January 15, 1978: Lazio-Milan 2-0
- Dag Jenkins
- 2 days ago
- 10 min read
An impressive eagle but a tame devil
Two second half goals give Lazio memorable win over Milan
The season so far
The previous season had been a positive one for Lazio. Under Luís Vinicio and helped by rising youth sector stars, Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia and Andrea Agostinelli, the Biancocelesti had arrived 5th in Serie A and qualified for the UEFA Cup. The highlights were defeating Roma 1-0, Fiorentina 4-1, Inter 2-1, Bologna and Cesena 3-0, Genoa 4-1 all at home and Fiorentina 1-0 away. Top scorer was Giordano with 13 goals (10 in A).
It had also been a sad year with the deaths of two Scudetto heroes; manager Tommaso Maestrelli, on 2 December 1976 and midfielder Luciano Re Cecconi on 18 January 1977, in a possible prank gone tragically wrong but more likely just a tragic misunderstanding (Lazio's "Angelo Biondo" was shot to death in a jewellery shop)..
This year Lazio had a pretty much unchanged squad. In had come midfielder Luigi Boccolini (Catanzaro) and forward Sergio Clerici (Bologna) while leaving were midfielders Maurizio Montesi (Avellino - loan ) and Fernando Viola (Bologna - loan). In the Autumn session Lazio also said farewell to two Scudetto winners; legendary goalkeeper Felice Pulici (Monza) and defender Luigi Polentes (Modena).
So far in Serie A the Biancocelesti were joint 8th, on 13 points with Verona. Europe was three points above (Perugia on 16) while Serie B was five points below (Fiorentina on 8). Lazio had won 3 (including Juventus 3-0 at home), drawn 7 (including derby 0-0 and Inter 1-1 away) and lost 3 (including recent 0-4 away to Perugia).
In Coppa Italia in August/September they had won two (Monza 2-1 and Ternana 4-1 at home) and lost 2 (Varese 1-2 and Bologna 0-1 both away) and were eliminated.
In the UEFA Cup they had passed the first round (Boavista 5-1) but then lost to Lens. Lazio won 2-0 in Rome, lost 0-2 in France and then famously collapsed in extra-time 0-6 (hit for Six by a Didier Six hat-trick). Lazio would get partial revenge 19 years later, knocking Lens out of the 1996-97 UEFA Cup.
Milan had finished a disappointing 10th the previous season. The manager was first Giuseppe Marchioro and then from February Nereo Rocco returned. Milan had defeated Lazio 2-1 in Rome and drawn 2-2 at home. The Rossoneri however won the Coppa Italia (on the way defeating Lazio 2-1 in Rome again) by triumphing over Inter 2-0. The top scorer was Egidio Calloni with 15 goals (5 in A).
This season the manager was Nils Liedholm. The main new signings were midfielder Ruben Buriani (Monza), plus forwards Roberto Antonelli (Monza - back from loan), Luciano Gaudino (Varese - back from loan) and Ugo Tosetto (Monza).
Leaving were defenders Angelo Anquilletti (Monza, after 418 games) and Duilio Gorin (Monza) plus forwards Massimo Silva (Monza) and Francesco Vincenzi (L.R. Vicenza). In the autumn defender Giorgio Biasiolo had also left (Lecce, after 215 games).
So quite busy traffic on the Milano-Monza route.
At the moment the Rossoneri were 2nd, on 18 points, only one behind leaders Juventus. The Devil had won 6 (including derby 3-1), drawn 6 (including Juventus 1-1 away) and lost 1.
In Coppa Italia, Milan would start directly from the second-round group stage in May-June 1978.
In the Cup Winners Cup the Rossoneri were eliminated immediately by Betis Sevilla 2-3 on aggregate.
Milan were favourites today but they had not won in four games (D3, L1) and Lazio had already shown against Juventus that they could be dangerous at home. Their last home win however had been on October 30, time for another with a big scalp thrown in?
The match: Sunday, January 15, 1978, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Light cloud and sunny in Rome today but the pitch was slightly heavy due to the previous days' rain. A 50,000-crowd turned up with a large away support too as the "Big Three" have fans all over the country and Rome is a popular and convenient fixture especially for fans from southern Italy.
Lazio were without defender Gigi Martini and midfielder Vincenzo D'Amico while Milan were missing defender Aldo Bet and midfielder Ruben Buriani.
The first half was soporific and was played at pedestrian pace. There was no goal action and not much to comment on. Lazio attacked more and totted up corners and at least forced Enrico Albertosi into a couple of saves while Claudio Garella barely had to dirty his gloves. At halftime Lazio 0 Milan 0.
At halftime Vinicio decided to replace injured defender Pietro Ghedin with midfielder Luigi Boccolini.
In the second half Lazio decided to speed things up and finally played with a sense of urgency. Renzo Garlaschelli and Bruno Giordano began to cause more problems for Giuseppe Sabadini and young Fulvio Collovati.
