They needed to watch for 74 years, however lastly, they made it. On Might 12, 1974, a Giorgio Chinaglia spot-kick licensed Lazio’s first Scudetto win since their delivery in 1900, because the Biancocelesti beat Foggia 1-0 on the Stadio Olimpico.
They clinched the title with one matchday nonetheless to go, cancelling the heartbreak of the earlier season, when Lazio had thrown away their possibilities within the final lap – falling to Napoli in Matchday 30 whereas Juventus beat Roma to win Serie A.
This time, they knew they may not fail changing their match-point. Foggia wanted a minimum of one draw to remain within the struggle to keep away from relegation. The outcome was a tense match the place the Apulians principally minded about stopping Lazio from taking part in their sport.
Nonetheless, all the pieces modified across the one-hour mark when the Satanelli (“Little Devils”) defender Francesco Scorsa dedicated a handball within the field from a Renzo Garlaschelli cross. Lazio’s quick-tempered captain Chinaglia stored his cool and buried the spot to place his aspect 1-0 forward – however the job was removed from achieved.
Two minutes later, Garlaschelli was proven his marching orders by the referee and so Lazio needed to grit their enamel and defend their slim till full time with one man down. The ref needed to work onerous to maintain issues beneath management as, when he commanded a free kick on 88 minutes, the Stadio Olimpico believed he had blown for full time and stormed the pitch to rejoice the Biancocelesti.
It might take simply two extra minutes, although. When the referee did lastly name it a sport, the pitch invasion was respectable and well-deserved. The miracle had occurred.
Below the steerage of a intelligent, fatherly coach whose title was Tommaso Maestrelli, a wild bunch of quarrelsome, gun-toting (!) players who solely two years earlier than have been taking part in in Serie B, who just about hated themselves, and had been torn aside by inside feuds, had managed to rise to the event and produce the white-and-azure aspect of Rome to unprecedented footballing heights.
