November 11 1984: Roma-Lazio 0-0
Derby Stalemate
A tense but blocked "stracittadina" ends without winners or losers although Lazio the less disappointed
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had narrowly escaped relegation. It took a 2-2 away draw at Pisa in the last fixture to avoid Giorgio Chinaglia's first year as president ending in disaster.
This season Chinaglia had planned to sell stars Bruno Giordano and Lionello Manfredonia and rebuild the team. For various reasons however the deals fell through including players refusal to come to Lazio and disagreements over salaries at Juventus.
Chinaglia's American financial partners never materialised either so Lazio were in difficulty.
A few players were signed but they were not all that great: forward Oliviero Garlini (Cesena), defenders Massimo Storgato (Verona) and Arturo Vianello (Pisa) and midfielder Fortunato Torrisi (Catania). Defender Ernesto Calisti had returned from his loan to Cavese.
Leaving Lazio were Angelo Cupini (Bari), Mauro Meluso (Cremonese), Mario Piga (Palermo), Rinaldo Piraccini (Pistoiese) and Massimo Piscedda (Taranto - on loan).
Lazio started the season with Paolo Carosi as manager (he had taken over from Juan Carlos Morrone halfway through the previous season).
Lazio's first games were in August in the Coppa Italia and they had not done too badly. With a game to go the Biancocelesti were almost through to the second stage but the last game was against Roma. A point each would have meant that they would both qualify but a ridiculous penalty awarded to Roma and an Antonio Di Carlo goal gave Roma the win. Lazio still had a good chance to get to the round of 16 anyway on goal difference as Genoa had to beat Pistoiese 5-0 to overtake Lazio. Unfortunately this is exactly what happened with three goals in the last 8 minutes... The Biancocelesti were out and Chinaglia was furious.
The beginning of the league did not improve "Long John's" mood. Lazio lost their first two games (Fiorentina 0-1 at home and Udinese 0-5 away). At this point Chinaglia made a controversial decision, he sacked Carosi and brought in Juan Carlos Lorenzo. The Argentine had coached Lazio in the early 1960s and again from 1968-71, winning two promotions to Serie A but was now considered past it and there were even doubts over his mental well-being.
The fact is "Toto" took over and actually had not done too badly. A 1-1 home draw to Inter, 0-0 at Ascoli, 1-1 at home to Napoli, a 0-1 defeat away at Torino and recently finally a 2-1 home win against Cremonese.
Lazio were currently joint 12th, on 5 points with Udinese and Napoli in the last relegation slot.
Roma had finished 2nd under manager Nils Liedholm and won the Coppa Italia. The derbies had finished 2-0 to the Giallorossi and 2-2. The top scorer was Roberto Pruzzo with 15 goals (8 in A).
They had also reached the final of the European Cup. There were accusations of corruption in the semi-final against Dundee United and they also had the good fortune to play the final in Rome against Liverpool. Fortunately for Lazio fans they lost on penalties.
For some reason (possibly the recklessness of youth) my brother and I attended the pre-match concert at the Circus Maximus by singer and Roma fan Antonello Venditti and the subsequent match on a mega screen. Two Laziali among 300,000 Romanisti but by god did it turn out to be worth it!!
This season the "Barone" Liedholm had been replaced by another Swede, Sven-Goran Eriksson. Officially he was technical director with, former Lazio, Roberto Clagluna as manager. The main new signings were: midfielders Ruben Buriani (Cesena) and Antonio Di Carlo (Arezzo - back from loan) plus forwards Roberto Antonelli (Genoa - on loan) and Maurizio Iorio (Verona but at Roma 1982-'83). Not a memorable incoming transfer market.
Leaving were: defender Michele Nappi (Perugia), midfielder Stefano Desideri (Piacenza - on loan), Agostino Di Bartolomei (Milan, after 317 games), Fabrizio Di Mauro (Arezzo - on loan) and Marco Strukelj (Pisa) plus forward Francesco Vincenzi (Ascoli). Di Bartolomei was the biggest loss as he had been at Roma for eleven seasons and was captain.
Roma were currently in 11th on 6 points. They had drawn 6 (including recent Juventus 1-1 away) and lost 1 (Milan 1-2 away).
In the Coppa Italia the Lupi had qualified for the last 16. In the group stage they had won 3 (Pistoiese 1-0 away, Genoa 3-0 at home and the derby 2-0) and drawn 2 (Padova 2-2 at home and Varese 0-0 away). In the last 16 they would play Parma home and away in February.
In the Cup Winners Cup they had passed the round of 32 beating Steaua Bucharest 1-0 on aggregate. Next up came Wrexham from Wales (before Hollywood) in the last 16 and Roma won 3-0 on aggregate. In the quarter-finals Roma would play Bayern Munich in March.
A tough game for Lazio who were big underdogs despite Roma being winless so far in the league.
The match: Sunday, November 11, 1984, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A grey but mild November day with a good 70,000 crowd for the derby.
Lazio had to do without midfielder Claudio Vinazzani and forward Oliviero Garlini.
Roma were missing defender Dario Bonetti, midfielders Carlo Ancelotti and Toninho Cerezo.
Roma however fielded six of the players from the European final and "Vai Ciccio" Graziani was on the bench.
As derbies demand it was a hard-fought battle from the start. Not spectacular but physical and lively.
In the 3rd minute Vincenzo D'Amico took a low freekick which went across the goalmouth and behind for a corner.