Giordano had a goal mysteriously disallowed but the Biancocelesti got the breakthrough anyway in the 61st minute. Ciccio Cordova ran forward and seeing he was not challenged tried a low shot which came off the post and then hit outstretched goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi's back, the quickest to react was Boccolini who pounced and scored, 1-0.
The visitors complained that Giordano had got in Albertosi's way when he was on the ground but the referee after consulting the linesman gave the goal.
At this point Milan woke up but were never dangerous. They messed up the last pass a couple of times and despite a few scrambles in Lazio's area Claudio Garella was not threatened.
They also left Lazio a lot of space on the break. In the 74th minute Totò Lopez burst forward and teed up Cordova but his effort went just wide.
In the 75th minute the Rossoneri made a strange move by taking off their centre-forward Egidio Calloni and putting on Ugo Tosetto.
Lazio absorbed Milan's sterile pressure and in the 82nd minute scored again. Following a Francesco Morini mistake, Cordova sent Garlascelli on the counterattack, the Lombard winger went past Collovati and then past the keeper but towards the by-line from where he intelligently passed to a better positioned Giordano who had no problem scoring, 2-0.
Lazio then controlled the last minutes without conceding any chances to the devil to reopen the game. Final score Lazio 2 Milan 0.
An excellent win for Lazio, prestigious, important but above all deserved. After a dull first half the Biancocelesti had changed gears while Milan had not. Lazio had been superior in midfield, scored two good goals, had one disallowed and not risked anything at the back. At the end of the game even Nils Liedholm, Gianni Rivera and Fabio Capello admitted the fairness of the result.
Lazio were now joint 7th with Verona and Napoli on 15 points and only two from the last European slot (Perugia on 17).
Milan were still 2nd on 18 points but had been caught up by Torino and Vicenza while Juventus were now at +3 (beating Roma 2-0 at home).
Who played for Lazio
Garella, Pighin, Ghedin (46' Boccolini), Wilson, Manfredonia, Cordova, Garlaschelli, Agostinelli, Giordano, Lopez, Badiani
Manager: Vinicio
Who played for Milan
Albertosi, Sabadini, Maldera III, Morini, Collovati, Turone, Antonelli, Capello, Bigon, Rivera, Calloni (74' Tosetto)
Substitutes: Rigamonti, Boldini
Manager: Liedholm
Referee: Gonella
Goals: 61' Boccolini, 82' Giordano
What happened next
Lazio finished 10th in Serie A. The Biancocelesti were too inconsistent to get back into Europe. The Biancocelesti had some good wins, Milan 1-0 away (then awarded 2-0) and Inter 1-0 and Perugia 2-0 at home but generally struggled. Vinicio was replaced by Bob Lovati after 24 matches and Lazio avoided relegation worries by winning three out of the last five matches. The return derby with Roma again ended in a draw 1-1. The top scorer was Bruno Giordano with 19 goals (12 in A).
Lazio would not beat Milan again at home until 1995 (4-0) but then ten times since.
Milan finished 4th (UEFA). In the next 16 games they won 6, drew 7 (including Juventus at home and Inter, both 0-0) and lost 3 (including Lazio, 0-1 on field and then 0-2 for Lazio player Pietro Ghedin being forced off badly dazed by firecrackers thrown on pitch). The top scorer was Aldo Maldera with 8 league goals.
In the Coppa Italia 2nd group phase they won 3 (Juventus 3-0 away and 4-2 at home and Taranto 2-0 at home), drew 2 (Taranto away and Napoli at home, both 1-1) and lost 1 (Napoli 0-1 away) and were eliminated (Napoli topped group).
The Scudetto was won by Juventus for the 18th time. Serie B was calling for Foggia, Genoa and Pescara.
The Coppa Italia would eventually be won by Inter who defeated Napoli 2-1 in Rome.
The UEFA Cup was won by PSV Eindhoven who defeated Corsicans Bastia 3-0 on aggregate.
Let's talk about Fabio Capello
Today we will talk about an opposing player and manager.
Fabio Capello was born in San Canzian d'Isonzo (Gorizia-Friuli) on June 18, 1946.
He started playing football with local club Pieris and then in 1962 joined the youth setup of his first professional club, SPAL from Ferrara.
In 1963 he joined the first team and stayed four seasons. The Estensi were in Serie A but got relegated, won promotion and then finished 15th and 12th in A. Capello played a total of 54 games with 4 goals (3 in A-Napoli, Inter and Venezia). In his last season he suffered from knee problems. His managers were Giacomo Blason, G.B Fabbri and Francesco Petagna (for almost three seasons). His teammates included Lazio connections: future manager Edy Reja (2010-12, 2014) and forward Orlando Rozzoni (1959-61, 1962-64, 1965-66).
