1978–79 AC Perugia season

During the 1978–79 season A.C. Perugia competed in Serie A and Coppa Italia. They completed the season unbeaten, but did not win the league title.

Associazione Calcio Perugia
1978-79 season
ChairmanFranco D'Attoma
ManagerIlario Castagner
StadiumRenato Curi
Serie A2nd
(in UEFA Cup)
Coppa ItaliaQuarterfinals
Top goalscorerLeague: Speggiorin (9)
All: Speggiorin (11)
Average home league attendance20 984[1]

Summary

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A.C. Perugia was the first team during the round-robin era to go through the season undefeated, although due to their 19 drawn matches, they finished second in the league.

The campaign is best recalled as Perugia and the undefeated season of miracles. The Grifoni, displaying the prowess of the gryphon – the legendary beast their nickname is derived from – produced a feat never before achieved at the highest level of Italian football: going a season undefeated.

'Never loses, but does not win' is an ill-thought barb often stabbed at this particular Perugia team's fate, and like so many such disparaging comments, although there is an element of truth in it, there also a substantial amount of bitterness from the tifosi of the more established powers in the game that their team did not achieve such a record.[2]

With just six games of the season remaining, the unlikely title challengers sat just two points behind leaders Milan and still had to host the Rossoneri after gaining a 1–1 draw away earlier in the campaign. A win could have ensured that Perugia put themselves in pole position in the run-in. However, despite being cheered on by an immensely intimidating atmosphere, the game finished 1–1, with Gianfranco Casarsa's spot kick cancelling out Stefano Chiodi's penalty for Milan minutes earlier. This result meant that the title was Milan's to lose.

Despite disappointing draws away to Catanzaro and Hellas Verona in the weeks that followed, Perugia were still in with a chance of final day success providing that Milan lost and Perugia picked up the win away to Bologna.

Although Salvatore Bagni's brace put the visitors ahead and had their fans dreaming once more, Bologna rallied and fought to a 2–2 draw. This result brought an end to the fairytale, but still meant that against the odds, Perugia had mustered a title challenge and ended the season without once tasting defeat.[3]

Squad

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[4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   ITA Marcello Grassi
GK   ITA Nello Malizia
GK   ITA Franco Mancini
DF   ITA Antonio Ceccarini
DF   ITA Paolo Dall'Oro
DF   ITA Mauro Della Martira
DF   ITA Pierluigi Frosio (Captain)
DF   ITA Michele Nappi
DF   ITA Daniele Tacconi
DF   ITA Luciano Zecchini
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   ITA Salvatore Bagni
MF   ITA Cesare Butti
MF   ITA Paolo Dal Fiume
MF   ITA Mario Goretti
MF   ITA Giorgio Redeghieri
MF   ITA Franco Vannini
FW   ITA Marco Cacciatori
FW   ITA Gianfranco Casarsa
FW   ITA Walter Speggiorin

Transfers

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[5][6]

Competitions

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Serie A

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Milan (C) 30 17 10 3 46 19 +27 44 Qualification to European Cup
2 Perugia 30 11 19 0 34 16 +18 41 Qualification to UEFA Cup
3 Juventus 30 12 13 5 40 23 +17 37 Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup
4 Internazionale 30 10 16 4 38 24 +14 36 Qualification to UEFA Cup
5 Torino 30 11 14 5 35 23 +12 36
Source: Panini
(C) Champions

Result by round

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Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
GroundHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA
ResultWDWWDWWDDDDWDDWDDDDWWDDDDWDDWD
Position121121111122222222222222222222
Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed;   = Leader, 1979–80 European Cup;   = 1979–80 UEFA Cup

