This Week In Lazio History | July 1-7 | Matches, Memories, Birthdays | OneFootball

A week of celebration and sadness as we remember Lazio-Campobasso of 1987 and the passing of Lazio legend Vincenzo D’Amico.

Matches of the Week

Date: Sunday, July 1, 1923Venue: Campo Rondinella, RomeFixture: Lazio Savoia 4-1, Southern Division Final, Second LegLazio thrash Savoia with a Bernardini hat-trick and reach the Scudetto final.

Date: Sunday, July 4, 1937Venue: Stadio PNFFixture: Lazio Grasshoppers 6-1, Central European Cup, Quarter FinalsLazio fall behind but then score six with a Piola hat-trick.

Date: Sunday, July 4, 1948Venue: Stadio Nazionale, RomeFixture: Lazio Sampdoria 3-3A spectacular six-goal draw finishes off the season.

Date: Sunday, July 6, 1958Venue: Stadio del Vomero, NaplesFixture: Napoli Lazio 0-4, Coppa Italia, Group PhaseLazio beat Napoli thanks to three goals in the first half with a Burini brace and Pozzan while Bizzarri scored in the second.

Date: Sunday, July 6, 1947Venue: Stadio Comunale, TurinFixture: Juventus Lazio 3-3An exciting match in which Lazio manage to draw coming from behind.

Match In Focus

Date: Sunday, July 5, 1987Venue: Stadio San Paolo, NaplesFixture: Lazio Campobasso, Serie B Relegation Play Offs

A few weeks ago we spoke about Lazio Vicenza. A dramatic must-win last game of the season to avoid relegation to Serie C and possibly the end of the club. Seven minutes from time, Giuliano Fiorini finally scored and the Biancocelesti won. Now they had to face a playoff with Taranto and Campobasso.

There were high hopes before the first match against Taranto. The team, who were in psychological and physical difficulty in the final stages of the Campionato, had seemed to regain that spirit that characterized the first part of the season when Lazio were nearer the top spots than the relegation battle. The playoffs were held in Naples, seen as neutral ground. It certainly was not.

Taranto Lazio was held on Saturday, June 27. 25,000 fans from Rome invaded Naples. One single traffic jam on the Roma Napoli motorway right from the early hours of the day. 197 kilometres, bumper to bumper. Many fans missed the first half. There were clashes with the Napoli fans, a bus went up in flames.

The match saw Lazio attacking cautiously and Taranto parking the bus in front of the goal. In the second half in the 65th minute, the Apulians scored. A shot from the centre of the box was saved by Giuliano Terraneo, the ball arrived to Antonio De Vitis two metres offside. Simple tap in. Everybody looked to the linesman who instead of raising his flag, ran to the centre of the pitch. Lazio tried a comeback but only managed to hit the crossbar with Luca Brunetti. Despair.

All eyes were on the second match between Taranto and Campobasso in the hope that Taranto would win. The teams basically did nothing the entire match, content with the goalless draw. Lazio now needed to beat Campobasso to stay in Serie B.

Sunday, July 5. Another mass exodus from Rome, this time without too much trouble. The Biancocelesti approached the game like the first one, with a cautious but attacking spirit. A couple of chances but the first half ended 0-0.

Back in the city, silence reigned. Most were watching the game on TV, others were listening to the radio. Even some Roma fans for once were supporting Lazio. Zero traffic, Rome was absolutely dead.

At the beginning of the second half, there was a cross inside the Lazio penalty box. Francesco Boito was all alone in the middle of the penalty area. All he needed to do was to aim his header on either side and it would have been a goal.

At this point, there is a need for a little digression. A famous Italian sports journalist, Sandro Petrucci, once said that when Lazio was on the edge of the abyss, there was always an invisible hand that avoided the fall. As if the Gods made sure that Lazio never disappeared.

This must have been the case. Boito headed the ball centrally towards Terraneo who saved comfortably. Ball in the other half, Mimmo Caso passed to Massimo Piscedda on the left just outside the box, a marvellous cross, Fabio Poli jumped higher than anyone and headed the ball into the net. Delirium on the pitch, in the stands and in Rome where the silence was broken by cries of “GOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLL”!!!!

Lazio were safe.

In Memory: Vincenzo D’Amico

Vincenzo D’Amico was one of the greatest talents in Italian football. Born in Latina, near Rome, on November 5, 1954, he joined Lazio in 1970. He was undisciplined, often got into trouble and certainly liked his food, but he was a natural. By the time he debuted professionally on May 21 1971 against Modena, he was already a well-known name among fans. Many went to see that match just to have a first glimpse of Lazio’s Golden Boy, as many called him at the time.

It took time for him to reach the first eleven because he suffered two serious injuries which kept him away from the pitch until 1973. He debuted in Serie A on October 14 and from then on basically never left the team. Manager Tommaso Maestrelli made sure Vincenzo never got into trouble by confiscating his driver’s licence, limiting his wages, and making sure, via Captain Pino Wilson, that he did not overeat. It worked as D’Amico, at only 19, became one of the protagonists of Lazio’s scudetto.

In times of difficulty, Vincenzo was always there. Like in 1976 when after Giorgio Chinaglia’s departure for New York Cosmos he took the team by the hand and led them to a massive victory against Milan which meant that only a point was then needed at Como to avoid relegation. Or in 1980 when, after the arrests of Bruno Giordano, Wilson, Lionello Manfredonia and Massimo Cacciatori, he led a team of youngsters to safety, even though Lazio were punished with relegation anyway. Again in 1982, this time fighting to avoid Serie C and 2-0 down after just 15 minutes, he scored a hat-trick against Varese allowing Lazio to avoid serious trouble.

In total D’Amico played 338 games for Lazio, ninth in the top ten appearances for the club, and scored 51 goals. He died in Rome on July 1, 2023 – he had been fighting against cancer for the past couple of years.

D’Amico is a Lazio legend. Loved by the fans, his attachment to Lazio in times of trouble was always commendable and he will never be forgotten.

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