The day calcio died
Vincenzo Paparelli, a Lazio supporter, was killed by a flare fired from Curva Sud before the start of the game.
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had missed out on a UEFA Cup qualification by just three points. The club did not have much money and could only afford minor signings. In came Filippo Citterio from Palermo, Vincenzo Zucchini from Pescara and Enrico Todesco from Como plus the return of Mauro Manzoni, who was on loan to Cerretese, and Maurizio Montesi, who had been sent to Avellino for a year.
Lazio said goodbye to scudetto hero Luigi Martini, who left to play in the NASL, Ciccio Cordova (Avellino), Paolo Ammoniaci (Palermo) and Aldo Cantarutti (Pisa). Roberto Badiani, Andrea Agostinelli and Pietro Ghedin were loaned out.
The Biancocelesti had started well, qualifying for the Coppa Italia quarter finals on goal difference after winning their group thanks to three wins and a draw. In Campionato they were seventh in the company of Napoli and Bologna, but it was still early stages. They had so far won one, lost one and drawn three.
There was hope that a win in the derby could boost chances of European Cup qualification.
The match: Sunday, October 28, 1979, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
It was a gloomy Sunday late morning when we entered the Stadium on October 28, 1978. The environment was not exactly friendly between the clubs but one has to also remember what was happening in the country. In 1979 there were 269 armed organisations in Italy and during the entire year there had been 659 terrorist acts. And the battle between the two groups of supporters reflected this climate of violence.
About an hour before the game Vincenzo Paparelli, married with two children, was sitting in Curva Nord having a sandwich. From the Curva Sud, Giovanni Fiorillo fired two flares towards the Lazio Curva. They zig zagged over the top. For the third attempt, the Roma supporter lowered his aim. The flare hit Paparelli in the eye. His wife, sitting next to him, cried “Vincenzo don’t die, we have two children”. A fan tried to take the flare out of his head but only partially succeeded. He was quickly transported to the ambulance but he died on arrival at the hospital.
What happened then was complete chaos. The Lazio fans did not want the game to go on but the police decided that it was best to play for security reasons. From the stands we did not know what had happened, we only knew that somebody had died since the fans were chanting “assassini, assassini” (murderers). I was sitting in Tribuna Tevere with my dad and had been there since around midday. My father, not really understanding the dynamics between the fans, since he did not live in Rome at the time, watched in disbelief. Dag with his brother and father saw the chaos as they tried to get into the stadium and Mr. Jenkins promptly took his kids back home.
The players did not really know exactly what had happened, but they did sense that something tragic had taken place. Captain Pino Wilson went under the Curva Nord to try and calm people down, hence learnt the awful news. In a climate of warfare with few Lazio supporters left in the stands, the game was played. Paparelli’s son Gabriele in a recent interview stated that the Captain “told me he felt it necessary to go out there that day to try and calm the Lazio supporters. And he said that if they hadn’t played, there would have been more than just one death”.
The game was a farce. Neither team wanted to play. Lazio scored after 6 minutes. Renzo Garlaschelli crossed in the box from the right and Vincenzo Zucchini headed the ball in. Ten minutes later Roma equalised. Free kick from the left, a long ball from Mauro Amenta and Roberto Pruzzo’s perfect header beat Massimo Cacciatori.
For the rest of the match there was a slight territorial predominance for the Biancocelesti and Bruno Giordano tried to score a few times but he was always denied by Franco Tancredi.
Towards the end of the game there was an argument between Maurizio Montesi and Amenta and the referee sent both of them off. Pietro D’Elia did not want even a hint of trouble on the pitch. He even ignored a blatant penalty for Lazio because he was happy with the draw since it would allow a safe journey home for the rest of the spectators.
The ball ended up in Curva Nord twice and both times the fans did not want to give it back. Giordano and Wilson were forced to go under the stands to reclaim the football.
A terrible day, calcio would never be the same again.
Who played for Lazio
Cacciatori, Tassotti, Citterio, Wilson, Manfredonia, Zucchini, Garlaschelli, Montesi, Giordano, Nicoli, Viola
Substitutes: Avagliano, Manzoni, Todesco
Manager: Lovati
Who played for Roma
Tancredi, Rocca, Peccenini, Benetti, Turone (40' De Nadai), Santarini, Amenta, Di Bartolomei, Pruzzo, Ancelotti, B.Conti.
Substitutes: P.Conti, Ugolotti.
Manager: Liedholm.
Referee: D’Elia
Goals: 6’ Zucchini, 16’ Pruzzo
The aftermath
The police quickly identified the culprit but Giovanni Fiorillo disappeared. Apparently, he escaped to Switzerland. He turned himself in after 14 months. He was condemned to six years and ten months of jail. He died on March 24, 1993.
Lazio and Roma organised a friendly Rome vs Rest of Italy to collect money for the Paparelli family on November 18. 20,000 fans turned up in peace. This was the only occasion in which the Roma fans showed any kind of solidarity. From then on, the chant “10, 100, 1000 Paparelli” would echo constantly in the stadium and written on the walls all over Rome and in particular in front of Paparelli’s house.
