December 20, 1959: Spal Lazio 1-1
- Lazio Stories
- 21 hours ago
- 7 min read
Lazio Weather the Fog to Hold Spal in Emilia
Biancocelesti remain unbeaten on the road in a tense, mist-shrouded clash
The season so far
The previous season Lazio finished 11th but had won the first trophy of their long history. In the final of the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti beat Fiorentina 1-0 thanks to a Maurillio Prini goal.
In the summer transfer window of 1959 Lazio could not really do very much due to the financial difficulty the club was in. The most important signing was Orlando Rozzoni from Spal, who would become a legendary player for the Biancocelesti. Leaving Lazio were Renzo Burini (Cesena) and Carlo Tagnin (Bari).
The beginning of the season was promising and Lazio in the first four games won 2 and drew two. But then a heavy defeat in the derby, 3-0, and a loss at home against Juventus in reality showed that the Biancocelesti were probably going to have a poor year. The previous Sunday they had lost 5-0 at home to Fiorentina. There was a need for a reaction.
The match: Sunday, December 20, 1959, Stadio Comunale, Ferrara
Lazio survived a tricky trip to face a Spal side that had been one of the season’s most surprising performers. With a disciplined defence, a physical midfield, a creative playmaker in Oscar Massei, and the sharp counterattacks of Egidio Morbello and Carlo Novelli, the home team looked every bit the threat their recent form suggested.
Coach Fulvio Bernardini welcomed back key players Adelmo Eufemi and Humberto Tozzi after several weeks on the side-lines, while Fioravanti Baldi devised a double-marking plan to contain Lazio’s Brazilian striker.
The opening quarter was cautious, with Morbello testing Lazio goalkeeper Idilio Cei with a powerful low shot, easily saved. Minutes later, Cei was again alert to deny another dangerous attempt, and Novelli’s precise cross put the Roman defence under serious pressure. Lazio nearly struck before halftime: Ugo Pozzan combined with Tozzi and shot on the run, only to see the ball rattle the outside of Natale Nobili’s post.
The second half brought even more drama, as thickening fog made conditions difficult for players and spectators alike. Seven minutes in, Lazio broke the deadlock. Bruno Franzini initiated the move, Tozzi’s clever dummy opened space, and Pozzan’s quick pass allowed Tozzi to delicately slot the ball past the Spal goalkeeper.
The hosts responded furiously, forcing Lazio to retreat and resort to tactical fouls to stem the tide. Massei’s free kick went just wide in the 59th minute, and Guerrino Rossi seemed to equalise three minutes later, only for the referee to spot a handball and disallow the goal.
The inevitable equaliser arrived in the 63rd minute. Dante Micheli set Massei in motion, who anticipated Cei and calmly levelled the score. Despite worsening visibility, the referee allowed the game to continue, judging that both sides were satisfied with the balanced play.
The final whistle confirmed Lazio’s reputation as a formidable away team. Outside the derby, Bernardini’s side had yet to taste defeat on the road this season, demonstrating resilience even under the most challenging conditions.
Who played for Spal
Nobili, Trentini, Bozzao, Micheli, Catalani, Ganzer, Novelli, Massei, Rossi, Balleri, Morbello
Manager: Baldi
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Bernardini
Referee: Righetti
Goals: 52’ Tozzi, 63’ Massei
What happened next
At the end of the first half of the season Lazio had 16 points, four above the relegation zone.
The beginning of the second half of the campionato was even worse with six consecutive losses. Then a win at home against Napoli, a draw away to Atalanta and a win against Palermo at the Olimpico allowed Lazio to distance themselves from the bottom. With three games to go Lazio were 14th, one point ahead of Alessandria and two in front of Palermo. The Biancocelesti managed to win against Genoa away and Padova at home and avoid relegation in the penultimate match.
A very disappointing season. Lazio struggled to score goals, only 32, and some players, such as Humberto Tozzi, underperformed.
However, in Coppa Italia Lazio managed to reach the semi-final after beating Bologna away in extra time. They then lost against Juventus in Turin and would go on to play the third place final in September (which they won against Torino).
Janich was the player with most appearances (36) and Rozzoni the top goal scorer (14).
A brief history of Spal
S.P.A.L, Società Polisportiva Ars Labor, are a football club from Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna.
The club was founded in 1907 as a religious and cultural entity and soon became a multi-sports club and in 1910 joined the FIGC (Italian Football Federation) with the name Ferrara Foot-Ball Club. In 1913 the sports branch left the club and formed the Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor. From 1919 the football team took the name too. Ars et Labor means "Art and Work" in Latin.
Their first official game under the new name was against Triestina on June 16 1919. They had previously played a few friendlies including one against British soldiers based in Bologna.
Between 1920 and 1925 SPAL were in the top national flight. In 1922 they reached the semi-finals but were defeated by Sampierdarenese. They were then relegated and in 1933 won the Prima Divisione and joined the newly formed Serie B.
Between then and the Second World War the Ferraresi went between Serie B and C. They however had many of their players join Serie A such as Abdon Sgarbi who would play for Italy and Mario Romani and Aldo Barbieri who went to Milan.
