March 9, 1975: Lazio-Napoli 1-1
- Dag Jenkins
- 5 hours ago
- 8 min read
A draw for Juventus
A point each between the chasers which enables the Bianconeri to extend their lead to +5
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had won their historic first Scudetto. Led by manager Tommaso Maestrelli the Biancocelesti had beaten Foggia on May 12 to become Italian champions. The celebrations had gone on all summer in Rome and all over the region.
In the meantime, Italy had taken part in the World Cup in Germany. There had already been some controversy because Lazio as title holders had hoped and expected to have a few more players called up. Instead, only three were included and of those only Giorgio Chinaglia had got playing time. His campaign ended in a black cloud too as he openly criticised the manager Ferruccio Valcareggi's decision to substitute him in the game against Haiti, with eloquent hand gestures. The gesture itself was quite tame for modern standards and was not openly rude but clearly lacking respect. In Italy however there was an uproar and Chinaglia was a sort of scapegoat for Italy's fiasco. Lazio, already unpopular for having broken Juventus' dominance, were now whistled everywhere they went in their northern pre-season friendlies due to Chinaglia's antics.
More disappointing was Lazio not being able to represent Italy in the European Cup, due to a one-year ban after the previous year's Lazio vs Ipswich incidents (pitch invasion, brawls etc) in a UEFA Cup tie.
In the summer market the squad had gone largely untouched. The main arrival was midfielder Roberto Badiani (Sampdoria) while leaving were midfielders Pierpaolo Manservisi (Mantova) and Ferruccio Mazzola (Sant' Angelo). In the autumn, defender Pietro Ghedin arrived (Fiorentina) while defender Mario Facco (Avellino), midfielders Sergio Borgo (Foggia - on loan) and Fausto Inselvini (Foggia) had left.
In August-September there had been the Coppa Italia to play. Lazio were in a group with Atalanta, Genoa, Pescara and Roma. Lazio had drawn two 0-0 away to Atalanta and 2-2 at home to Genoa and lost two, 1-2 away at Pescara and the derby 0-1. Lazio were therefore out of the cup.
The league had started well and Lazio won their first three games. They then slowed down a bit with 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats (derby 0-1 and Inter 1-2 at home). Then Lazio had won the big match against Juventus followed by another 3 wins (including Milan 3-0 at home), 3 draws and 2 defeats (including most recent 1-3 away to Inter). The Biancocelesti were currently joint 2nd, on 26 points with today's opponents Napoli. Juventus were leaders with a four-point advantage.
One major concern however was the deteriorating health of Tommaso Maestrelli.
Napoli had finished 3rd the previous season under Luís Vinicio. The Partenopei had lost 0-1 to Lazio away and drawn 3-3 at home. The top scorer was Sergio Clerici with 15 league goals.
This season the Brazilian coach was still in charge. The main new players were defender Antonio La Palma (Brindisi), midfielder Rosario Rampanti (Torino) and forward Giuseppe Massa (Inter).
Leaving Naples were defenders Carlo Ripari (Vicenza) and Mario Zurlini (after ten seasons to Matera) and midfielder Vincenzo Montefusco (Taranto - on loan).
As mentioned, Napoli were currently 2nd with Lazio. The Azzurri had won 8, drawn 10 (including Lazio 1-1) and lost 2 (including Juventus 2-6 at home).
In the Coppa Italia they had qualified for one of the two final group phases to be played in May-June. They had won four out of four and won their group (Sampdoria 3-0, Catanzaro 1-0 at home, Verona and SPAL both 2-1 away).
In the UEFA Cup they had reached the last 16 but been eliminated by Czechs Banik Ostrava 1-3 on aggregate. The Partenopei had previously defeated Hungarians Videoton 3-1 and Porto 2-0.
An important clash today at the Olimpico to see who could continue to challenge Juventus for the title.
The match: Sunday, March 9, 1975, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
An overcast but dry and mild day attracted about 70,000 to the Olimpico. About 25,000 were away fans.
