April 3, 1955: Lazio -Catania 1-0
- Dag Jenkins
- Apr 3
- 7 min read
Hansen advantage on B-zone
A goal by the Dane gives Lazio a deserved win and a comforting lead on the relegation slots
The season so far
Lazio had finished 11th the previous season. The manager was first Mario Sperone (1-24) and then Federico Allasio (25-34). Top scorers were Alberto Fontanesi and Pasquale Vivolo with 9 league goals each. Lazio’s best result had been defeating Juventus 2-1.
This season the manager was initially Allasio (1-7) and then George Raynor (with Roberto Copernico as technical director). Lazio had made quite a few changes to the squad.
Arriving were: keeper Giuseppe Zibetti (Brescia), defender Attilio Giovannini (Inter, after 191 league games), Carlo Parola (Juventus-after 334 league games), midfielder Renzo Sassi (Legnano) and forward John Hansen (Juventus, after 188 league games and 124 goals).
Leaving were keeper Lucidio Sentimenti IV (Vicenza, after 170 league games), midfielders Franco Carradori (loan to Palermo), Enrique Flamini (Terracina, after 272 league games), Serafino Montanari (Chinotto Neri) and forward Paolo Bettolini (Monza-on loan).
Lazio so far were having a similar season to the previous. The Biancocelesti were currently in joint 11th place, with Triestina, on 22 points, five from relegation. Lazio had won 9 (including Inter 3-2, Juventus 2-1 at home and Roma 3-1), drawn 4 (including derby 1-1) and lost 11 (including Catania 0-1 and Torino 1-3 away in the most recent game). Prior to the defeat in Turin the Biancocelesti had won five in a row.
Catania were newly promoted. The previous season the Etnei had won the Serie B championship under Piero Andreoli. It was the Sicilians first historic promotion to Serie A. The top scorer was Michele Manenti with 15 league goals. An interesting player in the squad was defender Enzo Bearzot who many years later would lead the Italian Azzurri to the World Cup triumph in España 1982.
This season Andreoli was still in his place. The main new arrivals were goalkeeper Ezio Bardelli (Como), defender Umberto Boniardi (Como), midfielder Karl Aage Hansen (Sampdoria), Jone Spartano (Brescia), Karl-Heinz Spikofski (Torino-on loan), Clemente Gotti (Sampdoria - on loan) and Nino Malinverni (Empoli) plus forward Guido Ghiandi (Como).
Leaving were midfielders Enzo Bearzot (Torino), Giovanni Marin (SPAL - end of loan) and Aldo Perni (Prato) plus forwards Bruno Micheloni (Cagliari) and Sergio Quoiani (Messina).
Catania were one point below, on 21 points and in 13th place with Genoa (+4 on B). The Rossoblu had won 6 (including Udinese 5-0 and Lazio 1-0 at home), drawn 9 (including Juventus 1-1 away, Inter 1-1 and Juventus 2-2 at home) and lost 9 (including most recent Novara 0-2 away).
A relegation clash today. Not a desperate one at this point but both teams had to be careful not to fall further down the table.
The match: Sunday, April 3, 1955, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A sunny day attracted about 40,000 spectators to the Olimpico, officially called Stadio dei Centomila (1953-60).
Lazio were missing midfielder Luigi Fuin while Catania were without midfielder Jone Spartano and winger Renato Cattaneo.
It soon became clear that this would not be an easy game for Lazio mainly due to the visitors' extremely defensive approach, the famous "catenaccio". To give an idea of the Sicilians tactical setup, after five minutes forward Karl Hansen seemed to be playing at full-back and after ten minutes winger Guido Klein was also pulled back into defence.
The game was basically attack against defence with all the players apart from Giuseppe Zibetti in the Rossoazzurro half.
Lazio played with the wind at their backs. In the 5th minute Ezio Bardelli made his first save of the afternoon on a John Hansen effort and then repeated himself on a long-range Attilio Giovannini shot.
In the 9th minute the visitors had a rare foray into Lazio's half but Zibetti was safe on a Michele Manenti header.
Lazio continued to attack and piled up corners. In the 20th minute a threatening Pasquale Vivolo volley was blocked by Bardelli.
In the 29th minute Hansen headed on to Vivolo who beat Ferruccio Santamaria and scored but the referee disallowed it for a very debatable offside position.
Lazio pushed forward but were unable to break down the Catanese fortress. Half time: Lazio 0 Catania 0.
In the second half Catania played with the wind in their favour but had no intention of changing their game plan.
In the 51st minute Lazio appealed for a penalty when Karl Hansen intercepted a Vittorio Bergamo freekick with his arm. The referee judged it involuntary. Fair enough but two minutes later Nicola Fusco clearly and intentionally stopped a Vivolo shot with his hand but again the referee said to play on. Lazio then had a third request for a penalty when Fusco blatantly held back John Hansen by his shirt when he was about to shoot but the referee only gave a corner. The situation was becoming comical.
There followed several scrambles in the Etnei's area, a Renzo Sassi shot just wide and a Primo Sentimenti V bicycle kick just off target.
In the 68th minute Lazio had a huge chance when John Hansen's header came back off the crossbar and came back to Sassi who managed to miss from about four metres.
