Andreolo’s curled ball

Simon Basten
Apr 22, 2024
2 min read

Season 1944-45

Game 11, Roman War League

Sunday, April 22, 1945

Motovelodromo Appio, Rome

Juventus Roma Lazio 0-1

A splendid free kick from Andreolo gives Lazio the win

This year the Federation decided to organise a Mixed National League with Serie A, B, and C teams. The organisation was left to the Regional Organising Committees and the best teams of each region would face each other for the title. Only the Southern Italian teams would have played since the northern part of the country was still under fascist rule. The league should have started in November but it was postponed to January 1945.

Initially eight clubs qualified: Lazio, Roma, MATER, Juventus Roma, Ala Italiana, Albaerotecnica, Vigili del Fuoco and Avia. However, the latter two dissolved but some elements of both set up the Italia Libera team. So, there was a need to choose a final eighth participant. In a round robin with STEFER and Trionfale, Trastevere won and qualified.

Today was the 11th fixture. Roma were top on 15 points, Lazio and Juventus Roma second on 13.

The match

Juventus Roma started much better than Lazio and in the first ten minutes dominated the play, then the Biancocelesti woke up and the game was in equilibrium for most of the afternoon.

Just a couple of chances in the first half, one for each team. In the 39th minute Battaglia with a splendid save denied Giuseppe Mancini a goal and in the final minutes Lozzi in front of Amedeo Rega shot straight at him, Ermanno Picchi had an easy tap in but he fumbled and nothing happened.

In the second half, in the 60th minute the referee ignored a probable hand ball in the box by Edoardo Valenti but then saw Massimo Caristi touch the ball with his hand a few metres from the Juventus Roma penalty area in the 67th minute. Michele Andreolo placed the ball over the wall in the top hand corner and the Biancocelesti were ahead.

The hosts reacted and in the 76th minute had a chance similar to the one at the end of the first half but Luigi Vettraino and Picchi failed to score.

A good win for Lazio, with a little external help, for once.

Who played for Juventus Roma

Battaglia, Giovanardi, Rossi, Borgi, Cipriani, Caristi, Lozzi, Longhi II, Vettraino, Muzioli, Picchi

Who played for Lazio

Rega, Valenti, De Pierro, Fabbri, Andreolo, Manfrè, Mancini, Manola, Koenig, De Andreis, Gualtieri Manager: Canestri