Lazio shine at San Siro
An excellent display and superb Mazzola goal give Lazio well deserved point
The season so far
The previous year Lazio, under Roberto Lovati and Juan Carlos Lorenzo as Technical Director, had finished 8th in Serie A.
This year Lorenzo was officially manager and Lovati his assistant. There had been no major movements on the transfer market. The main players coming in were midfielders Pierpaolo Manservisi (Napoli) and Arrigo Dolso (Monza-end of loan). Leaving were defenders Carlo Soldo (Monza), Giancarlo Oddi (Massese-on loan), midfielder Bruno Gioia (Parma) and forward Gian Piero Ghio (Napoli).
Lazio were already out of the Coppa Italia despite two wins out of three (Palermo, Catanzaro), unfortunately the defeat was in the derby 0-2. Lazio were also out of the Fairs Cup having lost to Arsenal 2-4 on aggregate.
Today was the first game of the new Serie A season and was an always difficult away game to Milan.
Milan had finished 4th the previous season under Nereo Rocco but had won the Intercontinental Cup beating Estudiantes La Plata 4-2 on aggregate.
This season the "Paròn" (Boss in Trieste dialect) was still the manager. The main players coming in were: defender Giulio Zignoli (Cagliari), midfielders Romeo Benetti (Sampdoria) and Giorgio Biasiolo (Vicenza) plus forward Silvano Villa (Alessandria-back from loan). Leaving were defenders Saul Malatrasi (SPAL), Nello Santin (Sampdoria -on loan), midfielders Romano Fogli (Catania), legend Giovanni Lodetti (Sampdoria) and forward Angelo Sormani (Napoli).
Milan were ambitious and had Scudetto hopes. They had some star players in: keeper Fabio Cudicini, defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, midfielders Giovanni Trapattoni and Gianni Rivera and forward Pierino Prati.
Milan had already recently qualified for the Coppa Italia quarter finals with three wins and won the first leg 2-0 at home to Livorno.
It is fair to say Milan were favourites this afternoon.
The match: Sunday, September 27, 1970, Stadio San Siro, Milan
A 60,000 crowd at San Siro but with plenty of away fans too.
The first ten minutes were attack against defence but it soon became clear Milan would not have it easy breaking through. Lazio were extremely tight and concentrated at the back.
After this early dominance by the Rossoneri, Lazio gained courage and confidence. In the 13th minute Giorgio Chinaglia forced Cudicini to palm his powerful shot into corner and more chances followed for Ferruccio Mazzola and Juan Carlos Morrone.
In the 34th minute the effort of marking an active Chinaglia took its toll on Roberto Rosato who was forced off injured, replaced by Luigi Maldera.
Lazio were on top for most of the half but just before the break came the unexpected. In the 40th minute Giuseppe Massa tried to clear the area but inexplicably toed a powerful strike back towards the keeper who, off his line, could only watch the ball go low into the right-hand corner. Milan 1 Lazio 0.
An unfortunate score line for Lazio who had played well and with authority.
Lazio continued to attack in the second half and were denied a blatant penalty when Schnellinger pulled down Gaetano Legnaro. Lazio replaced Morrone with Arrigo Dolso in the 56th minute to liven things up even more but Cudicini was on top form and made several decisive stops.
In the 70th minute came Mazzola's masterpiece. Legnaro won a challenge with Rivera and passed to Nello Governato who served Mazzola, he ran forward, cut inside slightly and let off a fantastic long range left footed strike which flew into the top right-hand corner. A marvellous goal, Milan 1 Lazio 1 and well deserved.
Lazio could even have gone on to win it but the "Ragno Nero" (The Black Spider) Cudicini was man of the match and saved well on Chinaglia late on. Final score Milan 1 Lazio 1.
A solid performance by Lazio. The Biancocelesti were the better team and had earned a precious point but could well have won it. The defence was solid, Legnaro positive on his debut and Chinaglia always dangerous up front.
Who played for Milan
Cudicini, Anquilletti, Zignoli, Rosato (34' L. Maldera), Schnellinger, Biasiolo, Rognoni, Combin, Benetti, Rivera, Prati
Substitutes: Belli
Manager: Rocco
Who played for Lazio
Sulfaro, Facco, Legnaro, Governato, Polentes, Wilson, Massa, Mazzola II, Chinaglia, Fortunato, Morrone (56' Dolso)
Substitutes: Di VincenzoÂ
Manager: LorenzoÂ
Referee: Francescon
Goals: 40' Massa (og), 70' Mazzola II
What happened next
Lazio then had a negative season finishing 15th and relegated. Lazio only won 5, drew 12 (both derbies) and lost 13.
Lazio's two consolations were winning the Alps Cup defeating Basel away 3-1 and having Giorgio Chinaglia score 22 goals (9 in the league).
Lazio were going down but better times were on the way.
Milan finished 2nd behind Inter. The Rossoneri won 15, drew 12 and lost 3. In the Coppa Italia Milan reached the final group stage but lost the playoff to Torino on penalties (0-0 after extra-time, one player could still take all penalties and Rivera missed 2 out of 5). Milan's top scorer was Pierino Prati with 22 goals (19 in league).
As mentioned, Inter won their 11th Scudetto while Lazio’s undesired travelling companions to B-land were Foggia and Catania.