Matches

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1 October 1978 1 Perugia 2-0 Lanerossi Perugia
Bagni   14'
Dal Fiume   88'
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Longhi
8 October 1978 2 Inter Milan 1-1 Perugia Milan
Pasinato   31' Report   87' Cacciatori Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Lattanzi
15 October 1978 3 Perugia 1-0 Fiorentina Perugia
Casarsa   57' (pen) Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 35000
Referee: Michelotti
22 October 1978 4 Juventus 1-2 Perugia Torino
Cuccureddu   65' Report   16' Speggiorin
  77' Vannini
Stadium: Comunale
Attendance: 38,000
Referee: Barbaresco
29 October 1978 5 Perugia 0-0 Avellino Perugia
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Menegali
5 November 1978 6 Atalanta B.C. 0-2 Perugia Bergamo
Report   2', 6' Speggiorin Stadium: Comunale
Referee: Agnolin
12 November 1978 7 Perugia 2-0 Ascoli Perugia
Speggiorin   5'
Dal Fiume   60'
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Referee: Ciulli
19 November 1978 8 Roma 0-0 Perugia Roma
Report Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Casarin
26 November 1978 9 Perugia 0-0 Torino Perugia
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 26,000
Referee: Bergamo
3 December 1978 10 Milan 1-1 Perugia Milan
Antonelli   62' [dead link]   3' Vannini Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 45 000
Referee: Longhi
10 December 1978 11 Napoli 1-1 Perugia Napoli
Majo   55' Report   62' Speggiorin Stadium: San Paolo
Attendance: 60 000
Referee: Lattanzi
17 December 1978 12 Perugia 1-0 Catanzaro Perugia
Speggiorin   61' Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Referee: Lops
7 January 1979 13 Perugia 1-1 Hellas Verona Perugia
Frosio   54' Report   88' Bergamaschi Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 15 000
Referee: Lanese
14 January 1979 14 Lazio 0-0 Perugia Roma
Report Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
Attendance: 50 000
Referee: Michelotti
21 January 1979 15 Perugia 3-1 Bologna Perugia
Casarsa   25', 68'
Speggiorin   58'
Report   76' (pen) Bordon Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 12 000
Referee: Lo Bello
28 January 1979 16 Lanerossi 1-1 Perugia Vicenza
Rossi   14' Report   25' Bagni Stadium: Stadio Romeo Menti
Referee: Benedetti
4 February 1979 17 Perugia 2-2 Inter Milan Perugia
Vannini   53'
Ceccarini   90'
Report   19' Altobelli
  36' Muraro
Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Referee: Longhi
11 February 1979 18 Fiorentina 1-1 Perugia Firenze
Sella   9' Report   21' Speggiorin Stadium: Comunale
Attendance: 50 000
Referee: D'Elia
18 February 1979 19 Perugia 0-0 Juventus Perugia
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 31 224
Referee: Menegali
4 March 1979 20 Avellino 0-1 Perugia Avellino
Report   82' Bagni Stadium: Stadio Partenio
Attendance: 30 000
Referee: Agnolin
11 March 1979 21 Perugia 2-0 Atalanta Perugia
Osti   16' (o.g.)
Bagni   30'
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 21 000
Referee: Paparesta
18 March 1979 22 Ascoli 0-0 Perugia Ascoli Piceno
Report Stadium: Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca
Attendance: 22 000
Referee: Lattanzi
25 March 1979 23 Perugia 1-1 Roma Perugia
Peccenini   22' (o.g.) Report   90' Ugolotti Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Referee: Barbaresco
1 April 1979 24 Torino 0-0 Perugia Torino
Report Stadium: Stadio Comunale
Attendance: 37 000
Referee: Michelotti
8 April 1979 25 Perugia 1-1 Milan Perugia
Casarsa   17' (pen) Report   15' (pen) Chiodi Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 30 000
Referee: Agnolin
14 April 1979 26 Perugia 2-0 Napoli Perugia
Speggiorin   15'
Dal Fiume   64'
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Referee: Casarin
22 April 1979 27 Catanzaro 1-1 Perugia Catanzaro
R. Rossi   60' Report   2' Butti Stadium: Comunale
Attendance: 15 000
Referee: Menegali
29 April 1979 28 Hellas Verona 1-1 Perugia Verona
Guidolin   81' Report   47' (o.g.) Gentile Stadium: Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi
Referee: Lattanzi
6 May 1979 29 Perugia 2-0 Lazio Perugia
Bagni   15', 27' Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Attendance: 18 000
Referee: Milan
13 May 1979 30 Bologna 2-2 Perugia Bologna
Mastalli   40'
Bordon   49' (pen)
Report   31', 34' Bagni Stadium: Comunale
Attendance: 40 000
Referee: Casarin

