A satisfactory point on debut
The expression "un punto per uno non fa male a nessuno" (a point each harms no-one) could possibly sum up the goalless draw
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished a decent 10th in their first year back in Serie A. They had also experienced the joy of a derby win after ten long years (1-0 Paolo Di Canio).
This year manager Giuseppe Materazzi had been replaced by living legend Dino Zoff, who had perhaps a little unfairly been released by Juventus.
The summer market had brought a few novelties to the squad. In defence Lazio welcomed Roberto Bacci (Mantova) while in midfield Sergio Domini had been added (Cesena). It was in attack however that the main changes occurred; Armando Madonna was signed (Atalanta) and more excitingly, German striker Karl-Heinz Riedle was to wear the Lazio jersey (Werder Bremen).
The main sacrifice, for economic reasons, was local lad and derby hero Paolo Di Canio (Juventus). Forward Amarildo (Cesena) and three defenders, Paolo Beruatto (Mantova), Marco Monti (Atalanta) and Massimo Piscedda (Avellino) had also left.
Torino were newly promoted as the previous season the Granata had won Serie B, under former Lazio Eugenio Fascetti. This year they had a new manager in Emiliano Mondonico. They had also signed some good players: defender Pasquale Bruno (Juventus), midfielders Luca Fusi (Napoli) and Rafael MartÃn Vázquez (Real Madrid), a young striker Christian Vieri (Prato) plus forward Giorgio Bresciani was back from loan (Atalanta). Leaving were former Lazio keeper Silvano Martina (Verona), defender Ezio Rossi (Verona), strikers Benito Carbone (Reggina -on loan) and Marco Pacione (Genoa).
Torino also had three other future Lazio players in their squad; Luca Marchegiani, Dino Baggio and Roberto Cravero plus a young Giorgio Venturin out on loan.
Both teams had a good pre-season with promising performances. So, two enthusiastic teams with ambition, keen to get off to a good start.
The match: Sunday, September 9, 1990, Stadio delle Alpi, Turin
A crowd of 35,000 came out to watch Torino on their return to the top flight after a year in Serie B. Toro were without injured defenders Silvano Benedetti and Enrico Annoni plus midfielder Gianluca Sordo, while Lazio were missing midfielders Pedro Troglio, Sergio Domini and Andrea Icardi. The Romans had a young debutant, Roberto Bacci, in midfield who had actually come through the Torino Academy.
The game was balanced from the start. Torino attacked more but Lazio were very compact and well organized. The home side had a low Muller shot saved into corner and a Martin Vázquez shot went close while Lazio had a Riedle header go wide. From then on, the defences constantly got the better of the attacks but the game was lively despite the lack of clear chances. The biggest came in the 41st minute for the home side, on a Haris Skoro corner Roberto Policano anticipated the defence and headed onto the crossbar. Halftime, Torino 0 Lazio 0. A tactical but intense game so far, the Granata with the only really dangerous opportunity.
During the break Torino replaced midfielder Fusi with a more offensive Francesco Romano while Lazio remained unchanged. In the second half Lazio started more positively. Claudio Sclosa freed himself cleverly on the left and put in a low cross but Riedle, challenged by a defender, was unable to get enough power on his touch to beat Marchegiani. The German then had another low central effort saved by the future Lazio keeper.
Torino responded with Martin Vázquez but his left footed shot from just outside the box took a slight deflection and went wide.
In the 59th minute came a potential game changer. Pasquale Bruno, who had already been booked in the first half, committed an intentional and ridiculous foul on Ruben Sosa. The two were running for a ball, which Benedetti already had covered, when Bruno looked up at the Uruguayan, took his aim and elbowed him in the face. A blatant and completely unnecessary action which would have deserved a direct red anyway (and many games suspension nowadays).
In ten men "Il Toro" obviously pulled back and Lazio took control of the proceedings. In the 65th minute Sosa had a good opportunity from the edge of the area but with his wrong foot and the ball shaved the post. Then Sosa put Riedle through but from a difficult angle and surrounded by defenders his shot was deflected into corner.
Lazio went for a winner but with caution so as to never risk being caught on the break. The final score of 0-0 was all in all met with satisfaction by both sides. Torino had resisted the last half hour with a man less and Lazio had earned an away point against an in-form and competitive team. It was all things considered a fair result.
