March 30, 1975: Bologna Lazio 1-2
- Simon Basten
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Chinaglia leads the charge
Lazio win coming from behind thanks to an exceptional Giorgio Chinaglia
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had triumphantly won the scudetto. A fantastic campionato where once the Biancocelesti reached the top of the table in winter they never let go. It was going to be difficult to repeat the previous year.
In the summer transfer window, President Umberto Lenzini refused to sell any of the first eleven players despite attempts from Torino to sign Luciano Re Cecconi and Milan with Giorgio Chinaglia. There were only some minor movements with the arrival of Roberto Badiani from Sampdoria and Pietro Ghedin in the autumn window from Fiorentina. Leaving Lazio were Pierpaolo Manservisi (Mantova), Ferruccio Mazzola (Sant’Angelo), Mario Facco (Avellino), Fausto Inselvini and the loan of Sergio Borgo to Foggia.
Coppa Italia in September saw Lazio lose two and draw two. They did not proceed to the second phase.
In Serie A, the Biancocelesti started well winning the first three games, but then they lost the lead with two points in the next three. By the end of the year they were second, three points behind Juventus. The first match of 1975 was Lazio vs Juve and the Biancocelesti won. Now they were only one point behind the Bianconeri. In the last game of the first half of the season the Biancocelesti lost at Ascoli and the gap went to -3.
The three-point gap stayed until the end of February. Two points in the next four games meant that Lazio dropped to fourth place, -6 from the Bianconeri.
The match: Sunday, March 30, 1975, Stadio Comunale, Bologna
Bologna came out flying, looking like a team determined to settle the match quickly and efficiently. But after the bright start, they unravelled. They lost control of midfield, kept switching their marking assignments, and never found the right balance. In short, they began at full throttle and faded fast, running out of steam.
Lazio, meanwhile, showed patience and maturity. Whatever cure they had found for their recent struggles clearly worked. They absorbed Bologna’s early surge, let them burn off energy, and then took control of the game. The difference-maker was Giorgio Chinaglia. Unfazed by the whistles from the home crowd—more envy than hostility—he dominated his personal battle with Beppe Savoldi. Not a knockout, perhaps, but a clear win on points.
Bologna’s three national-team call-ups had an off day. Eraldo Pecci drifted around without influence, unsure what to do when the ball reached him. Mauro Bellugi started on Chinaglia (and paid for it when “Giorgione” scored), then switched to Franco Nanni—who gave him problems as well—before ending up as a sweeper. Savoldi, too static, struggled to find space and received little service, though not entirely by his own fault.
Chinaglia, on the other hand, was everywhere. He dropped deep to collect the ball, fought through heavy challenges, and shot from all angles. He led by example—gesturing, shouting, demanding more.
This match had been billed as Lazio’s last stand. After losing the derby, another defeat would have plunged the defending champions into crisis, reopening internal disputes and possibly triggering an early surrender in the title race. Instead, just when they seemed on the brink, Lazio rediscovered their identity—and their hunger.
It didn’t look promising at first. After less than four minutes, Bologna were ahead. Pierino Ghetti surged down the right and delivered a pinpoint cross. Pino Wilson, under pressure from Savoldi, tried to intervene, but the ball glanced off his head and past Felice Pulici. An own goal. Bologna led 1–0 almost immediately.
The home fans sensed blood. They expected Lazio to crumble. They didn’t.
Lazio stayed calm. They kept playing. Six minutes later, they were level. Luciano Re Cecconi swung in a cross from the right, Chinaglia found himself completely unmarked—too unmarked—and calmly controlled and finished. It looked as simple as a penalty.
When Renzo Garlaschelli limped off and Nanni came on, Lazio didn’t lose momentum. In the 27th minute Nanni nearly scored, only for Tazio Roversi to clear off the line. From that moment, the balance shifted. Bologna began to struggle physically and mentally; Lazio grew stronger.
The winner came in the 54th minute—and again, it was an own goal. Nanni shot from distance, the ball took a deflection off Bellugi, and Amos Adani, already diving, couldn’t adjust on the slippery pitch. 2–1.
