September 7, 1969: Lazio-Roma 0-1 (0-2), Coppa Italia
- Dag Jenkins
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
Both luck and lights out
Lazio play well but lose as game is cut short due to floodlight failure
The season so far
Lazio were newly promoted after a year in the purgatory of Serie B. They had won the championship and promotion under Juan Carlos Lorenzo. He had only been allowed to sit on the bench from March 30 as foreigners were not officially allowed to be managers, so until he obtained his passport, Roberto Lovati had carried out the Sunday afternoon dug out duties.
This year officially the manager was Bob Lovati and the technical director was Juan Carlos Lorenzo who was basically in charge. The more important changes had been made to the squad. Lazio had brought in some players who would prove to change the entire club's history.
An unknown young forward called Giorgio Chinaglia was signed from third division Internapoli. Also, from the Neapolitan club arrived defender Giuseppe Wilson. Both players had British connections since Chinaglia grew up in South-Wales while Wilson was born in Darlington to an English father and Neapolitan mother. These two facts would later be one of the reasons for myself becoming a lifelong Lazio fan.
Along with the two "Brits" Lazio had added other players: defender and local lad Giancarlo Oddi (Sora-back from loan), defender Giuseppe Papadopulo (Livorno), goalkeeper Michelangelo Sulfaro (Sambenedettese) plus, in the autumn session, defender Luigi Polentes (Perugia) and above all, midfielder Franco Nanni (Trapani). Four of these players, Chinaglia, Wilson, Oddi and Nanni would play key roles some years later in Lazio's Scudetto winning team.
The main players leaving were defenders Pietro Fontana (Ternana), Guido Onor (Juventus-end of loan) and above all Diego Zanetti (Vicenza- after 248 league games for Lazio), midfielder Elio Rinero (Juventus- end of loan) plus in the autumn defenders Carlo Soldo (Monza) and Pietro Adorni (Piacenza), midfielder Piero Cucchi (Ternana) plus forward Arrigo Dolso (Monza-on loan) would also leave.
Lazio's Coppa Italia had started on August 31 with a 0-1 defeat at Perugia. The Biancocelesti then drew 0-0 at Ternana. The table read; Roma 3, Perugia 3, Ternana 2, Lazio 1. With only one team going through, Lazio were mathematically out.
Serie A would start in a week's time with a home game against Torino.
Roma had finished 8th the previous season. The manager was Helenio Herrera and the Giallorossi had won the Coppa Italia. The top scorers were Fabio Capello and Joaquín Peiró with 10 goals while only in Serie A it was Giuliano Taccola with 7. The latter had tragically died on March 16, 1969, from heart failure after a game at Cagliari. He was 25.
Roma had changed ownership halfway through the previous season, from Francesco Ranucci to Alvaro Marchini.
This season the manager was still "Il Mago" Herrera. The main new players were; defenders Giovanni Bertini (Ostiense) and Sergio Petrelli (Verona), midfielders Walter Franzot (Udinese) and Giacomo La Rosa (Messina) plus forwards Renato Cappellini (Varese) and Giorgio Braglia (Modena).
Leaving were; goalkeeper Pier Luigi Pizzaballa (Verona), defenders Giacomo Losi (retiring after 471 games for Roma), Francesco Carpineti (Fiorentina-in autumn) and Paolo Sirena (Verona), midfielders Vito D'Amato (Cesena) and Sergio Ferrari (Verona) plus forward Angelo Orazi (Verona, he would be back 1972-75) and Fabio Enzo (Cesena-in autumn after today's game).
In Coppa Italia so far the Giallorossi had drawn 0-0 at Ternana and beaten Perugia 2-1 at home.
Their league season would start on September 14 away at Bari.
Their Cup Winners Cup campaign began on September 17 at Ards (Northern Ireland).
Lazio were already eliminated but a Roman derby is always a big game and they could still have the satisfaction of knocking out their rivals too.
