December 16, 1973: Lazio Napoli 1-0

Simon Basten
5 hours ago
8 min read

Chinaglia Strikes as Lazio Edge Napoli in a Fierce Contest

A hard-fought 1–0 win at the Olimpico sends the Biancocelesti joint-top alongside Napoli and Juventus.

The season so far

In the previous season Lazio went agonisingly close to winning their first scudetto. On the eve of the final match of the season, the table read Milan 44, Juventus and Lazio 43. The final three games were Verona-Milan, Napoli-Lazio and Roma-Juve. At the end of the first half the results were Verona-Milan 3-1, Roma-Juventus 1-0, Napoli-Lazio still goalless. As a consequence, the table read Milan and Lazio 44, Juventus 43. Napoli were playing as if their life depended on it and the Biancocelesti were having a difficult time but they were potentially one goal away from the scudetto. In the second half of Roma-Juventus, the Giallorossi, frightened that Lazio could win the championship, opened the gates for the Bianconeri, who scored two goals and won. The Biancocelesti did what they could but lost, Milan were demolished 5-3. Juventus won the scudetto.

Lazio had missed the last boat, everybody thought. They would never have an opportunity like this one ever again.

The near triumph of the previous season meant that during the summer transfer window many Lazio players were sought after. Pino Wilson was wanted by the Milanese teams, Luciano Re Cecconi by Torino, Franco Nanni by Fiorentina and Juventus. There was a battle for Giorgio Chinaglia. Juventus offered a billion lire, Inter 700 thousand plus four players. But Lazio President Umberto Lenzini said no. Renato Zaccarelli and Claudio Gentile could have been signed, but it did not happen. Ferruccio Mazzola also refused to sign for Novara. In the end there were very minor movements and Lazio basically stayed as they were.

The season started with the Coppa Italia in late August. Lazio had won one (Varese), lost one (Brescia) and drawn one (Roma) so, in order to go through to the second group phase, they had to win 4-0 against Novara. They scored six and qualified.

In the UEFA Cup, Lazio faced Sion in the first round: 3-0 was money in the bank. In the return game Lazio scored immediately with Renzo Garlaschelli and switched off. The Swiss won 3-1 but scored their last goal in the 90th minute. Second round was against Ipswich Town. The first leg in England was a disaster, 4-0. Only a miracle could allow Lazio to go through, but the players were absolutely convinced they could at least take the opponents to extra time. Lazio scored after 48 seconds with Garlaschelli. In the 23rd minute Allan Hunter, a defender, saved a goal on the line with a deliberate handball. The referee Leo Van der Kroft (who the Lazio players accused of having had a little too much to drink before the game) did not give the Biancocelesti the spot kick. Chinaglia two minutes later made it 2-0. In the second half Lazio doubled their efforts but could not score their third. In the 75th minute Clive Woods dived in the box and the referee gave a penalty. All hell let loose. The referee was surrounded by the Lazio players, some allegedly even hit him. Ipswich scored and from then on, the game became a battle on the pitch and in the stands. It even continued in the changing rooms with a massive brawl among the players caused by one of the Ipswich players calling the Italians bastards. Lazio won 4-2 but were eliminated. UEFA banned Lazio from Europe for three years, reduced to one on appeal.

In campionato, the Biancocelesti started well winning the first two games (Vicenza and Sampdoria) but then lost to Juve away and drew the next three (Fiorentina, Cesena and Inter). With two points per win, they were fifth but only two points behind leaders Napoli and one behind Inter, Juventus and Fiorentina. Then they started to climb up the table. They won at Cagliari, beat Roma and were now third, one point behind Juventus, second, and two from today’s opponents Napoli. A chance to get to the top of the table.

The match: Sunday, December 16, 1973, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio claimed a crucial 1–0 victory over Napoli in a tense, combative afternoon at the Stadio Olimpico, with Giorgio Chinaglia delivering the decisive blow midway through the second half. The win lifts Tommaso Maestrelli’s side to the top of the table on 13 points, level with both Napoli and Juventus.

