Everything is still possible
Lazio draw against Savoia in the first leg of the Southern Division Final. The Biancocelesti can still reach the National final.
The season so far
In the summer Lazio had to say goodbye to Giuseppe Fioranti and Carlo Maranghi who had been among Rome’s pioneers as far as football was concerned. They were replaced by Ettore Agazzani and Ottavio Regazzoni who were doing their military service in Rome.
The 1922-23 season saw the participation of 56 teams divided into a Northern League and a Southern one.
In the North, the 36 teams were divided into three groups of 12 with the top club moving to the semi-final stage. Pro Vercelli won Group A, Genoa Group B and Padova Group C. These three teams would now have to face each other in a final group to determine who would play the national final.
In the South there were four groups: Campania with 5 teams, Lazio with 6, Apulia with 5, Sicily with 3 and Marche with one team that went directly to the semi-final group.
Savoia and Internaples qualified for Campania, Pro Italia Taranto and Ideale Bari for Apulia, Libertas Palermo for Sicily and Anconitania for Marche.
As far as the Lazio group was concerned, it had been a battle between Lazio, Alba and Fortitudo. By battle we really mean battle since there were brawls on the pitch, between fans and even referees joined in. Some of the matches had to be suspended and repeated. Lazio won their group by winning 8 games, drawing one and losing one against US Romana. Alba were the other team to qualify for the semi-final groups.
The qualifiers were divided into two groups of four. Lazio were paired with Ideale Bari, Libertas Palermo and Internaples. The Biancocelesti topped their group and won every game (including beating Libertas Palermo 10-2 and Ideale Bari 6-0). In the Southern final Lazio had to play Savoia.
The match: Sunday, June 23, 1923, Campo Oncino, Torre Annunziata
It was going to be a difficult game for Lazio in a very hostile environment. Many Lazio supporters were present to help the team.
Savoia opened the hostilities almost immediately in the 7th minute. Ernesto Ghisi managed to head the ball and beat Remo Alessandri. But Lazio first scored the equaliser with a Giuseppe Lobianco own goal five minutes later and then went ahead in the 18th minute thanks to another own goal, this time by Salvatore Ranghino (it may have been Giovanni Nebbia according to Wikipedia). In the 29th minute Savoia equalised thanks to Capra.
The second half was relatively calm until Fulvio Bernardini broke the stalemate with a massive shot from thirty metres that beat Vittorio Pelvi in the 72nd minute. Four minutes to the end of the game Ghisi got his double again through a header from a Capra cross. In the dying seconds of the match Pio Manaeshi could have put Lazio ahead but his shot went just wide.
The game finished 3-3 and there were violent clashes between fans.
Who played for Savoia
Pelvi, Nebbia, Lobianco, Della Croce, Ranghino, Cassese, Tieghi, Ghisi (I), Bobbio, Parodi, Capra
Manager: Di Giorgio
Who played for Lazio
Alessandri, Saraceni I, Dosio, Faccani, Parboni, Orazi I, Fraschetti, Filippi, Bernardini, Maneschi, Saraceni II
Manager: Baccani
Referee: Bistoletti
Goals: 7’ Ghisi I, 12’ Lobianco (og), 18’ Ranghino (og), 29’ Capra, 72 Bernardini, 86’ Ghisi I
What happened next
In the return match Lazio managed to beat Savoia 4-1 thanks to Bernardini and Manaeschi who scored two goals each. A very balanced first half saw the Biancocelsti score towards the end and in the second Savoia collapsed and Lazio scored another three goals.
The National final was against Genoa that had won their semi-final group.
Genoa beat Lazio 4-1 in Liguria and 2-0 in Rome. Too much difference between the two teams, but for the Biancocelesti reaching the final was the maximum they could do.
Lazio 1922-23
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
First division | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 65 |
Top five appearances
Player | First Division |
Agazzani | 20 |
Saraceni I | 20 |
Fraschetti | 20 |
Filippi | 20 |
Bernardini | 20 |
Maneschi | 20 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | First Division |
Bernardini | 20 |
Filippi | 15 |
Maneschi | 14 |
Regazzoni | 4 |
Fraschetti | 3 |
Let’s talk about Ugo Dosio
Ugo Dosio was not only one of Lazio’s pioneers, he is considered to be probably one of the best left backs Lazio have ever had and together with his right counterpart Fernando Saraceni formed a marvellous duo
Born in Rome on June 6 1899, he played for Lazio from 1914 to 1925. During the War he was part of the team that played the Rome Championship. An agile and technical left back, he was very attached to Lazio and was often the first player to defend his team mates in case of trouble.
He played in the 1923 finals against Genoa and, according to the official records, appeared in 73 matches and scored one goal.
Sources