November 15, 1964: Lazio-Roma 0-0
- Dag Jenkins
- Nov 15
- 7 min read
All quiet on the Roman front
A goalless derby where both sides prime objective was to avoid a defeat
The season so far
The previous season had been pretty decent and Lazio had finished 8th. The highlight was beating Juventus 3-0 away while both derbies were draws. The manager was Juan Carlos Lorenzo and top scorers were Mario Maraschi and Juan Carlos Morrone with 5 league goals.
This season the manager was Umberto Mannocci. The main new signings were: keeper Roberto Gori (Biellese), defenders Piero Dotti (Messina) and Gianpiero Vitali (Triestina), midfielders Eugenio Fascetti (Messina), Can Bartu (Fiorentina), Kurt Christensen (Atalanta) plus forwards Gianfranco Petris (Fiorentina), Giampaolo Piaceri (Genoa) and Antonio Renna (Bologna).
Leaving were defender Gianfranco Garbuglia (Messina), midfielders Egidio Fumagalli (Frosinone), Massimo Giacomini (Genoa), Graziano Landoni (Atalanta), Bruno Mazzia (Juventus-end of loan) plus forwards Mario Maraschi (Bologna), Juan Carlos Morrone (Fiorentina) and Orlando Rozzoni (Catania - on loan). Several good players were saying goodbye.
So far Lazio had played 8 games, winning 1 (Varese 3-1 at home), drawing 2 (including Inter 1-1 at home) and losing 5 (including last two). Not a great start and the Biancocelesti were in 16th place on 4 points with Genoa and in the third relegation slot (safety was two points above - Messina and Cagliari on 6 points).
The Biancocelesti were already out of the Coppa Italia. They beat Trani 3-0 away but then drew 0-0 at home to Napoli and lost the toss of the coin (this was before penalties).
The previous season Roma had finished 12th. They had three different managers: Alfredo Foni (1-8), Albanian Naim Kriezu (10th fixture) and Spaniard Luis Miró (9th fixture and then 11-34). The first derby was 0-0 and the second 1-1. The Giallorossi had won the Coppa Italia defeating Torino 1-0 on aggregate. The top scorer was German Jürgen Schutz with 11 goals while solely in Serie A Alberto Orlando and Giancarlo De Sisti were top with 7 goals each.
This season the manager was former Lazio Juan Carlos Lorenzo who, after falling out with the directors over contractual issues, signed a more lucrative contract with the "cousins".
The main new signings were: defenders Glauco Tomasin (Sampdoria), Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (Mantova - back from loan), midfielders Ezio Salvori (Fiorentina) and Giuseppe Tamborini (Sampdoria) plus forward Bruno Nicolė (Mantova).
Leaving the capital were: defender Giulio Corsini (Mantova), Alfio Fontana (Sampdoria), midfielders Sergio Frascoli (SPAL), Saul Malatrasi (Inter), Alberto Orlando (Fiorentina), Jürgen Schütz (Messina - on loan) plus forward Angelo Sormani (Sampdoria).
So far, the Giallorossi had won 3, drawn 3 (including Inter 0-0 away) and lost 2. The Lupi were 7th, on 9 points with Juventus, and unbeaten in the last 4 games.
In Coppa Italia they would start the defence of their title directly in the quarterfinals in May against Napoli away.
Looking at the table Roma were favourites today but in a Roman derby that does not mean much and Lazio also had a point to prove to "traitor" Lorenzo.
The match: Sunday, November 15, 1964, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A cloudy but dry day in the Eternal City brought just under 50,000 to the Olimpico. The ticket prices were high and Lazio set their new income record with almost fifty-seven million lire.
Lazio chose Gianfranco Petris over Vito D'Amato while Roma played forward Bruno Nicolè but not Fulvio Francesconi.
The game was extremely blocked right from the start. Both sides were frozen by the fear of losing and gave priority to not conceding.
In the first half neither keeper had to make any saves worthy of mention. The only real chance fell to Roma in the 40th minute but Antonio Angelillo mishit from a favourable position.
Goalless at halftime but the general consensus was that Juan Carlos Lorenzo was playing into Lazio's hands by being so cautious. The game was physical and tense but by no means spectacular.
At the beginning of the second half Roma looked as if they were attempting to accelerate a little. Lazio were put in more difficulty but without excessive risks.
In the 62nd minute Lazio defender Paolo Carosi went a bit too far in blocking Karl-Heinz Schnellinger but the referee was lenient and his cards remained in his pocket. The Roman born defender was otherwise tough but impeccable in his defending.
In mid-half the Giallorossi produced their maximum efforts. In the 67th minute Lamberto Leonardi went down the wing and put in a good cross, Piero Dotti cleared but only to "Picchio" De Sisti whose close-range strike was brilliantly saved by Idilio Cei.
Then in the 72nd minute Angellillo, set up by De Sisti, ran into the box on the left and let off a cross goal shot which shaved the far post.
