April 18, 1971: Lazio Fiorentina 0-0

Simon Basten
6 hours ago
6 min read

Dull draw

Lazio needed to win but in the end were content with a draw

The season so far

The 1970-71 season had not started well. Deep contrasts between the manager, Juan Carlos Lorenzo and the President, Umberto Lenzini, over the summer transfer window would have deep consequences on the team's performance.

Following a decent 8th place in the 1969-70 season, Lenzini was looking for an improvement and had set eyes on the future Turin goalkeeper Luciano Castellini, but Lorenzo did not agree, preferring Michelangelo Sulfaro. Lorenzo was also unimpressed with Lenzini signing Pierpaolo Manservisi. Other signings included goalkeeper Avelino Moriggi, defender Gaetano Legnaro and midfielder Bruno Chinellato (all from Alessandria) plus the return of Arrigo Dolso from his loan to Monza. Among those leaving were Carlo Soldo (Monza), Gian Piero Ghio (Napoli) and Giancarlo Oddi who was loaned to Massese.

Giorgio Chinaglia did not help the situation by saying that if he was the problem, he would have no issue leaving, perhaps hoping for a transfer during the November window. He obviously stayed.

The feud between the manager and president did not relent for the entire season. Lorenzo was sacked a few times, only to come back following protests by a particularly passionate group of fans loyal to the manager.

In the Coppa Italia Lazio were eliminated, coming second in their group behind Roma. In the Fairs Cup they faced Arsenal and after drawing at home 2-2 they lost 2-0 away and exited the tournament.

After the first half of the season Lazio were last with only nine points. They had won just one game (vs Sampdoria) and had drawn a controversial derby. Things improved a little bit in the second half of the season and after the win in Genoa against Sampdoria in the previous match the Biancocelesti were potentially one point away from safety.

The match: Sunday, April 18, 1971, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

A large crowd turned up for what was effectively a relegation showdown. Lazio took the field without suspended players Pino Wilson and Giuliano Fortunato, while Fiorentina, wearing their red-and-maroon strip, were missing their most dangerous player, Luciano Chiarugi.

The Viola had started the season among the favourites for the title but now found themselves trapped in the quicksand at the bottom of the table. Despite a change on the bench — Bruno Pesaola out and Oronzo Pugliese in — the team had not won for four months, and their modest points tally was the result of an endless series of draws.

“The wizard of Turi” was clearly aiming for another stalemate here, packing the midfield and relying on the counterattack. After an initial period of cautious probing, Lazio began to push forward, inspired by an energetic Ferruccio Mazzola who immediately looked full of running. In the 15th minute he unleashed a powerful long-range shot that rattled the crossbar with Franco Superchi already beaten. Two minutes later Giuseppe Massa was pulled down in the penalty area, but referee Aurelio Angonese waved play on.

Shortly afterwards the referee judged a handball by Ugo Ferrante, following another Massa shot, to be accidental — and indeed the distance between the two players was minimal. In the 33rd minute Giorgio Chinaglia finally made his presence felt, although he was being tightly marked by the muscular Giancarlo Galdiolo. “Long John” drove forward but was stopped by a fine intervention from the visiting goalkeeper.

There were further anxious moments: clumsy play by Luigi Polentes that almost resulted in an own goal, and an Alessandro Vitali header that Rosario Di Vincenzo dealt with acrobatically.

After the interval Fiorentina, who had been timid in the first half, seemed to wake from their slumber. Guided by an impeccable Picchio De Sisti in the playmaker’s role, they pushed further up the pitch. First Giorgio Mariani and then Emiliano Macchi found themselves alone in front of Di Vincenzo, who did superbly to deal with both dangerous situations.

For Lazio it was once again Mazzola, with his bursts of acceleration, who provided the response to Fiorentina’s initiatives. “Uccio” tried several fine efforts from medium and long range, but none found the target.