The match opened at a fast pace, with Lazio taking early control. Luciano Re Cecconi and Sergio Petrelli each carved out promising runs, only to be halted by the visitors’ compact defense. The visitors' first real threat came through Antonio Juliano, who drove a rising effort over the bar around the 20-minute mark.

Lazio soon responded with the game’s first major chance. Chinaglia muscled his way into the box, dragging Giusppe Bruscolotti with him, but Pietro Carmignani reacted sharply, saving in two attempts as the forward angled his shot towards the far post. Minutes later, Vincenzo D’Amico forced the goalkeeper into further action with a deft header from a Re Cecconi cross.

The Biancocelesti came closest before the break when Re Cecconi unleashed a powerful strike from a distance that crashed off the crossbar, with Mario Zurlini scrambling to clear. Napoli nearly punished Lazio on the counter, Giorgio Braglia testing Felice Pulici with a dangerous drive that the home keeper palmed away at full stretch. A lively but goalless first half drew to a close.

The second half opened in chaotic fashion. Sergio Clerici briefly believed he had given Napoli the lead, only for his finish to be disallowed—correctly—for being struck directly from an indirect free kick. The decision sparked protests, and coach Luis Vinicio earned a scolding from the referee after storming onto the pitch to embrace the would-be scorer.

Pulici, already in excellent form, produced another two decisive interventions: first tipping a Juliano shot over the bar, then making a superb double effort to deny Braglia’s thunderous long-range strike in the 70th minute.

Lazio’s breakthrough came six minutes later. Mario Frustalupi lofted a clever ball into the area, D’Amico flicked it on with a glancing header, and Chinaglia arrived at full speed to force it home off his knee. The striker sprinted toward the Monte Mario Nord stand, celebrating wildly as the Olimpico erupted.

Emboldened by the goal, Lazio pushed for a second, with Carmignani forced into an acrobatic save to stop a ferocious Chinaglia free kick. Napoli’s late attempts to salvage a result were disjointed and ultimately fruitless.

As the final whistle sounded, celebrations swept across the Olimpico—while tempers briefly flared in the Curva Nord between rival supporters. On the pitch, however, Lazio’s players embraced a vital victory that sent them to the summit of the league and reinforced their growing reputation as genuine title contenders.

Who played for Lazio

Pulici, Petrelli, Martini, Wilson, Oddi, Nanni, Garlaschelli (72’ Franzoni), Re Cecconi, Chinaglia, Frustalupi, D’Amico

Substitutes: Moriggi, Facco

Manager: Maestrelli

Who played for Napoli

Carmignani, Bruscolotti, Pogliana, Zurlini, Vavassori, Orlandini, Cané (80' Ferradini), Juliano, Clerici, Esposito, Braglia

Substitutes: Da Pozzo, Albano

Manager: Vinicio

Referee: Michelotti

Goal: 77’ Chinaglia

What happened next

Lazio continued to win beating Verona, Milan and Genoa before losing at home against Torino in the 13th fixture. But then wins at Foggia and against Bologna at home allowed them to close the first half of the season top of the table with a three-point lead over Juventus.

The second half of the season started with a win against Vicenza but then the Biancocelesti lost at Genoa to Sampdoria. Juventus were now two points behind and the next game was Lazio-Juventus.

The Biancocelesti faced the mother of all games without Re Cecconi injured, replaced by Fausto Inselvini who had arrived in the autumn transfer window, an excellent all-rounder who could basically play anywhere. Lazio crushed the Bianconeri, went ahead 2-0 and could have scored more. Two controversial penalties were awarded to Juventus in the second half, the first one saved by Pulici but not the second. The Biancocelesti reacted, created a massive chance with Long John and then scored their third thanks to a Chinaglia penalty. Lazio top, three points clear of Napoli and four ahead of Juventus.

