June 1, 1952: Lazio - Milan 1-1
- Dag Jenkins
- Jun 1
- 7 min read
No Hollywood drama but decent point
Lazio draw with reigning champions in front of Gregory Peck
The season so far
Lazio had finished a positive 4th the previous season, under manager Mario Sperone. The Biancocelesti had won both derbies and and beaten Milan away. Top scorer was Norberto Höfling with 11 league goals.
This season the manager was Giuseppe Bigogno. The main additions to the squad were Luigi Fuin (Palermo), Ragnar Nikolay Larsen (Sandaker), Sigvard Löfgren (Helsingborg), plus forward Lelio Antoniotti while leaving were defender Sergio Piacentini (Chinotto Neri), midfielder Flavio Cecconi (Napoli) and forwards, Dionisio Arce (Napoli) and Höfling (Pro Patria).
The Eagles were having another good season and were 5th on 39 points. Lazio had won 14 (including Juventus 2-0 at home), drawn 7 (including Inter and Milan both 1-1 away) and lost 9. There was no derby this year as Roma had been the first team from the capital to be relegated to Serie B. Lazio came from a good 4-2 away win at Bologna.
Milan were reigning champions. The Rossoneri had won Serie A under manager Lajos Czeizler. The Hungarian had coached Lazio youth teams in 1930-31 before making a name for himself in Sweden in the 1940s. Milan had also won the Latin Cup. The league games against Lazio had ended 1-1 in Rome and 2-1 for Lazio at the San Siro. Top scorer was Gunnar Nordahl with 38 goals (34 in A).
This season Czeizler was still in charge. The main new players were: defender Pietro Grosso (Triestina), midfielders Amleto Frignani (Reggiana), Emiliano Lavezzari (Seregno) and Enzo Menegotti (Modena).
Leaving the Rossoneri were: goalkeeper Giovanni Rossetti (Arsenaltaranto), defender Carlo Belloni (Triestina), midfielders Benigno De Grandi (Palermo) and Mario Foglia (Palermo) plus forwards Aurelio Santagostino (Atalanta) and Albano Vicariotto (Torino, he would be back in 1953-55).
Milan were currently 2nd on 47 points, eight behind leaders Juventus. The Rossoneri had won 18 (including derby 2-1), drawn 11 (including derby and Juventus both 1-1) and lost 5 (including Juventus 1-3 away). The previous week they had fallen to a shock 1-2 defeat at rock bottom Legnano.
Milan were slight favourites today but Lazio had already beaten leaders Juventus at home and 12 out of their 14 wins had come in front of their fans so they were highly competitive in Rome.
The match: Sunday, June 1, 1952, Stadio Torino, Rome
A hot and sunny day saw just over 15,000 in attendance, these included famous Hollywood actor Gregory Peck. The star was greeted warmly by the fans.
Lazio were missing defenders Primo Sentimenti and Francesco Antonazzi plus attacking midfielder Enrique Flamini.
Milan had to do without defender and captain Andrea Bonomi.
Lazio were on top for most of the first half. Milan looked apathetic and Lazio tried to take advantage. Aldo Puccinelli had a couple of good chances and Gulesin Sükrü had a penalty appeal waved away. Milan looked slicker and classier but faded in the last third of the field.
After six minutes of the second half Lazio went in front. In the 51st minute the Milan defence carelessly let Ragnar Larsen slip through and present himself in front of Lorenzo Buffon who dived at his feet but lost the ball so the Norwegian midfielder had an easy task to slot the ball in, 1-0.
Milan reacted with one of Gunnar Nordahl's few initiatives of the afternoon. The Swede burst forward and cracked what seemed a winning shot but Lucidio Sentimenti managed to tip it away from the top hand corner. A superb save.
Milan equalised in the 68th minute. Amleto Frignani went on a run down the wing and crossed into the middle where Nils Liedholm, Gunnar Gren and Nordahl all tried to scramble the ball over the line in the crowded area. Finally it was Gren who managed to control the ball, but possibly with the help of his hands, and score. Lazio protested but the goal stood, 1-1.
Both sides then seemed to be reasonably happy with the point and the game continued without any particular excitement until the dying moments. In the last minute Renzo Burini struck a shot which came back off the crossbar and reached Gren who hit it towards the empty goal but Romolo Alzani appeared out of nowhere and headed it away. It was the last action of the game as the referee then whistled for full-time. Lazio 1 Milan 1.
A deserved point for Lazio against the reigning champions. Lazio had been better for an hour but then the Devil stirred and finally could even have snatched both points. It was not a classic however and it was doubtful Gregory Peck would have been overly enthusiastic about the football part of his "Roman Holiday".
Lazio were now joint 4th, on 40 points with Napoli (2-1 SPAL) and Fiorentina (0-2 Torino). With three games to go Lazio could still aspire to a 4th place finish.
