June 19, 1964: Dynamo Kyiv-Lazio 1-2, post season friendly

Lazio Stories
Jun 19
7 min read

Morrone conquers Kyiv

A solid defence and an inspired "Gaucho" give Lazio win behind the iron curtain

The season so far

The previous season Lazio had won promotion back to Serie A. Under manager Carlo Facchini, for the first four games, and then Bob Lovati with Juan Carlos Lorenzo as technical director, the Biancocelesti had conquered 2nd place and a place back in the big time. Orlando Rozzoni and Paolo Bernasconi both got 10 goals each.

This was a year after being robbed of a promotion in 1961-62 when Gianni Seghedoni's goal, in a crucial game against Napoli was absurdly not given after it went through a hole in the net.

This year Lorenzo was officially manager. The main new players were: midfielders Paolo Carosi (Udinese-back from loan), Massimo Giacomini (Genoa), Alberto Mari (Sambenedettese), Bruno Mazzia (Juventus-on loan) plus forward Carlo Galli (Genoa).

Leaving were defenders Adelmo Eufemi (Udinese), Gianni Seghedoni (Vis Pesaro), Giambattista Moschino (Torino-end of loan) plus forwards Paolo Bernasconi (Parma), Claudio Bizzarri (Civitanovese) and Angelo Longoni (Vis Pesaro).

Lazio started the season in the Coppa Italia but were eliminated immediately by Cagliari 0-1 away.

In Serie A Lazio then finished a decent 8th in Serie A. The Biancocelesti won 9 (Milan 1-0 and Juventus 3-0 both away), drew 12 (including both derbies) and lost 13. The top scorers were Juan Carlos Morrone and Mario Maraschi with 5 league goals each (out of a mere 21).

After the league finished Lazio went on a tour to Ukraine (then Soviet Union) and Romania. Today was the first game of the tour, against Dynamo Kyiv. The manager was Bob Lovati.

Dynamo Kyiv were founded in 1927. They were originally the Soviet police team of Kyiv. By 1964 the Blue and Whites had won one league title in 1961, one Kubok SSR (Russian Cup) in 1954 and six RSS Ukraine (Ukraine Cups) in 1937, '38, '44, '46, '47 and '48.

In June 1964 they were in the middle of their domestic campaign in the top Russian flight. The Kyiv manager was highly influential Viktor Maslov.

The match: Friday, June 19, 1964, Olimpiyskyi Stadium, Kyiv

About 10,000 spectators turned up for this friendly.

Lazio played with their best possible XI.

The hosts started strongly and Lazio goalkeeper Idilio Cei was twice forced to make excellent saves to deny the Ukrainians.

The locals' pressure paid off in the 30th minute as they took the lead. On a long ball from defence Volodymyr Levchenko controlled the ball brilliantly, turned and beat the Italian keeper, 1-0.

Lazio did not change their cautious approach and the Soviets continued to attack. In the 45th minute the Romans' tactic was rewarded. Kyiv were unbalanced and Carlo Galli started a counter attack, Juan Carlos Morrone continued it and set up Graziano Landoni who let off a precise shot which beat Victor Bannikov, 1-1.

In the second half the Biancocelesti came back on with more confidence and took the game to the hosts.

In the 53rd minute Lazio went in front with the best player on the field, Morrone. The "Gaucho" picked up the ball just over the halfway line, beat an opponent and cut towards the middle where he suddenly darted forward beating two defenders, raced into the area and scored with a perfect cross goal shot, 1-2.

Dynamo Kiev tried to get back in the game but the Italians defensive organisation meant that despite heavy pressure they were unable to create particularly dangerous efforts.

It was still Morrone who still shone the brightest with his darting runs, dribblings and skills which even brought applause from the home fans.

A prestigious win for Lazio and a good start to their Eastern European tour.

Dynamo Kyiv - line-up not available

Who played for Lazio

Cei, Zanetti, Garbuglia, Governato (Carosi), Pagni, Gasperi, Maraschi, Landoni, Rozzoni, Galli, Morrone

Manager: Lovati

Referee: Krustikov (USSR)

Goals: 30' Levchenko, 45' Landoni, 53' Morrone

What happened next

Things did not continue as positively and Lazio then lost their next three games; Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1, Progesul Bucharest 2-3 and Dynamo Pitesti 1-2.

The following season Juan Carlos Lorenzo "defected" to Roma and the Biancocelesti finished 14th in Serie A under Umberto Mannocci.

In the 1964 league, which lasted until November, Dynamo Kyiv finished 2nd behind Dynamo Tbilisi, they won 10, drew 16 and lost 6.

