June 15 1952: Fiorentina-Lazio 0-0

Dag Jenkins
4 days ago
7 min read

Decent point but no catch-up for Lazio

A draw which keeps the the two sides in unvaried positions, 4th and 5th

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 in joint 5th place with Napoli on 40 points but only two points off 4th placed Fiorentina. Lazio had won 14 (including Juventus 2-0 and today's opposition Fiorentina 1-0 at home) drawn 12 and lost 10. (including recent SPAL 0-4 away). There was no derby this year as Roma were in Serie B. The top scorer so far was Turkish striker Gülesin Şükrü with 14 league goals.

Fiorentina had finished 5th the previous season under Luigi Ferrero. The Gigliati had lost 1-2 to Lazio away but won 1-0 at home. The top scorer was Giancarlo Vitali with 9 league goals. The squad included former Lazio, Romano Penzo (1947-50).

This season the manager was initially Ferrero but he had been replaced by Renato Magli after nine fixtures (W2, D2, L5). The main new players were; midfielders Lefter Küçükandonydis (Fenerbahçe, called simply Lefter for obvious reasons) and Silvestro Trevisani (SPAL) plus Swedish forward Dan Ekner (Olympique Marseille).

Leaving Florence were; goalkeeper Manlio Grandi (Bari), midfielder Gyula Nagy (Toulouse) plus forwards Giovanni Sperotto (Padova), Ludwig Janda (Novara) and Romano Penzo (Siracusa).

As mentioned La Viola were currently 4th on 42 points. They had won 17 (including Milan 1-0, Inter 5-0 and most recently Napoli 2-1, all at home), drawn 8 and lost 11 (including Lazio 0-1).

A close game was expected today. For 4th place the hosts could possibly settle for a draw but it also depended on Napoli who played bottom club and already relegated Legnano at home.

The match: Sunday, June 15, 1952, Stadio Comunale, Florence

A hot and sunny day in Florence attracted just under 20,000 to the Comunale, designed by Luigi Nervi and built in 1931.

Lazio were missing defenders Stefano Malacarne, Francesco Antonazzi and Norwegian midfielder Ragnar Larsen.

Fiorentina had to do without main goalkeeper Leonardo Costagliola, full-back Ardico Magnini and midfielder Augusto Magli (brother of manager Renzo).

Despite the heat the game started at a good pace. The first shot at goal was by Fiorentina's Giancarlo Vitali but Lucidio Sentimenti IV saved, although not without difficulty.

Lazio replied in the 6th minute with a dangerous shot by Swedish midfielder Sigvar Löfgren and soon after by Lelio Antoniotti but both attempts were dealt with well by keeper Luciano Tessari.

The teams were lively and the Florentines had shots by Dutchman André Roosenburg and Swede Dan Ekner but both off target. They were imitated by Lazio's Turkish striker Gülesin Şükrü in the 16th minute as his attempt flew over the bar.

In the 19th minute Sentimenti interrupted a clever move between Lefter, Roosenburg and Ekner. In the 23rd minute the Gigliati had a shot deflected into corner and then the game slowed down.

For the next twenty minutes or so not much happened. It was not until the 41st and 43rd minutes that Lazio threatened again but Tessari did well and then Şükrü was stopped by Francesco Rosetta after having got past two other defenders. Halftime: 0-0.

The beginning of the second half was livelier again. Roosenburg shaved the post with a good effort then Lazio's Antoniotti ran forty metres and went past several defenders but ran out of steam when he had to finish. A few minutes later the same forward did manage a shot but Tessari was ready.

Fiorentina's Lefter was more dangerous in the 57th minute but Sentimenti pulled off an excellent save.

In the 60th minute Şükrü burst forward while at the same time both Löfgren and Aldo Puccinelli had placed themselves in ideal goal scoring positions but the pass never came as the Turk went for an unsuccessful shot himself.

In the 65th minute came the most controversial episode of the match as Viola defender Renzo Venturi blatantly handballed while clearing the area. The referee was well positioned so had a good view but surprisingly gestured to play on.

In the 69th minute Turkish midfielder Lefter skillfully freed himself of his markers, Serafino Montanari and Romolo Alzani, but his strike lacked power.

The last twenty minutes were pretty non-descript apart from two long range attempts by the hosts, the first by Rosetta was saved by Sentimenti with his foot while the second was easier for the goalkeeper from Emilia.

The lack of objectives and the heat made both sides take it easier towards the end and settle for a point each.