For Torino good indications from the defence, despite their absences, and midfielder Gianluigi Lentini while Martin Vázquez had shown only occasional flashes of his class and the attacking duo Muller-Skoro had disappointed.
For Lazio a solid performance in defence, authoritative in midfield with Gabriele Pin, Claudio Sclosa and debutant Roberto Bacci while the attack had shown its future potential with more playing time.
Who played for Torino
L. Marchegiani, Bruno, D. Baggio, Mussi, Cravero, Policano, Lentini, Fusi (46' Romano), Muller, Martin Vázquez, Skoro (60' Carillo)
Substitutes: Tancredi, Zago, Bresciani
Manager: Mondonico
Who played for Lazio
Substitutes: Orsi, Nardecchia, Lampugnani, Saurini
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Magni
What happened next
Lazio drew their first home match 0-0 with Parma, then lost 1-0 at Lecce followed by a 1-1 home draw with Milan (the "Diavolo" equalised in the dying minutes). So not a great start for Lazio but their first win came in the 5th fixture, 3-1 at home to Bologna. It was a season of many draws, few wins and few defeats. Lazio drew both derbies 1-1 coming from behind and their best win of the season was defeating Juventus 1-0 in Rome with a Riedle winner. They finished 11th after 8 wins, 19 draws and 7 defeats. So, despite the change of managers Lazio could not rid themselves of their addiction to draws.
In the Coppa Italia they were eliminated immediately by Serie B opposition Modena 1-3 on aggregate. Top scorer was Rubén Sosa with 12 goals (11 in league).
Torino had a better season and finished 5th, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. They won 12 (including Juventus, Inter, Roma), drew 14 and lost 8 (including Lazio 1-2).
In the Coppa Italia "Il Toro" reached the quarterfinals but lost to Sampdoria on penalties. The Granata did win the less important Mitropa Cup defeating Pisa 2-1 after extra-time. Their top scorer was Bresciani with 13 goals all in the league.
So, a positive return to the top flight for Torino.
The Scudetto was surprisingly but deservedly won by Vujadin Boskov's Sampdoria, for their first and so far, only title. The squad included Gianluca Pagliuca, Pietro Vierchowod, Beppe Dossena, Toninho Cerezo, Attilio Lombardo, Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini, just to name a few.
Destination Serie B was booked by Bologna, Cesena, Pisa and Lecce.
Lazio 1990-91
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 8 | 19 | 7 | 33 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 36 | 8 | 20 | 8 | 34 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Fiori | 36 | 34 | 2 |
Sergio | 36 | 34 | 2 |
Riedle | 35 | 33 | 2 |
Ruben Sosa | 35 | 33 | 2 |
Bergodi | 34 | 33 | 1 |
34 | 32 | 2 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Ruben Sosa | 12 | 11 | 1 |
Riedle | 9 | 9 | - |
2 | 2 | - | |
Gregucci | 2 | 2 | - |
Madonna | 2 | 2 | - |
F. Marchegiani | 2 | 2 | - |
Let's talk about Armando Madonna
Armando Madonna was born in Alzano Lombardo (Bergamo), on July 5, 1963.
He started playing football with local Atalanta youth sector and made his debut for the first team in 1981. The Bergamaschi were in C1 and won the league and promotion under manager Ottavio Bianchi. Madonna played 12 league games with 1 goal (Piacenza) and 6 in the Serie C Coppa Italia. The following year, Atalanta finished 8th in Serie B and Madonna played 7 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia.
In 1983 he joined Piacenza in C2. He stayed 5 seasons with "Il Piace". In the first they won promotion to C1 under manager Battista Rota and Madonna was top scorer with 13 league goals. The two following seasons he was captain of the "Papaveri" (The Poppies) went close to promotion with two 3rd places. In 1986-87 they were finally promoted to Serie B still under Battista Rota and Madonna was top scorer with 12 goals. The following year they finished 13th in Serie B and Madonna was top scorer with 9 league goals. At Piacenza he made a total of 146 league appearances with 46 goals.
In the autumn of 1988 he returned to Atalanta now in Serie A. The "Dea" manager was Emiliano Mondonico and the Nerazzurri finished an excellent 6th. Madonna played 28 league games with 4 goals (Roma, Cesena, Inter, Roma again) and 4 in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Lazio x2). The Orobici also reached the semi-finals of the domestic cup but were defeated by eventual winners Sampdoria 3-6 on aggregate.