After the war the president was former manager Paolo Mazza and SPAL had renewed ambitions. In 1946 they returned to Serie B and in 1951 won a historic promotion to Serie A under Antonio Janni. This coincided with the opening of their renovated stadium. SPAL then finished 9th in A.
There followed the best twenty years in their history. They stayed in A until 1964 and in 1960 finished 5th, their best ever. In 1962 they reached the Coppa Italia final beating Juventus 4-1 in the semi-final but then lost 1-2 to Napoli in Rome.
In 1964 they were relegated but bounced straight back up again and stayed another three seasons. One of their best players in this period was a young Fabio Capello.
In 1968 SPAL were relegated and for the next 50 years or so went between Serie B and C and even four seasons in C2. In 1999 they won the Serie C Coppa Italia.
In 2012 due to financial problems they were docked points and ended up relegated to the 4th tier. On July 13 SPAL were excluded from the upcoming league and in March 2014 declared bankrupt.
They started up in Serie D with new owners and in 2014 joined the new unified Lega Pro (3rd tier). In 2016 they won promotion to Serie B under Leonardo Semplici and in 2017 promotion to Serie A.
They stayed in A for three seasons. In the first they finished 17th, in the second 13th but in the third were relegated, closing in 20th place. In these three seasons they had some great wins including Atalanta 2-0, Roma 2-0 away and 2-1 at home, Lazio 1-0 and 2-1 at home, Juventus 2-1 at home plus Parma three times. In the third season promotion hero Semplici was sacked towards the end and replaced by Gigi Di Biagio but as said the Estensi went down and have not been back since.
There followed three years in B but then relegation to C in 2023 (they even tried Daniele De Rossi and then Massimo Oddo as managers).
In 2023-24 SPAL finished 11th in C. In the 2024-2025 season, SPAL avoided relegation in the play-outs, prevailing over Milan Futuro. However, the club later had its application for entry into the following season’s championship rejected by Covisoc due to failures in paying wages and contributions. Consequently, the Biancazzurri were denied a national license by the FIGC Federal Council, remaining excluded from professional competitions.
On August 6, 2025, following bankruptcy petitions filed by employees, the court ordered the judicial liquidation of S.P.A.L. Srl, owned by Joe Tacopina and Marcello Follano, with estimated debts ranging between 10 and 15 million euros.
Taking advantage of federal regulations, the municipality of Ferrara opened a call for applications to identify parties interested in founding a new club, Ars et Labor Ferrara, which would restart in surplus from the Eccellenza Emilia-Romagna championship. On July 11, 2025, the assignment was given to the consortium represented by Argentine entrepreneur Juan Martin Molinari.
SPAL's colours are blue and white. These were adopted by the original Salesian priests of San Giovanni Bosco. The only exception was between 1939 and 1944 when they played in the town colours of black and white. The shirts are blue and white vertical stripes. The club symbol is a fawn.
The Comunale stadium since 1982 has been called the Paolo Mazza and has a capacity of 16,134. Its maximum was about 25,000 in the 195's. It is the fifth oldest stadium still in use in Italy.
The player with most appearances is Giulio Boldrini with 287 while the foreigner with most games is Argentine Oscar Massei with 253 and he also has most goals in Serie A (47). The absolute top scorer is Mario Romani with 130 in total, followed by Franco Pezzato with 95. On a Lazio note, current Biancoceleste Manuel Lazzari is 7th for total appearances for SPAL with 215 (2013-19).
Some famous players who have played for the Biancazzurri include, in order of time: Abdon Sgarbi, Egisto Pandolfini, Fulvio Nesti, Franco Zaglio, Beniamino Di Giacomo, Armando Picchi, Saul Malatrasi, Adolfo Gori, Fabio Capello, Ruben Buriani, Manuel Lazzari, Salvatore Esposito. Their first player to be called up for the national side was keeper Ottavio Bugatti for the 1952 Olympics where SPAL forward (and future Lazio) Alberto Fontanesi also played.
Prominent managers include: Walter Alt, Paolo Mazza, József Violak, Antonio Janni, Paolo Tabanelli, Fioravante Baldi, Luigi Ferrero, Giovan Battista Fabbri, Giovanni Galeone, Massimiliano Allegri and Leonardo Semplici.
The most important owner is obviously Paolo Mazza who was president from 1944 to 1977.
The SPAL fans are estimated to be about 121,000. The most passionate supporters sit in the East stand. Over the years there have been numerous organised fan groups but the biggest current one is the Curva Ovest Otto Settembre. They have friendly relationships with Ancona in particular plus Genoa, Perugia, Cosenza, Potenza and L'Aquila. Their rivals are mainly regional with Bologna, Reggiana, Parma, Modena, Cesena, Rimini and Ravenna but also with Vicenza, Padova, Verona, Como, Brescia, Atalanta, Triestina, Spezia and Ascoli.
SPAL are rated as the 26th club for Serie A results and 27th by the FIGC for footballing tradition.
Sources
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