What happened in Serie A 1962-63

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The previous season the scudetto was won by Milan with a five-point lead over Inter. Fiorentina came third. At the end of the first 17 fixtures it was Inter that was ahead with Fiorentina and Bologna four points behind and Milan fourth a point away. But in the second half, Inter lost ground and were caught up by Milan and Fiorentina after the 22nd fixture. Inter regained the lead two games later after they won the derby but were overtaken by Fiorentina a match later after they lost with Spal. In the 28th fixture Milan thrashed the Viola 5-2, went top and from then on sailed towards glory.

In the summer transfer window there were some interesting moves: Bologna acquired Helmut Haller, Juventus Brasilianised the team with new manager Amaral and Inter chose Helenio Herrera as manager and purchased players that would in time be legends at the club: Sandro Mazzola, Giacinto Facchetti and Tarcisio Burnich.

September

Bad starts for Juventus and Fiorentina as Bologna won all three of the September games to take the lead followed by Torino and Spal.

In the European Cup Milan demolished Union Luxembourg 8-0 in the first leg of the preliminary round and another 6 in the second qualifying for the second round. In the preliminary round of the Cup Winners Cup, Napoli lost to Bangor City away 2-0 in the first leg but beat them 3-1 in the second. A playoff was now needed. In the first leg of the first round of the Fairs Cup, Roma and Sampdoria beat Aris Bonnevoie and Altay.

Bologna 6, Torino 5, Spal 5, Roma 4, Genoa 4, Milan 4, Atalanta 4, Catania 4, Inter 3, Mantova 3, Modena 3, Sampdoria 3, Vicenza 2, Fiorentina 2, Juventus 1, Venezia 1, Napoli 0, Palermo 0

October

Spal went ahead for one match in the fourth fixture but were overtaken by Bologna when they lost the next game with Torino. Genoa won their derby, the Milanese one ended in a draw and Juventus won “away” with the Granata. Bologna still first. Significant improvement for Juve.

Sampdoria qualified for the second round of the Fairs winning away with Aris Bonnevoie.

In the preliminary round playoff for the Cup Winners Cup, Napoli beat Bangor City 2-1 and proceeded to the first round.

Bologna 12, Catania 10, Vicenza 9, Spal 9, Juventus 8, Genoa 8, Fiorentina 7, Inter 7, Torino 7, Atalanta 7, Mantova 7, Milan 6, Roma 6, Venezia 6, Modena 6, Sampdoria 5, Napoli 4, Palermo 2

November

Bologna fell in Milan and Rome and were joined by Juventus and Spal. The trio stayed together until the end of the month. Napoli saw a slight improvement and were now out of the relegation zone, one point from Milan who were not repeating the previous season.

In the first round of the European Cup, Milan beat Ipswich Town 3-0. In the second they lost 2-1 away but qualified for the quarter finals. In that of the Cup Winners Cup, Napoli drew away with Ujpest Dozsa both in the first and second legs and once again were forced to a play off. Roma won 10-1 in the second leg of the first-round fairs cup against Altay and obviously qualified for the second.

Juventus 16, Bologna 16, Spal 16, Inter 14, Roma 12, Catania 12, Fiorentina 11, Vicenza 11, Torino 11, Genoa 11, Atalanta 11, Milan 10, Mantova 9, Napoli 9, Modena 9, Venezia 7, Sampdoria 7, Palermo 6

December

Bologna went top in the 12th fixture taking advantage of a Juventus draw and Spal losing with Inter but then Bologna crumbled with the Nerazzurri at home 4-0 and the Bianconeri took the lead only to lose it in the next game when Inter beat them 1-0.

In the playoff to reach the Cup Winners Cup quarter finals, Napoli beat Ujpest Dozsa 3-1. In the Second round of the Fairs Cup, Sampdoria won the first leg at home 1-0 against Ferencvaros but lost 6-0 in the second and were eliminated. Roma instead won 4-2 away against Zaragoza and even if they lost the second 2-1, they went through on aggregate.

In the Round of 16 of the Coppa Italia, Genoa, Atalanta, Sampdoria, Torino (after penalty shootout) and Juventus eliminated Roma, Catania, Milan, Bologna and Venezia. The remaining games would be play in January.

Inter 22, Juventus 21, Bologna 20, Spal 19, Fiorentina 18, Vicenza 18, Milan 17, Atalanta 17, Roma 15, Catania 15, Torino 13, Mantova 13, Genoa 12, Modena 12, Napoli 11, Venezia 10, Sampdoria 9, Palermo 8

January

In the first game of the year Inter drew at Mantova and were joined by Juventus at the top. The Bianconeri took solitary lead in the last game of the first half of the season when they beat Spal away and Inter drew with Torino. Bologna were third.

In the first leg of the European Cup quarter final, Milan won away with Galatasaray 3-1.

