October 5, 1975: Sampdoria-Lazio 0-1
- Dag Jenkins
- Oct 5
- 9 min read
A star is born
A last-minute goal by 19-year old Bruno Giordano snatches the win
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had failed to defend their title but had finished an honourable 4th. More disappointing was not being able to represent Italy in the European Cup, due to a one-year ban after the previous year's Lazio vs Ipswich incidents (pitch invasion, brawls etc). Another problem was Tommaso Maestrelli's health issues which caused him to miss the last five games, replaced of course by Bob Lovati.
There had not been many new signings to the squad this year. The main entries were defender Paolo Ammoniaci (Cesena) and midfielder Antonio "Totò" Lopez (Pescara). Sadly, some Scudetto winners and fan favourites were leaving: Mario Frustalupi "The Wolf Thrasher" (Cesena), local lad Giancarlo Oddi (Cesena), Franco "Bombardino" Nanni (Bologna) and Paolo Franzoni (Avellino).
This season Lazio had started with Giulio Corsini on the bench. Corsini had problems with the "old guard" and especially Giorgio Chinaglia, so the climate was not ideal.
In Coppa Italia, Lazio had qualified for the second group stage to be played in May/June. The Biancocelesti had won two (Varese 1-0 and Avellino 2-0, at home) and drawn two (Ascoli and Brescia both 0-0 away). They would now play in a second-round group phase the following May/June with Verona, Inter and Genoa.
In the UEFA Cup Lazio had got through the first round beating Černomorec (Ukraine) 3-1 on aggregate. Then someone at Lazio had obviously been missing during history lessons and in the round of 64 the Biancocelesti refused to play against Barcelona in protest against the Franco regime. Lazio were punished by UEFA with a 0-3 defeat. A shambles. The return leg would be on November 5 in Catalonia.
Sampdoria had finished 12th the previous season under current Lazio manager Giulio Corsini. The Blucerchiati had lost 0-3 away and 0-2 at home to Lazio. Top scorer was former Lazio Mario Maraschi with 7 league goals.
The squad also included former Lazio keeper Claudio Bandoni and future Lazio keeper Massimo Cacciatori. Future World Cup winning Italy manager Marcello Lippi was also on the books.
This season the manager was Eugenio Bersellini, the "Sergente di ferro" (Iron sergeant, for his strict discipline). The main new players were: another former Lazio keeper Rosario Di Vincenzo (Brindisi), defenders Luciano Zecchini (Milan), Giuseppe Lelj (Fiorentina) and Mauro Ferroni (Lucchese, he would stay 12 years), midfielder Paolo Tutino (Novese - back from loan) plus forwards Nello Saltutti (Fiorentina) and Maurizio Orlandi (Cesena).
Leaving Sampdoria were: keeper Claudio Bandoni (Mantova), defenders Fabrizio Foletti (retiring), midfielders Loris Boni (Roma), Dante Mircoli (Catania - on loan) and Giorgio Repetto (Pescara) plus forwards Rocco Fotia (retiring) and Andrea Prunecchi (Pescara).
In the Coppa Italia the Blucerchiati got through the first group phase. They had won all four of their games (Piacenza 2-0 and Pescara 2-1 away, Roma 5-3 and Vicenza 3-1 at home). They would now play in a second-round group with Milan, Napoli and Fiorentina but not until the following May/June.
A Serie A opener with no clear favourites today.
The match: Sunday, October 5, 1975, Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
A sunny day in Genoa but with a northerly fresh breeze attracted a crowd of just over 30,000.
Sampdoria had defender Luciano Zecchini missing while Lazio were without midfielder Totò Lopez and attacking midfielder Vincenzo D'Amico.
Sampdoria attacked from the word go. It was clear from the start that Lazio were in for a difficult afternoon.
In the first ten minutes the Blucerchiati had three chances. In the 2nd Nello Saltutti forced Felice Pulici to save on a long-range shot, in the 6th Pulici repeated himself on a Sergio Magistrelli header and in the 9th Saltutti shaved the post.
Lazio showed their faces up front in the 12th minute when Luciano Re Cecconi went on a good run and crossed but Massimo Cacciatori came off his line and anticipated Renzo Garlaschelli and Bruno Giordano. In the 21st Giorgio Chinaglia had a lacklustre effort trickle wide of the post.
In the 26th minute Pulici was busy again on Paolo Tuttino and then Paolo Ammoniaci anticipated Saltutti giving away a corner.