Gabriele Paparelli said “During primary school I changed three schools in just five years. I practically lived without points of reference. I didn't socialise. My classmates were indifferent to me, in fact I often willingly isolated myself by distancing myself from the school context. I attended the Donatello state middle school in Villaggio Breda. On my desk I often found the writing "10-100-1000 Paparelli". Once I identified the author. I locked him inside the classroom. He was a kid like me. Twelve, maximum thirteen years of age. I asked him why he wrote it. He couldn't give me a plausible answer. He only said that he was a Roma fan and that Paparelli was a Lazio fan who died at the stadium in the derby. And for him this was enough to justify that writing. Basically, he didn't even know why he had done it”. But this was not enough. Continuous prank calls throughout the years. No respect for the dead nor for the living. No justification for the chant.
Captain Pino Wilson called the Paparelli family on Gabriele’s birthday and on the anniversary of his father’s murder. The Captain “was a constant presence in my life right from when I was little. I found it amazing that he always found the time to ring me on my birthday and on October 28”.
What happened next
At the start of game 10 the Biancocelesti were in fourth place and only 4 points behind leaders Inter. But in the next 15 matches Lazio won only once and in March, after the game lost at Pescara, were fourth from bottom, just three points above Catanzaro. They had also lost the Coppa Italia quarter final against Torino after a penalty shoot-out.
Then, an already bad and tragic season got even worse. At Pescara Wilson, Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia and Massimo Cacciatori were arrested for match fixing.
Rumours that there was something wrong in Serie A had begun to circulate earlier in the year. At Cagliari Montesi broke his leg and from the hospital spoke to the few journalists who went to see how he was. He was alone, none of the Lazio players had had the decency to drop by. He started talking of match fixing, agreements between clubs over results, and illegal betting.
In Italy one could not legally bet on the result of a single game or on the scores of a series of games. There was just the Totocalcio where one had to guess the result of 13 games. There was however an illegal betting system called Totonero run by illegal bookmakers similar to how legal bets were organised in the UK.
Match fixing had always been a problem in Italy and taken place since the early 1950s. Clubs and/or players would agree to share points during the season in a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” system. But then the players started to bet on these games. It was easy money; they knew what the result would be so why not have a little wager.
Alvaro Trinca was the owner of a restaurant in the centre of Rome where Lazio and Roma players would often go and eat before games. Massimo Cruciani was a fruit seller and was very friendly with a number of players. Both would hear the players talk of match fixing and therefore started to bet and win large sums of money. They teamed up and devised a plan which was to offer money to the players to fix games as well as bet money for them.
Their plan failed miserably and they were hugely indebted with people with whom you do not want to be indebted to. Apparently, they first asked the clubs for money but not all wanted to pay, then they presented their case to the Italian Football Federation but that was not going to solve the debts, so they then tried by resting their case with the law. They were later both arrested and started talking to the magistrates.
On March 23 1980, the Italian police arrested a number of players of Lazio, Milan, Bologna, Avellino, Genoa and Perugia. The scandal had exploded and Lazio were right in the middle of it.
But in all of this there was a very important game to be played: Lazio vs Catanzaro. If Lazio had lost, the Biancocelesti would have almost certainly gone down to Serie B especially because without Giordano, Manfredonia, Wilson and Cacciatori the chances of survival would have been very very slim. Vincenzo D’Amico took the team by the hand and literally single handedly guided Lazio to victory.
After this win Lazio needed just a couple of points to secure a place in Serie A and with the draw against Napoli with two games to go, Lazio were mathematically safe.
Once the season finished there was the Sport Justice court case regarding the match fixing. The Lazio players were allegedly involved in the match fixing of Milan Lazio that ended 2-1 for the hosts and Lazio Avellino which finished 1-1.
The first sentencing between May and June gave Cacciatori and Wilson a life ban, Giordano and Manfredonia an 18-month suspension, Maurizio Montesi four months and Lazio were fined 10 million lire. At the time fans thought that all in all this was acceptable.
Others had even worse sentences. Milan were relegated (there was a direct involvement of the club President), Avellino, Bologna and Perugia given a 5 point penalty. Among the various players, Enrico Albertosi got a life ban and Paolo Rossi 3 years.
The Lazio fans looked at the appeal case with optimism. They were wrong. Lazio were relegated to Serie B for the game against Avellino, Giordano and Manfredonia got a three-and-a-half-year suspension, Cacciatori 4 years and Wilson three years. Paolo Rossi’s suspension was reduced to two years, Albertosi’s to four.
Why were Lazio relegated? There was no legal reason since none of the club managers were involved. The only motive was the fact that first sentences were considered too lenient and the Sports Justice system wanted to set an example. Hence, Lazio, always everybody’s favourite scapegoat, were relegated because they had a large number of players involved. But others were involved far deeper and got off lightly or with no penalisation at all. Lazio were a sacrificial lamb to keep the media happy.
