June 22, 1944: Lazio MATER 5-3, Torneo a Quattro
- Simon Basten
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Lazio bounce back against MATER
After losing the semifinal of the Torneo a Quattro, Lazio win the 3rd place final
The season so far
For the 1943-44 season Serie A had been suspended due to the Second World War. Instead of a national tournament, local competitions had been organised. In Rome, there was the war championship with ten teams: Lazio, Roma, Tirrenia, MATER, managed by Fulvio Bernardini who also played, Juventus Romana, Vigili del Fuoco (Fire Brigade), Avia, Alba (Orlando Tognotti was the manager), Elettronica (with Attilio Ferraris IV as player-manager) and Trastevere. De facto it was a battle between the first two teams who came from Serie A. MATER had played the previous season in Serie B, the other teams were from third and fourth tiers.
Lazio had Dino Canestri as head coach and some of the players who had stayed in Rome. One must consider that the capital had been occupied by Nazi Germany.
The Biancocelesti were second for a while but overtook Roma in the 14th match after having beaten Juventus Roma 4-0 and the Giallorossi drawing 1-1 against Mater. The single point gap between the two clubs remained until the end and Lazio won the Rome War Championship.
Also played was the “Torneo a quattro di Roma”, in June with the participation of the four top teams of Rome: Lazio, Roma, MATER and Tirrenia. The idea was that each team could also use players from other teams but not all participants agreed. In the end a compromise was reached: four players from the teams not playing could be chosen. All teams took advantage of this rule, except Lazio who were convinced of their superiority. As a consequence, the Biancocelesti lost the semi-final against Tirrenia 4-2.
Today was the 3rd place final with MATER. This was the first football match after the liberation of Rome.
The match: Thursday, June 22, 1944, Stadio Nazionale, Rome
Lazio did not start well and MATER took advantage scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes with Marcello Pieri III. But slowly the Biancocelesti took over the game and equalised with Henglebert Koenig thanks to goals in the 26th and 43rd minutes.
The second half followed the same script as the first and it was MATER who took the lead with Oreste Roccasecca II in the 49th minute. But again Lazio took over and managed first to equalise with Umberto Lombardini in the 63rd minute and then took the lead in the 67th with Giuseppe Mancini. In the 75th minute Mancini scored his brace to settle the score on 5-3.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Canestri
Who played for MATER
Massarelli, Laici, Pieri II, Fasanelli, Sforza, Battioni, Marchionni, Roccasecca II, Pieri III, Antolini, Giovannini
Manager: Bernardini
Referee: De Lucia
Goals: 10' Pieri III, 15' Pieri III, 26' Koenig, 43' Koenig, 49' Roccasecca II, 63' Lombardini, 67' Mancini, 75' Mancini
What happened next
Edoardo Valenti was the player with most appearances overall (20) whereas top scorer was Lombardini with 23 goals.
Let’s talk about Armando Longhi I
Armando Longhi was born in Rome on June 12, 1917. He was part of the team of boys who on June 11, 1933, faced and drew with a more physically stronger Wacker in Vienna. This game became part of the Lazio legend.
He debuted in the first eleven on April 26 1942 in the home game won against Napoli. In 1942-43 he went to play for Alba but returned to Lazio for the Roman War League the next season making 16 appearances and two goals. He stayed one more year and in 1945-46 he signed for Salernitana where he made 11 appearances in the National Division Serie A and B Southern Group. He then went on to play for Scafatese, Marsala, Sogene, Astrea and Squibb.
He was a very technical forward, considered one of the best players from the Lazio youth teams. He died in 2003.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Roman War League | Other |
1941-42 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
1943-44 | 18 (6) | - | 16 (6) | 2 |
1944-45 | 4 | - | - | 4 |
Total | 23 (6) | 1 | 16 (6) | 6 |
Sources
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