June 17, 1939: Karlsruhe-Lazio 0-2, post season friendly
- Dag Jenkins
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Good start to Teutonic tour
Despite arriving at last minute after a long train journey, Lazio dominate with two first half goals
The season so far
Lazio had finished 10th in Serie A. The Biancocelesti had started with József Viola as manager but the Hungarian had been replaced by Luigi Allemandi after the 19th fixture. With the Magyar Lazio had won 9 (including derby 2-0), drawn 3 and lost 7 and were joint 6th. After the change Lazio won 3, drew 3 (including Milan and Juventus at home) and lost 4 (including derby 1-3). Lazio ended up 10th with Milan on 28 points (4 above relegation slots). The top scorer was Silvio Piola with 9 league goals.
In the Coppa Italia they had defeated Atalanta 1-0 at home but then in the last 16 lost 1-2 away to Milano (AC Milan).
In the summer Lazio went on a tour of Germany to play four games. They went with the new manager for the 1939-40 season, Hungarian Géza Kertesz. Today was the first game against Karlsruhe.
Karlsruhe is a town of about 300,000 inhabitants in Baden-Wurttemberg, in south-west Germany. The name of the town is literally "Karl's rest" in English. The other big town in the area is Stuttgart who are obviously their sporting rivals.
Karlsruher SC were at the time known as Karlsruhe FC Phönix and were in the Gauliga Baden, the German top flight. In 1908-09 they had won the German league title.
The match: Saturday, June 17, 1939, Stadion an der Telegraphenkaserne, Karlsruhe
It was a 6 pm kick-off in front of a crowd of about 6,000 in the Fächerstadt (Fan town, due to its fan-like shape).
Lazio only arrived a few hours before the game by train and were without Silvio Piola who needed to rest, injured Luciano Ramella and Giuseppe Baldo who was busy with university graduation exams. Baldo would join the squad by plane in a few days’ time.
Lazio however had some of their new players available such as attacking midfielder Enrique Flamini plus forwards Evaristo Barrera and Silvestro Pisa I (all three from Argentina).
Being a summer friendly and almost a hundred years ago there is not a lot of information available about the actual game.
The newspapers of the period reported a clear Lazio superiority over their German rivals.
Lazio played fast and dynamic football forcing the KSC on the defensive for most of the 90 minutes.
The Biancocelesti stamped their authority on the game in the first half scoring two goals. In the 18th minute Umberto Busani got the first and in the 34th Silvestro Pisa doubled the score.
Lazio could then have scored more with Evaristo Barrera and Bruno Camolese but 2-0 was a satisfying result.
The Romans were applauded off the field by the local crowd and started their German tour on a positive note.
The next game was in three days in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, about a hundred kilometres away, at the Adolf Hitler Stadion…that was the period.
Who played for Karlsruhe
line-up not available
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Kertesz
Referee: Mossinger (Ger)
Goals: 18' Busani, 34' Pisa
What happened next
Lazio then won all the next three games: Ludwigshafen 5-0, Wiesbaden XI 2-1 and Kaiserslautern 4-1. A triumphant tour for Lazio.
The following season Lazio would finish 4th in Serie A under Géza Kertész. They won a derby and also crushed Juventus 4-0 at home.
In 1952 Karlsruher FC Phoenix merged with VfB Mühlburg to form Karlsruher SC. The KSC Blues have since spent 24 seasons in the Bundesliga 1 but not since 2008-09. Their highest position was 6th three times; in 1993, 1994, when they also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup (lost to Salzburg on away goals) and 1997. They have won two DFB-Pokal Cups (the domestic German cup), in 1955 and 1956. Their most famous player was Tomas Haßler who won the European Championship with Germany in 1996 while a Karlsruher player. The "Eurofighter" are currently in Bundesliga 2.
Let's talk about Pietro Pastorino
Pietro Pastorino was born in Genoa, on August 17, 1913.
He started his football as a boy with Santa Margherita and then joined Genova 1893.
In 1930 he joined the first team squad for two seasons but only played 1 league game under Géza Székány, Luigi Burlando and then Karl Rumbold. The Rossoblu finished 4th and 11th. One of his teammates was future Lazio, Virgilio Levratto (1934-36).
In 1932 he spent a season with nearby Imperia in the Prima Divisione (3rd tier). He played 21 league games and the Dragons finished 6th in Group D under Enrico Carzino.
In 1933 Pastorino returned to Genova 1893 and played 8 league games. The Rossoblu finished 17th and were relegated to Serie B under manager József Nagy.
In 1934 he joined GC Vigevanesi (from Vigevano in Lombardy) in Serie B. He stayed two seasons, making 55 league appearances with 1 goal. The Ducali finished 5th and 16th (relegated).
In 1936 he spent another season with Genoa but played with the reserve team. In June however he played the Coppa Italia semi-final against Milan and then the final against Roma which the Rossoblu won 1-0 and lifted the cup.
In 1937 he signed for Atalanta and stayed two seasons. The Bergamaschi were in Serie A the first year but were relegated under Ottavio Barbieri and then finished 3rd in B under Géza Kertész. He played 54 league games and scored 1 goal (Spezia in B).
It was in the summer of 1939 that Pastorino and Lazio's paths crossed. He was loaned to Lazio for their German tour with the idea of then possibly signing him. He played three games out of four but did not convince the club enough to keep him despite the manager being Kertész.
He went instead to Napoli where he played the 1939-40 season in A. He played 16 league games and the Partenopei finished 14th, under Adolfo Balconieri. His teammates included Lazio connection Italo Romagnoli (1940-43) and future great Padova, Milan and Torino manager Nereo Rocco.
In 1940 Pastorino returned to his hometown and joined Liguria (Sampierdarenese) in Serie B. Samp won the league under Adolfo Baloncieri and Pastorino played 20 league games.
In 1941-42 he spent a season with Juve Stabia (Castellammare di Stabia -Naples) in Serie C. He only played 7 league games and the Gialloblu finished 5th.
In 1942 he moved back to Liguria and joined Sestrese in Serie C. The Verdestellati finished 3rd and he played 10 league games with 5 goals.
In 1943-44 he was with Casale (Monferrato-Alessandria) and they finished 8th in the Campionato Alta Italia (due to war) for Liguria and Piedmont. Pastorino played league games.
After the end of the war in 1945-46 he returned to Sestrese for one last season. The Ligurians were in the mixed B-C Alta Italia and finished 9th but were included in the following year's Serie B anyway. He played 31 league games and scored 3 goals and was also head coach.
Pastorino then retired and concentrated on his coaching career in Liguria. In 1948-49 he was with Sestri Levante (C, relegated), 1949-50 Lavagnese (6th tier, 6th), 1956-59 Entella Chiavari (D, 9th, 1st, 2nd promoted to C), 1960-61 Imperia (D, 3rd), 1962-63 Lavagnese (D, 13th) and 1963-64 Entella (D, 1st and promoted).
Pastorino was a midfielder. He had a decent career especially with Atalanta and Napoli and won a Coppa Italia with Genoa. His brief spell at Lazio however did not work out.
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