The lead remained the same for the next two games (draw in Florence and win over Cesena) and reduced by one when Lazio lost against Inter. The +3 returned after a week thanks to a 2-0 win over Cagliari. The Biancocelesti then beat Roma for the second time, again coming from behind, taking them to a +4 lead.

The next two games were remarkable. In the first, away to Napoli, Lazio fell behind three times and managed to equalise every time thanks to a Chinaglia hat-trick. In the second, against Verona at home, at the end of the first half the Biancocelesti were losing 2-1. Lazio had played well, had had numerous chances, but been unlucky. On entering the changing rooms at the interval, Maestrelli refused to open the doors and sent the players back out on the pitch. The crowd could not believe it. Why had they come back on to play so early? There were more than 10 minutes to go until the beginning of the second half. After a few minutes of bewilderment, the fans got it and started to shout Lazio-Lazio. They did that for the entire interval so when Verona came back onto the pitch, they saw the Lazio players already raring to go and the crowd all wound up, it was like walking into a den unarmed against 50,000 lions. In the second half the Biancocelesti ripped them apart and won 4-2.

A goalless draw in Milan allowed Juventus to pull a point back but Lazio then won the next game against Genoa. Three games to go, three-point lead. The Biancocelesti lost to Torino 2-1 but Juventus lost too. Two games to go. If Lazio beat Foggia at home, the scudetto was theirs.

Against Foggia, paralysed by fear, the Biancocelesti possibly played their worst game so far, but won thanks to a Chinaglia penalty. The scudetto was won, the first in the club's 74-year history. The final game at Bologna was basically a friendly and ended 2-2.

Lazio played the most exciting football, had a bunch of wild players who fitted perfectly together, managed by the Maestro. Pulici, Petrelli, Martini, Wilson, Oddi Nanni, Garlaschelli, Re Cecconi, Chinaglia, Frustalupi, D’Amico plus Inselvini, Facco, Polentes, Franzoni and Manservisi. Heroes and legends that will never be forgotten.

Let’s talk about Sergio Clerici

After José Altafini, Nené and Angelo Sormani retired from Italian football in 1976, Sergio Clerici was the last foreigner playing in Italy until the reopening in 1980. Following the defeat in the 1966 World Cup against North Korea, the Italian federation had prohibited Italian clubs from signing any foreign players. This was a disaster for some Italian clubs but particularly Inter who had already signed Franz Bekenbauer and Eusebio.

Sergio Clerici, born in Sao Paulo on May 25 1941, had arrived in Italy in 1960-61 when he signed for Lecco coming from Portuguesa Santista (incidentally Neymar’s first youth club). A centre-forward, he stayed in Lombardy for six years, two in Serie A (where he did not score very much) and four in Serie B where he gave a considerable contribution in goals.

In 1967 he signed for Bologna but again had difficulty in scoring in Serie A. Then, starting from 1968-69 with Atalanta, he became a very valid goal scorer and continued to score for Verona, Fiorentina and especially Napoli under manager Luis Vinicio. In 1975-76 he went back to Bologna and stayed for a couple of years.

Vinicio convinced Lazio to sign him in 1977 and he stayed a year as an alternative centre-forward. He did not play much and his contribution was minimal. At the end of the season he left for Montreal Castors in the Canadian National Soccer League.

Lazio fans remember him for his goal against Inter which was the last goal scored by a foreign player in Italy until Daniel Bertoni scored for Fiorentina against Catanzaro on September 28, 1980.

Once he stopped playing football he became a manager and was in charge of Palmeiras, Santos and Inter de Limeira.

He played 16 games for Lazio (11 in Serie A, 4 in Coppa Italia and one game in the UEFA Cup) and scored two goals, one in Serie A and one in Coppa Italia.

Lazio Career

Season	Total appearances (goals)	Serie A	Coppa Italia	UEFA Cup
1977-78	16 (2)	11 (1)	4 (1)	1

Sources

Lazio Wiki

Lazio Stories