Were the players guilty? Who knows? Wilson hardly ever spoke about it. In his official biography though, he admitted having reached an agreement with some Milan players regarding Milan-Lazio. The plan was to let them win in Milan and Lazio in Rome. The Biancocelesti did not have much of a chance in Milan and the points at the end of the season could have been useful in case of a battle to stay in Serie A. He had nothing to do with betting, as also shown in the case files and his name appeared only for the Milan match. But Montesi accused him of being the ring leader. He always denied this and in a book on Montesi’s life, the author wrote that since he needed to give a name to the football authorities, he chose Wilson’s since the captain was close to retirement.
These types of agreements had always happened in Italian football, this was no different from other similar agreements like in the last matches of the season when one team needed a point to stay in Serie A and the other maybe a point for a UEFA Cup qualification. The games would practically be non- starters. This is a violation of every Sports Code, and if the agreement is reached among clubs, if found guilty, these should be relegated or given point deductions. And if it is between players, these, if found guilty, should be suspended. If the players take money all that has to be done is to verify and check.
Manfredonia stated in an interview that he paid a rather large price compared to what he actually did. So maybe when Wilson announced that they were going to lose the Milan game, he complied. He did not play the match against Avellino, so he can’t have been guilty for that.
Giordano proclaims his innocence to this day. In his official biography he claims that Trinca and Cruciani tried to blackmail President Umberto Lenzini who refused to pay. When the magistrates asked him if he had got some extra cash Giordano denied it, saying “check my bank statements”. This is probably what they did and as a consequence none of the players were found guilty in the legal court case.
Where does the truth lie? A few facts are almost certain. Milan- Lazio was fixed by the players. The club had nothing to do with it. The rest is just speculation. Lazio, some Lazio players and Lazio fans paid a very high price for the Italian Football Federation's need to find guilty parties, whether they were actually guilty or not. And unfortunately, it would not be the only time. Claudio Vinazzani’s friendship with a Neapolitan illegal bookie, who was fixing games, translated into a 9-point deduction for the 1986-87 season, despite Lazio not being involved. President Claudio Lotito’s requests for decent referees would cost Lazio a 30-point deduction in the 2005-06 season and 3 for the following one in the Calciopoli farce. Stefano Mauri’s friendship with a player who fixed games cost him a six-month suspension and jail time, even if he was innocent.
Lazio had invested a lot for the 1980-81 season and even signed Rene Van de Kerkhof, the Dutch star, but he could not play in Serie B so the deal did not go through.
It would take Lazio three seasons to get back to Serie A.
Lazio 1979-80
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 30 | 5 | 15 | 10 | 21 |
Coppa Italia | 6 | 3 | 3 | - | 9 |
Total | 36 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 30 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Citterio | 36 | 30 | 6 |
D'Amico | 33 | 28 | 5 |
Viola | 33 | 28 | 5 |
Tassotti | 32 | 27 | 5 |
Zucchini | 30 | 25 | 5 |
Cacciatori | 30 | 24 | 6 |
Top goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Giordano | 12 | 9 | 3 |
D'Amico | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Garlaschelli | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Zucchini | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Let's talk about Vincenzo Zucchini
Vincenzo Zucchini was born in Ferrara on July 21, 1947. He started his football career with Tevere Roma in 1966 and then, after a brief period with Fiorentina, played for Pietrasanta Marina and Del Duca Ascoli in Serie D and C. In 1969 he signed for Savona in Serie C and stayed a couple of years. In 1971 he moved to Avellino and a year later was one of the protagonists of their first promotion to Serie B.
In 1973 he signed for Pescara in Serie C and became one of the most important players. In his first year the Abruzzesi got promoted to Serie B and in 1976-77 to Serie A. Their stay in the top tier did not last long and in 1979 he signed for Lazio.
It was not a good year for the Biancocelesti and not a good year for Zucchini either. He was almost always one of the worst players on the pitch. But when Giordano, Manfredonia, Wilson and Cacciatori got arrested, he did give a helping hand to D’Amico and with a bunch of kids Lazio managed to avoid relegation to Serie B. They would later be relegated due to the Totonero scandal.
In 1980 he signed for Vicenza in Serie B and a year later he left for Salernitana where he closed his career in 1983. He then began a managerial career first with Chieti in 1984-85 and then with Sulmona from 1986 to 1990.
In 1990 he went back to Pescara as assistant to manager Giovanni Galeone. When the latter was sacked in 1993, he took over but could not avoid Pescara’s relegation to Serie B. The Biancoazzurri did however beat Napoli 3-0 and Juventus 5-1 and he was confirmed for the 1993-94 season. But then he was sacked after six games. In 1997-98 he returned to Sulmona and in 2007 was head coach for Giulianova.
In 2009 he returned to Pescara and became team manager.
He died at 66 years of age on November 24, 2013.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1979-80 | 30 (4) | 25 (3) | 5 (1) |
Sources
Vincenzo Di Michele: Pino Wilson – Vero capitano d’altri tempi; Fernandel 2013.
Giancarlo Governi: Bruno Giordano. Una vita sulle montagne russe; Fazi, 2017.
Guy Chiappaventi: La scomparsa del calciatore militante. Una storia di pallone, politica e tradimenti; Mileu, 2022