October 19, 1980: Lazio-Atalanta 2-0
- Dag Jenkins
- Oct 19, 2025
- 9 min read
Lazio push up to second
With a solid performance and 2-0 win the Biancocelesti barge into second promotion slot
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had been relegated to Serie B, not on the field but in the Sports Justice Courts. Lazio paid for four of their players' alleged involvement in the Totonero match fixing scandal. Lazio were therefore in Serie B without Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia, Pino Wilson and Massimo Cacciatori.
The new manager was Ilario Castagner who had done well at Perugia. The Biancocelesti also had several new players to try and bounce straight back up to the top flight. Arriving were goalkeeper Maurizio Moscatelli (Pistoiese), defenders Giorgio Mastropasqua (Bologna), Arcadio Spinozzi (Bologna), midfielders Alberto Bigon (Milan), Giuseppe Greco (Torino), Dario Sanguin (Vicenza) and forward Stefano Chiodi (Milan).
Leaving were defender Mauro Tassotti (Milan), midfielders Vincenzo D'Amico (Torino-luckily he would be back), Antonio Lopez (Palermo), Vincenzo Zucchini (Vicenza) and forward Enrico Todesco (Genoa).
In the Coppa Italia in August and early September things had gone well with three wins and a draw (Pescara 2-0 away, Varese 2-1 Verona 3-0 at home and Ascoli 0-0 away). Lazio qualified for the quarter finals to be played in March against Bologna.
Lazio's league debut was on September 14 at home to Palermo and it ended 1-1. The Biancocelesti had since won 2 (Catania and Varese 2-1 at home) and drawn 2 (Verona 1-1 and Pescara 0-0 away). A decent start and Lazio were currently 3rd on 7 points (with Sampdoria), only one behind leaders Milan and SPAL.
Atalanta had finished 9th in Serie B the previous year, under manager Titta Rota. The top scorer was Augusto Scala with 7 league goals. The squad included future Lazio players, Daniele Filisetti and Massimo Storgato.
This season the manager was Bruno Bolchi. The main new arrivals were: defenders Amedeo Baldizzone (Forlì - back from loan), Federico Caputi (Taranto) and Andrea Mandorlini (Torino) plus forwards Carlo De Bernardi (Cesena) and Gabriele Messina (Salernitana).
Leaving Bergamo were: goalkeeper Giancarlo Alessandrelli (Sanremese - on loan), defender Giovanni Mei (Cesena), Gian Filippo Reali (Fiorentina) plus forwards Giancarlo Finardi (Cremonese) and Salvatore Garritano (Bologna).
In Serie B so far, the Nerazzurri had won 2 (Verona 1-0 and Catania 3-1 at home), drawn 2 (Taranto 0-0 at home on debut, Palermo 1-1 away) and lost 1 (Varese 0-1 away). The Dea was currently solitary 5th on 6 points.
In the Coppa Italia they had won 2 (Cesena 2-0 at home, Pistoiese 1-0 away) and drawn 2 (Rimini 0-0 away and Fiorentina 1-1 at home) but were eliminated on goal difference.
Both teams came from wins but Lazio were favourites to continue their early promotion push. Atalanta however were a bit of a bête noire for Lazio and had not lost in the last seven years at the Olimpico.
The match: Sunday, October 19, 1980, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A grey day in the capital gathered just under 25,000 spectators for this potential promotion clash.
Lazio were still missing forward Stefano Chiodi but he would not return until November from his suspension (six months due to the 1980 betting scandal).
Atalanta were without midfielder Roberto Filippi.
The Bergamaschi started strongly, they were well organised and quick. In the 8th minute a close-range Gabriele Messina shot forced Maurizio Moscatelli to dive low and save, the ball spun up in the air but was then headed over the bar by the Nerazzurri.
The first fifteen minutes were all Atalanta but without any particular further threats.
Then Lazio started to stir. In the 17th minute Giovanni Vavassori defended well on Renzo Garlaschelli and in the 21st minute a powerful Filippo Citterio strike was blocked by Vavassori with his arm but not intentionally according to the referee (those were the days).
In the 28th minute Lazio lost Giuseppe Greco through injury and on came youngster Raoul Albani. The Lazio midfielder had apparently been in pain for a while and this could possibly explain Lazio's hesitant start.
