March 4, 1945: Lazio Roma 2-0

Simon Basten
Mar 4
4 min read

Always good to win a derby

A Koenig brace gives the Biancocelesti a special win

Other games in March
Season 1944-45

The season so far

The previous season had seen Lazio triumph in the Roman War League. 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 clubs 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 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 6th fixture. Juventus Roma, Italia Libera and Roma were at the top on 8 points, Lazio were behind on 5 but with one match in hand.

Prior to this tournament there had been another “preliminary” one named Coppa Città di Roma where Lazio had arrived third after being beaten in the semifinals by MATER.

The match: Sunday, March 4, 1945, Stadio Nazionale, Rome

The match unfolded in two clearly contrasting halves, each controlled by the side playing with the wind at its back.

Roma started strongly, asserting territorial dominance, but their advances repeatedly broke down near the penalty area under the steady defending of Renato Ferrarese and Edoardo Valenti. In the opening ten minutes, Amedeo Rega was called into action only once, dealing with a dangerous effort from Enzo Cozzolini.

Roma’s best opportunity arrived in the 24th minute: after a well-timed through ball from Paolo Jacobini, Naim Krieziu met it with a close-range header, but the attempt flew over the bar. The Giallorossi won four corners in the first half-hour and then tried to shake things up by swapping Ermes Borsetti and Cozzolini in attack.

The final minutes before the interval, however, tilted in Lazio’s favour. All told, it was a lively first half—Roma energetic but ineffective in front of goal, Biancocelesti composed and secure in defence. To consider that Rega sprained his right wrist during the first half and could only use one arm. But Roma hardly ever shot at goal.

Lazio struck almost immediately after the restart. In the 46th minute, Costantino De Andreis laid the ball off to Henglebert Koenig, who unleashed a low shot from roughly 25 meters. Cesare Francalancia appeared to have it covered, but the ball slipped through his grasp and trickled between his legs into the net.

Buoyed by the breakthrough, the Biancocelesti pushed forward with conviction. In the 61st minute, Jacobini was forced off following a collision with Petar Manola. He returned around the 75th minute, limping and repositioned on the wing, while Omero Urilli dropped back into midfield. Roma’s difficulties mounted in the 76th minute, when Cozzolini also left the field injured after a challenge with Michele Andreolo.

In the 79th minute, Koenig tested Francalancia again with a powerful drive that the goalkeeper saved impressively. By then Roma had recovered from the shock of the opening goal and managed a brief spell of attacking pressure lasting about ten minutes, though without producing a clear finish.

In the 83rd minute, Lazio sealed the result: Koenig won a challenge with Renato Pastori just beyond the halfway line, surged forward unopposed, and finished confidently past Francalancia to double the lead.

Always good to win a derby!!!!

Who played for Lazio

Rega, Ferrarese, Valenti, Gualtieri, Andreolo, Manfrè, Mancini, Manola, Koenig, Capponi, De Andreis

Manager: Canestri

Who played for Roma

Francalancia, Pastori, Andreoli, Matteini, Piccinini, Jacobini, Krieziu, Dagianti, Urilli, Cozzolini, Borsetti

Manager: Masetti

Referee: Dattilo

Goals: 46’ Koenig, 78’ Koenig

What happened next

Lazio finished joint second with Italia Libera behind winners Roma. All three should have participated to the final phase but it was impossible to organise. The Biancocelesti played an interregional competition with Fiorentina, Roma and Livorno in late May. They beat the Viola but lost to Roma in the final.

Giuseppe Mancini topped the appearances with 24, Henglebert Koenig was top scorer with 22 goals.

Let’s talk about Amedeo Rega

Amedeo Rega, goalkeeper, was born on January 31, 1920 in Rome.

He was noted by Roma scouts at the age of 13 and he joined the Giallorossi. In 1936-37 he was loaned to Monterotondo in the fourth tier and the year after he played for Trionfale in same category. In 1940 he returned to Roma but played just one match against Ambrosiana Inter. Unfortunately Inter scored 5 goals, and that remained his only appearance in the top tier.

In 1941 he signed for Lazio but never played and a year later he joined Italia Libera. During the war championships of 1943-44 and 1944-45 he played for Lazio winning the first edition. He made 40 appearances with the Biancocelesti in those two seasons, managing his bar in Via della Giuliana at the same time.

In 1945 he signed for Perugia in Serie C. The Umbrians won the tournament and were promoted to Serie B but he was not confirmed. A year later he joined Salernitana in the second tier, sharing goalkeeping duties with Vittorio Mosele. The Granata reached a historic promotion to Serie A but again he was not confirmed. After a season at Acireale, he signed for Catania in 1948 and stayed two seasons. His last year of football was with Romulea in the fourth tier in 1953-54.

During the war years he was stopped and questioned by the Germans together with teams’ mates Aldo De Pierro and Edoardo Valenti after the Via Rasella attack which killed 42 soldiers of the Police Regiment "Bozen" from Bolzano and wounded another 110. Fortunately, he had his papers with him showing that he was a sports professional.

He died in Rome on December 27, 2007.