For Lazio defender Pietro Ghedin was missing while Napoli were without midfielder Rosario Rampanti.
There was no love lost between these two clubs especially after the events of the 1972-73 season. The large away following was also a concern as, unlike the Roma fans, the Lazio supporters were on far from amicable terms with their Neapolitan counterparts.
Lazio started well and in the first minute of play Vincenzo D'Amico put in an inviting cross but Mario Frustalupi's header went just over the bar.
In the 10th minute Giorgio Chinaglia squared across to Renzo Garlaschelli but the winger was just a fraction late to what would have been a sure goal.
In the 12th minute Napoli had their first shot at goal with a Sergio Clerici freekick but Felice Pulici was safe.
In the 14th minute Lazio went even closer. A scramble in the area saw Chinaglia back heel the ball towards the goal but defender Luigi Pogliana kicked it into corner just before it crossed the line.
Lazio attacked but Napoli defended well. In the 23rd minute Chinaglia had an opening but his shot was weak and then Antonio Juliano called Pulici to a difficult save.
In the 35th minute the Napoli keeper showed off some acrobatics as he came off his line to block a cross.
The last two attempts were by the visitors as Pulici punched away another Clerici freekick and then saved a Giorgio Braglia header. Halftime Lazio 0 Napoli 0.
A balanced game so far with the defences getting the better of the attacks but still reasonably entertaining.
The second half looked to be following the same pattern until in the 53rd minute a defender blundered. It was Lazio's Gigi Martini who played the ball back to his keeper not noticing that Braglia was lurking. The striker from Emilia took the kind offer, went around Pulici and slotted the ball in. Lazio 0 Napoli 1.
Lazio were rattled and Napoli tried to take advantage. In the 63rd minute a blistering shot by Giuseppe Massa was saved by Pulici and in the 70th Juliano was unable to connect properly on an excellent Salvatore Esposito assist.
In the meantime, in the 67th minute Lazio had replaced a shaky Martini with Franco Nanni.
Lazio then reacted and piled forward. Garlaschelli was denied by Pietro Carmignani and then Luigi Polentes was clearly fouled inside the box by Pogliana but the referee saw it differently, if at all.
Napoli had space on the counterattack but Pulici was on top form again on a Clerici effort.
In the 85th minute D'Amico was pulled down in the box by Andrea Orlandini and this time the man in black decided it was a penalty. Chinaglia was cool under pressure and hit a low penalty into the corner, 1-1.
Meanwhile trouble had started in the stands between the Laziali and Napoletani.
The excitement seemed over but in the last minute the referee surprisingly awarded Napoli a penalty for a Roberto Badiani handball. At the same time a Napoli fan invaded the pitch which caused moments of tension with the police and players getting involved.
When things calmed down Clerici stepped up but Pulici confirmed his state of grace by saving it with his feet. The game ended with tear gas being fired on the more agitated fans. Final score Lazio 1 Napoli 1.
All in all, a fair result but both teams really had to win to mount a serious challenge to Juventus who had won 1-0 with a penalty at home against Cesena. The table now read Juventus 32, Napoli 27, Lazio 27, Torino 26.
As they say in Italy "tra i due litiganti il terzo gode". (more or less, when two people fight the third one wins…)
Who played for Lazio
Pulici, Polentes, Martini (67' Nanni), Wilson, Oddi, Badiani, Garlaschelli, Re Cecconi, Chinaglia, Frustalupi, D'Amico
Manager: Maestrelli
Who played for Napoli
Carmignani, Bruscolotti, Pogliana, Burgnich, La Palma, Orlandini, Massa, Juliano, Clerici, Esposito, Braglia
Substitutes: Favaro, Punziano, Albano
Manager: Vinicio
Referee: Levrero
Goals: 53' Braglia, 85' Chinaglia (pen)
What happened next
In the next three games Lazio won 1, drew 1 and lost 1 (derby 0-1). Then on April 6, just before the game against Torino, the players were informed Maestrelli had cancer and literally played with tears in their eyes, losing 1-5. The "Maestro's" place on the bench was temporarily taken by Roberto "Bob" Lovati.
