June 25, 1989: Ascoli-Lazio 0-0
- Dag Jenkins
- Jun 25
- 7 min read
No football but objective reached
A draw it had to be and a draw it was in a non-starter affair
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous year Lazio had finally won promotion back to Serie A. In June, in a packed Olimpico already under renovation for Italia '90, Lazio had beaten Taranto 3-1 to book their place back in the big time.
The new season started with a new manager. The -9-point deduction and promotion hero Eugenio Fascetti had left and in had come Giuseppe Materazzi.
Lazio’s promotion top scorer Paolo Monelli (13 goals) had also gone (Bari) along with midfielders Vincenzo Esposito (Atalanta) and Domenico Caso (Latina) while loaned forward Giuseppe Galderisi had returned to his original club (Milan) after a disappointing spell at Lazio.
Lazio fans were very sad to see Fascetti leave and he would never be forgotten but they also had reasons to be optimistic. Lazio were out of the purgatory of Serie B and had bought some interesting players.
Three South-Americans for a start; relatively unknown (pre-internet days) defender Nelson Gutierrez (River Plate) and Abel Dezotti (Newell's Old Boys) plus better known and promising forward Ruben Sosa (Real Zaragoza). Lazio had also signed some Italians: defender Marco Monti (Virescit Bergamo) plus midfielders Andrea Icardi (Atalanta) and Claudio Sclosa (Pisa).
Lazio’s objective this season was to enjoy their new elite status and hopefully not have to suffer excessively to maintain it.
So far Lazio had played 33 games. The Biancocelesti had won 5, drawn 18 and lost 10. They were on 15 points and in joint 13th place with Ascoli on 28 points, two above the relegation zone. Lazio had experienced difficulty in winning games as the 18 draws testify. Today however a draw was exactly what they needed.
The highlight of the season had been defeating Roma on January 15 with a Paolo Di Canio winner. It was Lazio’s first derby win for ten years. Lazio had all but secured survival a week before today's game with a 1-0 home win over Sampdoria with a Dezotti winner at the Flaminio.
In Coppa Italia, in August and September, Lazio had qualified from the first group stage winning 3 (Licata 3-0, Campobasso 2-0 and Messina 4-3) and losing 2 (Pescara 1-2 and Milan 1-2). In the second-round group stage, Lazio had surprisingly beaten Fiorentina 1-0, drawn 1-1 with Inter and then beaten Udinese 1-0. In the quarter finals, Lazio had been knocked out in January by Atalanta 3-4 on aggregate. Abel Dezotti had scored 6 cup goals and Ruben Sosa 4.
Ascoli had finished 12th the previous season, under former Lazio manager Ilario Castagner. Their best result was a 1-0 home win against Inter. Top scorer was Lorenzo Scarafoni with 8 goals (7 in B).
This season the manager was still Castagner to start (1-10) but then Eugenio Bersellini had taken over. The main new signings were defenders Mustafa Arslanović (Dinamo Zagreb), Silvano Fontolan (Verona), Marco Gori (Perugia), midfielder Gabriele Bongiorni (Catanzaro) plus forwards Borislav Cvetković (Red Star Belgrade) and Lazio legend Bruno Giordano (Napoli).
Leaving were: goalkeeper Roberto Corti (Cavese), defenders Paolo Agabitini (Lanciano), Antonio Carannante (Napoli - end of loan), Carmelo Miceli (Catanzaro), midfielder and former Lazio Giuseppe Greco (Potenza), Hugo Maradona (Rayo Vallecano) plus forward Lorenzo Scarafoni (Bari).
When the change of manager occurred, Ascoli were 16th on 6 points. Since then the Marchigiani had won 7, drawn 7 (including Lazio 0-0) and lost 9. They were currently in joint 13th place, on 28 points, just like Lazio.
In the Coppa Italia they had reached the quarter finals but had been beaten 3-4 on aggregate by Napoli. In the second group phase Ascoli had surprisingly defeated Juventus 2-0 away.
So, this afternoon's game was between two sides who both needed a point to stay in Serie A… no-one was expecting a high scoring thriller… The head of the Federal Investigation office, a lawyer called Porceddu, was in the stands to check on proceedings.
The match: Sunday, June 25, 1989, Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca, Ascoli
There is not a lot to say about the match. A cloudy day in Ascoli Piceno with occasional rays of sun saw just under 15,000 spectators present. A few thousand had come from Rome as the Marche town is only 215 kilometres from the capital.
Lazio were missing defender Angelo Gregucci and midfielder Andrea Icardi while Ascoli had no absences.
The game was a predictable non-starter. It was in both sides' interest not to rock the boat but they decided to not even put it in water.
The players trotted about with no intention of doing each other any harm. There was obviously some action but it was limited to one chance each. For Ascoli Bruno Giordano made sure his lob did not rise enough and fell into Valerio Fiori's arms. For Lazio, Ruben Sosa on his only attempt decided to use his weak foot and the ball innocuously reached Andrea Pazzagli. The first half had looked more like a stroll in the park or a picnic and unsurprisingly ended 0-0.
The only thing to note was the replacement of Claudio Sclosa with Antonio Acerbis after 22 minutes due to injury. A feat in itself seeing the pace of the game.
Meanwhile in Lecce, relegation rivals Torino were losing 0-1.