The match: Sunday, September 7, 1969, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A hot evening brought a capacity 80,000 crowd for this cup derby.
Lazio were without midfielder Nello Governato and striker Giorgio Chinaglia while defender Pino Wilson was on the bench.
Roma were missing forward Renato Cappellini.
Lazio started on the attack and in the 5th minute a Mario Facco header went just wide. A minute later Alberto Ginulfi had to dive low to stop a Juan Carlos Morrone free kick. In the 10th minute Ferruccio Mazzola pulled a shot wide from a good position.
In the 13th minute Roma had their first shot with a Fabio Enzo free kick just over the bar.
In the 19th minute Ginulfi punched away a Facco effort.
Like most derbies the game was rough with several fouls by both sides.
In the 25th minute came a controversial episode. A Giuliano Fortunato goal was disallowed for a very dubious offside call. Lorenzo was furious and got himself sent off.
In the 35th minute Roma scored. After a quick counter attack a Fabio Capello shot was not held onto by Rosario Di Vincenzo and Joaquín Peirò was ready for the tap-in, 0-1.
The first half ended with Roma in front but Lazio had played better.
The second half started with Lazio on the front foot again. In the 58th minute the Biancocelesti had a huge chance to equalise. Francesco Cappelli fouled Gian Piero Ghio in the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Rino Marchesi stepped up but Ginulfi went the right way and parried behind for a corner.
Lazio continued to play well and hit two crossbars while Roma hit a post on the break.
In the last fifteen minutes the floodlights started coming and going until in the 87th minute darkness definitely fell on the Olimpico. With no signs of the electricity coming back to life the referee was forced to whistle for full-time. Final score Lazio 0 Roma 1.
An unlucky derby for Lazio. Several saves by Ginulfi, a missed penalty, a controversially disallowed goal, two crossbars and then the early end to the game.
A decent performance however which gave optimism for the upcoming Serie A campaign, especially with the additions of Wilson and Chinaglia to the team.
Roma qualified for the next round as Perugia and Ternana had drawn.
Who played for Lazio
Di Vincenzo, Papadopulo, Facco, Cucchi, Soldo, Marchesi, Massa, Mazzola II, Ghio, Morrone, Fortunato
Who played for Roma
Substitutes: Evangelista, Scaratti
Manager: Helenio Herrera
Referee: Lo Bello
Goal: 35' Peirò
*87' Match abandoned
What happened next
The result was then changed to 0-2. This was because seeing it was Lazio's home game they were responsible for the proper functioning of the floodlights.
Lazio then finished an honourable 8th in Serie A. Lazio won 11 (including Milan 1-0, Fiorentina 5-1, Inter 3-1 and Juventus 2-0, all at home), drew 7 (including derby 1-1) and lost 12 (including derby 1-2). The top scorer was Giorgio Chinaglia with 12 league goals.
Roma were then eliminated in the quarter finals by Cagliari 0-3 on aggregate.
In Serie A the Giallorossi finished 10th. The top scorer was Peiró with 8 goals (5 in A).
In the Cup Winners Cup they eliminated Ards 3-1, PSV (toss of coin after two 1-0s), Göztepe 2-0 but then in the semifinals lost to Górnik Zabrze by the toss of a coin after a 3-3 aggregate.
Out of today's squad four players would have future Lazio connections; Giacomo La Rosa (1972-73), Sergio Petrelli (1972-76, with Scudetto in 1974), Ciccio Cordova (1976-79) while Luciano Spinosi would be assistant manager to Sven-Göran Eriksson (1997-2000) and continue working for Lazio until 2004. Fabio Capello would go on to win league titles with Juventus and Milan before becoming a top manager (Milan, Real Madrid, Roma, Juventus, England and Russia) and winning more titles.
