This Week In Lazio History: November 4-10 | OneFootball

This week in Lazio history we remember some fantastic wins against Napoli, Roma, Juventus and Inter, Boksic’s debut and Stefano Chiodi.

Matches of the Week

Date: Thursday, November 5, 1998 Venue: Stadion Partizana, Belgrade Fixture: Partizan Lazio 2-3, Cup Winners Cup Despite falling behind, a Salas brace then helps Lazio triumph in a hard-fought game.

Date: Sunday, November 5, 1972 Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome Fixture: Lazio Ternana 2-1 A routine win despite late Wilson own goal and perfect preparation for derby despite Chinaglia injury scare.

Date: Sunday, November 6, 1955 Venue: Stadio San Siro, Milan Fixture: Inter Lazio 2-3 Three goals on the counter attack for the Biancocelesti who manage to win despite Inter’s late comeback.

Date: Sunday, November 8, 1942 Venue: Stadio PNF, Rome Fixture: Lazio Juventus 5-3 Four Piola goals send the Zebras back home with their tails between their legs.

Date: Sunday, November 6, 2022 Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome Fixture: Roma Lazio 0-1 Felipe Anderson gives Lazio a deserved win as Roma show their limits.

Match In Focus

Date: Sunday November 7, 1993 Venue: Stadio San Paolo, Naples Fixture: Napoli Lazio 1-2

The mood on the Biancoceleste side of Rome however was sombre as, only three days before today’s game, Lazio had been knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Boavista. Lazio had won 1-0 at home but had then succumbed to two goals by a certain Ricky in Portugal. There was talk in the Roman media of Dino Zoff getting the chop.

A crowd of about 55,000 gathered on a muggy afternoon in the Fuorigrotta area of Naples.

Zoff chose Roberto Bacci over Cristiano Bergodi in defence and the only absence was Paul Gascoigne who was out through injury. To compensate, they had recent signing Alen Boksic making his debut in attack.

Napoli played their usual XI with two former Roma players on the field, Sebastiano Nela and Daniel Fonseca.

In the first stages it was Napoli who attacked more with Paolo Di Canio particularly lively. The Lazio defence however was solid; Roberto Bacci marked Di Canio, Mauro Bonomi followed Fonseca while Roberto Di Matteo constantly got the better of Pecchia in midfield.

Boksic then had an opportunity in the 19th minute but, from a tricky angle, he sliced it well wide. In the 24th minute a Beppe Signori low, through ball was run onto by the Croat but Ciro Ferrara and Giuseppe Taglialatela averted the danger despite clashing.

The Lazio keeper, Luca Marchegiani, could have gone to visit Pompei until the 27th minute when he had to stop a Di Canio shot. In the 33rd minute a powerful low Fonseca freekick curled round the wall but “Il Conte” was ready on the far post and blocked.

Lazio absorbed Napoli’s sterile pressure and then, in the last ten minutes, started to gain control and put the home side in some difficulty. The Azzurri were unlucky in the 42nd minute when their keeper Taglialatela was forced off injured and replaced by Raffaele Di Fusco.

In the 44th minute Thomas Doll passed to Signori just outside the box and the striker did not think twice and belted a curling low left-footed effort which literally shaved the post.

The Napoli reserve goal stopper was immediately called into action in the 46th minute when he had to save a Beppe Signori volley and he did so superbly. Halftime Napoli 0 Lazio 0.

Napoli had attacked, but been confused and imprecise in their passing. Lazio had defended perfectly, looked sharper and ultimately been more dangerous.

In the second half the first attempt was for the hosts in the 52nd minute, with a Gambaro shot but it was comfortably saved by Nando Orsi. Then Lazio took over, they played with more fluidity and confidence than their opponents and started to threaten with more frequency.

First, Di Matteo received the ball outside the area on the right and decided to go for it, he burst into the area and let loose a low shot which went just wide of the far post. Then a Boksic shot was saved by the keeper. A few minutes later Giuseppe Favalli went down towards the left by-line and put in a cross to Boksic but his header was blocked by Di Fusco diving to his left.

In the 68th minute Lazio scored. Boksic disturbed a Napoli clearance from defence and was then tackled but the ball arrived to Doll who cleverly put a low vertical ball through the Napoli backline into the box, Favalli ran onto it and between two defenders put a crisp, low finish into the opposite corner. Napoli 0 Lazio 1.

The lead did not last long and in the 71st minute Napoli equalised. Paolo Di Canio ran down the right wing and squared a perfect low ball into the middle where this time Fonseca anticipated Bonomi and lunging forward put a close-range touch past Marchegiani. Napoli 1 Lazio 1.

Lazio reacted well and went forward. In the 81st minute Signori put a long, curling cross into the middle, Boksic jumped but missed it and it was about to reach Doll on the far post when Francini put his arm out and put the ball into corner. A blatant handball with no discussions or complaints. Signori stepped up and with his usual no run-up approach put a powerful, medium height spot kick to Di Fusco’s left. Napoli 1 Lazio 2.