A decent point for Lazio away in Florence although a win would have drawn them level with the Gigliati. Man of the match for Lazio was Luigi Fuin who had cancelled danger man and future Roma, Egisto Pandolfini from the field.

Fiorentina themselves were applauded off the field by their fans, more in appreciation for their positive season and to bid them farewell as it was the last home game.

Lazio were now solitary 5th on 41 points, as Napoli had unexpectedly lost 2-3 at home to rock bottom and already relegated Legnano.

Fiorentina were still 4th, on 43 points.

Only one fixture to go now: Lazio vs Triestina and Milan vs Fiorentina.

Who played for Fiorentina

Tessari, Venturi, Cervato, Chiappella, Rosetta, Viciani, Vitali, Pandolfini, Roosenburg, Ekner, Lefter

Manager: Magli

Who played for Lazio

Sentimenti IV, Montanari, Furiassi, Alzani, Sentimenti V, Fuin, Puccinelli, Sentimenti III, Antoniotti, Löfgren, Şükrü

Manager: Bigogno

Referee: Righi

What happened next

Lazio finished 4th again (with Fiorentina) on 43 points. In the last game the Biancocelesti beat Triestina 4-1 at home. Another good season for the Romans who only came behind the big three. The top scorer was Gülesin Şükrü with 16 league goals.

Fiorentina too therefore finished 4th on 43 points. In the last game they lost 1-3 away to Milan. The top scorers were Roosenburg and Ekner with 10 league goals each.

The Scudetto was won by Juventus for the 9th time. The three unlucky ones heading down to Serie B were Legnano, Padova and Lucchese (the Tuscans after a playoff with Triestina, lost 3-4 on aggregate).

Let's talk about Şükrü Gülesin

Şükrü Mustafa Gülesin was born in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 14, 1922.

He started playing football with small local clubs. His first big professional club was Beşiktaş where he played for ten years (1940-50) with the exception of one year (1944-45) with Ankaragücu. He won six league titles with the Black and White Eagles on the Bosphorus. His managers included legendary Italian Giuseppe Meazza, considered one of the country's best ever players and winner of two World Cups (1934,1938).

In 1950 he joined Lazio in Serie A but was immediately loaned to Palermo. He had a positive season with the "Rosanero" playing 28 league games with 13 goals. His stay on the island, however, was marred in the spring when he was badly beaten up outside a nightclub. His relationship with the Sicilian Eagles deteriorated and at the end of the season he returned to Rome.

In 1951-52 he played an excellent season with Lazio, he played 29 games and scored 16 goals. The Biancocelesti too had a good season and finished fourth .

In 1952-53, obviously having patched things up, Sükrü surprisingly returned to Palermo. He made 22 appearances and scored 7 goals.

In 1953 he played a local tournament for a small Roman club called Chinotto Neri Casilina. Chinotto Neri is a popular soft drink, especially in Rome, so they could well have been one of the first sponsored clubs. The symbol of the drink was Otto (8) in the name Chinotto. At their games, in the working-class district of Tor Pignattara, the teams would come on missing the number eight who then ran on individually to much fanfare. A club ahead of the times.

In 1953 he returned to his homeland but not to Beşiktaş, but rather to city rivals Galatasaray. At least he finally played for a team who were not eagles. He stayed two years at "Gala" with 40 games and 16 goals, winning the league title with "Cim Bom" in his second season.

He earned 11 caps for Turkey with 4 goals.

After retiring he became a journalist. He returned to Rome for a period working as a correspondent for an important Turkish newspaper, "Milliyet". He then went back to football as manager of Izmirspor (1961) and Saudi Arabia (1969) before returning to journalism.

Sükrü died of a heart attack in 1977. It was big news in Turkey as he was a well known and popular figure.

Sükrü was a giant. At 1.91 metres tall and weighing around 100 kilos he was an imposing figure. Despite his size he was quick and relatively technical and he was a penalty, freekick and corner specialist. He holds the record of goals directly from corners (without assists), 32. He also had an exceptionally powerful shot. One story tells of the Padova goalkeeper, when playing Palermo, literally moving away from Sükrü's penalty kick to avoid getting hurt. One weakness in his game was that he was surprisingly poor at tackling.

At Lazio he was considered a success. He scored an enviable 16 goals in his only season in Rome. In Turkish Sükrü means smiling and Lazio fans often certainly were on seeing the big Turk hammer in goals.