The next shot at goal interrupting the midfield battle was not until the 22nd minute and was another D'Amico freekick but Franco Tancredi guessed the direction and caught it safely.
In the 38th minute Roberto Pruzzo, who had been limping for a while, finally went off and was replaced by Maurizio Iorio.
Roma stirred, gaining a few corners but were not really dangerous until the 40th minute when Ruben Buriani let off a powerful, mid-height long distance effort but Fernando Orsi dived to his right and palmed the ball behind for a corner. Halftime 0-0.
There were no changes for the second half which started with a good chance for Lazio. In the 47th minute Bruno Giordano raced towards the area, won a challenge and burst into the box but was anticipated by Michael Laudrup whose shot was saved low by Tancredi and then cleared for a corner by Aldo Maldera. A pity as Bruno-gol probably would have scored.
Roma replied in the 60th minute when Sebastiano Nela crossed high for Iorio and after a challenge with two defenders the ball fell nicely for him on the right of the area, he then crossed low but Orsi dived and slapped it away. Not particularly dangerous but worth noting due to the lack of goal action.
In the 75th minute Roma threatened properly. It was Buriani again who went for a crack from long range and his shot skimmed the crossbar.
The last opportunity was also for the Giallorossi. Bruno Conti floated a free kick into the area where Ubaldo Righetti headed towards goal but Orsi went for a catch that looked more beach mode than difficult and saved.
In the 88th minute Lazio played safe and cut up the game by replacing D'Amico with defender Massimo Storgato.
Nothing else happened and the derby ended goalless.
A point each after a hardfought but ultimately eventless game.
The point probably pleased Lazio more than Roma who were still winless in their league campaign.
Lazio's situation had not improved much however. The Biancocelesti were joint 13th on 6 points, now only with Napoli (Udinese had beaten Como 2-0) and were still in the relegation zone.
Roma were joint 9th on 7 points with Udinese, Como and Atalanta.
Not great times in the capital.
Meanwhile the top three were surprisingly Verona on 14, Torino 12 and Sampdoria 11.
Who played for Roma
Tancredi, Oddi, Nela, Righetti, Falcao, Maldera, Conti, Buriani, Pruzzo (38' Iorio), Giannini, Chierico
Substitutes: Malgioglio, Lucci, Di Carlo, Graziani
Manager: Clagluna
T.D: Eriksson
Who played for Lazio
Orsi, Calisti, Vianello, Filisetti, Batista, Podavini, D'Amico (88' Storgato), Torrisi, Giordano, Laudrup, Manfredonia
Manager: Lorenzo
Referee: Bergamo
What happened next
Lazio went on to have a disastrous season. The Biancocelesti then lost 0-1 in Bergamo, beat Como 3-2 at home and drew 2-2 away at Sampdoria after being 0-2 down but then lost the next seven consecutive games and did not win another game all season. In early March Lorenzo was sacked and replaced by Giancarlo Oddi and Roberto Lovati but it was far too late.
Considering the stories circulating about Lorenzo (including training catching chickens and drastic last minute weight losses by markers to match those of their opponents) it was surprising it did not occur earlier. Lazio managed to draw the return derby too 1-1 but the season was a write off and Lazio finished 15th on only 15 points, 10 from safety. The top scorer was Giordano with 8 goals (5 in A). A season to forget.
Roma finished 7th in Serie A. The Giallorossi then won 10 (first win Fiorentina 2-1 a week later), drew 7 and lost 5. They went unbeaten until February 17 (up to but 3rd place) then faded and lost 5 out of the last 12. The top scorer was Roberto Pruzzo with 10 goals (8 in A).
In the Coppa Italia the Giallorossi lost to Parma on the away goal rule (0-0, 1-1) and in Europe were well beaten by Bayern Munich 1-4 on aggregate.
Not a great season for Roma after the excitement of the previous year's European Cup final.
The manager Sven-Goran Eriksson would of course later enjoy huge success on the other side of the Tiber (Lazio, 1997-2001). Goalkeeper Astutillo Malgioglio would play for Lazio in 1985-86 but the less said the better... Carlo Ancelotti would also go on to become a top coach while Agostino Di Bartolomei would sadly take his own life in 1994.
The Scudetto was won by Verona for their first historic Scudetto. A great team led by Osvaldo Bagnoli and including players such as Roberto Tricella, Hans-Peter Briegel, Antonio Di Gennaro, Pietro Fanna and Preben Elkjær Larsen.
The Coppa Italia was won by Sampdoria who beat Milan 3-1 on aggregate.
Lazio went down with Ascoli and Cremonese. Lazio would not see Serie A again until 1988-89.
Let's talk about: Lazio Jersey 1984-85
Image Sources: SS Lazio Museum (first and third), Football Kit Archive (second and fourth)
The main shirt was made by Ennerre and the main sponsor was Castor.
The shirt was traditional. It was light blue with a white v-neck collar and white cuffs. The Lazio logo was the 1980s stylized eagle which was also present on the back of the shirts, in a bigger version, above the numbers. The shorts and socks were white.
The away shirt was the same but white with a light blue v-neck and white collar. The cuffs of the sleeves were light blue, the shorts white and the socks light blue.
The goalkeeper's shirt was usually yellow with a black round neck and sleeves. The shirt also had two thin black vertical lines on the front and back.
These were nice shirts but not helped in their popularity by the negative results on the field.
Sources
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