In 1967 he joined Roma and stayed three seasons. The Giallorossi finished 10th, 8th and 10th. In his first season he continued to have physical problems but then played regularly. In 1969 they won the Coppa Italia and in 1970 reached the Cup Winners Cup semi-finals. He played a total of 90 games with 18 goals (11 in A). The managers were Oronzo Pugliese and then Helenio Herrera for two seasons. His teammates included Lazio connections Vito D'Amato (1963-67), Ciccio Cordova (1976-79) and Luciano Spinosi (assistant to Eriksson 1997-2000 and then technical collaborator 2000-2004).
In 1970 Capello signed for Juventus. He stayed six seasons in Turin, winning the Scudetto three times (1972, 1973, 1975). He played a total of 240 games with 41 goals (27 in A). His managers were Armando Picchi, Čestmír Vycpálek (for three and a half seasons), Carlo Parola (for two seasons). He played alongside Lazio connections Nando Viola (1976-77, 1978-82), Giorgio Mastropasqua (1980-82), Vincenzo Chiarenza (1981-82, 1983), Oscar Damiani (1985-86), Dino Zoff (manager, 1990-94, 1997, 2001) and Luciano Spinosi again.
In 1976 he signed for A.C Milan where he stayed four seasons. The Rossoneri won a Scudetto (1979) and a Coppa Italia (1977). He played a total of 87 games with 9 goals (4 in A). His managers were Giuseppe Marchioro, Nereo Rocco, Nils Liedholm for two seasons and then former Lazio player Massimo Giacomini. In his years with Milan the squads included Lazio connections Massimo Silva (1972), Alberto Bigon (1980-82) and Stefano Chiodi (1980-81, 1982-83)
In 1980 Milan finished 3rd but like Lazio they were punished with relegation to Serie B for their involvement in the Calcioscomesse scandal (betting and match fixing). At this point Capello retired at 36.
With Italy he won 32 caps and scored 8 goals (including the winner at Wembley in 1973). He played in the 1974 World Cup (scoring against Poland).
A successful playing career but he was then even more successful as a manager.
He started in 1981 with the Milan youth teams and won a Primavera Coppa Italia in 1985.
In April 1987 he took over the first team due to Liedholm's deteriorating health. He then returned in 1991 and stayed another five seasons. He won the Scudetto four times (1992, 1993, 1994, 1996), a Champions League (1994, Barcelona 4-0), a UEFA Super Cup (1994) and the Italian Supercoppa three times (1992, 1993 and 1994). His players included Milan legends: Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Carlo Ancelotti, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Marco Van Basten, Dejan Savićević, Marc Desailly, Zvonimir Boban, George Weah just to name a few. He also coached Lazio connections Mauro Tassotti (1976-80), Paolo Di Canio (1987-90, 2004-06), Diego Fuser (1992-98), Demetrio Albertini (2003-04)
In 1996 he was called to be Real Madrid manager. He stayed with the merengues one season and won the Liga. He left due to problems with Florentino Perez.
He then returned to Italy and Milan. It was a poor year for the Rossoneri who finished 10th and also lost the Coppa Italia final to Lazio.
In 1999 he signed for Roma and stayed five seasons. The Giallorossi finished 6th, 1st, 2nd, 8th and 2nd. In 2001 therefore, he won a historic 3rd league title for Roma who also won the 2001 Supercoppa.
In 2004 he returned to another club where he had played, Juventus. He won the scudetto twice but both times it was later taken away from them due to the Calciopoli scandal. The 2005 scudetto went unawarded while the following year the Bianconeri were punished with relegation to Serie B.
Capello left and in 2006 went back to the blancos in Madrid and won La Liga again. In the Champions league however the Madridistas went out in the last 16 to Bayern Munich. A month after the end of the season Capello was sacked due to disagreements with Ramón Calderon.
He then was chosen as the new England manager. He was in charge of the Three Lions from 2007 to 2012. He oversaw 42 games with 28 wins, 8 draws and 6 defeats. He led England to and at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. England reached the last 16 but were beaten 4-1 by Germany. He then qualified for the 2012 Euros but resigned in February 2012 over the FA stripping John Terry of the captaincy due to his alleged racist behaviour towards Anton Ferdinand.
In the summer of 2012 Capello then became manager of Russia. He qualified for the 2014 World Cup but did not make it past the group phase (D2, L1). He was then initially confirmed but then replaced in the summer of 2015. His final stats were: won 17, drew 11 and lost 5.
In June 2017 Capello then went to China and joined Jiangsu Sunning. He finished 12th in the league. The following season after only 3 league games his contract was interrupted by mutual consent. On April 9, 2018 he announced his retirement from management.
He then went back to being a TV pundit. He had already started in 1983 and had continued on and off even during his time as manager. He now works for Sky Sport.
As a player Capello was a midfield playmaker. He had good feet and organised the game in a simple but intelligent manner. He was a strong character, a born leader.
Leadership qualities which he then used in a highly successful career as a manager. He won 7 league titles, a Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup and 4 Italian Supercoppe.
A trophy laden career both as a player and as a manager.
Sources
Comments