The following year Dynamo Kyiv again finished 2nd in the Soviet League (behind Torpedo Moscow). They would win it again in 1966 and then another 11 times. They would also win another 7 Soviet Cups and 3 Super Cups.

In September 1964 they won the domestic cup and played in the 1965-66 Cup Winners Cup in which they reached the quarter-finals (Celtic 1-4). They would then win the Cup Winners Cup in 1975 (Ferencváros 3-0) and 1986 (Atlético Madrid 3-0) and the UEFA Super Cup in 1975 shocking Bayern Munich 3-0 on aggregate (with the great Ballon d'Or winner Oleh Blochin and Valerij Lobanovs'kyj as manager).

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1992 they started to take part in the Ukrainian League. They surprisingly failed to win the first one (Tavrija triumphed) but then won nine in a row. They have now won 17 Ukrainian league titles, 13 Cups and 9 Super Cups. In 1998-99 they reached the Champions League semi-finals but lost to Bayern Munich.

They have since crossed Lazio's path six more times. In 1999-2000 in the Champions League group phase (2-1 and 1-0 Lazio), in the 2017-18 Europa League last 16 (2-2, 2-0 Lazio) and again in the 2024-25 Europa League maxi group phase (3-0 Lazio in neutral venue due to the war).

A glorious club but with a poor record against Lazio.

Let's talk about Graziano Landoni

Graziano Landoni was born in Legnano, near Milan, on November 29, 1939.

He started playing football in the youth teams of Legnano and Gallaratese. He made his professional debut in Serie C with Pro Vercelli together with his future Lazio teammate Mario Maraschi. He impressed and in 1959 joined Messina in Serie B where he stayed for a couple of seasons.

In 1961 he signed for Lazio, who had just been relegated to Serie B for the first time. The manager Carlo Facchi decided to play him at midfield on the right and with the task of play making but also defending. This would be his position for the rest of his career.

It was a jinxed season. Managers coming and going, Lazio’s too many ups and downs and then there was the famous ghost goal. Lazio had to play Napoli at the Stadio Flaminio on March 4 1962. It was a big match, if Lazio had won the immediate return in Serie A would be downhill from then on. In the 76th minute the referee, Iginio Rigato, gave a free kick to Lazio. Gianni Seghedoni with a splendid shot put the ball in the back of the net. The Lazio players and fans celebrated, the Napoli players despaired. Rigato laughed. “It’s not a goal, the ball went out”. There was a hole in the net and he claimed the ball went right through it. Lazio protested but there was nothing the players could do. The Rai TV footage proved the referee’s mistake and Lazio appealed to the Lega Calcio, but the game’s result remained 0-0. The ref never admitted his mistake. Lazio missed out on promotion by one point, Napoli went into Serie A thanks to that point.

They did not miss out the next season and Landoni was one of the protagonists of Lazio’s return to Serie A under the management of Juan Carlos Lorenzo. Lazio’s first season in Serie A was OK, but who really impressed everybody was Landoni. He was considered one of the best midfield players of Serie A. He was blond, a serious chap, great sportsmanship, powerful, all characteristics that made him a fan favourite. He was made skipper of the team and perhaps his only fault was that at times he seemed a bit slow. A modern midfielder, perhaps ahead of his time.

When Lorenzo left to manage Roma, the new head coach Umberto Mannocci could not stop the club from selling Landoni and cashing in on a player with a big monetary value (Lazio were always in financial difficulty in those years). Hence Landoni left Lazio and signed for Atalanta.

Despite playing a lot in Bergamo, he was never able to replicate the form he had shown at Lazio and after a year he was sold to Catania. Here he went into a crisis, both physical as well as psychological, and had a number of problems with manager Carmelo Di Bella. A year later he was sold to Palermo. Landoni improved, and his second year with the Rosaneri helped reach promotion to Serie A. He then played briefly for Ternana on loan but was promptly called back to Sicily. His last year at Palermo saw him again having contrasts with Di Bella so in 1971 he was sold to Piacenza in Serie C. In November he went back to the South and played in Serie B with Sorrento. His last professional season was then with Grosseto in Serie D.

With Lazio he played 34 times in Serie A (one goal), 65 in Serie B (4 goals) and 3 games in Coppa Italia.

Once he quit football he became a manager. Starting from 1973-74 at Grosseto, he managed a number of Tuscan and Sicilian teams over almost twenty years as well as Parma and Benevento, always in the second, third or fourth tiers.

When he gave up managing, he settled in Palermo.

Lazio Career

Season	Toal appearances (goals)	Serie A	Serie B	Coppa Italia
1961-62	32 (2)	-	30 (2)	2
1962-63	36 (2)	-	35 (2)	1
1963-64	34 (1)	34 (1)	-	-
Total	102 (5)	34 (1)	65 (4)	3