This Week In Lazio History: September 9-15

Great wins, good draws, a Coppa Italia final qualification and a focus on Angelo Cupini are the most important events of this week in Lazio history.

Matches of the Week

Date: Friday, September 9, 2011
Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan
Fixture: Milan Lazio 2-2
A thrilling draw despite Lazio going two nil up with Klose and Cissé  

Date: Sunday, September 10, 1950
Venue: Stadio Torino, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Inter 3-3
3-0 down at the end of the first half, Lazio stage a remarkable comeback and manage to draw in the second half.

Date: Sunday, September 11, 2022
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Hellas Verona 2-0
Immobile and Luis Alberto give Lazio three points in an extremely complicated game against Verona.

Date: Sunday, September 12, 2004
Venue: Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
Fixture: Sampdoria Lazio 0-1
Di Canio gives Lazio the win in his first Serie A game since his return.

Date: Sunday, September 14, 1958
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Juventus 2-0, Coppa Italia Semi Final
Lazio shock the “Old Lady” and now dream of historic silverware.

Match In Focus

Date: Sunday, September 13, 1936
Venue: Stadio PNF, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Milan 3-0

A warm but not hot mid-September day brought about 10,000 spectators to watch Lazio’s 1936-37 league debut.

In the first half, there was not much to get excited about. Milan were almost perfect defensively and controlled Lazio’s attacks without much difficulty. The Biancocelesti looked slow and lacking in ideas and it was Milan who threatened more on the break despite having Giovanni Moretti sent off on the half-hour mark for a foul on Giuseppe Baldo. A disappointing first half ended with Lazio 0 Milan 0.

Everything changed in the following forty-five minutes. In the 55th minute, Lazio took a corner with Umberto Busani, the ball was cleared but came back to him so he put in another cross which the keeper, surrounded by players, mistimed allowing Silvio Piola to bicycle kick the ball into the net. Lazio 1 Milan 0.

One nil up and with an extra man the Biancocelesti started to dominate. Lazio had more chances and then doubled their lead in the 72nd minute. Bruno Camolese put a through pass to Piola who powered past two defenders and beat Vittore Martini with a low, well-placed shot. Lazio 2 Milan 0.

The third goal came five minutes later after a brilliant team effort. It involved four players, Camolese to Giovanni Riccardi, to Piola and finally to Giovanni Costa who dribbled past a defender, then cut inside and hammered an unstoppable shot which hit the inside of the post and went in. Lazio 3 Milan 0 and final score.

A fantastic debut for the Biancocelesti who were favoured by Milan’s red card but in the second half played some excellent football.

In Memory: Angelo Cupini

Angelo Cupini stayed with Lazio for just one year but he was fundamental in the dramatic 1983-84 season.

Lazio were finally back in Serie A after three difficult years in Serie B. Promotion had been made possible thanks to the return of Bruno Giordano and Lionello Manfredonia from their suspension who, together with D’Amico, and a mixture of young and experienced players, had managed to get over the line despite a long crisis in which the objective seemed to be slipping away. Fortunately, two wins and two draws in the last four games were enough to reach the long-awaited objective.

There was great enthusiasm among the fans mainly because Long John Giorgio Chinaglia, the hero of the 1973-74 scudetto, had returned as president with the promise of lots of money to invest in the club. But the reality was harsh and that money never materialised. Among the players signed that summer was Angelo Cupini.

Born in Ortonovo (La Spezia) on September 18, 1958, he had shown his quality with Cavese in Serie B. The team from Campania had narrowly missed out on an incredible promotion. His home debut in Rome was massive as he scored a spectacular goal in the Lazio 3-0 win over Inter.

But the season had been dramatic. The Biancocelesti were not as good as they thought and despite the great support from the fans they struggled. After 12 games they were second from last. The manager then changed from Giancarlo Morrone, a former player, to another ex-Laziale, Paolo Carosi. In the last game of the year on New Year’s Eve, Giordano was the victim of a ferocious tackle by Antonio Bogoni who broke his leg (and was not even booked). How were Lazio going to avoid Serie B without probably one of the best centre-forwards in Europe?

At this point, the old guard took the team by the hand and Lazio started accumulating points. D’Amico and Manfredonia, helped by the two foreign players, Joao Batista and Michael Laudrup, and a group of experienced and young players took Lazio from the bottom of the table to 13^th place, one point clear of relegation. Giordano came back towards the end, though clearly in physical difficulty.

With two games to go, Lazio needed to beat Ascoli at home in the penultimate game of the season. They did, thanks to Angelo Cupini. In the 48th minute, with the score on 1-1, Giordano received the ball just over the halfway line and went forward. Paolo Pochesci managed to intercept but sent it towards the left in the box. Angelo Cupini flew towards the ball and shot. 2-1 for Lazio. One point was needed in the last match and the Biancocelesti drew with Pisa thanks to a Giordano brace.

Cupini did not stay on. After 29 appearances and three goals, Chinaglia sold him to Bari in Serie B where he played for two years, the second in Serie A. He then moved back to Serie C1 and played for Padova, Prato and Arezzo before closing his career in Serie D with Pro Gorizia.

He later became a manager and worked in minor teams in the Friuli area.

He died, aged only 58, in Udine on September 13, 2017.

Birthdays This Week

• Nicola Ciccolo, 10-9-1940, forward, Italy, 30 appearances, 6 goals (1965-66)

• Dejan Stankovic, 11-9-1978, midfielder, Serbia, 208 appearances, 34 goals (1998-04)

• Romano Bagatti, 12-9-1940, forward, Italy, 43 appearances, 9 goals (1966-68)

• Mario Frustalupi, 12-9-1942, midfielder, Italy, 104 appearances, 2 goals (1972-75)

• Fernando Orsi, 12-9-1959, goalkeeper, Italy, 134 appearances (1982-85, 1989-97)

• Mario Tonali, 12-9-1910, midfielder, Italy, 33 appearances (1930-34)

• Marco Brandolin, 13-9-1922, goalkeeper, 26 appearances (1948-49)

• Giuseppe Viani, 13-9-1909, midfielder, Italy, 125 appearances, 1 goal (1934-38)

• Nello Governato, 14-9-1938, midfielder, Italy (1961-71, sports director 1983-85, 1992-02)

• Şükrü Gülesin, 14-9-1922, forward, Turkey, 31 appearances, 16 goals (1951-52)

• Alberto Fazio, 15-9-1918, midfielder, Argentina, 63 appearances (1940-43)