Lazio could have added more. Chinaglia attempted an audacious chip that drifted wide. Later, Vincenzo D’Amico fired toward an open goal, only for a defender to clear almost on the line. Bologna’s midfield had vanished, and every Lazio attack looked dangerous.
In the end, 2–1 was enough. Lazio walked away with both points and, more importantly, renewed belief. Suddenly, the title race didn’t look so distant. Against expectations—and perhaps even against their own doubts—they were back in contention.
Who played for Bologna
Adani, Roversi, Cresci, Bulgarelli (62' Trevisanello II), Bellugi, Maselli, Ghetti, Pecci, Savoldi, Paris, Landini II
Substitutes: Buso, Ferrara
Manager: Pesaola
Who played for Lazio
Pulici, Ghedin, Martini, Wilson, Oddi, Badiani, Garlaschelli (19' Nanni), Re Cecconi, Chinaglia, Frustalupi, D'Amico
Manager: Maestrelli
Referee: Gonella
Goals: 3’ Wilson (og), 9’ Chinaglia, 52’ Bellugi (og)
What happened next
After winning at Bologna, the team were told that Tommaso Maestrelli had cancer and at that point the players lost interest in Serie A. With three games to the end of the season the Biancocelesti were fifth but they managed to pick up in the final games and reach fourth place which meant a UEFA Cup qualification.
Lazio finished fourth qualifying for the UEFA Cup. The big question was who was going to substitute Tommaso Maestrelli?
Giancarlo Oddi, Giorgio Chinaglia, Pino Wilson and Felice Pulici had the most appearances (34), Chinaglia was the top scorer with 14 goals.
Let’s talk about Beppe Savoldi
Beppe Savoldi was one of Italy’s great centre forwards of the 1970s. Top scorer in 1972-73, he has the record of placing himself 12 times in the top ten Serie A scorers. Despite this, he was hardly ever considered for the national team.
Giuseppe Savoldi was born on January 21 1947 in Gorlago near Bergamo. He started his football career with Atalanta debuting in Serie A on September 5 1965 in the home game against Fiorentina. He played for his hometown club for three years, all in Serie A, with 57 league appearances and 17 goals. In his last season he scored 12 goals, attracting the interest of the bigger teams.
In 1968 he signed for Bologna. He stayed for seven years, winning the Coppa Italia twice (1970 and 1974), the Anglo-Italian League Cup in 1970 beating Manchester City 3-2 on aggregate, was Serie A top scorer together with Gianni Rivera and Paolo Pulici in 1972-73, made 277 appearances with 126 goals. He was also the protagonist of a ghost goal at Ascoli in the 1974-75 season. He had scored but a ball boy kicked the ball out of the goal and the referee did not notice.
In 1975 he joined Napoli. It was the most expensive signing in Italian football up to that point, 2 billion lire between cash, Sergio Clerici and Rosario Rampanti who joined Bologna. He stayed for four years winning a Coppa Italia in 1976 and another Anglo-Italian League Cup beating Southampton 4-1 on aggregate. He made 165 appearances with 77 goals.
In 1979 he went back to Bologna and stayed a year but he was involved in the totonero scandal and was suspended for three years. After Italy won the world cup in Spain in 1982, the Federation cut two years from all the suspensions so he went back to playing this time for Atalanta in Serie B in 1982-83 where he made 17 appearances with one goal. At the end of the season he retired.
As previously mentioned, Savoldi never had a good relationship with the national team. Despite the fact that he was certainly one of the best forwards in Italy, he was always at the wrong club. At that time, it was important to keep on good terms with the stronger Serie A clubs so the Turin and Milanese teams had the lion share of the call-ups. As a consequence, he played just four games for Italy with one goal in the friendly against Greece on December 30 1975. He also won a gold medal at the Mediterranean Games in Tunis in 1967 with the Under-21s.
He then became a manager coaching lower tier sides such as Carrarese, Lecco, Leffe, Massese, Siena, Spezia and Telgate. His biggest result was in 1994-95 when he was called to substitute Roberto Bacchin at Saronno and took the club to promotion to Serie C1.
Beppe Savoldi, Mr. 2 Billion as he was called, was a great centre-forward, had a long career cut short, and was a very good goal scorer. The fact that he hardly played for Italy is a mystery.
Savoldi died on March 26, 2026.
Sources
Comments