January 7, 1934: Brescia-Lazio 0-0
- Lazio Stories
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Sclavi and solid performance get Lazio desired point
The Biancocelesti play good first half but then helped by their keeper settle for a point
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 10th under Austrian Karl Stürmer. Lazio had some good wins against Inter away, Juventus and Milan at home plus a derby, but were too inconsistent to challenge for the higher positions.
This season the Austrian manager had been confirmed. Lazio's financial situation did not permit much investment on the transfer market and the main signings were midfielders Giovanni Battioni (Grion Pola), Raggio Montanari (Foggia) and Duilio Salatin (Palestra Itália). Leaving was defender Dino Canestri (retiring).
So far Lazio had played 16 games, winning 6, drawing 5 (including Juventus 2-2 away) and losing 5. Lazio were in joint 7th position with Napoli on 17 points. In their last match Lazio had drawn 3-3 at home to Bologna.
Brescia were newly promoted. The Biancoazzurri had finished 2nd in Serie B under Hungarian manager György Hlavay. The top scorer was Evaristo Frisoni with 14 league goals.
This season Hlavay continued. The main new players were: defenders Guido Duo (Legnano) and Nereo Marini (Verona), midfielders Giuseppe Valenti (Bari), Berardo Frisoni (Genova 1893 but Brescia 1923-30) and Mario Provaglio (up from youth team) plus forwards Erminio Reggiani (Cremonese but Brescia 1928-32), Luigi Giuliani (Bari but Brescia 1923-31), Paolo Perini (up from youth team) and Aldo Dusi (up from youth team).
Leaving Brescia were: defender Andrea Gadaldi (Roma), midfielders Attilio Mestroni (Ambrosiana Inter) and Bonifacio Scaltriti (Modena) plus forwards Carlo Bossini (retiring) and Mario Patuzzi (Bari).
In Serie A so far Brescia were joint 12th, on 14 points with Livorno. The Rondinelle (Swallows) had won 5 (including Roma 1-0 at home on debut), drawn 4 (including most recent 1-1 at home to Ambrosiana Inter) and lost 7 (including Juventus 1-5 away).
Not an easy game today for Lazio. Brescia were only three points behind and had only lost one game at home this season (conceding 6 goals in 8 games).
The match: Sunday, January 7, 1934, Stadium, Brescia
A big crowd turned up in the Porta Venezia area of Brescia on a cold but sunny day in eastern Lombardy.
Lazio had no real absences.
Brescia were missing attacking midfielders Luigi Giuseppe Giuliani and Erminio Reggiani.
In the first half both sides gave the impression they would not disdain a point each. There was however some goal action.
In the 4th minute "Filò" Guarisi tried a shot from a difficult angle, but Giuseppe Perucchetti had quick reflexes and saved.
In the 10th minute the Brescia keeper missed the catch on a corner, but the defence was ready to clear.
Brescia attacked too and had a series of corners and freekicks just outside the box, but nothing came of them.
In the 38th minute Lazio had a freekick of their own and Guarisi's shot went extremely close to the top hand corner. In the 40th minute Perucchetti blocked a good Leonízio Fantoni III header. Half time 0-0.
A balanced game but Lazio with the better chances so far.
The second half was played at a faster pace and became more physical. Brescia in particular looked more interested in going for the two points.
The Leonessa put pressure on the Lazio defence and forced Ezio Sclavi into a couple of saves. One in particular, in the 58th minute, was superb on a Giovanni Gasparini freekick.
Lazio had a few well-orchestrated counterattacks but were not precise on the last touches.
Sclavi was decisive again in the 70th minute on a powerful Evaristo Frisoni II effort and then safe on the subsequent corner.
The game then slowed down and in the last quarter of an hour both sides settled back into the "a point will do" mode. Final score: Brescia 0 Lazio 0.
A good point for Lazio. The team had battled hard with a standout performance by goalkeeper Sclavi. Brescia had pushed hard for the first 30 minutes of the second half but with more fury than lucidity and they were also penalised by striker Bruno Bianchi's off day.
In the end a decent point for both sides.
Lazio were still 7th, on 18 points now with Pro Vercelli while Brescia were solitary 12th on 15 points.
Who played for Brescia
Peruchetti, Marini, Duo, Gasparini, Valenti, Frisoni I, Dusi, Frisoni II, Bianchi, Braga, Perini
Manager: Hlavay
Who played for Lazio
Sclavi, Bertagni, Serafini, Rizzetti, Tonali, Fantoni II, Guarisi, Fantoni I, Fantoni III, Buscaglia, Demaria
Manager: Stürmer
Referee: Corradini
What happened next
Lazio finished 10th again, on 31 points. They lost the next three matches, won the following two and then drew the derby 3-3 after being 0-3 down. In the last 9 games they continued to be inconsistent and won 2, drew 2 and lost 5 (including Inter 1-8 away). The top scorer was Anfilogino "Filó" Guarisi with 12 goals.
Brescia finished 12th, on 29 points with Torino, Alessandria and Palermo (two above last relegation slot). In the remaining games they won 6 (including Milan 3-0 and Fiorentina 4-0 at home), drew 2 and lost 9 (including Lazio 2-3 away in the last game of the season). They only lost one more game at home, against Juventus 1-2. The top scorer was Angelo Gibertoni with 6 league goals
Juventus won their 6th Scudetto while Padova, Genova 1893 and Casale went down to Serie B. Casale, who had won a Scudetto in 1914, have never been back since.
Let’s talk about Karl Stürmer
Karl Stürmer was born in Vienna on October 8, 1882. He started playing football for First Vienna in 1898 as full back and then from 1901 he played for Wiener AC as midfielder. He also played a couple of games for the National team. In 1914 he retired from active football and after the first world war he became a manager.
After being head coach for Wiener in the 1918-19 season he was then manager for Rudolfshugel before leaving for Italy in 1920. Here he had a very long career as manager first with Reggiana, whom he coached on and off for four seasons, and with Torino where he basically set up the youth sector. He was manager for Prato between 1926 and 1929, then back in Turin with the Granata for the 1929-30 season. In 1931-32 he coached Alessandria before coming to Rome in 1932.
In July 1932, as Lazio manager he organised a draft for the under 14s. This was something unheard of at the time in Italy. The Microbes, as they were called, kids born in 1920 and 1921, trained twice a week, had tactical and behavioural lessons, and started playing and winning around Italy. They became so famous that they were invited to play in Vienna, on June 11, 1933, for a game against Wacker. The match was played in front of a 45,000-crowd gathered to watch the national Wunderteam play against Romania. It was a 40-minute game. The Microbes managed to draw and with a bit of luck might have even won it. The little Biancocelesti, up against the much bigger Austrian youngsters, left the stadium with the crowd enthusiastic. For the Italian media it was a triumph and when the kids arrived in Rome they were overwhelmed by fans, relatives and the entire Lazio first team.
In both years he coached Lazio, the Biancocelesti came 10th. It was not a strong team but they managed OK and his work with the youth teams allowed the club to have a strong group of young players who in time all became mainstays for the Biancocelesti.
After leaving Lazio he coached Angelo Belloni (now called Massese), Alessandria (reaching the Coppa Italia final), Juventus (one year as youth manager and another as assistant to Virginio Rosetta), then Cremonese, Verona and Cesena.
He was considered a very tough coach, well prepared from a tactical point of view. His tactics were tried out obsessively and repeatedly in training, so they could be played out on match days.
He died in Faenza in 1943, shot by a German soldier during the Nazi occupation of Northern Italy.
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