March 20, 1910: Roman Lazio 1-6

Simon Basten
6 hours ago
3 min read

Lazio on a different level

Despite a water-logged pitch, the Biancocelesti destroy Roman

The season so far

In 1910 for the first time the Italian Federation decided to organise a Rome-based League. It was not considered to be on a par with the leagues in the north, so it was defined as 3rd category. The teams participating were four: Lazio, Roman, Juventus Roma and Fortitudo and the games took place between March and April.

In the first fixture the Biancocelesti had hammered Fortitudo 11-0!!!! Today was the second.

Previously in February Lazio had won the Pro France tournament to raise money for the victims of the 1910 Great Flood of Paris beating Juventus Roma and Roman.

The match: Sunday, March 20, 1910, Prato dei Daini, Rome

Just before the game the heavens opened and it started raining not only cats and dogs but also most of the rest of the zoo. So, kick-off had to be slightly moved forward and for this reason it was decided to reduce the game to 35 minutes per half as to avoid playing in the dark.

Lazio opened the score with Renato De Censi but Roman equalised immediately after. Luc Jaggi tried to stop the ball from going out but Enzo Casalini and Ignazio Borsarelli pressured him and it was the latter who got the final touch. The Biancocelesti scored again with De Censi towards the end of the first half.

Despite the terrible conditions of the pitch, the Lazio players managed to play well and pass the ball without too many problems and soon made it 3-1 thanks to Sante Ancherani. An Amedeo Coraggio shot deflected by Ernesto De Fiori gave the Biancocelesti the 4-1 followed by two more goals from Ancherani and De Censi taking the total to 6-1.

Who played for Roman

Peroni, De Fiori, Olivieri, Tancredi, Telsener, Coletti, Peratoner, Casalini, Borsarelli, Serena

Who played for Lazio

Jaggi, Levi, Matteucci, Di Napoli, Frère, Angelotti, Coraggio, Cerchia, Ancherani, De Censi, Corelli

Referee: Nevill

Goals: De Censi, Borsarelli, De Censi in the first half; Ancherani, De Fiori (og), Ancherani, De Censi in the second

What happened next

Lazio easily won the Lazio Third Category League winning all of the games. They also won the INIEF tournament and lost in the final against Palermo in the Trofeo dei Mille.

Ottavio Angelotti, Corrado Corelli and Vincenzo Di Napoli topped the appearances with 10 games.

Let’s talk about Vincenzo Di Napoli

Vincenzo Di Napoli, born in 1892, started playing for Lazio in 1910, with his brother Leonardo, first as reserves but slowly became part of the first 11.

Initially placed as defender, Vincenzo often played at midfield. He was physically very powerful and had a good shot. He stayed in the first team until the outbreak of World War I when he was called to the battle front.

Laziale for all of his life, he was even member of the board of directors in 1939.

Based on the information available, he made 46 appearances with 5 goals.

Lazio Career

Season	Total appearances (goals)	National 1st Category League	Lazio 3rd Category League	Other
1909-10	10	-	6	4
1910-11	5	-	3	2
1912-13	15 (3)	7	-	8 (3)
1913-14	13 (1)	11 (1)	-	2
1914-15	3 (1)	3 (1)	-	-
Total	46 (5)	21 (2)	9	16 (3)