Coppa Italia

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Group phase

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30 August 1978 2 Perugia 2-0 Pescara Perugia
Speggiorin   49'
Piacenti   70' (aut.)
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Referee: Lanzetti
3 September 1978 3 Udinese 1-1 Perugia Udine
Vriz   83' (pen) Report   12' Vannini Stadium: Stadio Friuli
Referee: Panzino
10 September 1978 4 Perugia 4-0 Sambenedettese Perugia
Casarsa   7', 50' (rig.)
Goretti   26'
Speggiorin   57'
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Referee: Paparesta
17 September 1978 5 Avellino 0-0 Perugia Avellino
Report Stadium: Stadio Partenio
Attendance: 25 000
Referee: Longhi

Quarterfinals

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25 April 1979 Napoli 2-1 Perugia Napoli
Tesser   81'
Filippi   88'
Report   54' Dal Fiume Stadium: Stadio San Paolo
Referee: Benedetti
9 May 1979 Perugia 0-0 Napoli Perugia
Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Curi
Referee: Bergamo

Statistics

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Players statistics

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No. Pos Nat Player Total Serie A Coppa
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   ITA Malizia 30 -17 27+1 -15 2 -2
DF   ITA Ceccarini 35 1 29 1 6 0
DF   ITA Della Martira 35 0 29 0 6 0
DF   ITA Frosio 28 1 24 1 4 0
DF   ITA Nappi 25 0 21 0 4 0
MF   ITA Dal Fiume 34 4 28 3 6 1
MF   ITA Bagni 31 8 28 8 3 0
MF   ITA Butti 30 1 26 1 4 0
MF   ITA Redeghieri 28 0 20+3 0 5 0
FW   ITA Casarsa 34 6 28 4 6 2
FW   ITA Speggiorini 31 11 26 9 5 2
GK   ITA Grassi 7 -2 3 -1 4 -1
DF   ITA Zecchini 16 0 8+6 0 2 0
DF   ITA Tacconi 4 0 0+3 0 1 0
MF   ITA Vannini 21 4 17 3 4 1
MF   ITA Goretti 18 1 9+3 0 6 1
FW   ITA Cacciatori 18 1 7+7 1 4 0
GK   ITA Mancini 0 0 0 0
DF   ITA Dall'Oro 2 0 0 0 2 0
GK   ITA Balducci 0 0 0 0
GK   ITA Redomi 0 0 0 0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Attendance Statistics of Serie A - 1974-75 to 1985-86".
  2. ^ Gary Thacker (25 July 2018). "Perugia and the undefeated season of miracles". thesefootballtimes.co.
  3. ^ P.Whelan (9 May 2012). "Great Calcio Sides :Perugia". forzaitalianfootball.com.
  4. ^ Panini, 1978, pp. 50-51
  5. ^ Panini (1977). Presenze e reti (in Italian). p. 8..
  6. ^ Panini (1978). Presenze e reti (in Italian). p. 8..
  • Arrigo Beltrami, Almanacco illustrato del Calcio 1980, Franco Cosimo Panini Editore Modena 1979
  • Marco Sappino (2000), Dizionario del calcio italiano, 2000, Baldini & Castoldi Milano, ISBN 88-8089-862-0
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