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  • Writer's pictureDag Jenkins
    • Mar 15
    • 7 min read

March 15, 1981: Atalanta Lazio 1-1

Decent point in Bergamo


Lazio on the defensive for long periods earn hard fought draw





The season so far


The previous season Lazio had been relegated to Serie B, not on the field but in the Sports Justice Courts. Lazio paid for four of their players' alleged involvement in the Totonero match fixing scandal. Lazio were therefore in Serie B without Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia, Pino Wilson and Massimo Cacciatori.

 

The new manager was Ilario Castagner who had done well at Perugia. The Biancocelesti also had several new players to try and bounce straight back up to the top flight. Arriving were goalkeeper Maurizio Moscatelli (Pistoiese), defenders Giorgio Mastropasqua (Bologna), Arcadio Spinozzi (Bologna), midfielders Alberto Bigon (Milan), Giuseppe Greco (Torino), Dario Sanguin (Vicenza) and forward Stefano Chiodi (Milan).

 

Leaving were defender Mauro Tassotti (Milan), midfielders Vincenzo D'Amico (Torino-luckily he would be back), Antonio Lopez (Palermo), Vincenzo Zucchini (Vicenza) and forward Enrico Todesco (Genoa).

 

So far Lazio had played 24 league games and won 9, drawn 12 and lost 3. Lazio had started well with 7 wins and 8 draws in the first 15 games but then slowed down. In the last 3 games the Biancocelesti had drawn 2 and lost 1 (a week earlier 2-3 away at Varese). They were on 30 points, joint second with Cesena and three points ahead of SPAL and Sampdoria. Lazio could not afford another defeat today.

 

In Coppa Italia, Lazio had qualified for the quarter finals to be played in March. In August /September, Lazio had won 3 (Pescara 2-0 away, Varese 2-1 and Verona 3-0, both at home) and drawn 1 (Ascoli 0-0 away). They then played the quarter final home leg to Bologna on March 4 but lost 0-2 (with one goal by future Lazio legend, Giuliano Fiorini). The return leg would be on March 25.

 

Atalanta had finished 9th the previous season under Titta Rota. This year the manager was initially Bruno Bolchi but he had been replaced by Giulio Corsini (briefly Lazio manager in 1975) at the end of January. The Bergamaschi were currently in 15th position, on 21 points. The Nerazzurri had won 6, drawn 9 and lost 9 (including Lazio 0-2). A week earlier they had drawn 1-1 away at Catania.

 

Their stand out players were defenders Daniele Filisetti (future Lazio, 1983-87), Battista Festa, Andrea Mandorlini, Giovanni Vavassori, midfielders Fulvio Bonomi, Roberto Filippi, Antonio Rocca, Augusto Scala plus forwards Ezio Bertuzzo and Carlo De Bernardi.

 

The match: Sunday, March 15, 1981, Stadio Comunale, Bergamo


An overcast day gathered about 15,000 spectators at the old Stadio Comunale.

 

The referee was supposed to be Giancarlo Redini but due to illness he was replaced at the last moment by Alberto Michelotti.

 

Atalanta were without Augusto Scala and Roberto Filippi while Lazio decided to drop keeper Nardin in favour of Dario Marigo who got his debut (first choice keeper Moscatelli had broken his achilles tendon in December) and had Paolo Pochesci missing in defence.

 

The game started with both sides cautious and worried more about conceding than scoring. The play was very fragmented and with constant fouls interrupting play. The home side however attacked more.

 

The Nerazzuri had two chances after 20 minutes, first with a Daniele Filisetti shot which went wide and then a scramble in the area that no-one managed to finish off.

 

The Bergamaschi then took the lead in the 24th minute. Dario Pighin was careless and was dispossessed by Angelo Zambetti who started a quick counterattack, ran forward and set up Carlo De Bernardi for an easy finish. Atalanta 1 Lazio. Well taken, but Pighin's mistake had unbalanced Lazio completely.

