August 22, 1971: Viterbese Lazio 0-3, friendly
- Simon Basten
- 12 hours ago
- 9 min read
Chinaglia Brace Helps Maestrelli's Lazio Defeat Viterbese
Chinaglia strikes twice as Maestrelli's evolving Lazio passes an important pre-season test, with Wilson's return strengthening the defence and Nanni helping the midfield control the game.
The season so far
The disastrous 1970-71 season had culminated in a relegation to Serie B for the Biancocelesti. It was a devastating and unexpected fall for the club so President Umberto Lenzini, on a suggestion from sporting director Antonio Sbardella, chose a young manager called Tommaso Maestrelli who had done well in Serie C and Serie B with Reggina and Foggia.
The first problem the club had to face was the fact that Giorgio Chinaglia demanded to be sold. He refused to play in Serie B and was not entirely happy with the change of management. Maestrelli convinced him to stay.
Two fundamental future players joined Lazio in the summer transfer window: Luigi Martini, from Livorno, and Giancarlo Oddi returning from his loan spell at Massese. Lazio also signed goalkeeper Claudio Bandoni (Fiorentina) and midfielder Rino Gritti on loan from Lecco. Rino Marchesi, Nello Governato and Giancarlo Morrone left Lazio as free agents as well as Ferruccio Mazzola and Michelangelo Sulfaro on loan to Fiorentina.
For the first preseason training under Maestrelli, the team moved to Padula, near Salerno where they would stay from August 3-22. In their first friendly they had beaten Turris 3-2 and in their second a Selection from Vallo di Diano 6-0. Today was their third against Viterbese.
The match: Sunday, August 22, 1971, Stadio Comunale, Viterbo
Tommaso Maestrelli can leave Viterbo satisfied.
Lazio's new coach had travelled to face Viterbese with several questions to answer. He wanted to see how his midfield would function with Franco Nanni in the side, assess the physical condition of his players and, perhaps most importantly, finalise his defence with the return of Giuseppe Wilson.
The answers were encouraging.
Lazio won 3-0 in front of around 5,500 spectators, but the result was only part of the story. The performance of Viterbese, a promising side containing five former Lazio players, provided Maestrelli with a worthwhile examination ahead of the upcoming Derby against Helenio Herrera's Roma.
The match also offered evidence that Maestrelli's team was beginning to take shape.
Nanni's introduction into midfield, alongside the mobility of Gigi Martini, Giuseppe Massa and Pierpaolo Manservisi, allowed Lazio to dominate possession for long periods. The only real weakness was the lack of consistent support for the forwards, but this was hardly unexpected at this stage of the preparations.
The midfield nevertheless demonstrated that it could control the centre of the pitch for extended periods—something that would be essential against Roma.
The return of Wilson was equally important.
Playing as the sweeper, he immediately restored a sense of security to the Lazio defence. The uncertainties that had been visible in some of the team's previous outings largely disappeared, with Wilson providing the leadership and positional awareness required to protect the back line.
Alongside him, Giuseppe Papadopulo also impressed after recovering fully from injury.
The two full-backs, Mario Facco and Gaetano Legnaro, were less convincing. Both struggled at times to contain Viterbese's fast and technically gifted wide players, particularly Vincenzo Toscano and Adone Mariotti, who repeatedly attempted to take them on in one-on-one situations.
Nevertheless, the overall impression was positive.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the afternoon was Lazio's physical condition.
Maestrelli kept his strongest XI on the pitch for around an hour, using the opening stages of the match to evaluate how his players coped with maintaining a high tempo. The response was excellent. Lazio worked hard for long periods, maintaining a good pace and showing no signs of wanting to conserve energy.
The foundations, it appeared, were already there.
Viterbese fielded their strongest available side, although they had only begun pre-season training on 10 August and were therefore behind Lazio in terms of preparation.
There was particular interest in the five former Lazio players in the home side: Andrea Carratoni, Roberto Vuerich, Valerio Bertoldo, Corrado Fragasso and Mariotti. All five would go on to produce performances that exceeded expectations.
Lazio made one significant change to the team that had been expected to start, with Nanni replacing Giuliano Fortunato in midfield.
