Lazio defeat leaders and go joint top
Despite injuries Lazio fend off the devil and dream on
Also on this day: April 21, 1984, Lazio Napoli 3-2. A lightning strike by Bruno-Gol and a brace by "Michelino" steer Lazio to possibly crucial win. Player of the day: Michael Laudrup
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had been promoted back to Serie A under the "Il Maestro", Tommaso Maestrelli. Top scorer had been "Long John" Giorgio Chinaglia with 26 goals (21 in B). Lazio had also had the satisfaction of beating Roma in a Coppa Italia game (1-0, Chinaglia).
This season Maestrelli was obviously still the manager but there had been some important changes to the squad. The main players arriving were: goalkeeper Felice Pulici (Novara), defender Sergio Petrelli (a rare deal with Roma), midfielders Mario Frustalupi (Inter), Pierpaolo Manservisi (Napoli-end of loan), Ferruccio Mazzola (Fiorentina- end of loan) and Luciano Re Cecconi (Foggia) plus forward Renzo Garlaschelli (Como).
Leaving were keepers Claudio Bandoni (Catanzaro) and Rosario Di Vincenzo (Brindisi), defender Giuseppe Papadopulo (Brindisi), midfielders Arrigo Dolso (Alessandria), Giuseppe Massa (Inter) and Alessandro Abbondanza (Napoli-end of loan) plus forwards Carlo Facchin (retiring) and Giuliano Fortunato (Lecce).
So quite a lot of changes to the squad. The main sacrifice was letting go of Massa but the arrival of Frustalupi would turn out to be a history changer for Lazio.
The season had started in August with the Coppa Italia. It went badly and Lazio were out, after losing 3 (Napoli 0-1 at home, Brindisi 0-1 away and Taranto 1-2 at home) and drawing 1 (Palermo 0-0 away).
In Serie A fortunately things were going a lot better. After 25 games Lazio were second on 37 points, behind leaders Milan on 39. The Biancocelesti had won 14 (including both derbies), drawn 9 and lost 3. The Biancocelesti had won the last seven games in a row and had the least beaten defence in Serie A (only 12 goals conceded). Giorgio Chinaglia had scored 8 league goals so far and Renzo Garlaschelli 7.
Milan had finished 2nd the previous season, under manager Nereo Rocco. The Rossoneri had won the Coppa Italia (Napoli 2-0) and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup (Tottenham 2-3 on aggregate). Top scorer was Alberto Bigon with 19 (14 in A).
This season the manager was Cesare Maldini while Rocco had become technical director. The main new arrivals were defender Maurizio Turone (Genoa) and forward Luciano Chiarugi while leaving were defender Aldo Maldera (Bologna-on loan) and forward Silvano Villa (Sampdoria-on loan). In the autumn legendary goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini had retired.
In Serie A the Rossoneri were currently top of the table on 39 points, two ahead of Lazio and five ahead of Juventus. The "Diavolo" had won 16 (including Lazio 3-1, both derbies and Atalanta 9-3), drawn 7 (including Juventus 2-2 twice) and lost 2. Top scorer was Gianni Rivera with 16 league goals while Luciano Chiarugi had 10, Alberto Bigon 8, Romeo Benetti 7 and Pierino Prati 6 (Milan were by far the most prolific team with 55 goals, Lazio had 28…)
In the Cup Winners Cup, they were between semi-final legs against Sparta Prague. In the home game on April 11, they had won 1-0 and the return game would be on April 25. In the earlier rounds the Milanesi had eliminated Red Boys Differdange (Luxemburg), Legia Warsaw and Spartak Moscow.
Today however, was a massive title clash in Rome. The game had been the talk of the town all week in the capital and Italy in general. The majority of Roman clothes shops and boutiques had even combined light blue and white items in their window displays in support or more likely to try and increase their sales. Either way it was a huge game.
The match: Saturday, April 21, 1973, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A rainy day in Rome but a massive sell-out crowd, a reported 80,000 despite some controversy over the ticket prices. It was played on Saturday as the next day was Easter Sunday. This game was also shown in a tape-delayed broadcast on national television.
Lazio had some injury worries coming into the game as Pino Wilson and Franco Nanni were in doubt until the last minute but in the end were available. Milan on the other hand were without Romeo Benetti, Giuseppe Sabadini and Pierino Prati.
The grass was slippery due to the rain but playable. Lazio attacked furiously from the start. Giorgio Chinaglia immediately put Dario Dolci in difficulty and in the 5th minute Lazio went ahead. "Long John" charged into the area on the left, went past Dolci and shot a powerful left foot, the ball took a deflection off Karl-Heinz Schnellinger and beat Pierangelo Belli. Lazio 1 Milan 0. Wild scenes at the Olimpico, two fans had heart attacks and were taken away by ambulances while many others fainted.
Lazio dominated and continued to attack. In the 22nd minute though the game was interrupted as a linesman twisted his ankle but after a few minutes was able to continue.
