Practical and winners
A great game for Lazio thanks to a fantastic match from Selmosson and Muccinelli
Also on this day: February 24, 2002, Atalanta Lazio 0-1. A Poborsky goal allowed Lazio to cash in three points and keep hopes of Champions League qualification alive. Plyer of the day: Karel Poborsky
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had arrived an excellent 3rd in the company of Inter. Great results with victories over Juventus, Milan (both home and away), Inter away and one of the derbies. The Biancocelesti had started so-so but after manager Luigi Ferrero was sacked and technical director Roberto Copernico left, the team had been taken over by Jesse Carver and Lazio in the second part of the season flourished.
Jesse Carver was confirmed and despite numerous difficulties at the club, quite a number of interesting players had arrived: defender Adelmo Eufemi (Livorno), midfielders Luigi Moltrasio (Torino) and Umberto Pinardi (Udinese) plus forwards Humberto Tozzi (Palmeiras) and Karl Aage Præst, legendary winger who had made 233 League appearances with Juventus. Leaving were Francesco Antonazzi (Chinotto Neri), Attilio Giovannini (Nissena), Giorgio Bravi (Taranto), Renzo Sassi (Udinese), Angelo Villa (Spal), Brunello Cocciuti (Reggina) and Rinaldo Olivieri (Triestina).
At the club, President Costantino Tessarolo and his deputy Mario Vaselli had had many economic difficulties. They had promised the players a 2 million lire bonus for the third place but they did not have the cash. The players and managers threatened to strike.
The problems resulted in a terrible start for Lazio and after eight games they were last. But once the economic problems were temporarily solved, the team had started to be more concentrated and the Biancocelesti began to climb up the table. At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were 4th with Napoli and Sampdoria, just six points away from the leaders Milan. They were currently still fourth and had not lost since mid-December.
The match: Sunday, February 24, 1957, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio played a very practical match faced with a well-organised Bologna. The victory arrived mainly thanks to the splendid performances of Arne Selmosson and Ermes Muccinelli, Bob Lovati’s great saves, Adlemo Eufemi’s long passes and Primo Sentimenti V who ran end to end for the entire game.
Lazio scored their first in the 35th minute. From a corner, a fumble by Bologna keeper Anselmo Giorcelli gave Muccinelli the opportunity to invent an assist for Pasquale Vivolo, two metres from the goal, for Lazio’s first. A minute later, Selmosson got the ball, dribbled past half of Bologna and deposited the ball into the net.
In the second half the Rossoblu tried to put pressure on the Lazio defence and in the 56th minute reduced the deficit with Cesarino Cervellati with a seemingly not irresistible shot from outside the box. But two minutes later a Muccinelli header re-established the Biancoceleste’s double lead.
Bologna reacted but only managed to score in the 83rd minute with a Cervellati penalty, after Umberto Pinardi had fouled him in the area. Selmosson could have put the game to bed but he missed a chance with a few minutes to go.
A great win for the Biancocelesti who were now third.
Who played for Lazio
Lovati, Molino, Eufemi, Burini, Pinardi, Moltrasio, Muccinelli, Vivolo, Bettini, Sentimenti V, Selmosson
Manager: Carver
Who played for Bologna
Giorcelli, Rota, Pavinato, Bonifaci, Greco, Pilmark, Cervellati, Pozzan, Bonafin, Randon, Pascutti.
Manager: Campatelli
Referee: Rigato
Goals: 35’ Vivolo, 36’ Selmosson, 56’ Cervellati, 58’ Muccinelli, 83’ Cervellati (pen)
What happened next
Lazio finished third for the second consecutive year. Another excellent result, despite the initial problems. They had drawn away to Juventus and Roma, beaten future champions Milan 3-0 and won away against Inter. They finished the season with a 6-2 win away at Palermo.
Molino, Lovati and Selmosson had the most appearances (34) and the Swede the most goals (12).
Lazio 1956-57
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 52 |
Top five appearances
Player | Serie A |
Molino | 34 |
Lovati | 34 |
Selmosson | 34 |
Moltrasio | 29 |
Muccinelli | 29 |
Pinardi | 29 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Goals |
Selmosson | 12 |
Vivolo | 9 |
Tozzi | 9 |
Muccinelli | 5 |
Burini | 5 |
Let's talk about Umberto Pinardi
Umberto Pinardi was born on May 22 1928 in Parma. He started playing football with Scarioni and in 1947 he signed for Gallaratese in the A group of Serie B. But the club were relegated at the end of the season. In 1948 he played in Serie C and the following year he signed for Como in Serie A, debuting in the first tier on October 16 in the match against Genoa. He played three years for Como and in 1952 moved to Juventus. He did not play very much, just 12 appearances, and in 1954 he signed for Udinese. It was an exceptional year for the Bianconeri who reached second place but were then relegated following an attempt to bribe some Pro Patria players two years earlier. Despite having to play in Serie B he stayed, contributing to their prompt return to Serie A.
In 1956 he signed for Lazio. In his first two seasons he played regularly but in his third he was not in the first eleven and rarely played. With Lazio he won the 1958 Coppa Italia, the first silverware for the Biancocelesti, playing all the tournament games except one.
In 1959 he returned to Udine and then played one final year at Como in the 1960-61 season.
Once he stopped playing, he had a very lengthy career as manager. He began with Massese and stayed two years. With Pisa in 1964-65 he got promoted to Serie B and managed to avoid relegation the year after. In 1967 he returned to Udine but despite the fact that the Bianconeri were second in Serie C, he was fired.
He then returned to Massese for a year, another season at Terni and then two more years again with Massese before his great Serie A chance as manager of Palermo for the 1972-73 season in Serie A. Unfortunately, he was sacked midway due to an awful start of the second half of the season. He then was head coach for Brescia, Spal, Modena, Taranto and Cavese.
At Lazio he played as centre-back, what today you could define as libero. He was a good man-to-man marker and extremely reliable. As a manager he expected full commitment from the players, and this often did not make him particularly popular.
He made 69 appearances for Lazio with one goal.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1956-57 | 29 | 29 | - |
1957-58 | 35 (1) | 30 (1) | 5 |
1958-59 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Total | 69 (1) | 61 (1) | 8 |
Sources
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