The Catania goal seemed jinxed but then in the 75th minute Lazio finally broke the deadlock. Norwegian midfielder Per Bredesen reached the by-line and tried a shot which Umberto Boniardi cleared but the ball then hit John Hansen lurking nearby and ended up in the back of the net. A stroke lucky but 1-0 and well deserved.
In the last fifteen minutes the game changed as Catania were forced to attack.
They forced Zibetti into a couple of saves on shots by Klein. The game was more open now and both sides attacked. In the 85th minute Karl Hansen restored to his forward role had a powerful shot go wide.
It was too little too late for Catania as Lazio clinched a vital win. Final score: Lazio 1 Catania 0.
A legitimate victory for the Biancocelesti who had dominated for the first 75 minutes and should have been further in front.
Catania were punished for their negative attitude. When they finally decided to play they had a few chances but had left it too late.
A word on the referee, comical. Apart from the potential penalties for Lazio he also took away at least a couple of corners from the Biancocelesti and on one of them the crowd simply burst out laughing such was the absurdity of the decision.
Lazio were now joint 10th, on 24 points with Napoli and Triestina (who had a game in hand). The Biancocelesti had a reassuring seven-point cushion on the relegation zone.
Catania were joint 14th, on 21 points with Genoa. The Rossoazzurri still had a four-point advantage on the drop zone.
Who played for Lazio
Zibetti, Antonazzi, Sentimenti V, Sassi II, Giovannini, Bergamo, Bredesen, Löfgren, Vivolo, J.Hansen, Burini
Manager: Raynor
Who played for Catania
Bardelli, Boniardi, Bravetti, Malinverni, Santamaria, Fusco, Spikofski, Manenti, Ghiandi, K.A Hansen, Klein
Manager: Andreoli
Referee: Valsecchi
Goals: 74' Hansen
What happened next
Lazio finished joint 12th on 30 points with Catania and Triestina. In the last 11 games Lazio won 2, drew 4 and lost 5. They had the certainty of staying up in the penultimate game beating Triestina 3-1 at home and in the end the last relegation slot was a comfortable seven points further down. Top scorer was John Hansen with 15 league goals.
Catania as mentioned finished 12th with Lazio but were then relegated for corruption. In the last games they won 4, drew 1 and lost 4 and thought they were safe only to be punished for attempting to bribe a referee. The top scorer was Vittorio Ghiandi with 11 league goals. Catania would be promoted again in 1959-60. They are now in Serie C.
Milan won the Scudetto ahead of a surprising Udinese who would however then be relegated in punishment for charges of corruption from the previous season. This was Milan's 5th Scudetto while going down were obviously Udinese and Catania. The teams who should originally have been relegated were SPAL and Pro Patria.
Let's talk about Roberto Copernico
Roberto Copernico was born in Malalbergo (Bologna), on December 11, 1904.
He did not have a career as a player. In the 1940s he owned a sports shop that was frequented by important football players. He thus got involved and interested in the football world.
He then became an adviser to Torino president Ferruccio Novo. Copernico was a believer in the new style of play, "Il Sistema" (a 3-4-3 or better 3-2-2-3, the WM shape) as opposed to "Catenaccio".
In 1947-48 Copernico became technical director of Torino with Mario Sperone as manager. The Granata won the league, sixteen points clear of second-placed Milan, scoring 125 goals and conceding 33. Their 10-0 home win against Alessandria is still the biggest ever in Serie A.
On May 4 1949 the Superga tragedy occurred. The Torino team's plane crashed killing all 31 on board. There were four games to go in the league and Copernico was called alongside Oberdan Ussello to take over on the bench. Torino were champions anyway but they won the last games with the youth team against clubs who out of respect fielded their youth teams too.
In 1949-50 as technical director he brought Swedes Pär Bengtsson and Åke Hjalmarsson to Turin and although they disappointed, the Granata finished a decent 6th under manager Giuseppe Bigogno.
In 1949-50 he was also part of the Federal Technical Commission which took over the running of the Italian national team after Vittorio Pozzo's resignation. He was in charge alongside Ferruccio Novo, Aldo Bardelli and Vincenzo Biancone, from 27 February 1949 to July 2 1950.
The following season, 1950-51, at Torino things did not go as well and after eighteen games he resigned with Torino in 16th place and Felice Borel took over while Bigogno stayed on as manager.
He returned to Torino as sporting director during the 1951-52 season with Ussello as manager. The Granata were struggling but the duo managed to pick them up and avoid relegation.
He stayed on in the 1952-53 season but resigned after six games. The manager was Ussello and Toro were in 8th place.
In October 1954, after seven matches, Copernico arrived at Lazio as technical director with George Raynor as manager. The Biancocelesti finished 12th. The best results were wins against Inter 3-2, Juventus 2-1 and Roma 3-1. The top scorer was Dane John Hansen with 15 league goals.
In 1955-56 he stayed on but the manager was Luigi Ferrero who was then replaced by Jesse Carver after fourteen games. Lazio had a good season and finished joint 3rd. The highlights were beating Inter 3-2 and Milan 3-1 away, Juventus 2-0 at home plus a derby 1-0 (the other was 0-0).
Roberto Copernico died in Turin on September 15, 1988.
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