 

Atalanta were on a high and almost doubled the score with Daniele Filisetti again.

 

The home side's enthusiasm however was short lived as in the 29th minute Lazio equalised. On a Filippo Citterio freekick from the right, Giovanni Vavassori was unable to clear properly and Stefano Chiodi pounced and scored, anticipating the keeper. Atalanta 1 Lazio 1.

 

Atalanta took to the attack again and in the 35th minute had a penalty appeal. Antonio Rocca was fouled at the edge of the box and the referee whistled for a free kick, the Atalantini however claimed the contact had been inside the area but were unsuccessful in their protests. The first half finished with the home side pushing but without being dangerous again. Halftime 1-1.

 

The second half was less eventful and for long periods was played under the rain. The "Dea" continued to have superior territorial control but as the game went on both sides seemed reasonably pleased with a point.

 

In the 60th minute Lazio replaced Dario Sanguin with Mauro Manzoni and in the 77th the hosts threw on Ezio Bertuzzo for Zambetti. The result did not change and a point was useful to both sides.

 

Cesena had lost so Lazio gained a point on the Bianconeri and were now solitary in 2nd place behind Milan. It was not all good news however as SPAL, Sampdoria and Genoa had all won. Atalanta meanwhile moved up to 13th as Catania and Lecce had both lost.

 

Who played for Atalanta


Memo, Filisetti, A. Rocca, Baldizzone, Vavassori, Mandorlini, Zambetti (77' Bertuzzo), De Biase, Bonomi, Festa, De Bernardi

Substitutes: Rossi, Caputi, Tirloni, Montosi

Manager: Corsini

 

Who played for Lazio


Manager: Castagner

 

Referee: Michelotti


Goals: 23' De Bernardi, 29' Chiodi

 

What happened next


Lazio went very close to promotion but just fell short and finished 4th. Between today and June 14, the penultimate game of the season, Lazio won 4, drew 5 and lost 2. Not great but maybe just about good enough to get promoted. Then came the June 14 home game against Vicenza. The table read Milan 48, Genoa 44, Cesena 44, Lazio 44 for three places in A.

 

With the score on 1-1, Lazio were awarded a penalty in the 87th minute. Stefano Chiodi, the specialist who had never missed a penalty, stepped up and missed obviously...hitting the post. Cesena and Genoa won and a demoralised Lazio then only drew the last away game at Taranto and so came 4th. A huge disappointment. Top scorer was Alberto Bigon with 10 goals (9 in B).

 

In Coppa Italia, in the quarter finals, Lazio also lost the away game against Bologna 0-2.

 

Atalanta ended up relegated. In the last 13 games the Orobici only won 3, drew 2 and lost 8. They finished 19th and went down with Monza, Taranto (who had started at -5) and Vicenza. Top scorer was Carlo De Bernardi with 9 league goals.

 

The teams promoted behind Milan were Genoa and Cesena.

 

Lazio were disappointed but the following season would be even worse.


Lazio 1980-81

Competition

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goals scored

Serie A

38

13

20

5

32

Coppa italia

6

3

1

2

5

Total

44

16

21

7

37

Top five appearances

Player

Total

Serie A

Coppa Italia

Citterio

43

38

5

Viola

43

37

6

Mastropasqua

41

36

5

Perrone

40

34

6

Greco

39

34

5

Top five goal scorers

Player

Total

Serie A

Coppa Italia

Bigon

10

9

1

Greco

8

7

1

Citterio

7

6

1

Viola

7

7

-

Chiodi

6

6

-

Lets talk about Dario Marigo


Source Lazio Wiki

Dario Marigo was born in Lecco, on October 20, 1960.

 

At 14 he joined the Milan youth set up and stayed until 1979.

 

He then joined Chieti in C1. The Teatini were relegated under Ezio Volpi. Marigo played 29 league games.