Milan were still 2nd on 48 points. Top placed Juventus had lost 2-3 to Inter who were now only two points behind the Rossoneri.
Who played for Lazio
Sentimenti IV, Montanari, Furiassi, Alzani, Malacarne, Fuin, Puccinelli, Magrini, Antoniotti, Larsen, Sukrü
Manager: Bigogno
Who played for Milan
Manager: Czeizler
Referee: Liverani
Goals: 51' Larsen, 57' Gren
What happened next
Lazio finished joint 4th, with Fiorentina on 43 points. In the last three games the Biancocelesti won 1 (Triestina 4-1 at home), drew 1 (Fiorentina 0-0 away) and lost 1 (SPAL 0-4 away). The top scorer was Gülesin Şükrü with 16 league goals.
Milan finished 2nd, on 53 points (-7 from top). In the following games they won 2 (Palermo 4-0 and Fiorentina 3-1 at home) and drew 1 (Triestina 1-1 away). The top scorer was Gunnar Nordahl with 26 league goals.
Juventus won their 9th league title while Lucchese, Padova and Legnano descended to Serie B.
Let's talk about Gunnar Gren
Today in our opponents series we will talk about a great midfielder and part of the Swedish Gre-No-Li trio.
Johan Gunnar Gren was born in Gothenburg, on October 31, 1920.
His first professional club was Gårda Bollklub from Gothenburg. He made his debut for the Maroons in 1936-1937 and stayed four seasons in the Swedish top flight. The highest finish was 5th twice, in 1938 and 1939. Gren played 54 league games and scored 16 goals.
In 1940 he moved to the bigger club in his hometown as he joined IFK Göteborg. He stayed eight seasons, making 164 appearances with 79 goals. The Blåvitt won the league in 1942. In 1946 he was voted Swedish Player of the Year.
In 1949 he moved to Italy and signed for Milan. Here he joined fellow Swedes Nils Liedholm and Gunnar Nordahl and made up the formidable Gre-No Li trio. In his first three seasons the manager was Lajos Czeizler and the Rossoneri finished 2nd, then won the Scudetto after 44 years and then 2nd again. In his fourth and last season the manager was former and future Lazio manager, Mario Sperone and Milan finished 3rd. Gren even took over as manager himself for the end of season Latin Cup (lost 0-3 to Reims in final). In his four seasons Gren played 137 games and scored 38 goals. His teammates included Lazio connections; Renzo Burini (1953-58) and Angelo Longoni (1961-63).
In 1953 he signed for Fiorentina and stayed two seasons. The Viola finished 3rd and 5th, both under Lazio connection Fulvio Bernardini.
Gren played 55 league games with 5 goals (Inter, Triestina, Roma, SPAL, Genoa). His teammates included other Lazio connections: Maurilio Prini (1958-62), Claudio Bizzarri (1958-63), Amos Mariani (1959-63) while the assistant manager was Virgilio Levratto (1934-36).
In 1955 Gren moved to Genoa for one season. The manager was Renzo Magli and the Rossoblu finished 9th. Gren played 29 league games and scored 2 goals (Napoli, Fiorentina). The highlights were defeating Milan 3-1, Inter 4-3 and Sampdoria 2-1 in the derby. The squad included former Lazio midfielder Ragnar Larsen (1951-53).
In 1956 Gren returned to Sweden. He spent three seasons with Örgyte from Gothenburg as player-manager (two in 2nd tier and one in top). In 1960 he had a spell as manager at IFK Göteborg and in 1961 returned to Italy and was technical director for Juventus who won the Scudetto.
In 1963 he was back in Sweden as player-manager with GAIS from Gothenburg for two seasons (one in 2nd tier and one in Allesvenskan)
In 1965 and 1966 he was player manager of IFK Värnamo in the 4th tier.
In 1967 he turned out as a player for amateurs Redbergslid.
In 1968 and 1969 he was back at GAIS as manager in the Allesvenskan.
In 1970 he was player-manager for Skogen, in 1973 for Fässbergs IF and in 1976 for Oddevold (all in 4th tier).
He then retired both as a player and manager.
For Sweden he won 57 caps with 32 goals (all time 5th). He played in the 1958 World Cup reaching the final but losing 2-5 to Brazil. He also played in the 1948 Olympics in London winning a gold medal (Yugoslavia 3-1).
Gren was an attacking midfielder. He is considered one of the best Swedish players of all time. He had a brilliant footballing mind and was famous for his tactical acumen. He had great feet, sense of position, dribbling and passing skills. He was also known for trying the most difficult option and often succeeding.
In Italy he was a great success and formed one of the best ever attacking line-ups, the formidable Gre-No-Li. Gren was called the "Professor" of the trio, for his tactical mind. They helped bring back the Scudetto to the Rossonero side of Milan after a 44 year-long wait.
Gren died on November 10, 1991, in Gothenburg.
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