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May 15, 1977: Lazio-Cesena 3-0

  • Writer: Dag Jenkins
    Dag Jenkins
  • 2 days ago
  • 10 min read

UEFA qualification within reach


Lazio beat Cesena 3-0 and join Napoli in 5th and last European slot



Also on this day:


Source Lazio Wiki
Source Lazio Wiki

The season so far


Lazio had finished 13th the previous season. It had been a difficult season due to Tommaso Maestrelli's illness. Lazio had started the season with Giulio Corsini in charge but he had clashed with the old guard players especially Giorgio Chinaglia and left in early December.

 

At this point Maestrelli surprisingly returned seemingly in better health. Lazio however struggled all season and in April Chinaglia left to play for the New York Cosmos. Lazio ultimately avoided relegation in a dramatic last game of the season 2-2 draw at Como.

 

This season Maestrelli was replaced by Brazilian Luís Vinicio. The main new players were keeper Claudio Garella (Novara), defender Dario Pighin (Palermo), midfielders Franco "Ciccio" Cordova (free agent), Fernando Viola (Cagliari) and forward Renzo Rossi (Como).


Leaving were keeper Avelino Moriggi (Novara), defender Sergio Petrelli (Anconitana), midfielder Sergio Borgo (Pistoiese) and forward Giovanni Carlo Ferrari (Cagliari).

 

The season had started with the Coppa Italia in August-September. Lazio had won 2 (Novara 3-2 at home and Catania 3-1 away) and lost 2 (Atalanta 1-2 away and Milan 1-2 at home) and were eliminated.

 

In Serie A, Lazio lost the opener (Juventus 2-3 at home) but were having a decent season. After losing their debut the Biancocelesti had won 8 (including first derby 1-0), drawn 11 (including Cesena 0-0) and lost 9 (including second derby 0-1). Lazio were currently 6th on 27 points, only two from a UEFA qualification.

 

It had not been an easy season for Lazio. Tommaso Maestrelli died on December 2 1976.

 

Yet another tragedy hit Lazio on January 18, 1977. One of their star players Luciano Re Cecconi died tragically at 28. He was shot by a jeweller in a shop in north Rome. Initially it seemed it may have been a prank gone wrong and that Re Cecconi had jokingly simulated a hold up, pretending to have a gun in his coat pocket. This has since been challenged, especially by his teammate Pietro Ghedin who was with him at the time. It emerged that the jeweller just panicked, he had already shot at someone before and was on edge, while the Lazio player had done nothing suspicious at all. It did not help that the jeweller did not follow football and so did not recognise "Cecco" who had even played for the national team. The sad fact remains that Re Cecconi died at 28.


Lazio had to win today in their final push for Europe

 

Cesena had finished an excellent 6th the previous season and qualified for the UEFA Cup. The manager was Giuseppe Marchioro and top scorer was Giovanni Urban with 8 league goals. The Bianconeri had drawn both games against Lazio.

 

This season the manager was first Giulio Corsini (1-3), then Paolo Ferrario and Marcello Neri (4-5), Domenico Rosati (6-9) and finally Paolo Ferrario and Marcello Neri together again (10 - today's game).

 

The main new signings were defender Marino Lombardo (Torino), Alberto Batistoni (Roma), midfielders Bruno Beatrice (Fiorentina), Fiorino Pepe (Palermo) plus forwards Emiliano Macchi (Verona), Raffaello Vernacchia (Atalanta) and Fabio Bonci (Genoa).

 

Leaving were defenders Luigi Danova (Torino), Sergio Zuccheri (Fiorentina), midfielders Sauro Petrini (Catanzaro), Batista Festa (Atalanta) plus forward Giuliano Bertarelli (Fiorentina).

 

The season was not going well for the "Cavallucci" (Seahorses).

They were currently bottom of the table and already relegated. The Bianconeri had only won 3, drawn 8 (including Lazio 0-0) and lost 17.

 

In Coppa Italia they had gone out in the first group phase after 1 win (Ternana 2-1 away), 2 draws (Como 1-1 away and Catanzaro 0-0 at home) and 1 defeat (SPAL 0-2 at home).

 

Cesena's historic participation in Europe had ended in the first round with a 3-4 aggregate defeat to East Germans Magdeburg.

 

Lazio had to win today in their final push for Europe against a team who had nothing to play for.

 

The match: Sunday, May 15, 1977, Stadio Olimpico, Rome


A sunny spring day saw about 45,000 spectators at the Olimpico for Lazio's last home game.

 

Lazio were missing defender Lionello Manfredonia and winger Renzo Garlaschelli while Cesena were without defender Pierluigi Cera, midfielder Giorgio Rognoni and forward Gianluca De Ponti.

 

The Lazio fans welcomed Scudetto heroes Giancarlo Oddi and Mario Frustalupi back warmly.

 

The first half an hour was a dull affair. Lazio stubbornly tried to attack centrally but were constantly blocked by the tight Cesena defence. Luís Vinicio on the side-lines unsuccessfully gesticulated to the players to use the width of the pitch but to no avail. In midfield Frustalupi worsened nostalgia for his performances by dominating Ciccio Cordova.