In the 35th minute Lazio were awarded a central freekick just outside the area. During the week Chinaglia had allegedly demolished the bench at the training ground with the power of his shots. He still had strength left as his thundering shot bent the keeper's hand and went in. Lazio 2 Milan 0. The Milan keeper had to be replaced as the ball, hit with tremendous force and full of water, had fractured his finger. Villiam Vecchi came on to defend the nets.
Milan were in difficulty. Maestrelli's tactic of placing Pierpaolo Manservisi to mark danger man Gianni Rivera seemed to be working. The first half came to an end and the weather changed too as suddenly there were blue skies and sun. At the break Lazio 2 Milan 0.
The second half began with Lazio seemingly in control but that all changed in the 56th minute. Chinaglia exaggerated and tried to dribble a couple of opponents near the area, he was dispossessed by Alberto Bigon and the ball quickly arrived to Rivera, inside the area on the right and his low crisp shot beat Felice Pulici. Lazio 2 Milan 1. The goal had come out of the blue but suddenly Milan were back in it.
In the meantime, a minute before the goal, the Rossoneri had replaced midfielder Riccardo Sogliano with defender Maurizio Turone.
Milan were transformed and started to push forward with more conviction. In the 67th minute Lazio were forced to replace an injured Luciano Re Cecconi with Giambattista Moschino.
Lazio looked tired and worried the win could be taken away from them and pulled back. They defended well however and Milan had no major chances until the 89th minute.
A Giulio Zignoli cross was prolonged by a Bigon header and reached Luciano Chiarugi who scored. The referee and the linesman however both agreed he was in offside and the goal was ruled out. The Milanisti were seething and Nereo Rocco, following his excessive protests, was sent off. A huge sigh of relief for Lazio. Final score Lazio 2 Milan 1.
Massive celebrations broke out amongst the Lazio fans but Milan's anger continued in the tunnel and changing rooms with their President Albino Buticchi and Gianni Rivera particularly agitated (Rivera would be suspended for 4 matches then reduced to 2).
A great win for Lazio. It was their 8th consecutive win and they caught up with Milan at the top of the table; Lazio and Milan 39, Juventus 37 with four games to go. Lazio were in dream land.
Who played for Lazio
Pulici, Polentes, Martini, Wilson, Oddi, Nanni, Garlaschelli, Re Cecconi (67' Moschino), Chinaglia, Frustalupi, Manservisi
Substitute: Moriggi
Manager: Maestrelli
Who played for Milan
Belli (36' Vecchi), Anquilletti, Zignoli, Dolci, Schnellinger, Rosato, Sogliano (55' Turone), Biasiolo, Bigon, Rivera, Chiarugi
Manager: Maldini
T.D: Rocco
Referee: Lo Bello
Goals: 5' Schnellinger (og), 35' Chinaglia, 56' Rivera
What happened next
In the next three games Lazio drew two (Torino and Bologna away) and won one (Verona at home).
This meant that going into the last fixture the table read; Milan 44, Lazio and Juventus 43. Milan were soon 0-4 down at Verona (Milan had played Cup Winners Cup final midweek) and at halftime Lazio were drawing 0-0 in Naples and Juventus losing 0-1 to Roma, in Rome. A playoff between Lazio and Milan was on the cards. Then unfortunately, almost surely thanks to "financial incentives" and personal interests, Roma stopped playing and lost while Napoli, also apparently paid off by the "Old Lady" played the game of their lives, scored in the 89th minute and acted as if they had won the World Cup.
A pity for Lazio but they had played great football and had an excellent season finishing 3rd. They also won both derbies (1-0, 2-0). Top scorer was Giorgio Chinaglia with 11 goals (10 in A). The following year would be different but that's another story.
As mentioned, Milan went into the last game top of the table but collapsed at "fatal Verona". This meant Juventus overtook them and won the Scudetto, with the Rossoneri 2nd.
Things went better in the cups. The Diavolo won the Cup Winners Cup, beating Leeds United 1-0 in Thessaloniki. They also won the domestic cup, the Coppa Italia, defeating Juventus on penalties, on July 1 in Rome. Top scorer in total was Chiarugi with 22 while in Serie A it was Gianni Rivera with 17.
Leaving Serie A were Palermo, Atalanta and Ternana.
Lazio 1972-73
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 33 |
Coppa Italia | 4 | - | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Anglo-Italian Cup | 4 | - | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Total | 38 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 38 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Anglo-Italian Cup |
Chinaglia | 37 | 30 | 4 | 3 |
Oddi | 36 | 30 | 4 | 2 |
Frustalupi | 36 | 30 | 4 | 2 |
Pulici | 36 | 30 | 4 | 2 |
Wilson | 36 | 30 | 4 | 2 |
Top goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Anglo-Italian Cup |
Chinaglia | 13 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
Nanni | 7 | 7 | - | - |
Garlaschelli | 7 | 7 | - | - |
La Rosa | 3 | 2 | - | 1 |
Let's talk about Ramon Turone
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.
Sources