His second season in Bergamo was equally positive. He played 29 league games with 8 goals (Verona, Lecce, Cremonese, Inter, Genoa, Lecce, Sampdoria, Lazio) plus 4 games in Coppa Italia and 2 in the UEFA Cup. The Atalantini finished 7th in Serie A but did not get past the last 64 in Europe (Spartak Moscow 0-2 on aggregate). With 8 league goals, including an 85th minute winner against Inter, and a European debut, Madonna was ready for a bigger stage.
In the summer of 1990 he signed for Lazio. In Rome he found iconic manager Dino Zoff and a club on the rise after some difficult years. In his first year he played 25 league games with 2 goals (Bologna,Genoa) plus 2 games in Coppa Italia. Lazio finished 11th and Madonna rarely played at his Atalanta levels. The following season he stayed on but with the arrivals of Thomas Doll and Giovanni Stroppa lost his place in the team and in the autumn transfer market session went back to Piacenza in Serie B.
Back in Emilia with the "Lupi" (The Wolves) he found form again and played 27 league games with 5 goals (Casertana, Modena x2, Pescara, Udinese). The Biancorossi under Gigi Cagni finished 11th.
In 1992 he moved to Ferrara and SPAL in Serie B. The Estensi struggled and were relegated, alternating between two different managers, Gian Cesare Discepoli (1-7), former Lazio player Rino Marchesi (8-29) and Discepoli again (30-38). Madonna played 21 league games.
In 1993 he returned home to Alzano Virescit in the amateur league. In 1995 the Bianconeri were promoted to Serie C2, in 1996 to C1, in 1998 won the Serie C Coppa Italia and in 1999 were promoted to Serie B. A great run by the Seriani who however only lasted one season in serie B and returned to C1. Madonna stayed nine seasons with his home side and despite a serious injury played a total of 259 league games with 29 goals.
He then retired at 39 and went straight into coaching.
He started where he left off, at Alzano Virescit as assistant to Davide Roncaglia, from March 2003 to June. The club then merged with Centro Giovanile Virescit Bergamo and re-started from the lower amateur divisions but without Madonna.
He reappeared at Albinoleffe (Bergamo) spending five years in their youth sector. In May 2008 he became the Blucelesti's head coach in Serie B taking over from Elio Giustinetti. He stayed on the following season and achieved 9th place. The next year after seven games he moved on after a fall out with the club owner Gianfranco Andreoletti. His successor was Emiliano Mondonico.
He went back to Piacenza as head coach in serie B but the Biancorossi were relegated after a playout (Albinoleffe...).
In 2011 he moved to Livorno in January taking over from Walter Novellino but was sacked in May after W5, D6 and L8. The Amaranto finished 17th.
In 2012 he was at Portogruaro (Venice) in Lega Pro (third tier). "Il Porto" were relegated after the playouts.
From August to December 2013 he was back at Albinoleffe in Lega Pro. He was replaced after 15 games (W7, D2, L6) by Elio Giustinetti. The Seriani eventually finished 7th.
In November 2015 he took over at Virtus Bergamo in Serie D. The Bianconeri finished 16th. He stayed on two more seasons with 4th (lost playoff final) and 6th places.
In June 2018 he became head coach of Inter's Primavera (U19's). In 2019 they lost the Super Cup on penalties to Torino and the Scudetto final to Atalanta. He held the job for three seasons.
As a player Madonna was a right wing. He is 1.80 and 74 kilos. He was a creative player, providing assists for his attacking partners particularly with his crossing abilities. He showed these assets at Piacenza but especially at Atalanta where he had his best years.
He often played well against Lazio (3 goals) but rarely shone in the Biancoceleste jersey. Like many before him, and no doubt many will follow, he did not adapt to the big step from a smaller provincial club to a bigger stage (despite his name some might say...). He often looked slow, clumsy and lacking confidence. Unfortunately, he disappointed in Rome and can be considered one of their negative signings, especially considering the expectations.
His son Nicola followed his father's footsteps and became a footballer playing 6 games in Serie A for Atalanta and 361 career games, between Serie B and C, for Albinoleffe, Vicenza, Spezia, Como, Padova, Giano Erminio and currently Virtus Ciserano Bergamo.
Lazio Career
Season | Total Appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1990-91 | 27 (2) | 25 (2) | 2 |
Sources