In Coppa Italia, Bari Verona and Padova eliminated Messina, Lucchese (on penalties) and Inter reaching the quarter finals.

Juventus 29, Inter 28, Bologna 25, Spal 23, Milan 22, Vicenza 22, Fiorentina 21, Roma 19, Atalanta 19, Catania 19, Torino 17, Modena 17, Napoli 17, Genoa 15, Sampdoria 14, Mantova 14, Venezia 12, Palermo 9

February

In the 20th fixture Inter joined Juve at the top after the Bianconeri drew at home with Fiorentina, taking the solitary lead three games later when they drew the derby and Juventus lost with Sampdoria. The Blucerchiati won their derby. Behind, Palermo already with a foot in Serie B.

In the first leg of the Cup Winners Cup quarter finals, Napoli lost 2-0 away to OFK Beograd.

Inter 35, Juventus 34, Bologna 30, Milan 28, Spal 28, Vicenza 27, Fiorentina 26, Roma 24, Torino 22, Atalanta 20, Catania 20, Mantova 19, Napoli 19, Sampdoria 18, Genoa 18, Venezia 17, Modena 17, Palermo 12

March

Juventus lost the derby but Inter also lost at Bergamo so nothing changed. In the 26th fixture Inter went +2 when the Bianconeri drew in Naples and the Nerazzurri won in Venice.

Almost two months later, Milan played their second leg of the European Cup quarter finals and thrashed Galatasaray 5-0. Napoli instead beat OKF Beograd 3-1 and for the third time would need a playoff. Roma instead qualified for the semifinal of the Fairs Cup. In the quarterfinals they beat Red Star Belgrade 3-2 on aggregate.

In the Coppa Italia, Atalanta beat Padova and qualified for the semis. The other games were played in the beginning of April.

Inter 40, Juventus 38, Bologna 35, Milan 34, Fiorentina 31, Vicenza 30, Roma 29, Spal 29, Torino 27, Atalanta 26, Sampdoria 23, Mantova 23, Napoli 23, Modena 22, Catania 22, Genoa 21, Venezia 18, Palermo 15

April

In the 28th fixture Inter laid both hands on the scudetto after they beat Fiorentina and Juve lost at home with Catania. Three games later, with Juventus who had reduced their deficit to -3, the big clash in Turin. Sandro Mazzola scored, the Nerazzurri went to +6 with three games left in the season.

In the first leg of the European Cup semifinal, Milan easily sent Dundee to the cleaners with a 5-1 home win. In the playoff to reach the Cup Winners Cup semifinal, Napoli lost 3-1 to OFK Beograd and were eliminated. As far as the Fairs Cup is concerned, Roma were demolished 3-0 away to Valencia in the first leg of the semifinals.

Bari (after extra time), Torino and Verona joined Atalanta in the semifinals of the Coppa Italia. The three clubs beat Genoa, Sampdoria and Juventus.

Inter 47, Juventus 41, Bologna 40, Milan 39, Roma 36, Fiorentina 35, Vicenza 33, Spal 31, Atalanta 30, Torino 30, Sampdoria 28, Modena 27, Catania 27, Mantova 26, Napoli 25, Genoa 24, Palermo 20, Venezia 19

May

Inter secured the scudetto in the 32nd fixture despite losing with Roma. Juventus did not win at Mantua and the Nerazzurri were champions. Milan came third.

Behind, with two games left, Palermo and Venezia were in Serie B with Sampdoria, Catania, Mantova, Genoa and Napoli battling out to avoid the third last place. With one match left Genoa were on 26 points, Napoli 27 and Mantova 28. Last fixtures: Atalanta Napoli, Genoa Bologna, Mantova Sampdoria. After the first 45 minutes Genoa were winning, Napoli and Mantova drawing. In the second half Napoli lost and were relegated.

In the second leg of the European Cup semifinal, Milan lost just 1-0 and proceeded to the final against Benfica. Despite being 1-0 under they turned the game around with a José Altafini brace to be the first Italian club to win. Roma missed out on the Fairs Cup final despite winning 1-0 at home against Valencia. The three-goal deficit of the first leg was a mountain too steep to climb.

Torino and Atalanta would face each other in the final of the Coppa Italia. They beat Verona and Bari in the semis. In the final the Bergamaschi won 3-1 for their first and only national trophy.

Inter and Milan hence qualified for the European Cup, Atalanta for the Cup Winners Cup, Juventus and Roma for the Fairs Cup.

Pedro Manfredini and Harald Nielsen were top scorers with 19 goals.

Messina, Bari and Lazio were promoted to Serie A.

Final table: Inter 49, Juventus 45, Milan 43, Bologna 42, Roma 40, Fiorentina 38, Vicenza 36, Atalanta 34, Spal 34, Torino 34, Sampdoria 30, Modena 30, Mantova 30, Catania 30, Genoa 28, Napoli 27, Venezia 22, Palermo 20