Eagles pluck Black Cats
Lazio beat visitors from Tyne and Wear in enjoyable encounter
Also on this day: May 17, 2003, Lazio Brescia 3-1. Baggio scores and sets up other chances but Lazio roar back and conquer victory and elite European football for next year. Non Lazio Player of the day: Roberto Baggio
The season so far
Lazio were newly promoted after a year in the purgatory of Serie B. They had won the championship and promotion under Juan Carlos Lorenzo. He had only been allowed to sit on the bench from March 30 as foreigners were not officially allowed to be managers, so until he obtained his passport Roberto Lovati had carried out the Sunday afternoon dug out duties.
This year officially the manager was Bob Lovati and the technical director was Juan Carlos Lorenzo. Some important changes had been made to the squad. Lazio had brought in some players who would prove to change the entire club's history.
An unknown young forward called Giorgio Chinaglia was signed from third division Internapoli. Also from the Neapolitan club arrived defender Giuseppe Wilson. Both players had British connections; Chinaglia grew up in South-Wales while Wilson was born in Darlington to an English father and Neapolitan mother. These two facts would later be one of the reasons for myself becoming a lifelong Lazio fan.
Along with the two “Brits” Lazio had added other players; defender and local lad Giancarlo Oddi (Sora - back from loan), defender Giuseppe Papadopulo (Livorno), goalkeeper Michelangelo Sulfaro (Sambenedettese) plus, in the autumn session, defender Luigi Polentes (Perugia) and above all midfielder Franco Nanni (Trapani). Four of these players; Chinaglia, Wilson, Oddi and Nanni, would play key roles some years later in Lazio's Scudetto winning team.
The main players leaving were defenders Pietro Fontana (Ternana) and Guido Onor (Juventus - end of loan) plus, in the autumn, forward Arrigo Dolso (Monza - on loan) and defender Pietro Adorni (Piacenza).
Serie A finished early this year due to the upcoming Mexico World Cup. Lazio had a positive campaign and finished 8th. The Biancocelesti had won 11 (including Milan 1-0, Fiorentina 5-1, both at home), drawn 7 (including a derby 1-1) and lost 12 (including first derby 1-2). In the last five matches they had won 3 (Palermo, Inter and Juventus, all at home) and drawn 2 (Napoli and Verona, both away), so finishing the league strongly. The new "Welsh-Italian" striker Giorgio Chinaglia had done well and had scored 12 league goals and Anglo-Italian defender Pino Wilson had also proved an excellent buy.
In today's Anglo-Italian Cup they had played two games but lost them both, against Sunderland 1-3 at Roker Park and Wolves 0-1 at Molineux. The tournament would run from May 1 until May 28.
This was the first edition of the cup and involved 6 English teams (Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon Town, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich, Wolves and Sunderland) and 6 Italian (Napoli, Juventus, Vicenza, Roma, Fiorentina and Lazio). Teams from the same country would not play each other despite being in the same group and the two teams from each country with the most total points from the 3 groups would play in the final.
Sunderland had just been relegated from the old First Division (top flight). The Black Cats had won 6, drawn 14 and lost 22 and gone down on goal difference. Top scorer was Gordon Harris with 7 league goals. The manager was Alan Brown.
So far, in this competition Sunderland had won 3-1 against Lazio and then drawn 2-2 against Fiorentina, both at home.
The match: Sunday, May 17, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A fresh, Roman evening brought a decent 15,000 crowd to the Olimpico.
Lazio were without Giorgio Chinaglia and Giuliano Fortunato while the English played with the same team as in the home game with the exception of Colin Symm instead of Martin Harvey.
The first half was played at a good pace and without an excessively defensive approach by either team.
The main things to note were a blatant penalty denied to the visitors when Rino Marchesi tripped Billy Hughes up in the area and a Juan Carlos Morrone shot that went just over the bar a little before the break.
For the second half Lazio replaced Morrone with Mario Tomy while Sunderland took off Dennis Tueart and put on Jones.
The second half was more action packed. In the 52nd minute Lazio took the lead. A good move on the break reached Ferruccio Mazzola II who shot from the long range, the keeper could not hold onto it and it rolled towards the line where the keeper got back and seemed to clear it before it went over. The linesman however gestured to the referee that it was a goal. The problem of having referees of one of the nations playing is the risk that they exaggerate in trying to show their impartiality. The same had happened to Lazio in England, where they had been penalised by Italian referees. Anyway, Lazio 1 Sunderland 0.
Lazio almost doubled their lead in the 56th minute when a Giampiero Ghio shot was deflected by Todd onto the post. Ghio a few minutes later missed a sitter and then Michelangelo Sulfaro was called into action on a Hughes header deflected by Pino Wilson.
The game was now entertaining. Giuseppe Massa weaved his way past several defenders and teed up Franco Nanni but his powerful, low shot was saved by Jimmy Montgomery.
In the 66th minute Lazio doubled their lead. Mazzola fed Ghio on the left and the striker let off a precise, low shot on the far post. Lazio 2 Sunderland 0.
The English did not give up and not even two minutes later pulled a goal back. Robert Park burst down the right, crossed into Gordon Harris who nodded it down to Hughes who put an unstoppable strike past Sulfaro. Lazio 2 Sunderland 1.
The game was end to end. Mazzola hit the outside of the post and then a Hughes header forced Sulfaro into an acrobatic save. Lazio had several more chances, Ghio hesitated in front of goal, Montgomery saved brilliantly from Nanni and Tomy shaved the post from close range. Hughes too threatened again but the game ended with Lazio victorious. Lazio 2 Sunderland 1.