In the 33rd minute Giordano showed good initiative but his shot was high.
In the 40th minute Pellegrino Valenti prepared the shot well but then sliced it wide.
At the other end Garlaschelli tried his luck from outside the box but Cacciatori saved and then again on the rebound, this time from Giordano. Half time Sampdoria 0 Lazio 0.
After a worrying opening ten minutes Lazio had reacted and the game had become more balanced.
In the second half Sampdoria came out firing again. In the 48th minute Pulici saved a Saltutti header, in the 50th minute Saltutti was in a perfect scoring position but hesitated thinking himself offside and first Pietro Ghedin and then Pulici avoided the threat.
In the 62nd a huge chance for the hosts as Pulici turned a Marco Rossinelli effort onto the crossbar.
Sampdoria pushed forward with Tuttino and Maurizio Orlandi particularly dangerous. In the 68th minute manager Corsini decided to button up bringing on defender Luigi Polentes for winger Garlaschelli. Sampdoria a few minutes later became even more offensive replacing midfielder Valente with forward Mario Maraschi.
Sampdoria continued to attack but Lazio seemed to be able to control them better and edged closer and closer to a hard-fought point.
Then in the 90th minute the unexpected happened. Bruno Giordano took advantage of a defensive blunder and blasted an unstoppable volley past Cacciatori, 0-1.
Giordano celebrated wildly. The Trastevere born Lazio fan was living his dream while the Ligurians' heads slumped in disbelief. There was barely time to kick off again that the referee blew for full-time. Sampdoria 0 Lazio 1.
An unhoped for two points for Lazio who would have been more than pleased with a point. They had young, rising star Giordano to thank but especially "Felix" Pulici who had made several excellent saves.
A winning debut for Lazio but Sampdoria understandably felt hard done by as they had done far more to win the game than the Romans.
Who played for Sampdoria
Cacciatori, Arnuzzo, Ferroni, Valente (71' Maraschi), Prini, Rossinelli, Tuttino, Bedin, Magistrelli, Orlandi, Saltutti
Substitutes: Di Vincenzo, Nicolini
Manager: Bersellini
Who played for Lazio
Pulici, Ammoniaci, Martini, Wilson, Ghedin, Re Cecconi, Garlaschelli (68' Polentes), Brignani, Chinaglia, Badiani, Giordano
Manager: Corsini
Referee: Barbaresco
Goal: 90' Giordano
What happened next
Corsini continued to have friction with the leaders of the team especially Giorgio Chinaglia and his coming and going to the USA where his family now lived.
Lazio then had a difficult start to the season. In the next six games they drew 3 (including derby 1-1) and lost 3. After the 7th fixture Corsini was sacked and Tommaso Maestrelli returned, seemingly in better health.
Lazio however continued to struggle. In the next 21 games the Biancocelesti only won 4, drew 7 (including derby 0-0) and lost 10. In April Chinaglia definitely left for New York Cosmos. With two games to go the situation was critical but then a 4-0 thrashing of Milan and a dramatic 2-2 away draw at Como, after being 0-2 down, gave Lazio the agonised survival. The top scorer was Chinaglia with 11 goals (8 in A).
In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti went out in the second group stage despite a good effort. They won 3 (Inter and Genoa 1-0 at home and Genoa 3-0 away), drew 1 (Verona 0-0 at home) and lost 2 (Verona 0-3 away and Inter 2-3 away). The group was won by Verona who would then lose in the final 0-4 to Napoli.
In the UEFA Cup the return leg in Barcelona was obviously a formality for the Blaugrana as they defeated a Lazio reserve team 4-0.
Sampdoria finished 11th. In the next 29 games they won 8, drew 8 (including Lazio 1-1 in Rome) and lost 13. The top scorer was Nello Saltutti with 8 league goals.
In the Coppa Italia second round the Blucerchiati drew 2 (Fiorentina 3-3 and Napoli 2-2 at home) and lost 4 (Milan 0-2 at home, Napoli 1-2, Milan 1-3 and Fiorentina 1-3 away).
The Scudetto was won by Torino for their 7th title, the first for 27 years. Serie B was waiting for Ascoli, Como and Cagliari.
Let's talk about Bruno Giordano, a Lazio Legend
Giordano was born in Rome on 13 August, 1956. He was born in the famous “Vicolo del Piede” in the historic district of Trastevere. He was known as “Il bomber di Trastevere” all his career.
