December 11, 1949: Lazio-Fiorentina 1-1

Lazio Stories
2 days ago
6 min read

Fair draw in difficult conditions

The Romans and Florentines take a point each and play decent game despite very wet pitch

The season so far

Lazio had finished 13th in Serie A the previous season. The manager was first Orlando Tognotti (1-10) and then Mario Sperone. The highlights were beating Bologna 8-2, Genoa, Modena and Palermo all 5-1 and Triestina 4-0. Both derbies ended up in draws. Top scorer was Romano Penzo with 12 league goals.

This season Sperone stayed on as manager and Lazio were active on the transfer market. Arriving were: keeper Lucidio Sentimenti IV (Juventus), defender Zeffiro Furiassi (Fiorentina), midfielders Flavio Cecconi (Atalanta) and Vittorio Sentimenti III (Juventus) plus forward Dionisio Arce (Sporting Luqueño).

Leaving were: keepers Uber Gradella (retiring) and Marco Brandolin (Udinese), midfielders Salvador Gualtieri (Vicenza) and Guido Tavellin (Verona-on loan), Paolo Todeschini (Napoli) plus forward Costantino De Andreis (Napoli).

So far in Serie A Lazio were in 8th place on 16 points with Triestina. The Biancocelesti had won 6 (including derby 3-1), drawn 4 (including Milan 0-0 away) and lost 4. Three of the four defeats however had come in the first five matches.

Fiorentina had finished 8th the previous season under Luigi Ferrero. The Gigliati had beaten Lazio 4-0 at home but lost 1-2 in Rome. The top scorer was Alberto Galassi with 14 league goals.

This season the manager was still Ferrero. The main new signings were: midfielders Riccardo Dalla Torre (Genoa), Giuseppe Chiappella (Pisa, he would stay 11 seasons and later be manager), Luciano Giusti (Prato), Rodolfo Beltrandi (Imolese) an Gyula Nagy (Colmar) plus forward Ludwig Janda (München 1860).

Leaving Florence were: defender Zeffiro Furiassi (Lazio), midfielders Piero Suppi (Siracusa), Rinaldo Cappellini (Prato), Menotti Avanzolini (Lucchese), Federico Zanolla (Napoli), Alberto Marchetti (Vicenza) plus forward Carlo Zoppellari (Bari). So, changes mainly in midfield.

So far in Serie A this season La Viola had won 8 (7 out of 7 at home), drawn 1 and lost 5. They were currently 5th, on 17 points with Como and Torino.

In theory an evenly balanced game today. Lazio had to hope the visitors' poor away form continued (5 defeats, 1 draw and only 1 win in 7 games on the road).

The match: Sunday, December 11, 1949, Stadio Nazionale, Rome

A torrential rainy day in Rome brought about 12,000 spectators to watch the game. The playing conditions were not easy as the field was very heavy and slippery.

Lazio were without forward Romano Penzo while Fiorentina were missing forwards Giuseppe Chiappella and Riccardo Della Torre.

The match was lively and exciting despite the difficulties in dealing with the terrain.

In the first half Lazio attacked more but came up against a solid Fiorentina defence led by Cesare Meucci and Francesco Rosetta and helped by extremely mobile and active midfielder Augusto Magli.

Lazio however managed to score on a set-piece. In the 34th minute Leandro Remondini, from more than 30 metres out, unleashed a powerful shot which Leonardo Costagliola simply watched fly into the top hand corner, 1-0.

In the second half it was the Gigliati who were more positive. They equalised in the 64th minute. Alberto Galassi surged down the left and shot from a difficult angle but his shot slipped between the front post and the Lazio keeper, 1-1.

At this point it was Lazio who got the upper hand but the visitors contained their reaction well. It was not until the 88th minute that the Biancocelesti had a real clear chance to win the game. Alberto Eliani missed the ball and Ferenc Nyers suddenly found himself only five metres from goal and one-on-one with the keeper but the wet pitch and his hesitation allowed the defenders to get back and clear. Final score Lazio 1 Fiorentina 1.

A fair result in the end. Both sides had periods of dominance and a point each was probably the correct outcome. Considering the playing field, the game had been reasonably entertaining and played with good technique apart from a few inevitable slip ups.

Lazio were now 7th, on 17 points with Sampdoria, Atalanta and Torino. The Viola were 5th on 18 points, with Como.

Juventus were already running away at the top while Roma were involved in the relegation battle.

Who played for Lazio

Sentimenti IV, Antonazzi, Furiassi, Alzani, Remondini, Montanari, Puccinelli, Magrini, Höfling, Sentimenti III, Nyers II

Manager: Sperone

Who played for Fiorentina

Costagliola, Eliani, Cervato, Meucci, Rosetta, Magli, Nagy, Pandolfini, Galassi, Sperotto, Giusti

Manager: Ferrero

Referee: Gamba

Goals: 34' Remondini, 64' Galassi

What happened next

Lazio had a good season and finished 4th, on 46 points. In the remaining games Lazio won 12 (including Bologna, Inter and Milan all 3-2 at home, Juventus 2-1 away), drew 5 (including derby 0-0 and Fiorentina 2-2 away) and lost 6. The top scorer was Norberto Höfling with 13 league goals.

Fiorentina finished 5th on 44 points. The Viola then won 10, drew 6 and lost 7. The top scorer was Galassi with an impressive 24 league goals.

With Juventus Champions for the 8th time at the opposite end Bari and Venezia slumped down to Serie B (with Roma 18th and staying up by the skin of their teeth).

Let's talk about Leandro Remondini

Leando Remondini was one of the greatest defenders of his generation. He started playing for Lazio late in his career but in three years he proved his quality and to this day he is occasionally placed in some of Lazio’s best ever XI's.

Leandro Remondini second from left standing. Source Wikipedia

Born in Verona on November 17, 1917, he started playing football for his hometown team in 1935-36 in Serie B, and two years later he moved to Milan where he stayed for five seasons.

Just before the beginning of World War II he was sold to Modena. During the war years he played for Varese and Casale before returning to Modena for the 1946-47 season. That year the Canarini (canaries) reached third place in Serie A, the best result in their history. Modena’s defence established the record for the least number of goals conceded in a 20-team Serie A season.

In 1947 he signed for Lazio. He had a few problems settling in but that was mainly because he missed his family. Once they moved to Rome, all his talent exploded. He could play in every defensive position and even in attack if necessary. He was fast and powerful, very generous and one of the most loved players by the fans. And he was good at free kicks.

In a Lazio Inter of October 1947, he took a free kick that was so powerful that it not only dangerously bent back the wrists of the goalkeeper but also broke the net with the ball ending up among the spectators. He scored 19 goals in three seasons, a lot for a defender in those years. He occasionally took penalties but his shot was so powerful he often missed.

In 1950 he signed for Napoli where he stayed a year. He finished his career with Lucchese in 1951-52.

He participated in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil and played his first and only game for the Nazionale on July 2 against Paraguay, won by Italy 2-0. For 42 years he was the oldest player to debut for the Italian national team until Mauro Tassotti played against Switzerland in 1992.

Once he quit playing he became a manager. After coaching Foggia in 1954-55 he worked in Turkey until 1960, where he coached Besiktas, Altay, Galatasaray and the Turkish National squad. He came back to Italy in 1960 and coached a number of teams, but his only experience in Serie A was with Palermo in the 1961-62 season. He was manager for Modena for 177 games, the highest number of games for any coach in their history.

He died of a heart attack in Milan on January 9, 1979.