The fans appreciated the spectacle and both sides were applauded off the field. With these two points, plus the two goals, Lazio reached 5 points but Napoli were on 14...they had thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 5-1.
Who played for Lazio
Sulfaro, Wilson, Facco, Governato, Papadopulo, Marchesi, Massa, Mazzola II, Ghio, Nanni (84' Diomedi), Morrone (46' Tomy)
Manager: Lorenzo
Who played for Sunderland
Montgomery, Irwin, Symm, Todd, Heslop, McGiven, Park, Harris, Hughes, Kerr, Tueart (46' Jones)
Manager: Brown
Referee: Lyden (GB)
Goals: 52' Morrone, 66' Ghio, 68' Jones
What happened next
Lazio won the next home game too, 2-0 against Wolves with a Ghio brace. They finished 3rd out of the Italian teams behind Napoli and Fiorentina but ahead of Juventus, Vicenza and Roma. The formula was a bit strange, a point for every goal added to the points earned in the games.
Lazio then continued their summer season with the Alps Cup in which they won 2 (Young Boys 2-0 and Zurich 3-0, both away), drew 1 (Lugano 3-3 away) and lost 1 (Basel 2-3 away) thus did not advance in the tournament.
By now it was June 16th and it was time to sit back and watch Italy vs Germany the day after in Mexico '70.
Sunderland then lost 0-3 in Florence and finished 6th out of the English teams. The winners were Swindon Town.
In the final in Naples the tournament finished under a cloud. Swindon were leading 3-0 but following the continuous launch of smoke bombs and flares the referee decided to call the game off after 79 minutes. Swindon Town were obviously declared the winners of the 1st Anglo-Italian Cup.
Lazio 1969-70
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 33 |
Coppa Italia | 3 | - | 1 | 2 | - |
Mitropa Cup | 2 | - | - | 2 | 2 |
Total | 35 | 11 | 8 | 16 | 35 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Mitropa Cup |
Marchesi | 35 | 30 | 3 | 2 |
Massa | 32 | 27 | 3 | 2 |
Chinaglia | 31 | 28 | 1 | 2 |
Wilson | 31 | 28 | 1 | 2 |
Ghio | 29 | 25 | 2 | 2 |
Top goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Mitropa Cup |
Chinaglia | 14 | 12 | 2 |
Massa | 5 | 5 | - |
Ghio | 5 | 5 | - |
Mazzola | 3 | 3 | - |
Let’s talk about The Anglo-Italian Cup
The tournament was the brain child of Gigi Peronace, an Italian manager who had lived in Britain for a few years. He became the key link between Italian and English football and he was involved in many of the transfers of British players to Serie A such as, John Charles, Dennis Law, Jimmy Greaves up to Liam Brady. He also later collaborated with the Italian national team as a sort of general manager.
In 1969 Swindon Town won the League Cup beating Arsenal at Wembley. As they were in the Third Division however, they could not play in Europe. Enter Peronace.
The first edition of the Anglo-Italian Cup was the most prestigious. It included 6 Serie A clubs (including Juventus, Lazio and Napoli) plus 6 English Clubs (4 from Division 1, 1 from Division 2 and Swindon Town from Division 3).
The formula was two mixed groups of 6, but clubs of the same nation did not play each other. Extra points were added for goals scored and the two clubs from each nation with the highest points played in the final. The offside rule was only valid in the last 16 metres. The first edition was fittingly won by Swindon Town.
This formula continued for three editions. In 1973 the clubs became 16 with two groups and then semi-finals.
In 1974 it was not held due to the World Cup in Germany and neither in 1975 due to organisational issues.
In 1976 it returned but it was modified to cater for Italian semi-professional Serie C teams and English amateurs (5th tier and down). It was also the first tournament in the world to award 3 points per win. It also took on the name of sponsors, for example Alitalia Challenge Cup.
In 1979 the teams were reduced to four and the final played in Italy.
In 1980 Gigi Peronace died prematurely and from 1982 the tournament was named in his honour. From 1982 to 1986 it became a knock out competition played in Italy and still with four teams.
After the Heysel tragedy in Brussels, in 1985, the relationship between the Italians and the Brits soured and the tournament, which had also lost its appeal, was abandoned.
It was re-introduced in 1992-93. It involved 8 Italian Serie B clubs (the 4 relegated from A plus the 4 best non-promoted) and 8 from Division 1 in England. The formula was the same as 1973 but the final would be at Wembley.
Over the years however the Cup had increasing difficulty finding space in the busy fixture list, the fans and clubs lost interest, with the games often played between reserves and finally was abandoned. The last edition was won by Genoa in 1996. In the end it was won 14 times by Italian clubs and 5 by English.
Year | Winner | Runner-Up |
1970 | Swindon Town | Napoli |
1971 | Blackpool | Bologna |
1972 | Roma | Blackpool |
1973 | Newcastle | Fiorentina |
1976 | Monza | Wimbledon |
1977 | Lecco | Bath City |
1978 | Udinese | Bath City |
1979 | Sutton Utd | Chieti |
1980 | Triestina | Sutton Utd |
1981 | Modena | Poole Town |
1982 | Modena | Sutto Utd |
1983 | Cosenza | Padova |
1984 | Francavilla | Teramo |
1985 | Pontedera | Livorno |
1986 | Piacenza | Pontedera |
1992-93 | Cremonese | Derby County |
1993-94 | Brescia | Notts County |
1994-95 | Notts County | Ascoli |
1995-96 | Genoa | Port Vale |
Sources
Lazio Wiki
Wikipedia