Lazio Edge the Derby

Simon Basten
Apr 4, 2024
6 min read

Season 1955-56

Game 22, Serie A

Wednesday, April 4, 1956

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio Roma 1-0

Muccinelli’s Early Second-Half Strike Decides a Tense and Controversial Encounter

Source Corriere dello Sport on Lazio Wiki

The beginning of the season was bad. After the first half of the season Lazio were 13th just three points above the relegation zone. They had won five games but three away from home, including a great win in Milan against Inter. Jesse Carver, who had previously managed Juventus, Torino and Roma, had come in as new technical director in place of Roberto Copernico but had also taken over the manager role since Luigi Ferrero had resigned after just one game. In the second part of the season, the Biancocelesti had improved and they were 10th, with third place only three points away.

Today was the replay of the derby that had been postponed on April 4, amazingly due to snow!

The match

Lazio burst forward immediately with a move by Ermes Muccinelli, carried on by Pasquale Vivolo. The dash by the left inside-forward, shifted to the right, immediately put Roma in danger. Challenged by an opponent, Vivolo threaded the ball through to Lorenzo Bettini on the edge of the box. A moment of hesitation by the centre-forward followed, and then came a thunderous shot: Luciano Panetti dived and it hit the crossbar. The clock's hand had not yet reached the first minute. It was a promising start.

Other raids into both penalty areas led to no results other than the ball rolling over the line for goalkicks. The long lull that extinguished the initial spark was broken by Dino Da Costa (9’) with an individual move: a feint to evade his marker, a burst of speed, and a running shot from outside the area. The ball however passed well wide of the post. Arne Selmosson launched a counterattack and seemed to wriggle free, but then lost control of the ball. Bettini sprang forward to collect it, but shot poorly along the ground, and Panetti intercepted easily (11’).

There was applause for Nicola Lo Buono, who held off Alcide Ghiggia. An attack by Egisto Pandolfini followed, set up by Istvan Nyers. Despite being marked, the half-back managed to cross from the by-line: the result was an extremely dangerous ball that skimmed across the entire face of Lazio’s goal, just under the crossbar (15’).

The crowd warmed up over a foul by Renzo Sassi on Ghiggia. The resulting free kick was taken by Pandolfini, but Bob Lovati gathered the high dropping ball close to the post (18’). A cross from Adelmo Prenna on the left and a volley by Pandolfini as he fell flew over the bar (19’). A looping ball by Selmosson left Giosuè Stucchi trailing; Giacomo Losi’s short clearance followed, Vivolo lunged with an outstretched leg, and missed by a whisker (21’).

Roma earned their first corner in the 23rd minute, but it produced nothing. Another lull followed, with play confined to midfield and frequent mistakes. Timid attacking moves were roughly but easily broken up by the defences. Stucchi then tried his luck, coming forward and shooting from over twenty metres, but the ball traced a wide arc in the sky and sailed well over the Lazio goal (28’).

A foul by Stucchi on Selmosson drew public disapproval. Muccinelli took the free kick, laying it back to Sassi, whose driven shot at mid-height passed just wide of the far post (31’). A ricochet between Pandolfini and Primo Sentimenti V could have troubled Lovati, but he intervened in time. At 32’, Lazio wasted a chance: Renzo Burini crossed, Panetti and Vivolo jumped, the goalkeeper fell, and Muccinelli, from a tight angle, opted for power and blasted over an empty goal.

Another foul by Lo Buono on Ghiggia followed, prompting vigorous protests. Luigi Giuliano took the free kick from near the corner of the box, striking a well-calibrated high shot that gave many spectators the illusion of a goal. The ball struck the post—but on the outside. Lovati, in any case, had it covered (36’).

Selmosson produced a sharp move, weaving between two opponents and firing decisively from about twenty metres. Panetti stopped the rocket in two stages (40’). A dogged run by Bettini was cut short by Stucchi with a trip. Bettini remained on the ground in the box, but ref Vincenzo Orlandini ordered the free kick to be taken from the edge of the area. Nothing came of it (43’). A corner against Lazio followed, retaken, with the same result. Lovati then made a fine save for a corner from a powerful long-range shot by Prenna.

The half was not yet over. Costa combined with Ghiggia, whose crisp shot forced Lovati into a full-stretch dive to his right. Nyers returned the ball into the box, a scramble followed, and Ghiggia shot again, but Lovati—now fully warmed up—saved once more. The ball went out for a corner, but there was no time to take it: the half ended.