The Biancocelesti immediately attacked with purpose.
After just one minute, Giorgio Chinaglia came close to opening the scoring after a powerful run, but his shot flew narrowly over the crossbar. Lazio continued to press forward in numbers, and it took Viterbese until the third minute to establish their first meaningful possession.
The opening goal arrived after only five minutes.
Costantino Fava created the opportunity with a run down the right before delivering a cross into the penalty area. Legnaro was there to meet it, and with the unfortunate assistance of Mariotti, the ball ended up in the net from close range.
Lazio had their early lead.
Yet the goal did not cause Viterbese to collapse.
Instead, the home side responded impressively. Giuseppe Banchetti's team grew in confidence and began to test the Lazio defence. Toscano, Bernardo Pescosolido and Mariotti all produced dangerous moments, forcing Lazio's defenders to work considerably harder than they might have anticipated.
Wilson was outstanding.
His return immediately appeared to solve some of the defensive uncertainty that had affected Lazio in previous matches. The experienced defender looked indispensable in the sweeper role, while Papadopulo provided a strong presence alongside him.
Lazio went into half-time leading 1-0, but the performance had become increasingly competitive.
The Biancocelesti had started at tremendous speed but gradually lost some of their momentum. Viterbese, meanwhile, had proved considerably stronger than anticipated. Rather than sitting back and accepting their fate, the home side continued to play positively and gave Lazio a genuine test.
The attack still lacked fluidity and the midfield's considerable movement was not always translated into chances. But overall, Lazio had clearly improved compared with their previous pre-season performances.
The second half was more comfortable.
Lazio's superior physical preparation began to tell, and with their midfield increasingly taking control of the game, Maestrelli's side began to threaten the Viterbese goal more consistently.
After 63 minutes, Massa produced one of the best individual moments of the match.
He surged past several opponents and rounded the goalkeeper, only for Marcello Marini to recover in time and clear the ball off the goal line.
The second goal was coming.
It eventually arrived from the penalty spot after Luigi Giannini was judged to have held an opponent inside the area. The ref pointed to the spot, and Chinaglia stepped forward.
The penalty had to be taken twice.
The referee ordered the first attempt to be retaken, but Chinaglia remained composed. On the second attempt, he sent the ball to the goalkeeper's right to make it 2-0.
The striker was not finished.
With eight minutes remaining, Chinaglia completed the scoring in spectacular fashion.
The Lazio centre-forward received the ball, beat three defenders, rounded the goalkeeper and calmly finished into an empty net.
It was a goal that underlined the qualities that made him such a dangerous striker. Powerful, direct and confident, Chinaglia had once again provided Lazio with the decisive cutting edge.
The final whistle confirmed a 3-0 victory.
The result was encouraging, but Maestrelli's satisfaction went beyond the scoreline.
The match had answered several of the questions he had brought with him to Viterbo. Nanni had integrated successfully into midfield, the combination of Martini, Massa and Manservisi had allowed Lazio to dominate possession, and Wilson's return had given the defence a much more settled appearance.
There was still work to be done, but the foundations were in place
Who played for Viterbese
Restani (Massitti), Carratoni, Lorenzon (Testorio), Vuerich, Marini, Bertoldo (Alberti), Mariotti (dal 65’ Morera), Bazzarini, Pescosolido, Fragasso, Toscano (Giannini)
Manager: Banchetti
Who played for Lazio
Bandoni, Facco, Legnaro (61’ Oddi), Wilson, Papadopulo (66’ Polentes), Martini (65’ Gritti), Manservisi, Massa, Chinaglia, Nanni, Fava (63’ Dolso)
Manager: Maestrelli
Referee: Lattanzi
Reti: 5’ Legnaro, 69’ Chinaglia (pen), 82’ Chinaglia
What happened next
In August, Lazio managed to top their group in the first phase of the Coppa Italia. The first match of the season was the derby, which Lazio won 1-0 with a Chinaglia goal and at least four miraculous saves from Bandoni.
Lazio started the Serie B campaign slowly, losing the first two games away from home, but from the 6th match onwards things improved.