The game was then played mainly in midfield apart from a Citterio freekick in the 30th minute and a Garlaschelli effort in the 37th minute, both well saved by Maurizio Memo.
In the second half Lazio came out of the blocks a lot better. First a bicycle kick by Alberto Bigon was blocked by Memo and then in the 53rd the Biancocelesti scored. On a long cross by Dario Sanguin the ball went high into the area, Memo hesitated and Albani beat his marker, heading past the keeper, 1-0.
The Lombards answered with a Vavassori shot just wide.
Lazio however were on a high and insisted, with an Andrea Mandorlini deflection almost causing an own goal.
In the 71st minute there were three substitutions, one for Lazio and two for Atalanta; for the former, defender Pietro Ghedin replaced midfielder Sanguin while for the latter, attacking midfielder Augusto Scala replaced defender Gian Filippo Reali plus forward Ezio Bertuzzo came on for midfielder Giuseppe De Biase.
The Orobici, practically with four forwards, pushed for an equaliser but only really went close in the 85th minute when a Bertuzzo freekick whistled past the post.
Three minutes later Lazio closed the contest. In the 88th minute Citterio was tripped up in the area (just outside according to the visitors) by Amedeo Baldizzone and the referee had no doubts. The defender from near Monza took it himself and placed a perfect low penalty to Memo's left, 2-0.
An assured win by Lazio. They had suffered the Dea's energetic start but then grew into the game and struck at the right moments.
Lazio were now 2nd on 9 points (with Sampdoria) while Atalanta were down to 10th on 6 points (with Cesena, Foggia and Pisa).
Who played for Lazio
Moscatelli, Spinozzi, Citterio, Perrone, Pochesci, Mastropasqua, Viola, Sanguin (71' Ghedin), Garlaschelli, Bigon, Greco (28' Albani)
Manager: Castagner
Who played for Atalanta
Memo, Mandorlini, Reali (71' Scala), Filisetti, Baldissone, Vavassori, De Biase (71' Bertuzzo), Bonomi, De Bernardi, Rocca, Messina
Substitutes: Rossi, Festa, Mostosi
Manager: Bolchi
Referee: Prati
Goals: 53' Albani, 88' Citterio (pen)
Red Card: 88' Scala
What happened next
Lazio went very close to promotion but just fell short and finished 4th. Lazio battled all season with the frontrunners and seemed on course to go up. Then came the June 14 home game against Vicenza. The table read Milan 48, Genoa 44, Cesena 44, Lazio 44 for three places in A.
With the score on 1-1, in the 87th minute Lazio were awarded a penalty. Stefano Chiodi, the specialist who had never missed a penalty, stepped up and... obviously missed, hitting the post. Cesena and Genoa won and a demoralised Lazio then only drew the last away game at Taranto and so came 4th. A huge disappointment. The top scorer was Alberto Bigon with 10 goals (9 in B).
In Coppa Italia, in the quarter finals, Lazio lost both home and away 0-2 against Bologna. The cup was eventually won by Roma who beat Torino on penalties.
Atalanta ended up 19th and relegated to C1. In the next 32 games they only won 7, drew 10 (including Lazio 1-1) and lost 15. In late January Bolchi was replaced by former Lazio, Giulio Corsini. The top scorer was De Bernardi with 9 league goals.
The Orobici would then bounce straight back up again and by 1984 were in Serie A.
Two of today's squad would go on to coach Atalanta; Vavassori (1999-2003) and Mandorlini (2003-04).
Three teams going up this year were Milan and, as mentioned, Cesena and Genoa.
Atalanta went down with Vicenza, Taranto and Monza..
Lets talk about Filippo Citterio
Filippo Citterio was born in Giussano (Monza), on November 17, 1955.
At 14 he joined local Vis Nova Giussano youth teams and stayed with the "Lucertole" (The Lizards) until he was almost 18.
He then joined Seregno (Monza) in Serie C. He stayed one season, the "Spartani" finished 6th and he played 36 league games with one goal.
In 1974-75 he moved to A.C Milan. The manager was Gustavo Giagnoni and Citterio played 1 league game and 4 in Coppa Italia. The Rossoneri finished 5th and were losing finalists in the Coppa Italia (Fiorentina 2-3).
In 1975-76 he moved to Sicily and more specifically Palermo in Serie B. He stayed four seasons with 11th, 12th, 6th and 7th places. His managers were Benigno De Grandi, Antonio De Bellis, Giuseppe Grassotti and Fernando Veneranda for two full seasons. Citterio played 129 games with 2 goals.
