December 12, 1937: Lazio Torino 6-0
- Simon Basten
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Massacred
Four goals in 20 minutes put the game to bed early but Lazio added two more in the second half
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had arrived second just three points behind scudetto winners Bologna. They had played exceptionally well and if it was not for the numerous injuries, they may have even won the scudetto. Leaders after the first half of the season, the Biancocelesti then fell back but later recovered to clinch a historic second place.
The manager, Jozsef Viola, had obviously been confirmed and there were just a few movements in the summer transfer window. In came defender Maximiliano Faotto (Palermo) and forward Emilio Capri (Vicenza) and out went Luigi Uneddu (Vigevano) and Walter D’Odorico (Torino).
Before the beginning of the season, Lazio had to play the final of the Central European Cup (or Mitropa Cup). They had reached it after beating Hungaria (4-3 on aggregate) and Grasshoppers (8-4 in the two games) just before the summer. They did not play the semi-final since Genoa and Admira had been excluded. On September 12, 1937, they played Ferencváros in Budapest and lost 4-2. The refereeing had not been up to par. In the return game in Rome under belting rain Lazio had even managed to go 4-2 ahead but in the end collapsed after Silvio Piola had missed a penalty, and lost 5-4.
This season Lazio had started well and after beating Livorno in the ninth fixture they were top of the table with Ambrosiana Inter. But then two consecutive defeats against Ambrosiana Inter and Napoli had brought them down to sixth place.
The match: Sunday, December 12, 1937, Stadio PNF, Rome
Thirty seconds and Lazio were already 1-0 up. Giovanni Costa went off on the wing, cross towards the centre and Libero Marchini with a spectacular volley started the party.
Torino were still thinking about how to react when the Biancocelesti scored their second. Silvio Piola to Umberto Busani, completely alone. The winger moved towards the centre and whacked the ball towards the goal. Bruno Cassetti got a hand to it but the power of the shot was too great and it was 2-0.
Four minutes later there was a corner kick taken by Busani. Bruno Camolese headed towards Piola who made no mistake.
In the 22nd minute free kick for a foul on Piola. Marchini with a superb shot put the ball into the right top hand corner and it was four for Lazio.
The Biancocelesti could have slowed down but they did not. Cassetti had to be miraculous on shots by Camolese and Costa.
The script did not change in the second half. Torino unable to react and Lazio pressing for more goals. In the 66th minute Busani crossed, Piola attempted a header, Cassetti parried and Costa tapped the ball in.
Ten minutes later Busani in front of the keeper, ball to Piola who did not miss the open goal opportunity.
Great show from Lazio, very poor indeed from Torino.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Violak
Who played for Torino
Manager: Feldmann
Referee: Moretti
Goals: 1’ Marchini, 8’ Busani, 12’ Piola, 22’ Marchini, 66’ Costa, 76’ Piola
What happened next
After the first half of the season Lazio were fifth together with Roma, Milan and Torino and just one point behind second place. But in the second half they did not do as well. They lost to weaker teams (Bari 5-1 is a prime example) and could not keep up the pace of the first part of the year. In the end the Biancocelesti finished 8th with a lot of “what ifs”.
The players with most appearances were Monza, Busani and Viani (33) and the leading scorer was obviously the great Silvio Piola with 18 goals.
Let’s talk about Libero Marchini
Libero Marchini was born in Castelnuovo Magra, near La Spezia, on October 31 1913.
He started playing football with Carrarese in the third tier in 1931 and stayed a couple of years before moving to Florence in 1933. With Fiorentina he did not play much, just 10 league games, but the Viola did well, arriving sixth. In 1934 he moved again and went nearer home to play for Genoa 1893. The Rossoblu won the Serie B championship but he did not stay and left for Lucchese where he again arrived first in the second tier. After another year but this time in Serie A, he moved to Rome to play for Lazio. He immediately played in the Central European Cup in 1936 and then made 16 appearances the following year.
In 1938 he made a mistake, signing a contract with Torino without permission from the club. President Remo Zenobi punished him by banishing him to the stands for a year despite the fact he was a player who had been considered for the Nazionale and had won an Olympic Gold at the Berlin games.
He made it to Turin for the 1939-40 season but stayed only a year before going back to Lucchese in 1940. He ended his career with Carrarese where he played from 1941 to 1943.
As mentioned, he was part of the team that won Gold at the Olympics in 1936 together with his future team mates Giuseppe Baldo and Francesco Gabriotti as well as former Lazio Alfredo Foni. In order to participate in the games, he falsified his documents, in agreement with the authorities, claiming to be born in 1914.
He died in Trieste on November 1 2003.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Central European Cup |
1936-37 | 4 (2) | - | 4 (2) |
1937-38 | 18 (5) | 16 (5) | 2 |
Total | 22 (7) | 16 (5) | 6 (2) |
Sources
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