Lazio 1970-71
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 30 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 43 |
Coppa Italia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Fairs Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Cup of the Alps | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
Total | 40 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 56 |
Top Five Appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Fairs Cup | Cup of the Alps |
Chinaglia | 40 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Massa | 38 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
Wilson | 36 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Dolso | 32 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Governato | 32 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Mazzola II | 32 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Top Five Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Fairs Cup | Cup of the Alps |
Chinaglia | 22 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
Massa | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Dolso | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Mazzola II | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Facco | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Let’s talk about Arrigo Dolso
Arrigo Dolso was born in San Daniele del Friuli, on November 12, 1946.
At 14 he joined Udinese's youth sector and four years later made his first team debut in Serie C. He played two seasons for the "Zebrette" playing 30 league games with 1 goal. The Bianconeri finished 11th and 2nd under Severino Feruglio and then Luigi Comuzzi.
In 1966 he joined Lazio. The manager was Umberto Mannocci until November and then Maino Neri. Lazio were relegated to Serie B and Dolso played 10 league games with 1 goal (Bologna) and 1 game in Coppa Italia.
The following year Lazio finished 11th under Renato Gei and then Bob Lovati from February. Dolso played 17 league games with 1 goal (Monza).
In 1968-69 Lazio were finally promoted under Juan Carlos Lorenzo (Lovati sat on bench until March 30 for bureaucratic reasons). Lazio won the league and Dolso played 8 games with 1 goal (Genoa) and 2 games in Coppa Italia. Gian Piero Ghio and Juan Carlos Morrone were the usual starters up front.
In 1969-70 he spent a season at Monza on loan in Serie B. The Brianzoli finished 5th under Gigi Radice and Dolso played 22 league games with 1 goal (Catania). In the squad were also former Lazio Guido Onor and Carlo Soldo.
In 1970-71 he was back at Lazio in Serie A. The Biancocelesti were relegated under Lorenzo and then Lovati from May 30. Lazio did however win the reasonably prestigious Alps Cup, defeating Basel 3-1 away. Dolso played 27 league games with 2 goals (Torino, Roma), 2 in Coppa Italia. He also scored a goal against Winterthur in a 5-2 victory in the Alps Cup.
In 1971-72 Tommaso Maestrelli arrived as manager at Lazio but unfortunately Dolso, after playing 3 league games with 1 goal (Novara) and 3 games in Coppa Italia, was loaned to Varese in Serie A.
The "Bosini" got through three managers, Sergio Brighenti (1-6) Giancarlo CadÄ— (7-16) and Pietro Maroso (17-30) and ended up relegated. Dolso played 15 league games.
He then did not return to Lazio but instead was sold to Alessandria in Serie C. He stayed four seasons; three in C and one in B. His managers included Giuseppe Marchioro, Dino Ballacci, Mario Pietruzzi, Sergio Castelletti, Anselmo Giorcelli, Giacomo Losi (Roma legend) and Franco Viviani. Dolso played 100 league games for the "Orso Grigio" (The Grey Bear) with 5 goals.
He then spent two seasons at Benevento in Serie C with 6th and 4th places. He played 17 league games for the "Stregoni" (The Sorcerers) from Basilicata with 1 goal.
In 1978-79 he played a season with Trapani in C2. It was negative and the Granata were relegated with Dolso making 19 league appearances in Sicily.
In 1979 he moved to Tuscany and Grosseto in Serie C2. He spent four seasons with the "Torelli Maremmani" (The Maremma Bullocks) with 9th, 7th, 6th and 17th places (in the last the Grifoni were relegated). Dolso played 112 league games with 12 goals.
He then spent a season with Ravenna in C2 but the Giallorossi were relegated with Dolso making 20 league appearances and scoring 1 goal.
At that point his love affair with the island of Elba started. He ended his career as a player with Audace Portoferraio at amateur level. He was coach between 1984 and 1996, also still playing on and off in the early years. This long spell was only interrupted once in 1989-90 when he coached Grosseto at regional level and a stint as sporting director of Civitavecchia, a port town near Rome.
After retiring from coaching, in 1996, he stayed on in Elba but died in Milan on October 15, 2015.
Dolso was a left footed midfielder. He was a skilful player, not a prolific goal scorer but better at setting up goals for the forwards. He played 55 games in Serie A with 4 goals and 82 in Serie B with 4 goals plus hundreds more in the lower tiers. He won a U19's Scudetto with Udinese. He was also briefly in the Italy U21 squad.
At Lazio he played a total of 82 games with 6 league goals over four seasons. He won a promotion in 1969 and the Alps Cup in 1971. He played alongside Pino Wilson, Giorgio Chinaglia, Franco Nanni, Giuliano Fortunato and other Lazio greats. He was briefly coached by legendary Tommaso Maestrelli and scored in the 1970 derby (1-1, unfortunately Roma equalised with future Lazio great Sergio Petrelli).
Lazio Career
Season | Total Games (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia | Fairs Cup | Mitropa Cup | Cup of the Alps |
1966-67 | 13 (1) | 10 (1) | - | 1 | - | 2 | - |
1967-68 | 17 (1) | - | 17 (1) | - | - | - | - |
1968-69 | 10 (1) | - | 8 (1) | 2 | - | - | - |
1969-70 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | - |
1970-71 | 32 (3) | 27 (2) | - | 2 | 1 | - | 2 (1) |
1971-72 | 6 (1) | - | 3 (1) | 3 | - | - | - |
Total | 82 (7) | 40 (3) | 28 (3) | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 (1) |
Sources
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