In 1979 he joined Lazio. The manager was Bob Lovati and Citterio had a good season playing every league game (30) with 1 goal (winner against Torino) and 6 in Coppa Italia. The same could not be said for Lazio who narrowly avoided relegation on the pitch but then were sent down for some of their players' involvement in the "Totonero" betting scandal. It was also the season of Vincenzo Paparelli's death, the Lazio fan killed by a flare shot from the Roma end before a derby.
Citterio stayed on in Serie B under new manager Ilario Castagner. Lazio just missed out on promotion finishing 4th, also due to a crucial penalty miss by Roberto Chiodi (who had never missed a penalty). Citterio had another positive season playing 38 league games with 6 goals (Catania, Varese, Atalanta, Monza, Pisa, Taranto) and 5 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Varese).
In 1981 Citterio moved down to Naples but back up to Serie A. The manager was former Lazio player Rino Marchesi and the Partenopei finished 4th. He played 21 league games with 2 goals (Como and winner vs Roma), 6 in Coppa Italia and 2 in the UEFA Cup. He played with future Lazio, Raimondo Marino, Claudio Vinazzani and Oscar Damiani.
The following year former Lazio player Massimo Giacomini was manager but was replaced in November by the duo Bruno Pesaola - Gennaro Rambone. The Azzurri finished 10th and Citterio played 24 league games, 7 in Coppa Italia and 3 in the UEFA Cup.
In 1983 he moved to Le Marche and signed for Ascoli in Serie A. The first year went well under Carlo Mazzone, the "Picchio" (The Woodpecker) finished 10th. Citterio played 18 league games and 6 in Coppa Italia. In the squad were Paolo Pochesci, Carlo Perrone and Giuseppe Greco, all former Lazio.
The second season was difficult. Mazzone was sacked after seven matches and replaced by Mario Colautti (with Vujadin Boskov as TD). The Piceni finished 14th and were relegated, winning only 4 league games all season. Citterio only played 8 league games. One of his teammates was former Lazio, Aldo Cantarutti.
In 1985 he joined Cremonese in Serie B. He stayed five seasons under Emiliano Mondonico, Bruno Mazzia for three seasons and finally Tarcisio Burgnich. The" Violini" (The Violins) finished 9th, 5th, 6th, 4th (promoted to A after a playoff) and 17th (relegated). Citterio played 165 league games with 6 goals. He played alongside many future Laziali; Attilio Lombardo, Giuseppe Favalli, Mauro Bonomi, Dario Marcolin and former player Gustavo Dezotti
His last team was still in Lombardy but was Brescia in Serie B. The managers were Bruno Mazzia (1-3) and Bruno Bolchi (4-38) and the "Leonessa" finished 9th. Citterio played 30 league games. He was in squad with Lazio connections; Luca Luzardi, Luciano De Paola and Marco Piovanelli.
The final professional year, under Adelio Moro (Mircea Lucescu TD), ended on a high and the "Rondinelle" (Little Swallows) won the league and were promoted to Serie A. Citterio however, despite being in the squad, made no appearances.
He retired at 36 and went straight into coaching. He spent three years in the Cremonese youth sector, a year with his original home club Vis Nova, a short spell with Süd Tirol-Alto Adige, two years with Mariano (Como), a year with Seregno (Bergamo), another season with Vis Nova, three years with Molinello (Monza) and a year with Nibionno (Lecco).
Since 2010 he has concentrated more on running Sports Academies (Mariano Comense) and in 2015 he opened a new Football Academy called Palaextra Sport Academy in Mariano Comense (Como) where he is technical director. A grass roots man rather than in top professional football.
As a player he was a left fullback. He is 1.88 and 80 kilos, so was a strong defender. He was particularly good going forward, often helping the offensive moves. He had good athleticism and technique. He played 129 games in Serie A.
He played 79 games for Lazio. He was a popular player and the fans were sad to see him leave. He was unlucky with his timing at Lazio, arriving at one of the many difficult periods in their history.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1979-80 | 36 (1) | 30 (1) | - | 6 |
1980-81 | 43 (7) | - | 38 (6) | 5 (1) |
Total | 79 (8) | 30 (1) | 38 (6) | 11 (1) |
Sources
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