February 12, 1911: Lazio Juventus Roma 1-0

Simon Basten
9 hours ago
2 min read

First game first win

Gaia IV gives Lazio a win in their first match of the Lazio regional League

The season so far

Football in Rome in 1910-11 was still at regional level and Lazio played in the lazio Third Category League together with Juventus Roma and Roman. The games were played over a month between February and March. In the first match of the competition Juventus Roma had won away 4-2 against Roman. Today was the second game.

The match: Sunday, February 12, 1911, Piazza d’Armi, Rome

Lazio secured a controversial 1–0 win over Juventus Roma at Piazza d’Armi in a Third Category Championship match that ended prematurely.

After an early effort by Lazio’s Arnaldo Gaia IV was ruled out for offside, the decisive moment came in the 83rd minute when Fernando Saraceni fired a shot that Juventus goalkeeper Pietro Patriossi failed to deal with cleanly, allowing Gaia IV to turn in the rebound. Juventus immediately protested, claiming the goal should be disallowed for offside, but the referee stood by his decision. In protest, Juventus players walked off the pitch, effectively ending the match and awarding Lazio the victory.

The game was officiated by Filiberto Corelli, a Lazio player.

Who played for Lazio

Gaslini, Levi II, Di Napoli I, Di Napoli II, Fioranti, Gaia I, Coraggio, Saraceni I, Consiglio, Gaia IV, Corelli I

Who played for Juventus Roma

Patriossi, Gritti, Tomassini, Monarchi, Buratti, Mangili, Cerchia, Marchesi, De Censi (I), Smith, Caniggia

Referee: Corelli II

Goal: 83’ Gaia IV

What happened next

Lazio won the league beating both teams twice. They also secured the Coppa Italia Sportiva winning in Terni against Firenze Football Club 6-5, the INIEF Trophy and the Gaia-Perugini Trophy demonstrating that the Biancocelesti were of a much better level than other teams in the area.

Let’s talk about Arnaldo Gaia IV

Arnaldo Gaia was born in Rome on February 14, 1893.

He joined Lazio and started played from 1910. He was the better of the four Gaia family members who played for the Biancocelesti (brothers Agostino Gaia I, and Ettore Gaia II plus cousin Umberto Gaia III), and was a good midfielder even though he often played left wing thanks to his speed. He scored the winning goal against Firenze Football Club in the Coppa Italia Sportiva of 1911 when Lazio won 6-5 after being 4-2 down after the first half.

In 1912 the entire family moved to Turin and he died there on July 22 1944.

He played 17 games for Lazio with five goals.

Lazio Career

Season	Total appearances (goals)	Lazio 3rd Category League	Roman 3rd Category League	Other
1910-11	5 (4)	3 (3)		2 (1)
1911-12	12 (4)	-	10 (4)	2
Total	17 (8)	3 (3)	10 (4)	4 (1)