June 28, 1914: Lazio Fortitudo 4-4
- Simon Basten
- Jun 28
- 4 min read
Lazio win yet another competition
By drawing with Fortitudo the Biancocelesti definitely win the Targa del Tiro a Segno competition
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season had seen Pro Vercelli beat Lazio in the final. There was no contest as the Piedmontese team was the strongest in Italy at the time. The best news however was the introduction of the Central-Southern Italian teams to the competition.
The formula for this season was the same as the previous one. Two main sections: a Northern one made up of three groups of ten teams with the top two of each group meeting in a final group to determine the northern winner, and a centre-south championship. The latter was made up of two groups, Tuscany and Lazio. The winners of the two regional groups would meet in a semi-final with the other semi made up of the two Neapolitan teams. The winners would then meet in the centre-south championship final. Finally the northern and southern champions would meet to determine the national champion.
Lazio won every single game in their group, easily qualifying for the semi-final.
In the first semi-final between Lazio and SPES Livorno, the Biancocelesti comfortably won away from home 3-0 and then again 1-0 in the return match. In the Neapolitan clash, Internazionale Napoli prevailed over Naples 3-2 on aggregate.
In the first leg of the final, Lazio only won 1-0 at home but in the second they demolished Internazionale 8-0, qualifying for the national final for the second year running.
Before the final which would take place in July over two legs, the Biancocelesti were involved in a local competition, the Targa del Tiro a Segno (literally the Target Shooting Plaque). It was a competition that was played four times between 1911 and 1914. The club that won it three times would keep the trophy forever. Lazio had won the previous two.
Having beaten Juventus Roma 3-0 in the first match, all the Biancocelesti needed to secure the trophy was not to lose today.
The match: Sunday, June 28, 1914
Six minutes into the match Fortitudo were already ahead. Sensi crossed into the box and Orioli put the ball past Clemente Serventi. It could have been 2-0 immediately but Orioli’s shot hit the woodwork. Augusto Faccani, Angelo Zucchi and Mario Levi held the fort and Lazio managed to equalise in the 11th minute. Alessandri crossed into the box and Mario Raffo headed the ball in.
Alagia was forced off the pitch through injury and the Biancocelesti exploited the situation. Lazio attacked, Mazarino cleared but in came Amedeo Coraggio who beat Della Piana for the second time. Towards the end of the first half Fernando Saraceni went off alone and easily made it 3-1.
In the second half Rossi took over in goal and this is when Lazio started to falter. A long ball from Sansoni was picked up by Comandini II and it was 2-3. The equaliser did not take long to arrive. In the 55th minute Del Corona scored from a freekick. He almost scored again shortly after but this time Rossi parried the shot.
Later on, a massive scrum in the Lazio penalty area resulted in Comandini scoring yet again. However, there had been a handball and the Biancocelesti demanded that the goal be disallowed. It was not. Faccani and a spectator decided to fight it out on the pitch, fortunately it ended quickly.
When it all seemed over, the Biancocelesti equalised. Saraceni from 30 meters gave the ball a big whack and managed to make it 4-4.
Lazio won yet another trophy, demonstrating to be the best team of the capital.
Who played for Lazio
Serventi (46' Rossi), Levi, Furia, Linardi, Faccani, Zucchi, Rossi, Alessandri, Raffo, Saraceni, Coraggio
Manager: Baccani
Who played for Fortitudo
Della Pinna, Maddoloni, Ferraris, Alagia, Sansoni, Vespasiani, Sensi, Mazzarino, Del Corona, Comandini II, Orioli
Referee: Comandini
Goals: 6' Orioli, 11' Raffo, 20' Coraggio, 44' Saraceni, Comandini II, 55' Del Corona, Comadini II, Saraceni
What happened next
For the national final, it was clear to everybody that Casale were way stronger than Lazio and this is exactly what happened in the final. The Piedmontese crushed the Biancocelesti 7-1 in the first leg and then won 2-0 in Rome too.
It was however a great achievement for Lazio who were clearly the strongest team in the centre-south, but from a footballing point of view these clubs were still miles away from the rich northern ones and would be for quite some time.
Levi II, Saraceni, Serventi and Zucchi II were the players with most appearances this season (20) whilst Saraceni was the player with most goals, 20.
Let’s talk about Angelo Zucchi II
Angelo Zucchi was born in 1889.
He was the younger brother of Luigi Zucchi I and appeared in the record books in 1908 when he participated in the final of the Coppa Viscogliosi-Baccelli.
After that he played numerous times including the national final against Casale where he scored the Biancocelesti’s only goal.
He made a total of 66 appearances in the various competitions with 5 goals between 1912 and 1920.
He was an excellent midfielder with good athletic abilities which also allowed him to excel in other sports.
Lazio Career
Sources
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