He joined Lazio as a teenager and was part of a highly talented youth sector. The Lazio Primavera (U19s) with manager Paolo Carosi won the scudetto in 1975-76. In his squad he had the crème de la crème of Lazio youth players: Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia, Andrea Agostinelli, Maurizio Montesi and Massimo De Stefanis.
He made his official club debut on October 5, 1975, when he came on as a substitute and scored the winner away at Sampdoria, latching on to a pass by Giorgio Chinaglia, his boyhood idol. He then became Lazio's number 9 when “Long John” left for New York Cosmos in 1976. Giordano became one of the best players of his generation and was top Serie A goal scorer in 1979 with 19 goals.
In 1980 however, his career suffered a dramatic setback. He was accused, along with childhood friend and teammate Lionello Manfredonia, goalkeeper Massimo Cacciatori and Captain Giuseppe Wilson, of being involved in the “Totonero” match fixing scandal. The punishment was first an 18 month ban then increased on appeal to three-and-a-half years. Lazio as a club were also penalized for their players' alleged involvement and were relegated to Serie B.
Giordano has always proclaimed his innocence. “I had nothing to do with it. The ban was a blatant injustice, a ban based on no proof and none of the accusers mentioned my name”. The criminal judgment a year later gave a verdict of not guilty to all the players.
After Italy's World Cup triumph in 1982, two years were taken off all the bans, so Giordano and Manfredonia could start playing again.
When Giordano returned for the 1982-83 season Lazio were still languishing in the second division. He took up where he left off however and helped Lazio back into the big time with 18 goals.
The following season saw him experience another blow, breaking his leg at an away match at Ascoli. He was out for much of the second half of the season but did manage to return in time to help Lazio avoid relegation. A fate not even he could prevent a year later when, after a dismal season, Lazio were relegated. Giordano played a total of 260 games for his beloved hometown club (165 in Serie A, 38 in Serie B, 43 in Coppa Italia, 8 in the UEFA Cup and 6 in the Intertoto Cup) and scored 116 times (68 in Serie A, 18 in Serie B, 18 in Coppa Italia, 4 in the UEFA Cup and 8 in the Intertoto Cup).
In 1985 he moved to Napoli where he spent three highly successful years. He won a Scudetto and a Coppa Italia in 1987 and was part of the formidable MA-GI-CA trio alongside Diego Armando Maradona and Careca and later Andrea Carnevale. He played 109 games for Napoli scoring 37 goals and setting up countless others as he started playing more for the centre-forwards.
His playing career continued at Ascoli, Bologna and again Ascoli before retiring in 1992.
He played 13 times for Italy, probably too few for a player of his calibre and class. His chances were hampered by the betting scandal and by the emergence of the less talented but incredible goal scoring machine, Paolo Rossi.
After his playing days he coached a myriad of club teams mainly between Serie B and C but never with the success he enjoyed as a player.
Giordano was a strong, yet skilful centre-forward. He was a classy, technical attacker with a powerful finish. He was an all-rounder, he could dribble, had pace, strength and could set up goals as well as score them. The great Argentine Maradona described Giordano as the best Italian he had ever played with and also said he was the most South American of them.
He was certainly an idol for generations of Lazio fans growing up in the late 70's - early 80's and “Bruno-gol” is undoubtedly up there with the club's all-time greats and was definitely one of the most talented.
Giordano is still a Lazio fan and can regularly be heard discussing his beloved home team in the local press, media and radio stations.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup | Intertoto Cup |
1975-76 | 26 (6) | 14 (5) | - | 9 (1) | 3 | |
1976-77 | 30 (13) | 26 (10) | - | 4 (3) | - | - |
1977-78 | 42 (27) | 29 (12) | - | 3 (3) | 4 (4) | 6 (8) |
1978-79 | 36 (21) | 30 (19) | - | 6 (2) | - | - |
1979-80 | 29 (12) | 23 (9) | - | 6 (3) | - | - |
1982-83 | 43 (21) | - | 38 (18) | 5 (3) | - | - |
1983-84 | 23 (8) | 18 (8) | - | 5 | - | - |
1984-85 | 30 (8) | 25 (5) | - | 5 (3) | - | - |
Total | 259 (116) | 165 (68) | 38 (18) | 43 (18) | 7 (4) | 6 (8) |
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