Big win
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A Governato goal in the second half gives Lazio an important win
Also on this day: February 28, 1993, Genoa Lazio 2-3. Lazio come back from 2-0 down and win the match thanks to a Riedle double and despite Paul Gascoigne's red card. Manager of the day: Dino Zoff
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had done rather well. Coming back from the hell of two years in Serie B they had arrived eighth under manager Juan Carlos Lorenzo. The Argentinian was offered a contract renewal despite the club not having much money. He had agreed and given his word, but in a typical coup de theatre, he signed for Roma instead who offered him a large advance. Umberto Mannocci was the new head coach.
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The terrible financial situation did not allow much as far as summer transfers were concerned. The club had to say goodbye to Massimo Giacomini (Genoa), Juan Carlo Morrone (Fiorentina), Egidio Fumagalli (Frosinone), Graziano Landoni (Atalanta), Mario Maraschi (Bologna) and Orlando Rozzoni (loan to Catania). The newcomers were midfielders Giampiero Vitali (Triestina), Can Bartu (Fiorentina), Eugenio Fascetti (Messina) and Kurt Christensen (Atalanta) and forwards Gianfranco Petris (Fiorentina), Giampaolo Piaceri (Genoa) and Antonio Renna (Bologna).
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The season had opened with the first round of the Coppa Italia in early September and Lazio had won at Trani 3-0. In the second round later on in the month they faced Napoli. The match ended 0-0 and was also goalless after extra time. In those days there was no penalty shootout but a flip of the coin and the Biancocelesti lost the toss.
The first half of the season had not been exceptional. Lazio were 15th with a four-point cushion over the relegation zone. They had won four (Varese, Cagliari, Mantova and Messina) all at home. They drew the derby and got a good point in Turin against Juventus. After the first six games of the second part, they had earned only two points and were now 14th, just two points more than Cagliari 16th. They had lost eight games out of eleven away from home. Time to change the stats.
The match: Sunday, February 28, 1965, Stadio Franco Ossola, Varese
Varese had not lost at home for three years, but Lazio after the home draw against Milan hoped to take a point.
The Lombards started well and after two minutes had an early chance with Vetrano, but soon the game went flat and the Biancocelesti put the match to sleep. In the 29th minute Piero Cucchi on a free kick went very close to putting Varese in the lead and four minutes later a splendid cross from Eugenio Fascetti in the box was not controlled by Carlo Galli. Then Idilio Cei was exceptional on an Alberto Spelta header. Just before the end of the first half, Kurt Christiansen saved an almost certain goal by deflecting a Cucchi close range shot.
At the beginning of the second 45 minutes, Vito D’Amato had a chance but his shot was parried by Antonio Lonardi. Spelta then had two chances: on the first he missed the ball from a favourable position and his second attempt was well saved by Cei. In the 68th minute Ivo Vetrano got injured allowing Diego Zanetti the freedom to help up front.
In the 75th minute, D’Amato crossed in the box, Galli dummied, ball to Nello Governato who whacked it into the net. Varese 0 Lazio 1.
Varese’s reaction was confused and Lazio almost made it two but D’Amato, instead of passing to Galli completely unmarked a few metres from the goal, decided to shoot from a difficult position and missed.
Great win for the Biancocelesti, their first away from home.
Who played for Varese
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Lonardi, Marcolini, Maroso, Ossola, Beltrami, Soldo, Spelta, Cucchi, Traspedini, Andersson, Vetrano
Manager: Puricelli
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Who played for Lazio
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Manager: Mannocci
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Referee: Francescon
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Goal: 75’ Governato
What happened next
It was certainly not a season to remember. With six games to go, Lazio were in deep trouble, 16th and in full relegation zone. But then three consecutive wins (Sampdoria and Foggia at home, Mantova away) plus a draw at home against Atalanta got them out of trouble and Lazio avoided relegation. They finished 14th.
The player with the most appearances was Pierluigi Pagni (35), top scorers were Nello Governato and Renna with a meagre 5 goals.
Lazio 1964-65
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 25 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 3 |
Total | 36 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 28 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Pagni | 35 | 33 | 2 |
Gasperi | 34 | 32 | 2 |
Zanetti | 34 | 32 | 2 |
Cei | 33 | 31 | 2 |
Governato | 32 | 30 | 2 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Governato | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Renna | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Mari | 3 | 3 | - |
Christiansen | 3 | 3 | - |
D'Amato | 3 | 3 | - |
Galli | 3 | 3 | - |
Let's talk about Vincenzo Gasperi
Vincenzo Gasperi was born on June 27, 1937, at Roncadelle near Brescia. He started playing football with Brescia with whom he debuted in Serie B on December 4 1955 in the match won against Parma. In 1956 he signed for Bologna in Serie A and stayed two years with 26 league appearances.
In the next three years he played in Serie A for Spal, Padova and Atalanta and in 1961 he moved to the capital of Italy to play for the Biancocelesti. Lazio had just been relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history and were hoping to get back to the first tier as soon as possible. They missed out in 1961-62 due to the fact that in a decisive match against Napoli the referee did not give Lazio a goal after claiming the ball had gone through a hole in the net. The Biancocelesti missed out on promotion by just one point and Napoli went back to Serie A by one point.
In 1962-63 Lazio managed to get promoted and Gasperi stayed until 1966. He made 148 appearances for the Biancocelesti with six goals. He was a great defender and played at very high levels, giving Lazio stability at the back.
In 1966 he was sold to Varese after a bad injury the previous season. The manager Umberto Mannocci thought that his career was over. It wasn’t. He returned to form and helped the Lombards get promoted to Serie A. After a final year at Varese, he played for Modena and Vis Pesaro in Serie C, followed by many years in the lower leagues.
When he finished playing, he became a manager and coached a number of minor Emilia-Romagna teams.
At Lazio he was very highly considered. Having played at midfield for most of his career, in Rome he moved to the defensive line and his experience always allowed him to be a point of reference for the team. His long passes were fundamental to start counter attacks and he had a good shot , often surprising goalkeepers with his long-range strikes.
He died on June 25, 2003, in Monte San Pietro near Bologna.
Lazio Playing Career
Season | Appearances (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1961-62 | 32 (2) | - | 29 (2) | 3 |
1962-63 | 37 | - | 37 | - |
1963-64 | 30 | 29 | - | 1 |
1964-65 | 34 (2) | 32 (2) | - | 2 |
1965-66 | 15 (2) | 13 (2) | - | 2 |
Total | 148 (6) | 74 (4) | 66 (2) | 12 |
Sources