In the remaining games they won 2, drew 1 and lost 1 (Juventus 0-4 away thus definitely abdicating). Lazio finished 4th and qualified for the UEFA Cup. The top scorer was Giorgio Chinaglia with 14 league goals.
Lazio had seriously challenged for the Scudetto until early March but then the manager's deteriorating health had not allowed the Biancocelesti to defend their title as they would have liked.
Napoli finished strongly and came in 2nd. In the remaining 9 games they won 6, drew 2 and lost 1 (Juventus 1-2 away). The top scorers were Clerici (14 in A) and Braglia (12 in A) with 16 goals each.
In the Coppa Italia they failed to reach the final after 2 wins (Fiorentina and Torino both 1-0 at home), 1 draw (Roma 0-0 away) and 3 defeats (Fiorentina 1-3, Torino 1-2 away and Roma 0-2 at home).
Juventus won their 16th Scudetto while Varese, Vicenza and Ternana were relegated (the Umbri have also never made it back and are now in Serie C, as are Vicenza). The Coppa Italia was won by Fiorentina who beat Milan 3-2 in Rome.)
Let's talk about Antonio Juliano
Today we in our opponents’ series will talk of the Napoli midfielder.
Antonio Juliano was born in Naples on December 26, 1942.
In 1956, at 13 he joined the Napoli youth setup.
In 1962 he made his debut for the first team in a Coppa Italia semi-final against Mantova (Napoli then won the trophy despite being in B). In 1963 he made his league debut against Inter.
He would remain with Napoli for seventeen seasons. He played 505 games (394 in A) with 38 goals (26 in A). In this long period the Partenopei finished: 2nd in B (promoted), 16th in A (relegated), 8th in B, 2nd in B (promoted), 3rd, 4th, 2nd, 7th, 6th, 4th, 8th, 9th, 3rd, 2nd, 5th, 7th and 6th. He was captain from 1968 to 1978. His managers included Fioravante Balde, Bruno Pesaola (5 seasons over two periods), Giovanni Molino, Giuseppe Chiappella (four seasons over two periods), Luís Vinicio (three seasons) and Gianni Di Marzio.
The various squads included Lazio connections: Giovanni Molino (1955-61), Amos Mariani (1959-61), Pietro Adorni (1966-69), Pierluigi Ronzon (1967-68), Giuseppe Massa (1966-72), Gian Piero Ghio (1968-70), Pierpaolo Manservisi (1970-71, 1972-74), Claudio Bandoni (1971-72), Alessandro Abbondanza (1971-72), Sergio Clerici (1977-78), Luigi Boccolini (1977-78), Aldo Nardin (1980-81), Walter Speggiorin (1981-82), Claudio Vinazzani (1983-86), Oscar Damiani (1985-86), Gigi Simoni (manager 1985-86), Dino Zoff (manager 1990-94, 1997, 2001).
With Napoli Juliano won the Coppa Italia twice (1962, 1976), an Alps Cup (1966) and an Anglo-Italian League Cup (1976).
In 1978 he left Napoli and played one last season with Bologna. The Rossoblu initially had Bruno Pesaola as manager, then Marino Peranim and finally Cesarino Cervellati and finished 13th. Juliano played 15 league games with 2 goals and 4 games in Coppa Italia.
At 36 he then retired.
He won 18 caps for Italy. He won the European Championship in 1968 and was runner-up at the 1970 World Cup.
Juliano was a midfield playmaker. He organised the game with his sense of timing and positioning. He was one of the best classic "registi" in Italy in the 1960s and 70s. He was not flash but concrete and precise. He was a strong player and a born leader. He was once described by Dino Zoff as being "an atypical Neapolitan" with no show or theatrics.
His name is profoundly linked to Naples. "Totonno" as he was nicknamed was Neapolitan, spent more than 20 years at the club and was captain for 12. Definitely a legend in the pre-Maradona years but also still today.
Juliano died in his beloved Naples on December 13, 2023.
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