Unfortunately, this was not built upon, as fourth place the following year would be followed by a struggle against relegation in 1975–76 and a mid-table finish in 1977–78 (with a fifth-place finish in 1976–77 in between). The tragic deaths of Luciano Re Cecconi and "scudetto"-winning trainer Tommaso Maestrelli, in addition to the departure of Chinaglia in 1976, would be a triple blow for Lazio. The emergence of Bruno Giordano during this period provided some relief as he finished as the Serie A's top scorer in 1979, when Lazio finished eighth.