The first half was flat but looking back would then seem quite exciting compared to the second. Absolutely nothing of interest happened. There were a few substitutions, two for Ascoli, Giuseppe Carillo for Vincenzo Rodia in the 75th minute and Domenico Agostini for Walter Casagrande in the 83rd and one for Lazio, Nelson Gutierrez for Marco Monti in the 75th.
Apart from organising substitutions the benches were more concentrated on following the scores coming through from the other matches. Lecce went 2-0 up and the crowd woke up and celebrated but then future Lazio Diego Fuser pulled one back for Torino
In Ascoli the ball hovered backwards, forwards and particularly sideways in midfield with no goal action whatsoever. The main excitement came via the radio which announced Lecce's third goal against the Granata.
On the field the picnic would have been at the champagne stage had it not been for the investigators in the grandstand (mind you as neutrals they may well have been nodding off by now).
To cut a long story short the game ended 0-0!
Both sets of players and fans, who did not even ask for their money back, instead celebrated enthusiastically at having achieved their objective of staying in Serie A. Lazio and Ascoli both deserved to survive but maybe could have played today's game out with more dignity.
The anti-corruption investigators notebooks remained empty… It's just the way of the world.
Who played for Ascoli
Pazzagli, Destro, Rodia (75' Carillo), Dall'Oglio, Fontolan, Arslanovic, Cvetkovic, Aloisi, Giordano, Giovanelli, Casagrande (83' D'Agostini)
Substitutes: Bocchino, Benetti, Bongiorni
Manager: Bersellini
Who played for Lazio
Fiori, Monti (75' Gutierrez), Beruatto, Pin, Marino, Piscedda, Dezotti, Muro, Di Canio, Sclosa (22' Acerbis), Sosa
Manager: Materazzi
Referee: D'Elia
What happened next
Both teams celebrated survival. Lazio finished 11th and Ascoli 12th (the Biancocelesti had a better goal difference). Lazio's top scorer was Rubén Sosa with 12 goals (8 in A) while Ascoli's was Bruno Giordano with 12 goals (10 in A).
Lazio would very rarely be involved in a relegation battle again while Ascoli would go down the following year and have only spent three seasons in Serie A since. They are currently in Serie C.
The Scudetto was won by Inter for their 13th title. Serie B awaited Como, Pescara, Pisa and Torino. The Granata and Nerazzurri would bounce straight back up again.
Let's talk about Marco Monti
Marco Angelo Monti was born in Monza, on July 26, 1967.
He came through the Inter youth set up and in 1985-86 was added to the first team squad. The manager was first Ilario Castagner and then Mario Corso and Inter finished 6th (UEFA Cup) and reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals (Real Madrid 4-6 a.e.t). Monti made no league appearances but played one game in Coppa Italia. In the same year he won the prestigious Viareggio youth tournament with the Primavera (U19s).
In 1986 he joined Virescit Boccaleone (Bergamo) for two years. The Viola were in Serie C and in the first season finished 11th under Luciano Magistrelli, then 3rd in the second and then narrowly missed out on promotion after a playoff. Monti played 54 league games with 1 goal.
In 1988 he arrived at Lazio as a relative unknown. Lazio were finally back in Serie A and the manager was Beppe Materazzi. In 1988-89 Lazio finished 11th and Monti played 29 league games and 7 in Coppa Italia. The highlight was beating Roma 1-0 in January with a Paolo Di Canio goal and Monti played the whole game. The following year the Biancocelesti finished 9th but Monti played less, 10 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.
In 1990 he left the capital and joined Atalanta in Serie A. The Nerazzurri finished 10th, first under Pierluigi Frosio (1-18) and then Bruno Giorgi. Monti played 6 league games, 4 in Coppa Italia and 3 in the UEFA Cup (Atalanta lost 0-2 to Inter in the quarterfinals). His teammates included Lazio connections Claudio Vertova (1990-92) and briefly Antonio Rizzolo (1986-88).
In 1991 he joined Reggiana and stayed two seasons. The Granata were in Serie B and finished 7th and 1st (promoted to A). The manager was Giuseppe Marchioro and Monti played 48 league games. His teammates included a young Fabrizio Ravanelli who would win the Scudetto with Lazio in 2000.
In 1993-94 Monti played a season with Ravenna in Serie B. The Leoni were relegated, under Claudio Onofri (1-6) and then Pierluigi Frosio (7-38). Monti only played 11 league games. His teammates included a young Christian Vieri (Lazio 1998-99, winning the Cup Winners Cup).
Monti's last season was with Lecco in 1994-95 in Serie C2. The Blucelesti finished 6th and Monti played 10 league games.
At 27 he retired.
Monti was a defender and he usually played at right full-back. At 1.72 he was no giant but he based his game on his speed and anticipation.
His main achievement was winning Serie B with Reggiana in 1993.
The peak of his career however was his time at Lazio. In his first year in particular he played regularly and put in good performances. He will forever be remembered for being in the team that surprisingly defeated Roma in 1989 giving Lazio a derby win after ten years.
His subsequent career did not however live up to that first season in Rome.
Lazio career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1988-89 | 36 | 29 | 7 |
1989-90 | 11 | 10 | 1 |
Total | 47 | 39 | 8 |
Sources
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