The biggest chance however was Lazio's and came a minute later. In the 78th minute Giampaolo Piaceri had a freekick parried by Fabio Cudicini and on the rebound Petris shot straight at the keeper, the ball came back to him but he incredibly kicked it into the side netting. A colossal chance missed.
After these scares the game became blocked again as neither team wanted to risk losing the derby in the final minutes. Final score Lazio 0 Roma 0.
A hard fought, physical but ultimately eventless and disappointing derby. The defensive approach by both sides had stifled the attacks. Both defences had played well, Schnellinger for Roma and Carosi for Lazio with standout performances but neither side had done enough to deserve a win.
Lazio were now 16th on 5 points with Genoa and one point from survival (Messina and Cagliari on 6 points).
Roma were 8th on 9 points with Juventus.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Mannocci
Who played for Roma
Cudicini, Tomasin, Ardizzon, Carpanesi, Losi, Schnellinger, Leonardi, De Sisti, Nicolè, Angelillo, Tamborini
Manager: Lorenzo
Referee: Righi
What happened next
Lazio finished 12th and avoided relegation by two points. The Biancocelesti then won 7, drew 10 (including second derby 0-0) and lost 8. Top scorers were Nello Governato and Antonio Renna with 5 goals (4 each in A) as Lazio only scored 25 league goals all season.
Roma finished 9th. In the remaining games they won 5, drew 11 and lost 9. Top scorers were Antonio Angelillo and Fulvio Francesconi with 8 goals each (7 in A).
In Coppa Italia the Giallorossi beat Napoli 2-1 away but then after a 2-2 home draw lost to Inter now with penalties (Luis Suárez scored all six...).
Serie A was won by Inter for their 9th Scudetto. Messina, Genoa and Mantova went down. Mantova would come straight back up the following season while Messina would not be back until 2004.
Let’s talk about Fabio Cudicini
Fabio Cudicini was born in Trieste, on October 20, 1935.
His first club as teenager was Ponziana in Trieste and then in 1955 when he was 19 he moved to the Udinese youth setup. In his first year at Udine he also played 2 games for the first team. Udinese were in Serie B and won the league under former Lazio, Giuseppe Bigogno. The squad included former Lazio, Per Bredesen and Alberto Fontanesi.
With Udinese in Serie A Cudicini stayed another two seasons, playing 28 league games and 6 in Coppa Italia. The Zebrette finished 4th and 10th, still under Bigogno. In his second season in A the squad included former Lazio, Primo Sentimenti and Renzo Sassi plus future Lazio, Massimo Giacomini.
In 1958 Cudicini joined Roma. He stayed eight seasons, playing a total of 208 games. The Giallorossi finished 6th, 9th, 5th three times, 12th, 9th and 8th. His managers included Gunnar Nordahl, Alfredo Foni, Luis Carniglia, Juan Carlos Lorenzo and Oronzo Pugliese. In Rome he won the Coppa Italia (1964), the Fairs Cup (1961) and the Alps Cup with other Italian clubs (1960). Roma then bought Pier Luigi Pizzaballa and Cudicini moved on.
In 1966-67 he spent a season at Brescia in Serie A. The Rondinelle finished 13th under future Lazio, Renato Gei. Cudicini played 18 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia. One of his teammates was a young Ciccio Cordova (Lazio 1976-79).
In 1967 Cudicini joined Milan where he stayed five seasons. He played 183 games and won a Scudetto (1968), a European Cup (1969), a Cup Winners Cup (1968), a Coppa Italia (1972) and an Intercontinental Cup (1969). His manager was Nereo Rocco for the whole period. The squads included Lazio connections Massimo Giacomini, Guido Magherini and Alberto Bigon. They also included great players such as Gianni Rivera, Kurt Hamrin, Giovanni Trapattoni, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Giovanni Lodetti, Angelo Sormani, Pierino Prati and Romeo Benetti.
Cudicini then retired at 36.
He was less lucky with the Italian national team as in the period Enrico Albertosi was the main keeper and then Dino Zoff emerged. Cudicini was called up a few times but never won a cap.
Cudicini was an excellent club goalkeeper. He was nicknamed "Pennellone" in his Roman days due to his height, 1.92. He was also called the "Ragno Nero" (Black Spider) due to his habit of wearing black and his agility (this nickname was first given to him in Britain after a superb performance against Manchester United in 1968-69). Another Black Spider was of course Lev Jašin, considered one of the greatest keepers of all time.
Cudicini was tall but he was quick, agile and with a great sense of positioning. He was logically good on high balls but also surprisingly so on lower ones. He was not showy or flashy but very efficient.
He is a legend at Milan where he won all the most important trophies. He still holds the San Siro record for the most minutes unbeaten, 1132. He is considered one of Italy's best ever goalkeepers.
His son Carlo also became a goalkeeper and his clubs included; Milan, Como, Lazio (1996-97), Chelsea, Tottenham and LA Galaxy.
Fabio Cudicini died in Milan, on January 8, 2025.
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