May 26, 1927: Lazio Reggiana 2-0
- Simon Basten
- May 26
- 3 min read
End of the season
With a Filippi brace, Lazio end the season with a win
The season so far
The previous season had seen Lazio not do well, arriving third in the National Division Lazio regional group which meant that in the newly reformed format, they would play the current year in the first division, a second tier. In order to be promoted they had to win their group made up of Ideale and Liberty Bari, Bagnolese, Casertana, Pro Italia, Foggia, Audace, Roman and Palermo.
For this year they would not have the services of Fulvio Bernardini who had gone to Inter, Ugo Dosio, who had to work, Quinto Rosso, who had finished his military service and had gone back north, and Bruno Finesi. But Ezio Sclavi had returned following his not so positive experience with Juventus and coming into the team was also Riccardo Okely III joining his brother Giorgio. New player manager was Hungarian Jenő Löwy.
Lazio managed to top their group and be promoted to the first tier. They won 15 games and lost three. The Biancocelesti then played a final group phase of no significance with the winners of the other groups, Novara, Pro Patria and Reggiana. They were not particularly interested in the outcome since the objective of winning their group had been reached and promotion was already secured. Today was the last game of this mini tournament. Lazio had won the first against Pro Patria, drawn the third with Novara at home and lost the others.
The match: Sunday, May 26, 1927, Stadio Nazionale, Rome
The two teams both had problems. Reggiana were missing Stefano Aigotti and Tullio Moretti while Lazio were without Odoacre Pardini and Giovanni Fiorini.
Lazio deserved the win just simply because at least they tried to win, something which cannot be said of Reggiana who approached the game with a defeatist attitude. The Biancocelesti easily controlled the visitors’ manoeuvres and after scoring in the 30th minute with Dante Filippi, who dribbled past half the defence, they secured the result in the 66th minute again with Filippi who headed in a nice cross from Ugo Ciabattini.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Lowy
Who played for Reggiana
Zsigmond, Vannini, Vacondio, Cornetti, Bedogni, Bottazzi, Sereno, Bajardi, Leoni, Maselli, Simonini
Manager: Zsigmond
Referee: Caironi
Goals: 30’ Filippi, 66’ Filippi
What happened next
Luigi Saraceni, Ezio Sclavi, Jenő Löwy and Umberto Zannelli had been the players with most appearances (23) and Dante Filippi the top scorer with 11 goals.
Let’s talk about Manrico Berti Luciani
Manrico Berti Luciani was born on December 31, 1901 in Ancona. He was known as Berti Luciani or Berti II to distinguish him from his brother who also played football. From 1919 to 1922 he played with his brother for Juventus Audax (the club that formed after the merger of Juventus Roma with Audace Esperia), then he went to Tivoli where he stayed for three seasons.
In 1925 he signed for Lazio. He remained for four years. He was a player of great personality, dynamic and a fighter. He was a midfielder and his speciality was to dispossess the opponents and start counter attacks. He made 44 appearances with the Biancocelesti.
In 1929 he signed for Viterbese and a year later he was at Rieti again playing with his brother. In 1931 he came back to Lazio but only played with the reserves team.
After he quit football he became a professional photographer and opened a shop in Tivoli which today is run by his grandchildren.
He died in Tivoli on March 9 1972.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | National League | First Division | Coppa Coni |
1925-26 | 8 | 8 | ||
1926-27 | 14 | - | 14 | |
1927-28 | 19 | 15 | - | 4 |
1928-29 | 3 | 3 | - | - |
Total | 44 | 26 | 14 | 4 |
Sources
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