If you were to guess at the first team to go through an entire Serie A season unbeaten, a few obvious names leap out. The Milan clubs, Juventus, maybe Roma or Lazio. But in the 1978-9 season, in a long, difficult title fight against Milan, it was a small regional side from Umbria, Perugia, who achieved the feat. And yet, more remarkably still, they somehow still failed to win the Scudetto.
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Formed in 1905 by the merger of US Fortebraccio and Libertas, Perugia endured seven decades of mediocrity, before in the mid-1970s they found a new owner in Franco D’Attomo, a student from a wealthy family who fell in love with the city, and with a member of the family who owned sports brand Ellesse. With their combined fortunes, and his football fanaticism, he purchased the club, brought in a new Head Coach, and funded an impressive array of talent in the second tier of Italian football. The city saw success immediately, and just one season later, Perugia won their highest honour to date, the Serie B title. For the first time in their history, they would take their place among Italy’s elite.
Manager Ilario Castagner instilled in his side a system based on that Rinus Michels was developing in the Netherlands, and the relative minnows from Umbria took to the system well. Total Football would put an end to the Catenaccio on the international stage, and Castagner’s system would reap similar rewards, as a group of young professionals and journeymen, overlooked by Italy’s giants, finished a decent eighth in their first ever season at that level. The following year they would improve to sixth, and in doing so qualify for the Mitropa Cup, a UEFA competition between sides in central Europe.
The upwards trajectory of Italy’s most exciting, progressive side, looked unending, but football has a way of upsetting the odds, and in Perugia’s case it did so in the most tragic way possible. In Europe for the first time, and looking to push their way to the very top table in Italy, midfielder Renato Curi was drawing the attention of the national side, at just the right time to force his way into the World Cup squad. In October 1977, however, just five minutes into an important match with Juventus, he collapsed on the pitch. He never got back up; the heart attack claimed his life. Perugia’s progress understandably stalled, and it took all of Castagner’s motivational skills to keep the side in the top half, finishing that season in seventh. During that summer, the squad took stock, and Castagner used the loss of their teammate to galvanise the squad. 1978-79 was the season they would make their assault on the Scudetto.
The newly named Stadio Renato Curi became an emotional fortress for the side, and Perugia started their season with a win against Vicenza, and a clean sheet, something that would become commonplace. In fact, the Umbrian side conceded just six goals at home in all competitions that season, a statistic that would become the bedrock of an outstanding season. Over the course of their 30 league games, Perugia would have the best defence in the league.
A last minute equaliser away at Inter Milan showed the spirit of Castagner’s Perugia in their second game, and wins against Fiorentina and Juventus followed as the provincial side proved their title credentials. The system may have put a lot of pressure on a lone striker to find ways of winning games, but with such a miserly defence that didn’t prove much of a problem over the first half of the season. But as the winter progressed, the lack of a goalscorer, and the lack of funds to go and buy one, would start to cause a problem. Six draws from seven games gave up top spot to Milan, but Perugia just wouldn’t go away.
The spirit of the side was in evidence in the return fixture against Inter Milan, in February. 2-0 down at half time, Castagner gave a rallying speech and the players started to believe in the ‘invincibles’ tag that the local press had given them, and responded with a stirring performance in the second half. Franco Vannini halved the deficit, but Inter held on until the dying moments, when Antonio Ceccarini found an equaliser. Celebrations were short-lived however, as a horror tackle on Vannini would take him out of the game. It later transpired to be a double leg break; Vannini never played football again.
That injury, along with the niggles that come with the demands of a season, were too much for Perugia to recover from. They stayed solid at the back, but too many draws cost them, and AC Milan won the title in the penultimate game of the season. Perugia finished the season with just 11 wins from their 30 games, and 19 draws. Their unbeaten season, the first ever in Italy, was one of heartbreak.