 

Ironically however, it was then Cordova who gave Lazio the lead. In the 33rd minute he intercepted a bad pass by the defence and seeing Lamberto Boranga slightly off his line, floated the ball over the keeper and into the net. Lazio 1 Cesena 0.

 

Lazio then controlled Cesena's weak reaction without any difficulty and went to the break a goal up.

 

For second half Lazio replaced Fernando Viola with Vincenzo D'Amico. The Biancocelesti improved with Luigi Martini and Roberto Badiani particularly lively.

 

On the hour mark the visitors substituted forward Fabrizio Lucchi with defender Corrado Benedetti.

 

Lazio attacked but it was not until the fans started to gather menacingly around the field, for the traditional end of season pitch invasion, that Lazio got a second goal. In the 75th minute Bruno Giordano, set up by D'Amico, went around Boranga and from a difficult angle shot towards goal, the ball was going in but was helped on its way by a desperate attempt to clear by Bruno Beatrice. Lazio 2 Cesena 0.

 

Only two minutes later Lazio scored again. In the 77th minute. Andrea Agostinelli crossed from the right, several players went for the header but they all missed and the ball fell to Renzo Rossi, lurking in the area, who scored with his right foot. Lazio 3 Cesena 0.

 

Not much happened in the last ten minutes and the last couple were played as near as the dugout as possible so as to escape as quickly as possible to avoid being mobbed at the final whistle. The tactic worked for everyone except for the unlucky Boranga who, having more distance to cover, was soon surrounded by fans after his red shirt. He had no intention of giving it away so after some moments of friction he was rescued by some Lazio directors and escorted to safety.

 

A routine win for Lazio who had not exerted themselves particularly but did enough to defeat a team who had come to Rome without any motivation to battle for a positive result.

 

Lazio were now joint 5th on 29 points, with Napoli who had lost 2-4 in Perugia. For the fifth and last UEFA place the table read: 5) Lazio and Napoli 29, 6) Perugia 28, 7) Bologna and Genoa 27. The last matches were Catanzaro v Lazio (the Calabresi were already relegated), Napoli v Fiorentina (the Viola were 3rd) and Inter v Perugia (the Nerazzurri were 4th). A European qualification was within Lazio’s grasp.

 

Who played for Lazio


Substitutes: Garella, Ghedin

Manager: Vinicio

 

Who played for Cesena


Boranga, Lombardo, Beatrice, Pepe, Oddi, Zaniboni, Bittolo, Frustalupi, Lucchi (60' Benedetti), Valentini, Palese

Substitutes: P. Martini, Batistoni

Manager: Ferrario (Neri on bench)

 

Referee: Celli

 

Goals: 33' Cordova, 75' Beatrice (og), 77' Rossi


What happened next 


Lazio then won the last game 2-1 away at Catanzaro and finished a positive 5th (Napoli lost 0-2 at home to Fiorentina). An emotional, sad and tragic year off the pitch had at least ended decently on it with a UEFA Cup qualification. Top scorer was Bruno Giordano with 13 goals (10 in A).

 

Cesena then lost the last home game 0-2 to Milan. Top scorer was Gianluca De Ponti with 7 league goals. Cesena would make it back to Serie A in 1981-82.

 

In Serie A the winners were Juventus who won their 17th title, one point ahead of Torino. Leaving for now were Cesena, Catanzaro and Sampdoria.


Let's talk about Paolo Ferrario


Source Lazio Wiki
Source Lazio Wiki

Paolo Ferrario was born in Milan, on March 1, 1942.

 

At eight years old he entered the Milan academy and in 1959-60 joined the first team squad while also winning two prestigious Viareggio youth tournaments in 1959 and 1960.

 

Milan were reigning champions but finished 3rd under Luigi Bonizzoni. Ferrario played 5 league games, 2 in Italo-French Friendship Cup with 1 goal (Toulouse) and 1 game in the European Cup with 1 goal (Barcelona at Camp Nou in 1-5 defeat).

 

In 1960-61 he played for Lazio on loan. The manager was first Fulvio Bernardini (1-10) and then Enrique Flamini (10-34) but it was a terrible season and Lazio were relegated for the first time. The best result was beating Roma 2-1. The Biancocelesti reached the final of Coppa Italia but lost 0-2 to Fiorentina. Ferrario played 7 league games with 1 goal (Juventus).

 

In 1961-62 he returned to Milan but almost immediately came back to Lazio on loan. In Serie B the managers were Paolo Todeschini (1-21), Bob Lovati (22-27) and then Carlo Facchin (28-38). Lazio narrowly missed out on promotion by one point and a fair amount of controversy. In March they had a perfectly good goal disallowed against Napoli when the referee, against all evidence, claimed the ball had gone wide and then in through a hole in the net. Napoli later got promoted by one point. Ferrario again played 7 league games with 1 goal (winner against Messina away) and 1 game in Coppa Italia.

