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]

During the 1978–79 season A.C. Perugia competed in Serie A and Coppa Italia.

Summary

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 legendary beast their nickname is derived from, produced a feat never before achieved at the highest level of Italian football: going a season undefeated. With the head of a lion and the body of an eagle, there's a majesty about a Gryphon, and in this particular season, Perugia lived up to its reputation. That they failed to secure the Scudetto shouldn't detract from their momentous achievement; it should define it.

‘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 didn't 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 but despite being cheered on by an immensely intimidating atmosphere, Gianfranco Casarsa's spot kick which cancelled out Stefano Chiodi's penalty for Milan minutes earlier, 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 which brought an end to the fairytale but still meant that despite all the odds, Perugia had not only mustered a title challenge but ended the season without once tasting defeat.[3]

Squad

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

Transfers

[5][6]

In
Pos. Name from Type
DFMauro Della MartiraFiorentina
MFCesare ButtiTorino
MFGiorgio RedeghieriParma
FWMarco CacciatoriCarrarese
FWGianfranco CasarsaFiorentina
To
Pos. Name to Type
DFAntonio MatteoniParma
MFMauro AmentaFiorentina
MFGuido BiondiLecce
FWWalter NovellinoA.C. Milan
FWWalter SabatiniPalermo
FWMario ScarpaParma

Competitions

Serie A

League table

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

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

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' 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

Group phase

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

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

Players statistics

No. Pos Nat Player TotalSerie A
AppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK Italy ITA Malizia 28-1527+1-15
DF Italy ITA Ceccarini 291291
DF Italy ITA Della Martira 290290
DF Italy ITA Frosio 241241
DF Italy ITA Nappi 210210
MF Italy ITA Dal Fiume 283283
MF Italy ITA Bagni 288288
MF Italy ITA Butti 261261
MF Italy ITA Redeghieri 23020+30
FW Italy ITA Casarsa 284284
FW Italy ITA Speggiorini 269269
GK Italy ITA Grassi 3-13-1
DF Italy ITA Zecchini 1408+60
DF Italy ITA Tacconi 300+30
MF Italy ITA Vannini 173173
MF Italy ITA Goretti 1209+30
FW Italy ITA Cacciatori 1417+71
GK Italy ITA Mancini 0000
DF Italy ITA Dall'Oro 0000
GK Italy ITA Balducci 0000
GK Italy ITA Redomi 0000

See also

References

  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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