May 20, 1951: Lazio Como 2-0
- Simon Basten
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Good win for the Biancocelesti
Thanks to Magrini and Flamini Lazio beat Como.
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had surprisingly arrived fourth, so expectations were high for the 1950-51 season. A lot of money was spent on new players such as Leoncino Unzain, Primo Sentimenti V and Stefano Malacarne, so some of the old timers such as Romano Penzo Sergio Piacentini, Renato Spurio, Ferenc Nyers and Leandro Remondini had to go. Manager Mario Sperone had been confirmed.
The season so far had been positive, following in the footsteps of the previous one. Lazio had won the derby, drawn against Inter, after being 3-0 down, Juventus and Milan who were a lot stronger than the Biancocelesti. There had been a few losses on the way, including a heavy one against Novara led by Silvio Piola, but overall a good performance. They were currently fifth.
The match: Sunday, May 20, 1951, Stadio Torino, Rome
The game was played at a slow pace and Lazio took control of the game right from the beginning. After a few shots from outside the box from Flavio Cecconi and Aldo Puccinelli, in the 10th minute Dionisio Arce went close to scoring when his header, off an Enrique Flamini cross, shaved the post. Six minutes later it was Norberto Hofling to have a chance but his header was parried into corner by Franco Cardani. In the 26th minute Arce dribbled one player, then another, tried to get past a third but could not, retrieved the ball and tried a shot that was wide by a whisker. Four minutes later Cecconi missed an easy chance off a Hofling assist. In the 31st minute Cardani saved a Cecconi shot, ball to Mario Magrini who advanced and unexpectedly shot, beating Cardani.
In the second half after five minutes Gianfranco Gatti in an attempt to clear the penalty area touched the ball with his hand and it was a penalty for Lazio. Primo Sentimenti V took the spot kick and practically passed the ball straight to the keeper. The missed penalty did not depress the Biancocelesti who in the 56th minute scored again. A Cecconi-Flamini play allowed the Italo Argentinian to beat Cardani for the second time.
Como at this point put their foot on the accelerator in the hope of reducing the deficit and their best chance came in the 57th minute with Umberto Pinardi but with no result. Hofling had a chance on the half hour with a header well saved by the Como keeper. In the 80th minute Hofling had another opportunity to score but his attempted volley went high. He had had all the time in the world to stop the ball and try a shot but he preferred the volley.
That was the end for this match. Good win for the Biancocelesti.
Who played for Lazio
Sentimenti IV, Antonazzi, Furiassi, Alzani, Sentimenti V, Magrini, Arce, Flamini, Hofling, Cecconi, Puccinelli
Manager: Sperone
Who played for Como
Cardani, Monti, Gatti, Bergamaschi, Bosco, Pinardi, Migliorini, Turconi, Meroni, Rabitti, Lipizer
Manager: Varglien I
Referee: Agnolin
Goals: 31’ Magrini, 56’ Flamini
What happened next
In the penultimate game of the season Lazio surprisingly won away against Milan securing fourth place. Another miracle for the Biancocelesti, their second 4th place in a row, obviously with much more limited financial possibilities compared to Milan, Inter and Juventus. Roma went down to Serie B, the first Roman team ever to be relegated.
The fourth place allowed Lazio to participate in the Zentropa Cup, an unofficial edition of the Mitropa Cup. The latter was a tournament that was initially devised in the 1920s with two teams from Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia competing in a knock out competition. The first tournament took place in 1927. In 1929 Italian teams took the place of the Yugoslav ones. In 1934 the tournament was expanded to four teams per nation. Switzerland joined in 1936 and 1937, Romania and Yugoslavia in 1937. Austria was withdrawn following the German annexation of 1938. The tournament was interrupted in 1940 due to the Second World War.
In 1951, in the light of other tournaments that were taking place such as the Latin Cup (between clubs from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal) and the Rio Cup (between European and Latin American teams), an attempt was made to resuscitate the Mitropa Cup. The Italian teams that were competing in the other two tournaments backed out so it was up to Lazio to defend the Italian colours. The other three teams were Rapid Wien, and Admira Wien (first and second in the Austrian league and very, very strong) and Dinamo Zagreb. Lazio were crushed 5-0 by Rapid and lost 2-0 against Dinamo. Rapid beat Admira in the final.
Sentimenti IV was the one who played most games during the 1950-51 season (40) and Norberto Hofling the top goal scorer (11).
Let’s talk about Giovanni Migliorini
Giovanni Migliorini was born in Milan on February 21, 1931. After having played for Maslianico as a youth, in 1948 he joined Como. That year he played just three league games but the Comaschi were promoted to Serie A. In 1950-51 he got a permanent place in the first eleven and was one of the best wingers in Serie A, so good that he attracted the attention of Inter for whom he signed in 1951. But while in Milan he was involved in a car accident on the Milano-Torino motorway. He fractured his skull and was in a coma for several days. He was never the same again.
He joined Lazio in 1952 but made just four appearances. He did however win the reserves league that season.
In 1953 he signed for Vicenza in Serie B but played just 7 matches. In his last three seasons as a professional he played two years at Carrarese and one with Reggiana in Serie C and D.
He died in Como on May 1, 1980.
Lazio Career
Seasons | Total Serie Appearances |
1952-53 | 4 |
Sources
Comments