In the 68th minute manager Juan Carlos Lorenzo threw Giancarlo Morrone into the fray, and Pugliese replied by taking off winger Macchi and introducing another midfielder, Dino D’Alessi. The “Maginot Line” erected by the fiery Apulian coach held firm, thanks above all to goalkeeper Superchi. With three minutes remaining, he produced a superb reflex save to tip a Polentes shot — deflected by Ferrante — over the crossbar.

In the end the draw, at the conclusion of a poor match, seemed to satisfy everyone judging by the comments from both dressing rooms, even though concerns about the league table remained unchanged. Defeats for Foggia, Verona and Torino widened the relegation battle to nine teams with four rounds left to play.

For Lazio, the fight — and the suffering — was far from over.

Who played for Lazio

Di Vincenzo, Papadopulo, Legnaro, Governato, Polentes, Marchesi, Massa, Chinellato (68' Morrone), Chinaglia, Mazzola II, Dolso

Substitute: Moriggi

Manager: Lorenzo

Who played for Fiorentina

Superchi, Galdiolo, Longoni, Esposito, Ferrante, Brizi, Mariani, Merlo, Vitali, De Sisti, Macchi (75' D'Alessi)

Substitute: Bandoni

Manager: Pugliese

Referee: Angonese

What happened next

A draw against Juventus in the next game meant that the last two games, away to Varese and at home to Vicenza were vital. At Varese Lazio were down 2-1 when the referee, Sergio Gonella, who would later referee the World Cup final between Argentina and Holland in 1978, first gave Lazio a penalty, but then changed his mind and gave a free kick to Lazio for a previous foul. The Biancocelesti lost and all hope was on a win in the penultimate match against Vicenza at home. Lazio lost that game too and were relegated. They then drew 1-1 at Inter but it was too late.

A shock relegation, but in the end, it was a blessing. Lenzini was finally able to kick Lorenzo out and call in Tommaso Maestrelli.

At the end of the season Lazio had to play the Cup of the Alps. This was a tournament that was jointly organised by the Italian and Swiss football federations and ran from 1960 to 1987. Only Italian and Swiss teams played until 1966, but from 1967 until 1969 they were also joined by West German clubs (and in 1969 also by a Belgian team). Back to the original formula in 1970, from 1972 to 1987 only French and Swiss teams played.

The formula was a little bit complicated. Four Italian clubs (Lazio, Verona, Sampdoria and Varese), four Swiss (Lugano, Lausanne Sports, Winterthur and FC Basel), divided into two groups. Within the group each team played the two clubs of the other country twice, but did not play compatriots. The best Italian and the best Swiss then played in the final.

Lazio were grouped with Sampdoria, Lugano and Winterthur. The Biancocelesti won their group and beat Basel in the final. A minor consolation prize.

Let’s talk about Bruno Chinellato

Bruno Chinellato was born in Mestre on November 1, 1946.

He started playing for Mestre in Serie C and after three seasons signed for Alessandria again in the third tier. In 1970 he signed for Lazio. He was a backup midfielder and as a consequence did not play very much with the first eleven (just 6 league appearances, with one goal, plus four in the Cup of the Alps), but he did play quite a lot in the De Martino Championship with the reserves. Lazio won the competition, beating Milan in the final. The Biancocelesti also won the Cup of the Alps even though in Serie A they did not do well, ending up relegated to Serie B.

In 1971-72 he was loaned to Lecco in Serie C where he played well with 38 appearances and 10 goals. At the end of the season, he was sold to Como in Serie B. His stay in the second tier ended a year later when he moved to Salernitana in Serie C. After two years he left for Grosseto, again in the third tier. After two years in Tuscany, he signed with Giulianova and ended his career with Sorrento in Serie C2 from 1978 to 1980.

Once he stopped playing, he became a manager with minor teams in the Grosseto area. In 1984 he was chosen as head coach for Grosseto but stayed just a year.

He died on September 4, 2008, in Massa Carrara.

Despite not playing much, at Lazio he at least managed to win two trophies, so his name is in the history books.