The 1969-70 was amazingly won by Cagliari. The Sardinians coached by Manlio Scopigno "Il Filosofo" and led by star striker Gigi Riva won the league on 45 points, four ahead of Inter and seven ahead of Juventus. It was one of the biggest surprises in Serie A history and the historic team deserves a mention; Albertosi, Niccolai, Martiradonna, Zignoli, Domenghini, Cera, Nené, Tomasini, Greatti, Riva, Gori plus Brugnera (Tomasini out injured in second half of season). Gigi Riva got 27 goals (21 in serie A).
The teams who went down were Palermo, Bari and Brescia.
The Coppa Italia was won by Bologna and the Cup Winners Cup by Manchester City (Górnik Zabrze 2-1).
Let's talk about Joaquín Peiró
Joaquín Peiró Lucas was born in Madrid, on January 29, 1936.
His first professional club was Real Murcia in 1954-55. He played 22 league games and scored 15 goals. He contributed to the "Pimentoneros" promotion to the top flight.
His performances attracted the attention of Atlético Madrid for he signed in 1955 and stayed just over seven seasons. He played 219 games and scored 128 goals, winning the Copa del Rey twice and the Cup Winners Cup (1962). His managers were Antonio Barrios (two seasons), Ferdinand Daučik (two seasons), José Villalonga (two seasons) and Rafael García Repullo. One of his teammates in Madrid was future Lazio manager Juan Carlos Lorenzo (1968-71 and Sept 1984-Mar '85).
In October 1962 he joined Torino in Serie A. He stayed two seasons, playing 56 games with 18 goals. Toro finished 10th and 7th and reached the Coppa Italia final both in 1963 and 1964 but lost to Atalanta and Roma. His managers were Benjamin Santos, Giacinto Ellena and Nereo Rocco. His teammates included Lazio connections Giambattista Moschino (1962-63, 1971-73) and Gigi Simoni (manager 1985-86). He also played alongside Enzo Bearzot (Italy 1982 World Cup winning manager).
In 1964 Peiró signed for Inter and stayed two seasons. He played 47 games and scored 16 goals. He won the Scudetto twice, a European Cup (1965) and the Intercontinental Cup twice. His manager was Helenio Herrera. He played with former Lazio, Carlo Tagnin (1958-59) and future Lazio Mario Facco (1968-74) and Ciccio Cordova (1976-79) but also with players such as Giacinto Facchetti, Armando Picchi, Sandro Mazzola, Mario Corso, Angelo Domenghini, Luis Suarez and Jair da Costa.
In 1966 Peiró joined Roma and stayed four seasons. He played 139 games and scored 32 goals. Roma finished 3rd, 10th, 8th and 10th but won a Coppa Italia in 1969. His managers were Oronzo Pugliese (two seasons) and Helenio Herrera (two seasons). His teammates included Lazio connections; Vito D'Amato (1963-67), Cordova again, Luciano Spinosi (assistant manager 1997-2000).
At 34 he then retired.
Peiró won 12 caps for Spain and scored 5 goals (Portugal, England, Chile, Wales and Mexico). He took part in the 1962 and 1966 World Cups.
On retiring he became a manager. He started at Granada (1987-88, relegated to 3rd tier), then Figueres (1988-89, 2nd tier), Atlético Madrid (1989-90, from March onwards, 4th place), Real Murcia (1991-93, relegated to 3rd tier then promoted again), Badajoz (1997-98, 2nd tier, 6th), Malaga (1998-2003, promotion to top tier,12th, 8th, 10th, 13th - in 2003 he won the Intertoto Cup and then reached the UEFA quarterfinals) and finally Real Murcia again (2003-04, relegated from top flight).
As a player he was a forward. He started as a winger and was nicknamed "Galgo" (Greyhound) for his lean physique and speed. He later evolved into a centre-forward and became a prolific goal scorer (209 in total). His opportunism then earned him the nickname "Ala infernal".
He had an excellent career winning an impressive amount of silverware (2 league titles, 3 domestic cups, a European Cup, a Cup Winners Cup and an Intercontinental Cup).
Joaquín Peiró died in Madrid, on March 18, 2020.
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