The second half resumed at a furious pace, just as the first had begun. Not thirty seconds had passed when Muccinelli took a free kick toward Vivolo, who returned it into space. Muccinelli sprinted onto it and struck a low diagonal shot that nestled in the net. Lazio had scored.

The Biancocelesti poured forward again into Roma’s box, and Amos Cardarelli faced Selmosson alone, succeeding with great calm. Another shot by Muccinelli was blocked by Stucchi. In the 49th minute, a Bettini solo ended with a twenty-metre shot that Panetti smothered on the ground.

Roma’s response then took shape. At 51’, Da Costa unleashed a thunderbolt from outside the area that went wide. The Giallorossi attack pressed on, and at 53’ a Da Costa–Adelmo Prenna move launched Ghiggia on the left, but his shot on the run sailed over. Lazio replied at 57’, with a looping ball from Vivolo volleyed by Bettini, but the effort was weak and Panetti gathered without trouble.

A storm broke at 60’. Roma flooded the opposing penalty area and, in the ensuing scramble, a ricochet produced a handball by Sentimenti V. Orlandini judged it involuntary, provoking furious and prolonged protests from the Roma players, who surrounded him. Play continued in a heated atmosphere, with the crowd enthusiastically joining in every dispute.

A corner against Lazio at 64’ was delayed when the flag broke and had to be repaired. Ghiggia eventually took the kick, Raoul Bortoletto attempted an overhead kick, but failed. Panetti made a daring sortie against Bettini at 65’. Two consecutive overhead clearances in Lazio’s box—first by Lo Buono on Ghiggia, then by Sassi—earned applause. At 67’, Panetti beat Muccinelli to a low cross with perfect timing.

Lazio’s goal came under serious threat at 68’. From a long Nyers throw-in three-quarters upfield, Lovati dived to smother the ball but lost control. Lo Buono just managed to clear, but Nyers immediately sent another cross. Under pressure, Lovati deflected it for a corner. An irresistible burst by Muccinelli at 70’ was halted abruptly.

Several minutes of frantic midfield play followed. At 74’, a clearance by Lo Buono that halted Costa allowed Bettini and Selmosson to break together on the counter. Panetti hesitated and slipped, but Bettini’s running shot went wide. A foul by Stucchi on Selmosson off the ball at 78’ was punished after brief argument. The first free kick was ordered to be retaken, and this time Burini struck a magnificent diagonal shot into the net. However, the referee emphatically disallowed it, wagging his finger: the free kick had been indirect.

Giuliano tried a long-range shot at 80’, but missed by a wide margin. At 81’, Bettini pounced on a poor headed clearance by Stucchi, attempted a high shot, but mis-hit it and sent the looping ball wide. The most dangerous moment for Lazio came at 82’: Pandolfini crossed from left to right, Nyers returned the ball from the opposite flank, and Ghiggia headed from close range. The ball grazed the base of the right post and went out.

A low cross by Bortoletto at 84’ prompted an instinctive diving punch by Lovati, sending the ball out for a corner. Roma threw everyone forward, especially Bortoletto, Stucchi, and Cardarelli. The pressure was intense, all the more so because Lazio once again retreated into the defensive shell that had previously cost them dearly against Internazionale.

Nerves were frayed. Another corner for Roma came at 86’, but Lo Buono went down after a clash with Nyers. After brief treatment, play resumed. Pandolfini floated the ball in, Prenna headed, Cardarelli struggled in the crowded area, but to no avail. At 89’, a statuesque Lovati punched clear amid a mêlée.

A counterattack followed: Selmosson burst into the area, struck the crossbar, Bettini lunged and collided with Panetti, and the ball ran through untouched. Bettini then shot high; Da Costa did the same. The match had long since exceeded regulation time, but stoppages for the handball dispute and Lo Buono’s injury still had to be accounted for.

There was still time for one final corner for Roma, which was cleared. At last, Orlandini blew the final whistle. The teams lined up to mixed reactions: whistles and applause alike. As always, in the end.

Who played for Lazio

Lovati, Molino, Lo Buono, Fuin, Sentimenti V, Sassi II, Muccinelli, Burini, Bettini, Vivolo, Selmosson