May 8, 1988: Lazio Genoa 1-0
- Simon Basten
- May 8
- 10 min read
An angel descends on the Olimpico
A last second goal by Angelo Gregucci gives Lazio vital two points
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had managed to avoid relegation to Serie C in a playoff with Campobasso and Taranto. They had been given an unjust 9-point docking, a very heavy burden with only two points for a victory, due to an alleged involvement in match fixing. Lazio did so well at the beginning that by early 1987 they were closer to promotion than relegation. Then the stress took its toll and the team collapsed physically and mentally. Before the last game of the season, Lazio were second from bottom on 31 points together with Taranto, on 32 there were Campobasso, Vicenza, Sambenedettese and Catania, with Modena on 33. With Cagliari already relegated, there were three places left. The last game was Lazio-Vicenza on June 21. With seven minutes to go, it was still 0-0. Gabriele Podavini got the ball and shot. It was more out of desperation than an actual goal scoring attempt. He miskicked it but the ball reached Giuliano Fiorini who turned on himself and scored.
Final verdict: Lazio, Campobasso and Taranto needed a playoff to determine who would join Cagliari, Catania and Vicenza in Serie C. In Naples on June 27 Lazio played their first game against Taranto and lost due to a goal in blatant offside. Then Taranto and Campobasso drew 1-1 on July 1. This meant that Lazio had to beat Campobasso to stay in Serie B. They did thanks to a Fabio Poli goal. The Biancocelesti were safe.
The new Presidency of the Calleri brothers with Renato Bocchi were obviously aiming for a return to Serie A in the 1987-88 season and certainly had this in mind when it came down to the summer transfer window. There was a revolution. Lazio said goodbye to goalkeepers Mario Ielpo and Giuliano Terraneo, defenders Ernesto Calisti and Daniele Filisetti, but in particular to Lazio legends Podavini, Fiorini and Poli. The new signings were experienced goalkeeper Silvano Martina and defender Paolo Beruatto both from Torino, Diego Maradona’s reserve Ciro Muro from Napoli, Gabriele Savino from Vicenza, Paolo Monelli from Fiorentina and Giuseppe Galderisi on loan from Milan. Only a year earlier Galderisi had played for Italy in the 1986 World Cup.
There was a lot of expectation, especially because the slots for promotion were increased to four as Serie A was going to expand the number of teams from 16 to 18, but Lazio started slowly. After the first 10 games Lazio were 12th, not too far away from the promotion zone, but still not in a good position. A couple of wins pushed them back up but then four consecutive draws, three of which goalless, did not give them the boost that was needed.
Then came the game at Taranto. Lazio were losing 3-1 after 35 minutes but goals from Savino and Muro in the second half allowed the Biancocelesti to draw. This was the turning point for the Biancocelesti. They started to climb up the table. They were currently fourth in the company of Catanzaro and Cremonese on 36 points, one point behind Lecce and three from Atalanta. Bologna, six points away, already had more than a foot in Serie A. There were seven games left and the Biancocelesti had to win as many of them as possible.
The match: Sunday, May 8, 1988, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
After just 33 seconds Lazio had a chance. Paolo Beruatto crossed from the left, Paolo Monelli volleyed towards the goal, Attilio Gregori managed to parry. In the 7th minute there was a probable penalty for Genoa when Vincenzo Esposito fouled Antonio Di Carlo in the box, but the referee was not convinced. Lazio continued to press Genoa and had numerous opportunities to score with Monelli, who tried a shot which was too wide, Gabriele Savino, with a shot from out just outside the box but it went too high, Antonio Rizzolo in the 24th with a volley that Gregori saved with his foot, and an Angelo Gregucci header off a Ciro Muro freekick which was just over the bar. Genoa on the counterattack around the half hour, Silvano Martina was forced to come out of the penalty area and head the ball away, Di Carlo tried a volley, but a Lazio defender saved into corner.
The second half was less spectacular as the heat and tiredness set in. Genoa, who appealed for another penalty for a possible Raimondo Marino foul on Luigi Marulla, had a chance with Ferdinando Signorelli who missed the ball from a very favourable position in the 73rd minute. 60 seconds later, Muro tried a shot, Gregori parried, Monelli tried again but hit the woodwork.
As the game was coming to an end, the Biancocelesti scored. Esposito crossed from the right, in came Gregucci with a diving header and it was victory for Lazio.
A fundamental win with, for once, a little help from the ref.