 

In 1962-63 he went to Simmenthal Monza on loan in Serie B. In Brianza he played more regularly, 27 league games and scored an impressive 17 goals. Monza finished 9th.

 

In 1963-64 he was ready to return to Milan where he stayed three seasons. The Rossoneri finished 3rd, 2nd and 7th. Ferrario played a total of 33 league games with 16 goals ,1 in Coppa Italia and 1 in the Fairs Cup with 1 goal (his best year was 1964-55 when he played 20 league games and scored 12 goals). The managers were Luis Carniglia and then Nils Liedholm the first year, Liedholm the second and Liedholm and Giovanni Cattozzo alternated in the third. His teammates included Lazio connections Giuliano Fortunato (1967-72) plus greats such as Giovanni Trapattoni, Giovanni Lodetti, Cesare Maldini, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Gianni Rivera and José Altafini.

 

In 1966-67 he joined Cesena for a year. The Bianconeri were in Serie C and finished top and promoted. Ferrario played 22 league games and scored 13 goals.

 

In 1967-68 he spent a season at Bologna in Serie A. The Rossoblu finished 5th but Ferrario only played 6 league games with 2 goals (Cagliari, Vicenza). The managers were Luis Carniglia, Giuseppe Viani and then Cesarino Cervellati. His teammates included former Lazio, Franco Janich (1958-61) and future Lazio, Sergio Clerici (1977-78).

 

In 1968-69 he played for Perugia in Serie B. The Umbri finished 8th under Guido Mazzetti. Ferrario played 21 league games and was top scorer with 6 goals. His teammates included former and future Lazio Costantino Fava (1967-68, 1970 and 1971) plus future Italian champion with Lazio, Luigi Polentes (1969-77).

 

In 1969 Ferrario went back to Cesena and stayed three seasons. The "Cavallucci" (Seahorses) were in Serie B and finished 11th, 16th and 6th. Ferrario played 73 league games with 21 goals plus 3 games in Coppa Italia. The managers included Cesarino Cervellati, Luigi Bonizzoni, Giovan Battista Fabbri and Luigi Radice. One of his teammates was future Lazio, Paolo Ammoniaci (1975-79).

 

In 1972-73 he spent a season at Ternana in Serie A but only played 4 league games and the Rossoverdi were relegated under Corrado Viciani. His teammates included Lazio connection, Giorgio Mastropasqua (1980-82) plus future world champion in 1982, Franco Selvaggi.

 

Ferrario then played for Bellaria (Rimini) in 1973-74 in the Serie C, playing 10 league games with no goals and then his last club was Novese (Novi Ligure) in Serie C where he played 24 league games with 9 goals but the Biancocelesti were relegated.

 

At 33 he retired.

 

In his youth he played 6 games for Italy U21s with 6 goals. He won the Mediterranean Games in 1963.

 

He then had a long coaching career. He started in the Cesena youth sector and in 1976-77 was Cesena manager in Serie A alongside Aldo Neri. He then joined the Milan youth sector for the 1978-79 season.

 

He then had spells at Messina (1979, C2, sacked), Teramo (1980-81, C2, 5th), Venezia (1982, 5th tier, sacked), Ravenna (1982-83, C2, 12th), Conegliano (1983, 5th tier, sacked), Ospitaletto (1983-85, C2, 3rd and 3rd), Rondinella (1985-86, C1, 12th), Trento (1986-88, C1, 9th and 9th), Modena (1988-89, C1, 5th), Rimini (1990, C2, sacked), Trento (1990-91, C1, relegation), Ospitaletto (1993-95, C2, 2nd and promotion, 17th in C1 and relegation), Novara (1995-97, C2, 1st and promotion, 17th in C1 and relegation), Brescia (1996-97, U19's), Brescia (1997-98, A, from 11th game to 31st, sacked), Triestina (1998, C2, sacked), Cesena (2000-01, C1, briefly between two other managers) and finally Olbia (2007, C2, sacked). Not a memorable career but with two promotions and he could also say he coached Andrea Pirlo (Brescia '97-98).

 

Ferrario was a striker. He was nicknamed "Ciapina" (after a famous partisan turned criminal, Ugo Ciapina) due to his goal poaching abilities (in Italian these types of opportunist goals are called "gol di rapina", literally robbery goals). His best season was with Milan in 1964-55 and he previously had the privilege of scoring at the famous Camp Nou in Barcelona. He played a total of 56 Serie A games with 19 goals and 128 in B with 46 goals.

 

He was with Lazio for two seasons on loan. They were difficult years with a relegation and a failed promotion chase (not helped by a bizarre refereeing decision). He failed to really leave a mark in the capital, playing a total of 15 games and scoring 2 goals.


Lazio Career

Season

Total games

Serie A

Serie B

Coppa Italia

1959-60

1

-

-

1

1960-61

8 (1)

7 (1)

-

1

1961-62

8 (1)

-

7 (1)

1

Total

17 (2)

7 (1)

7 (1)

3


Sources



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