Napoli, already flagging, now had no energy left to attempt a comeback. Final score Napoli 1 Lazio 2.

A deserved win for Lazio. The Biancocelesti had defended well and Boksic had impressed up front, teaming up well with the always threatening Signori. Zoff was safe for now and judging by today’s performance it looked as if the players were still with him.

In Memory: Stefano Chiodi

There is an Italian song that states that one should never judge a player by a missed penalty. That is very true, with one exception: Stefano Chiodi.

Chiodi was born in Bentivoglio, near Bologna, on December 26, 1956. After he started playing with the Progresso youth team, at 15 he signed for Bologna. In 1974 he was sent to Teramo in Serie C to gain experience and he did rather well, scoring eight goals in 28 appearances. Back at Bologna in 1975 he began to play regularly and scored 18 goals in three years. He debuted on October 10, 1975, in the game against his future team Milan, scoring a goal.

In 1978-79 he signed for Milan. He was the centre-forward in a perfectly organised team, thanks to manager Nils Liedholm, with a mix of old and new players. The Rossoneri won their 10th scudetto also thanks to 7 goals scored by Chiodi, six of which on penalties. That season was Gianni Rivera’s last and he retired while Liedholm then left to join Roma. The following season was marred by the Totonero scandal. Many players were accused of having bet illegally and then fixed matches. Chiodi was accused of misprision and was suspended for six months.

At the end of the season, before the various sentencings, President Umberto Lenzini had sold Bruno Giordano to Milan in exchange for Alberto Bigon and Chiodi. But not only had Giordano been suspended for three and a half years, Milan, as well as Lazio, had been relegated. As a consequence, the deal was off and Lenzini was forced to give Mauro Tassotti to Milan as partial payment.

Nobody thought Lazio would be relegated for the Totonero scandal. Four players were allegedly involved but not the club management, unlike Milan where the president had been directly involved. With no proof or reason, and just appease the media who wanted more blood, Lazio were relegated to keep everybody happy, except the Biancoceleste world. Chiodi was now in Serie B, but he stayed.

The season had started well and after 15 games Lazio were top of the table with a one-point lead over Milan and four over third place (the first three were promoted).

Then came Lazio Milan, first game of 1981. The Rossoneri won easily 2-0 and installed a doubt in the players mind. “Perhaps we are not as good as we thought”. That, together with internal club turmoil, with Umberto Lenzini’s brothers ousting him out of the club, and the lack of money for wages, created a bad environment in the Lazio world. The Biancocelesti gradually began to lose ground. They managed to stay second until mid-April, then Cesena overtook them.

In mid-May, with five games to the end of the season, Lazio were third, two points clear of Genoa. Then, enter referee Alberto Michelotti. In the home game against Sampdoria, there was a corner for Lazio. Mastropasqua crossed, Gianluca De Ponti tried to head the ball but blatantly handballed it. A clear penalty right under the eyes of the linesman. But Michelotti had no intention of listening to him and the linesman no intention of changing the ref’s mind. Lazio lost that game and Genoa won. Milan first on 46 points, Cesena 42, Lazio and Genoa 41. In the next game Cesena won, Lazio and Genoa drew. With three games to go came the mother of all games at the Olimpico: Lazio-Cesena. The Biancocelesti needed to win and they did, so with two games to go all three teams were tied on 44 points. Final home game Lazio-Vicenza.

The Biancocelesti were very nervous and played terribly. Claudio Vagheggi scored for the Vicentini in the 55th minute, Paolo Pochesci equalised a quarter of an hour later. In the 87th minute, penalty for Lazio. Biancocelesti supporters invaded the pitch in celebration. It took forever to take the spot kick but everybody was sure that Lazio had won, Chiodi had never missed a penalty, not even in training. He did this time. Genoa and Cesena had won, promotion was lost.

Chiodi went back to Lazio for the 1982-83 season, but with the return of Bruno Giordano, he had little chance to “redeem” himself. On January 27, 1983, Lazio played a friendly against Palmeiras youth team. One-nil down in the 33rd minute the referee awarded a penalty to Lazio. The entire crowd shouted “Chiodi, Chiodi” to indicate that they wanted him to take the spot kick. He did and scored. Perhaps the fans had forgiven him.

That season Lazio were finally promoted to Serie A. Chiodi made 10 appearances with no goals.

In 1983 he signed for Prato in Serie C1 scoring 10 goals in 30 appearances. The year after he was at Campania again in C1. A few games for Rimini in 1985 was the end of his professional career. He played two more seasons in the fifth tier, Pinerolo and Baracca Lugo, before putting an end to his active football.

He opened a bar and got on with life. He also promoted and organised Giuliano Fiorini’s memorial. Alas Chiodi too died of cancer, at the age of 52, on November 4, 2009.

That song mentioned in the beginning of the bio, states that a player must be judged by his courage, his altruism, his imagination. Chiodi was a nice guy, jovial, full of life. He did not deserve to miss that penalty, nor to be forever remembered for it.

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