Written by Rémy Vernay
5 points. Lanerossi Vicenza ended the 1977-78 season as runner-up, 5 points behind winners Juventus – an inconceivable 2nd place. For a team whose trophy cabinet included a couple of Serie B next to a dusty Serie C, to compete for the Scudetto was nothing short of sensational. In order to fully grasp the magnitude of this feat, one must look back briefly at the club’s history.
Founded in 1902, Vicenza is one of the oldest Italian football teams, and the oldest in Veneto. The club spent most of its early history in the lower leagues, reaching the first tier for the first time in 1942. Economic difficulties in the 1950s saw it merge with Lanerossi, a woollen firm from Schio in the province of Vicenza. The club was thus renamed Lanerossi Vicenza, a name that would become legendary. Twenty honourable Serie A seasons ensued, during which the red and white fought bravely against more established teams, a period known as Nobile Provinciale, due to the club’s grit and persistence. In 1975 the club was finally relegated to Serie B, a big blow for the supporters after 20 years of first-division football. Then, in 1975-76 I Biancorossi narrowly escaped relegation, finishing 16th in Serie B. The club’s trajectory seemed to be going downhill, and yet the magic was about to begin.
The following season saw Vicenza win Serie B with new coach Giovan Battista Fabbri at the helm – an outstanding performance given the circumstances. Ahead of the season the team lacked a number 9, but Fabbri had one trick up his sleeve. The coach deployed right winger Paolo Rossi as a striker, and the 20-year-old flourished, developing into a deadly poacher. His 21 goals in 36 games made him top scorer of Serie B. On loan from Juventus in a co-ownership deal, the future World Cup and Ballon d’Or winner remained in Veneto the following year as the Old Lady deemed him not ready to wear the prestigious white and black shirt.
Lanerossi Vicenza thus returned to Serie A in great part thanks to Fabri and Rossi, after two emotionally packed seasons spent in the league just below. For every team promoted to the top-flight, there can only be one goal: stay alive. Something Vicenza had done so well for twenty years. Could it do it again? Would it fall apart? In truth no one was prepared for the 1977-78 season, one that forever stunned the footballing world of Serie A.
The Biancorossi had a disastrous start to the new season with no wins in their first five games (3 draws, 2 defeats). Things were not looking good, but results eventually improved. The first victory came against Atalanta in a 4-2 win away from home, with Mario Guidetti and Paolo Rossi netting two goals each. And just like that, wins and goals started coming in abundance. The fox in the box Rossi scored 8 goals in the following 6 games, and Vicenza looked like a different side. Games went by and the team climbed up the league table.
11th, then 8th, then 4th.
By the end of the calendar year Vicenza ranked 3rd, 1 point only behind AC Milan and 2 behind Juventus. Then, halfway through the season came the real test, as Vicenza hosted Giovanni Trapatonni’s Juventus at the Romeo Menti Stadium. The game ended in a goalless draw, not a bad result as it prevented Juve from widening the 3-point gap between the teams. Perhaps more importantly it meant Vicenza could stand up to la crème de la crème – and expectations were readjusted consequently. Could the provincial club qualify for Europe? Could supporters allow themselves to believe in the Scudetto?
In the end Vicenza never caught up with Juve but, incredibly, finished above both Milanese clubs and Torino, earning a golden second place and its first ever qualification for the UEFA Cup. Memorable results included a 4-3 win at home against Roma with a last-minute penalty save by keeper Ernesto Galli, and a stunning 4-1 win against Napoli at the San Paolo.
The size of the prowess was monumental, as the initially toothless team evolved into a steamroller, led by its coach and star striker. As a result, Gian Batista Fabbri won the Seminatore d’Oro (Golden Sower) awarded to the best coach of the year in Serie A, while Paolo Rossi ended up Capocannoniere (best goalscorer) with 24 goals. Interestingly, this prize was renamed ‘Paolo Rossi award’ in 2021, after the passing of the Italian legend in 2020. Thanks to his prolific goalscoring abilities, Vicenza managed a total of 50 goals throughout the season, the most in the league. Fabbri was deeply inspired by Total Football – a revolutionary system developed by Rinus Michels at Ajax, used increasingly across Europe, which eventually led to the death of Catenaccio. While most Italian teams still relied on defensive solidity, Fabbri favoured a fluid approach which required the participation of every player in both offensive and defensive phases. The focus was set on working as a collective unit rather than relying solely on individuals. The coach said it himself: ‘the first striker must be the goalkeeper.’ This philosophy allowed the star-less squad (save Rossi) to compete with the very best, and the team was later referred to as Real Vicenza.
The provincial club thus established itself as a force to be reckoned with, and the future looked brighter than ever.
However, as always with Vicenza, one should expect the unexpected. The club went from good to bad, and finally ugly as the following season saw relegation to Serie B, and then Serie C in the space of a few years. Although the red and white returned to the second tier in the mid-1980s – in big part thanks to young striker and future Ballon d’Or winner Roberto Baggio – involvement in the 1986 Totonero match-fixing scandal denied the club further promotion to Serie A. Instead, Vicenza headed back to Serie C. The club would make a glorious comeback to Serie A once again in the 1990s, winning the Coppa Italia in 1996-97 and reaching the semi-final of the Cup Winners’ Cup the following season.
Despite the club’s recent economic struggles, Lanerossi Vicenza 1977-78 will always remain etched in the history of the Italian league. An anomaly in the brutal logic of football and Serie A, which generally sees the Big Three (Juventus, Inter, Milan) squabble over the title year after year. A surreal season, volatile yet immortal, almost ethereal. Against all odds the newly promoted club from Veneto rose above Inter and AC Milan while threatening to snatch the Scudetto from Juventus, pushing them all the way. An astonishing campaign, not unlike that of Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City in 2015-16. A story loved by every football fan, in which an outsider stands its ground against the giants of the league.
All in all, the history of Vicenza is complex. It is one of stability and inconsistency, of prestige and corruption. The red and white currently play in Serie C, but who knows, give it a few seasons and the club may be seen in Serie A once more – fighting for the Scudetto?
References
L.R. Vicenza. (2023). In Wikipedia. https://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=L.R._Vicenza&oldid=135740437
Strack-Zimmermann, B. (n. d.). LaneRossi Vicenza (1977/78). https://www.national-football-teams.com/club/6598/1977_1/Lanerossi_Vicenza.html
’Real Vicenza’ : When Lanerossi challenged the giants of Serie A –. (n. d.). https://www.gentlemanultra.com/2019/10/04/real-vicenza-when-lanerossi-challenged-the-giants-of-serie-a/
Società Sportiva Lanerossi Vicenza 1977-1978. (2023). In Wikipedia. https://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Societ%C3%A0_Sportiva_Lanerossi_Vicenza_1977-1978&oldid=134189868
Serie A 1977/1978 : Résultats, classements et toutes les statistiques. (n. d.). footballdatabase.eu. https://www.footballdatabase.eu/fr/competition/general/322-serie_a/1977_1978
È morto G.B. Fabbri : Inventò Paolo Rossi bomber, predicava il calcio totale. (2015). La Gazzetta dello Sport – Tutto il rosa della vita. https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/03-06-2015/morto-gb-fabbri-vicenza-paolo-rossi-calcio-totale-12014652248.shtml