Who played for Lazio
Martina, Marino, Beruatto, Esposito, Gregucci, Savino (48’ Camolese), Caso, Acerbis, Rizzolo (66’ Galderisi), Muro, Monelli
Manager: Fascetti
Who played for Genoa
Gregori, Torrente, Trevisan, Pecoraro, Caricola II, Mastrantonio, Rotella (50' Chiappino), Eranio, Marulla, Di Carlo, Signorelli I (78' A. Agostinelli)
Substitutes: Guazzi, Visca, Briaschi
Manager: Perotti
Referee: Cornieti
Goal: 90’ Gregucci
What happened next
With six games to the end, seven teams were involved in the fight for Serie A. Bologna and Atalanta were slightly ahead, Lecce were one point above Lazio who in turn were a point ahead of Catanzaro, Cremonese and Bari.
The most important game of the season was Catanzaro-Lazio. Catanzaro by winning could have overtaken Lazio and it was 1-0 for the Calabrian Giallorossi when the referee indicated three minutes of injury time. With just seconds to go Monelli equalised, and Lazio kept fourth place. Catanzaro managed to catch up with Lazio with three games to go but only for one match.
Lazio-Taranto was the last game of the season. Bologna and Lecce were already promoted, Lazio and Atalanta had a one-point lead over Catanzaro. The other two matches of interest were Atalanta-Messina and Piacenza-Catanzaro. The Biancocelesti won 3-1 and secured promotion to Serie A. Finally.
Paolo Monelli was the player with most appearances this season (42) and the most goals (14).
What happened in Serie B 1987-88
In the previous season Pescara, Pisa and Cesena had been promoted to Serie A, the latter after a playoff with Lecce and Cremonese. The battle for relegation had also needed a playoff and Lazio, despite starting with -9 points, managed to survive alongside Taranto.
For this season, coming down from Serie A were Brescia, Atalanta and Udinese. They had to obviously be considered among the favourites for promotion along with the more glorious clubs such as Bologna, Lazio and Genoa.
Triestina started the season with a five-point deduction due to match fixing.
September
Padova sprinted ahead, winning all of their September games. Bologna and Lazio had already lost one and in their third game in Rome they drew 2-2.
Padova 6, Piacenza 5, Lecce 4, Cremonese 4, Catanzaro 4, Udinese 3, Lazio 3, Bari 3, Atalanta 3, Arezzo 3, Sambenedettese 3, Bologna 3, Brescia 3, Modena 2, Genoa 2, Messina 2, Taranto 2, Barletta 1, Parma 1, Triestina* -2
* 5-point deduction
October
Catanzaro were now leading the pack followed by Padova and Bologna.
Catanzaro 11, Padova 10, Bologna 10, Lecce 9, Piacenza 9, Cremonese 8, Lazio 8, Bari 8, Atalanta 7, Modena 7, Brescia 7, Sambenedettese 7, Udinese 6, Genoa 5, Messina 5, Arezzo 4, Barletta 4, Taranto 4, Parma 4, Triestina* 2
* 5-point deduction
November
Bologna raced ahead followed by Lecce, Padova, Cremonese and Piacenza. Still early and many games to go. Triestina reached a plus sign next to their point tally and had left the bottom of the table.
Bologna 16, Lecce 15, Padova 15, Cremonese 15, Piacenza 15, Atalanta 14, Catanzaro 14, Lazio 14, Bari 13, Sambenedettese 13, Brescia 13, Arezzo 11, Messina 11, Udinese 10, Genoa 10, Parma 9, Modena 9, Taranto 8, Triestina* 5, Barletta 5
* 5-point deduction
December
Bologna continued their march, despite a defeat at Trieste, followed now by Atalanta. Genoa and Lazio drew 1-1. Below, Barletta in trouble, bottom and four points away from safety.
Bologna 20, Atalanta 19, Padova 18, Catanzaro 18, Cremonese 17, Lazio 17, Lecce 17, Brescia 17, Bari 16, Piacenza 16, Messina 15, Sambenedettese 15, Parma 14, Genoa 13, Modena 12, Arezzo 12, Udinese 11, Taranto 11, Triestina* 9, Barletta 8
* 5-point deduction
January
Bologna beat Atalanta 4-0 and now there was a three-point gap. Behind them were now Cremonese but there were a lot of teams in the fight for promotion.
Bologna 27, Atalanta 24, Cremonese 23, Bari 22, Lazio 21, Lecce 21, Catanzaro 21, Padova 20, Piacenza 20, Parma 19, Brescia 19, Messina 18, Udinese 17, Sambenedettese 17, Genoa 16, Arezzo 16, Modena 15, Taranto 15, Triestina* 14, Barletta 10
* 5-point deduction
February
Lazio won two in a row but then lost at Bologna who were still first. But there were at least 12 teams who had a chance of promotion apart from the top two. The table was tight with many teams on the cusp of promotion and relegation.
Bologna 30, Atalanta 28, Cremonese 25, Lazio 25, Bari 25, Lecce 24, Brescia 23, Catanzaro 23, Piacenza 23, Parma 22, Messina 22, Genoa 21, Padova 20, Sambenedettese 20, Udinese 19, Triestina* 18, Taranto 18, Arezzo 17, Modena 17, Barletta 15
* 5-point deduction
March
Seven teams for four Serie A places with Bologna and Atalanta ahead. Below Barletta moved away from last place, now held by Arezzo. Still 12 games left.
