1970 Anglo-Italian Cup
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The 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup was a football cup competition held between clubs in England and Italy won by Swindon Town. It was the inaugural Anglo-Italian Cup competition and also one of the few tournaments where the final has had to be abandoned due to hooliganism.
Contents |
[edit] Group Stage
[edit] Composition
The competition was divided into three groups of two English and two Italian teams as below -
| Group | English | Italian |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield Wednesday Swindon Town |
S.S.C. Napoli Juventus |
| 2 | Middlesbrough West Bromwich Albion |
Lanerossi A.S. Roma |
| 3 | Sunderland Wolverhampton Wanderers |
ACF Fiorentina S.S. Lazio |
Each team would play the foreign sides in their group twice (home and away) but passage to the final would only be given to the top team from England and Italy respectively. Two points were awarded for a win, One point for a draw and the final positions would be decided by the addition of points and goals scored.
The Italians came to England where the first matches would be played, the English clubs then journeying to Italy for the concluding group matches. The Final would be played there between the two clubs from each country with the best points total.[1]
[edit] Group 1 games
| Sheffield Wednesday | 4–3 | SSC Napoli | ||
| Swindon Town | 4–0 | Juventus | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 0–0 | Juventus | ||
| Swindon Town | 1–2 | SSC Napoli | ||
| SSC Napoli | 5–1 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| Juventus | 0–1 | Swindon Town | ||
| Juventus | 2–0 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| SSC Napoli | 0–1 | Swindon Town | ||
[edit] Group 2 games
| Middlesbrough | 1–0 | A.S. Roma | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | 0–0 | L.R. Vicenza | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | 4–0 | A.S. Roma | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2–0 | L.R. Vicenza | ||
| L.R. Vicenza | 1–0 (abandoned) |
West Bromwich Albion | ||
Game abandoned in 75th minute, recorded as a 0-2 loss for each team
| A.S. Roma | 1–1 | Middlesbrough | ||
| L.R. Vicenza | 2–2 | Middlesbrough | ||
| A.S. Roma | 1–1 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
[edit] Group 3 games
| Sunderland | 3–1 | S.S. Lazio | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–1 | ACF Fiorentina | ||
| Sunderland | 2–2 | ACF Fiorentina | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–0 | S.S. Lazio | ||
| ACF Fiorentina | 1–3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| S.S. Lazio | 2–1 | Sunderland | ||
| S.S. Lazio | 2–0 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| ACF Fiorentina | 3–0 | Sunderland | ||
[edit] Italian Group final standings
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.S.C. Napoli | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | -7 | 4 | 14 |
| ACF Fiorentina | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | -7 | 3 | 10 |
| S.S. Lazio | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | -5 | 4 | 9 |
| Juventus | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -5 | 3 | 5 |
| Lanerossi Vicenza | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -6 | 2 | 4 |
| A.S. Roma | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -7 | 2 | 4 |
[edit] English Group final standings
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swindon Town | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -2 | 6 | 13 |
| Middlesbrough | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -3 | 6 | 12 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -4 | 6 | 12 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -3 | 4 | 9 |
| Sunderland | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -8 | 3 | 9 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -10 | 3 | 8 |
[edit] Final
| S.S.C. Napoli |
0 — 3 (abandoned after 79 minutes) |
Swindon Town |
| Manager:
Team: Substitutes: Scorers:
|
Half-time: Competition: Venue: Attendance: Match rules: Referee: P. Schiller (Austria) |
Manager: Fred Ford
Team: Substitutes: Scorers:
|
Swindon continued their spell of success with a comfortable victory to add to the 1969 League Cup and 1969 Anglo-Italian League Cup.
The game was marred by disturbances from the Napoli fans, resulting in two separate pitch invasions until finally - under a barrage of missiles - the referee abandoned the match after 79 minutes.
"Trouble started when Arthur Horsfield scored Swindon's third goal in the 63rd minute. Disgruntled fans, angered at the home side's failure to check brilliant Swindon, hurled a fusillade of rocks and bottles on the field, prompting the police to retaliate with teargas. Groups of youngsters then started breaking up stones and wooden benches and hurling them over the wide moat and onto the pitch. A linesman was struck and the referee ordered the players towards the main stand as clearly it was impossible for play to carry on. The players had to run the gauntlet to escape to the dressing rooms and several Swindon players were struck by missiles. Horsfield, in particular, had a nasty bruise on his thigh."[1] Peter Sheldon
Swindon Town were awarded the trophy by Signor Orfeo Pianelli, vice-president of the Italian Football Federation.[2]
[edit] Post game
The Swindon Evening Advertiser reported on the aftermath -
"A fanatical section of the 55,000 crowd incensed by the inability of Napoli to match the craft and finishing of Swindon Town, went berserk during the latter stage of the Anglo-Italian tournament final in Naples last night. They showered the pitch with beer bottles and stones and Austrian referee Paul Schiller called the players off 11 minutes from time"[2] Reuters
Only minutes from the end of the game in Naples, with Swindon holding a comfortable three-goal lead, raging fans went on the rampage. Hundreds of concrete bench seats were torn up and smashed into small chunks which were thrown onto the pitch sending players and officials scurrying to the other side of the field for safety. Fires were started all around the stadium as the hooligans raged out of control. Bottles and blazing cushions were thrown as the match dissolved in chaos 12 minutes from full-time.[3] Swindon Advertiser
"After the fighting, in which at least 40 police, including several officers , and 60 demonstrators were injured, police guarded the San Paolo Stadium. Police said they had arrested 30 people and had 11 others in custody for questioning. According to first estimates, rampaging spectators caused about £20,000 worth of damage to stadium equipment."[2] Reuters
[edit] References
- ^ a b Peter Sheldon (1970). Under the Shadow of Mighty Vesuvius. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ a b c Reuters (1970). Swindon footballers run gauntlet of beer cans and stones in Italy. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ David Kelly (1970). Soccer madness. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
[edit] External links
- Anglo-Italian Cup 1970 at RSSSF
- Anglo-Italian Cup Winners 1969/1970 - swindon-town-fc.co.uk
- Swindon Town players memories of the final - Swindon Advertiser, 30 May 2000
- Caught in time - reminisces of the tournament from The Times