In the November transfer window Lazio signed Carlo Facchin and Giambattista Moschino, returning after nine years, plus Alessandro Abbondanza on loan from Napoli with Pierpaolo Manservisi going in the opposite direction. Arrigo Dolso also left (on loan to Varese).
At the end of the first half of the season the Biancocelesti were third, one point behind Palermo and Ternana and two points ahead of Reggiana and Perugia.
With five games to the end of the season there were five teams fighting for promotion: Palermo and Ternana 44 points, Lazio 43, Como 42 and Reggiana 41. With two games to the end, the Biancocelesti had reached second place and a week later they topped the table with Ternana, one point ahead of Palermo and two above Como. All Lazio needed was a point at Bari and that is exactly what happened.
The Biancocelesti were able to secure promotion thanks to an excellent attack with Chinaglia, Massa and Abbondanza, and a very strong defence with goalkeeper Bandoni and Giuseppe Wilson. The midfield was not up to par and there was the need to find better players. They would come in the following season.
Wilson was the player with most appearances this season (48), Chinaglia the top goal scorer (26 goals)
Lazio Jersey 1971-72
Image Sources: SS Lazio Museum and Lazio Wiki
After several seasons in which darker blue shirts had appeared as part of the club's official equipment, Lazio returned to their traditional identity. The classic celeste shirt with white detailing was restored as the club's primary design, while the blue jersey that had featured in previous seasons disappeared from the official kit.
The change represented a return to tradition.
The technical supply of the club remained in the hands of Tuttosport, the Rome-based sporting goods company founded by Angelo Torda. Tuttosport was an important part of Lazio's identity during the 1970s, although the company did not actually manufacture the shirts itself. Instead, production was entrusted to external manufacturers, with the garments carrying the Tuttosport label.
During the 1971/72 season, at least two different manufacturers were involved in producing Lazio's jerseys.
One was Ennerre, based in Montesilvano in the province of Pescara, while another was a Roman knitwear manufacturer in the San Giovanni area whose identity has since been lost.
The result was an unusual situation in which Lazio began the season in one shirt and finished it in another.
The first home jersey, worn from the opening league match against Brescia until the fifth matchday against Como, was a short-sleeved celeste shirt with white detailing.
The shirt was made from heavy cotton, giving it a substantial feel typical of football jerseys from the period. Unlike modern shirts, where collars and cuffs are usually separate pieces sewn onto the body, the collar and cuffs on this jersey were incorporated directly into the knitting of the fabric.
The collar was a traditional V-neck, while the absence of side seams gave the shirt a particularly clean construction.
The match numbers were sewn onto the back of the jersey by machine. They were made from a thin plastic-like material and were white, providing a strong contrast against the celeste background.
This first version of the shirt was worn during the opening weeks of Lazio's return to Serie B.
As the autumn progressed and temperatures dropped, the club moved to a long-sleeved version of the same basic design. The long-sleeved jersey was worn from the sixth league match, away to Sorrento, through to the 27th matchday, when Lazio travelled to Palermo.
The long-sleeved version retained the same traditional celeste and white colour scheme and continued to feature the same style of match numbering.
Then, with spring approaching, another change took place.
On 9 April 1972, Lazio travelled to face Monza. For the final part of the season, the club introduced a completely new short-sleeved jersey.
This second design would become the most historically significant shirt of the campaign.
Unlike the heavy cotton of the opening-day jersey, the new shirt was made from a lighter, brushed wool fabric known as lanetta rasata. The material would prove particularly important in Lazio's kit history, as the same type of fabric remained in use for many seasons afterwards.
The new jersey retained the traditional V-neck but featured a more elongated collar with a noticeably pronounced point. The cuffs were also wider than those of the shirt worn at the beginning of the campaign.
The match numbering remained unchanged.
The numbers were still white and made from the lightly textured, plastic-like material that had been used on the earlier shirts.
Although the differences may appear subtle to the modern eye, the change represented a completely new model of jersey. The two shirts were made from different materials and had visibly different collar and cuff constructions.
Lazio also had an away shirt which was like the home one but white with a light blue V neck.
Sources
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