Bologna 35, Atalanta 34, Lazio 30, Cremonese 30, Lecce 30, Bari 30, Catanzaro 29, Messina 26, Piacenza 26, Padova 25, Brescia 25, Udinese 24, Parma 24, Taranto 23, Sambenedettese 23, Genoa 22, Barletta 21, Modena 20, Triestina* 19, Arezzo 19
* 5-point deduction
April
Lots of draws between the top teams, all still very close. In the relegation battle Arezzo were in trouble but there were still seven teams for four places. Eight games to the end of the season and still a lot to be decided.
Bologna 40, Atalanta 38, Lazio 36, Lecce 36, Cremonese 36, Bari 35, Catanzaro 34, Messina 30, Brescia 30, Padova 30, Udinese 29, Parma 29, Piacenza 28, Genoa 25, Taranto 25, Modena 24, Sambenedettese 24, Triestina* 23, Barletta 23, Arezzo 20
* 5-point deduction
May
Bologna with a foot in Serie A and Arezzo with one in Serie C. Lazio managed to avoid defeat at Catanzaro with a Paolo Monelli goal in injury time but the Calabrians caught up with them at the end of the month as Lazio was stopped at Bari. At the other end Genoa had to be careful, they were very close to the relegation zone.
Bologna 48, Atalanta 44, Lecce 44, Lazio 42, Catanzaro 42, Cremonese 40, Bari 39, Brescia 36, Parma 35, Messina 34, Padova 34, Udinese 33, Taranto 31, Piacenza 31, Sambenedettese 30, Genoa 28, Modena 28, Barletta 27, Triestina* 26, Arezzo 23
* 5-point deduction
June
Bologna clinched promotion to Serie A with two games to spare with a draw at Bergamo. Lecce beat Catanzaro and Lazio won against Brescia, so the Bergamaschi needed just one point for promotion. With 180 minutes to the end the table read Lecce 46, Atalanta 45, Lazio 44, Catanzaro 42. Cremonese and Bari on 40 points were out of the race.
In the penultimate match Lecce drew at Messina and joined Bologna, Atalanta lost at Catanzaro and Lazio drew so Biancocelesti and Bergamaschi on 45, Catanzaro on 44. If they won their last game, it would mean Serie A. They did.
At the relegation end, with two games left Arezzo and Triestina were in Serie C. The table read Sambenedettese and Taranto 31, Modena 30, Barletta 29, Genoa 28. 90 minutes later, Genoa, Barletta and Modena all on 30 battling out to avoid the last slot. Final games Barletta-Bologna and Modena-Genoa. The Ligurians won and Barletta drew, so Modena down to Serie C.
Final table: Bologna 51, Lecce 49, Lazio 47, Atalanta 47, Catanzaro 46, Cremonese 41, Bari 41, Brescia 39, Padova 39, Udinese 38, Parma 38, Messina 35, Piacenza 33, Genoa 32, Sambenedettese 32, Taranto 32, Barletta 31, Modena 30, Triestina* 28, Arezzo 26
* 5-point deduction
What happened in Serie A
Milan won the scudetto ahead of Napoli and Roma. It was neck and neck between the Rossoneri and the Azzurri throughout the season. Napoli were first at the halfway mark with a three-point lead over Milan which was increased to four with 5 games left. Then Napoli lost to Juventus and drew at Verona and the Rossoneri were only one point behind. On May 1 the big clash at the San Paolo. Milan won 3-2 and with Napoli losing the next two games the scudetto went back to Lombardy.
In the European Cup, Napoli were eliminated in the first round by Real Madrid. Atalanta reached the semifinal of the Cup Winners Cup but were beaten by Mechelen 4-2 on aggregate. In the UEFA Cup Milan were eliminated in the second round by Espanol (2-0 on aggregate) and Juventus by Panathinaikos (on away goals), Inter in the third round by Espanol (2-1) and Verona by Werder Bremen in the quarterfinals (2-1).
In the Coppa Italia group phase, there were a few changes to the rules. A win was given three points, in the case of a draw penalties were taken with the winner taking two points and the loser 1. This was the first and only time this experiment was made. The semi finals were between Inter and Sampdoria and the Turin derby. Samp won 1-0 on aggregate and Torino defeated Juventus 3-2.
The final, over two games, saw Sampdoria prevail in extra time.
As a consequence, Milan would play the European Cup the following season, Sampdoria the Cup Winners Cup, Napoli, Roma, Inter and Juventus the UEFA Cup. Avellino and Empoli were relegated. Top scorer was Diego Maradona with 15 goals.
Sources
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