 

In 1980 he moved to Rome and signed for Lazio as third keeper. The Biancocelesti had just been relegated to Serie B due to the Totonero match fixing scandal. The manager was Ilario Castagner and the objective was to bounce straight back up again. Things didn't go as planned and Lazio finished 4th. In December first keeper Maurizio Moscatelli broke his achilles tendon and then Aldo Nardin had some bad games so Marigo played more games than expected, 14 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.

 

The following year Lazio finished 11th. In February Castagner was sacked and replaced by Roberto Clagluna. Lazio’s Scudetto winning keeper Felice Pulici had returned but Marigo still played 16 league games and 4 in Coppa Italia.

 

In 1982-83 he was loaned to Perugia in Serie B. Lazio had bought Fernando Orsi from Parma so Marigo was sent to get experience elsewhere. In Perugia the manager was Aldo Agroppi and the Biancorossi finished 11th. The main keeper was Nicola Di Leo but Marigo played 15 league games. His teammates included, former Lazio, Dario Sanguin (1980-82) and future Lazio, Mario Piga (1983-84) and Domenico Caso (1985-88).

 

At the end of the season, he went back to Lazio but did not stay. He was sold to Campania in C1. The Biancorossi from Ponticelli, Naples, finished 8th, under first Giorgio Sereni and then Bruno Pesaola (Scudetto winning manager with Fiorentina in 1968-69). Marigo played 29 league games.

 

In 1984 he moved to Sicily and joined Catania in Serie B. He stayed four seasons. The "Elefanti" finished 14th, 13th, 19th (relegated) and 15th. His managers were Antonio Renna in the first year, Gennaro Rambone, Salvatore Bianchetti and Antonio Colomban in the second, Rambone and then Bruno Pace in the third and finally Osvaldo Jaconi, Pietro Santin and Pace again in the fourth season. The number of managers can partly be explained by the name of the club owner, Angelo Massimino. Marigo played 90 league games in his time under Mount Etna. His teammates included, former Lazio, Giancarlo Marini (1974-82).

 

In 1988 he joined Pro Cavese in Serie C2. He stayed two seasons with the Blufoncé with 3rd and 8th places. The manager was Pietro Santin. The squad included Lazio connection Leonardo Surro (1981-83). In his time in Cava de' Tirreni he played 48 league games.

 

In 1990 he returned to Chieti. The Neroverdi were in C2. He stayed three seasons with 1st (promotion), 12th and 13th place finishes. His managers were Ezio Volpi again for the first two years and then Gianni Balugani in the third. Marigo played 52 league games in his spell in Abruzzo. His teammates included a young Enrico Chiesa (Lazio 2002-03) and Massimiliano Nardecchia (Lazio 1989-90).

 

His last season was with his hometown club, Lecco. The Blucelesti were in C2 and finished 6th under, first Antonio Pasinato (former player with 214 league appearances) and then Titta Rota. Marigo however only played one league game and then retired.

 

Marigo won 2 caps with the Italy Serie B side and was called up twice for Italy U21's.

 

On retiring he stayed at Lecco where he had basically been training the other keepers even in his last season as a player. He stayed three years in his hometown then moved on again. He spent two years at Monza (with the youth team), one at Venezia, Salernitana, Messina and Bellinzona. In 2004-05 he was assistant manager with Livorno in Serie A. The following year he returned to training keepers at Avellino for a year and then had spells with Cagliari, Verona and Namur (Belgium).

 

Marigo was a goalkeeper. At 1,77 and 72 kilos he was no giant but was agile and quick.

 

At Lazio he played 35 games. His was a case of what could have been. He did reasonably well in the two years in Serie B and was then loaned out to play more but did not and came back with Lazio in Serie A. He was then sold and his career wasspent in the lower divisions.


Lazio Career

Season

Total appearances

Serie B

Coppa Italia

1980-81

15

14

1

1981-82

20

16

4

Total

35

30

5

Sources







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