Dull draw

Simon Basten
Apr 18, 2024
3 min read

Season 1970-71

Game 26, Serie A

Sunday, April 18, 1971

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio Fiorentina 0-0

Lazio needed to win but in the end were content with a draw

After the first half of the season Lazio were last with only nine points. They had won just one game (vs Sampdoria) and had drawn a controversial derby. Things improved a little bit in the second half of the season and after the win in Genoa against Sampdoria in the previous match the Biancocelesti were potentially one point away from safety.

The match

A large crowd turned up for what was effectively a relegation showdown. Lazio took the field without suspended players Pino Wilson and Giuliano Fortunato, while Fiorentina, wearing their red-and-maroon strip, were missing their most dangerous player, Luciano Chiarugi.

The Viola had started the season among the favourites for the title but now found themselves trapped in the quicksand at the bottom of the table. Despite a change on the bench — Bruno Pesaola out and Oronzo Pugliese in — the team had not won for four months, and their modest points tally was the result of an endless series of draws.

“The wizard of Turi” was clearly aiming for another stalemate here, packing the midfield and relying on the counterattack. After an initial period of cautious probing, Lazio began to push forward, inspired by an energetic Ferruccio Mazzola who immediately looked full of running. In the 15th minute he unleashed a powerful long-range shot that rattled the crossbar with Franco Superchi already beaten. Two minutes later Giuseppe Massa was pulled down in the penalty area, but referee Aurelio Angonese waved play on.

Shortly afterwards the referee judged a handball by Ugo Ferrante, following another Massa shot, to be accidental — and indeed the distance between the two players was minimal. In the 33rd minute Giorgio Chinaglia finally made his presence felt, although he was being tightly marked by the muscular Giancarlo Galdiolo. “Long John” drove forward but was stopped by a fine intervention from the visiting goalkeeper.

There were further anxious moments: clumsy play by Luigi Polentes that almost resulted in an own goal, and an Alessandro Vitali header that Rosario Di Vincenzo dealt with acrobatically.

After the interval Fiorentina, who had been timid in the first half, seemed to wake from their slumber. Guided by an impeccable Picchio De Sisti in the playmaker’s role, they pushed further up the pitch. First Giorgio Mariani and then Emiliano Macchi found themselves alone in front of Di Vincenzo, who did superbly to deal with both dangerous situations.

For Lazio it was once again Mazzola, with his bursts of acceleration, who provided the response to Fiorentina’s initiatives. “Uccio” tried several fine efforts from medium and long range, but none found the target.

In the 68th minute manager Juan Carlos Lorenzo threw Giancarlo Morrone into the fray, and Pugliese replied by taking off winger Macchi and introducing another midfielder, Dino D’Alessi. The “Maginot Line” erected by the fiery Apulian coach held firm, thanks above all to goalkeeper Superchi. With three minutes remaining, he produced a superb reflex save to tip a Polentes shot — deflected by Ferrante — over the crossbar.

In the end the draw, at the conclusion of a poor match, seemed to satisfy everyone judging by the comments from both dressing rooms, even though concerns about the league table remained unchanged. Defeats for Foggia, Verona and Torino widened the relegation battle to nine teams with four rounds left to play.

For Lazio, the fight — and the suffering — was far from over.

Who played for Lazio

Di Vincenzo, Papadopulo, Legnaro, Governato, Polentes, Marchesi, Massa, Chinellato (68' Morrone), Chinaglia, Mazzola II, Dolso