remained a season before moving to Triestina in 1997. It was his last year at a professional level. His last two years of active football were with Poggese.
Once he stopped playing, he became a manager, coaching an array of teams in the minor leagues.
In total he made 61 appearances in Serie A and 90 in Serie B, all in all a good career.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1986-87 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Sources
Комментарии