March 28, 1982: Catania Lazio 1-1

Simon Basten
12 hours ago
5 min read

Ferretti to the rescue

Thanks to a splendid Ferretti goal, Lazio avoid defeat

The season so far

The previous season Lazio had gone agonisingly close to an immediate promotion to Serie A. A missed penalty in the penultimate match had condemned the Biancocelesti to another year of Serie B.

Lazio had changed ownership and Gian Casoni was the new president. There was not a lot of money so the club was forced to sell a few of their best players, Filippo Citterio and Giuseppe Greco. The transfer window saw the return of scudetto heroes Felice Pulici and Vincenzo D’Amico plus Roberto Badiani. Also signed were Walter Speggiorin, Vincenzo Chiarenza and Claudio Vagheggi. There was a surprise deal with Roma which saw Michele De Nadai and Carlo Perrone swap sides of the Tiber. Manager Ilario Castagner had been confirmed.

Lazio had ambition but the team was not helped by the internal dualism between Luciano Moggi, who had been confirmed as sporting director, and Antonio Sbardella, newly appointed general director. The players were under constant pressure and that did not help either.

Lazio, after having been immediately eliminated in Coppa Italia, had not played well. Lazio were very inconsistent in the first half of the season but after 18 games they were just a couple of points off the promotion zone. But in the next game Lazio crumbled against Palermo and Castagner was sacked. He was replaced by the head coach of the Primavera team Renato Clagluna, his first experience with an A team.

The Biancocelesti were currently ninth, six points from the promotion zone.

The match: Sunday, March 28, 1982, Stadio Cibali, Catania

At the last moment Roberto Clagluna had to substitute Alberto Bigon sick with flu and in came Vincenzo D’Amico with Vincenzo Mirra engaged in covering whoever and wherever possible. And this seemed to be working when in the 16th minute the Lazio golden boy, thanks to a magical Leonardo Surro lob over the Catania defence, had the chance to score but his indecision on how to shoot allowed the hosts to avoid any danger.

The Sicilians overcame the scare and started to put Dario Marigo in difficulty. Giuseppe Testa missed a golden chance in the 20^th when the Lazio keeper miscalculated a cross. Eight minutes later a double missed swipe by first Damiano Morra and then Angelo Crialesi should have got the defence to pull their socks up but they did not. In the 55th minute a long cross from Renato Miele allowed Lorenzo Barlassina to prolong the ball to Testa who, thanks to two defensive errors from Arcadio Spinozzi and Giorgio Mastropasqua, placed the ball behind Marigo.

Clagluna took off Mirra and in came Stefano Ferretti. Four minutes later he dispossessed an opponent, dribbled another, passed to Surro, one-two, and it was 1-1. Fantastic goal from Ferretti.

Not much happened after and the Biancocelesti came back with a point which would not allow them to dream but at least there would be no nightmares.

Who played for Catania

Sorrentino, Miele, Caputi, Vella, Tedoldi, Brilli, Morra, Barlassina (77' Mosti), Crialesi, Gamberini, Testa Substitutes: Pazzagli, Castagnini, M.Marino, Picone

Manager: Mazzetti

Who played for Lazio

Marigo, Spinozzi, Chiarenza, Mastropasqua, Pochesci, De Nadai, Vagheggi, Badiani, D'Amico (64' Speggiorin), Mirra (60' Ferretti), Surro

Substitutes: Moscatelli, Pighin, Sciarpa

Manager: Clagluna

Referee: Tonolini

Goals: 55’ Testa, 64’ Ferretti

What happened next

In the next 9 games Lazio managed to win just one. With two games left to the end of the season, Lazio were only three points clear of relegation. Varese, on the other hand, had had a splendid season and were just one point away from promotion. A very difficult match for Lazio.

The Biancocelesti went 2-0 down but then D’Amico came to the rescue and scored a hat trick to avoid any possible danger of relegation.

In conclusion, a dismal season for Lazio who had started the campionato with high hopes. Chiarenza was the player with most appearances (41) and D’Amico with the most goals (10), with two hat-tricks.

Let’s talk about Stefano Ferretti

Stefano Ferretti was born on March 2 1960 in Rome. A product of the Lazio youth sector, he debuted in Serie A on October 29 1978, in Lazio Vicenza 4-3.

The previous year he had made one appearance in the Intertoto Cup (Lazio -Sparta Rotterdam 3-2, May 21, 1978)

In 1980 Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia, Pino Wilson and Massimo Cacciatori were arrested at Pescara for the TotoNero scandal. Lazio were in deep trouble and not very far off the relegation zone. Led by Vincenzo D’Amico, the Biancocelesti full of youngsters, managed to beat Catanzaro in a dramatic match and move to safer waters. Ferretti played the last twenty minutes of that match and the subsequent four games.

In the summer of 1980 he was loaned to Empoli in C1 and appeared 31 times with 3 goals.

In 1981 he returned to Lazio, who in the end had been relegated in 1979-80 by the Sports Courts and were still in Serie B. He made a good contribution even if it was not a positive year for the Biancocelesti.

In 1982, after Italy won the world cup, there was an amnesty for the players banned in 1980 and Bruno Giordano and Lionello Manfredonia were allowed back to play. Lazio were hot favourites for a return to Serie A, but in the autumn transfer window, Ferretti signed for Spal in Serie C1. He stayed four years in Emilia Romagna and in 1986 left for Ancona again in Serie C1.

In 1987 he moved to Pescara. He stayed for seven years (three of which in Serie A) and became one of the leaders of the Biancazzurri. His two last two years of active football were played with Novara in Serie C2 and Chieti in C1. At the end of the 1995-96 season he retired.

Once he stopped active football he became a manager and was head coach for a number of minor teams.

He was a good midfield player, had a cracking shot, and it was a pity he missed out on Lazio’s 1983 promotion to Serie A. He appeared in 40 games (6 in Serie A, 26 in Serie B, 7 in Coppa Italia and one in Intertoto) with 4 goals (3 in Serie B and one in Coppa Italia).

Lazio Career

Season	Total apperances (goals)	Serie A	Serie B	Coppa Italia	Intertoto Cup
1977-78	1	-	-	-	1
1978-79	1	1	-	-	-
1979-80	5	5	-	-	-
1981-82	30 (4)	-	26 (3)	4 (1)	-
1982-83	3	-	-	3	-
Total	40 (4)	6	26 (3)	7 (1)	1