May 5 1957: Lazio - Padova 1-1
- Lazio Stories
- 7 hours ago
- 9 min read
"Catenaccio", the wrong Pin and woodwork deny Lazio
A solid Padova defensive display and a dose of bad luck force Lazio to settle for a point
The season so far
Lazio had finished joint 3rd with Inter the previous season. An excellent campaign, first under Luigi Ferrero (1-14) and then Englishman Jesse Carver. Lazio beat Inter and Milan away, Juventus at home, drew one derby and won the other. Top scorer was Lorenzo Bettini with 12 league goals while Arne Selmosson and Ermes Muccinelli got 10.
This season Carver was still the manager. The main new arrivals were: defender Adelmo Eufemi (Livorno-back from loan), midfielders Arnaldo Lucentini (Triestina), Luigi Moltrasio (Torino), Umberto Pinardi (Udinese), forwards Karl Aage Præst (Juventus) and Humberto Tozzi (Palmeiras).
Leaving Lazio were: keepers Giampiero Bandini (Triestina) and Aldo De Fazio (Salernitana), defenders Francesco Antonazzi (Chinotto Neri-after 252 league games), midfielders Enrique Martegani (retiring), Renzo Sassi (Udinese), Attilio Giovannini (Nissena Caltanissetta), Angelo Villa (SPAL) plus forwards Brunello Cocciuti (Reggina - on loan) and Rinaldo Olivieri (Triestina). The main loss was Antonazzi, a legend at the club.
So far Lazio, after a bad start (4 defeats in 6 games, including derby), were having another good season and were currently 3rd, on 34 points. Lazio had then won 11 (including Padova 1-0 away and Milan 3-0 at home), drawn 11 (including Inter 1-1, the derby 2-2 and Juventus 3-3 away) and lost 3. Lazio were 3rd with a one-point lead on Inter and three on Udinese and Sampdoria.
Padova had finished 8th the previous season under Nereo Rocco. The Euganei had lost 1-2 at home and 1-3 away to Lazio. Their most prestigious results were winning 1-0 both home and away against Inter. The top scorer was Amedeo Bonistalli with 12 league goals.
This season the manager was still Rocco. The main new players were: goalkeeper Antonio Pin (Sampdoria), midfielder Giacomo Mari (Sampdoria) and forwards Enore Boscolo (Vicenza), Piero Golin (Napoli), Humberto Rosa (Sampdoria) and Bruno Nicolè (up from youth team).
Leaving Padova were: goalkeeper Giuseppe Casari (retiring), defenders Corrado Zorzin (Mestrina), midfielders Marcello Agnoletto (Sampdoria), Franco Mori (Sampdoria) and Bruno Novello (retiring) plus forwards José Parodi (Genoa) and Giorgio Stivanello (Juventus).
Padova were joint 12th, on 26 points with Juventus and Triestina. The Patavini were only three points above the relegation zone (Atalanta on 23). The Biancoscudati had won 7 (including Milan 2-0 and Inter 3-2 at home), drawn 12 (including Juventus 0-0 away) and lost 10 (including Lazio and most recently Torino 1-3 at home).
Lazio were favourites today but Padova were in the thick of the relegation battle so were expected to fight hard.
The match: Sunday, May 5, 1957, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A sunny day in Rome saw about 15,000 in attendance at the Olimpico.
Lazio were without defender Primo Sentimenti and forward Ermes Muccinelli.
Padova were missing defender Aurelio Scagnellato.
From the start Padova showed off a classic but well organised "Catenaccio". A very low and tight defence, hoping to strike with occasional and sudden counterattacks.
Lazio attacked and in the 2nd minute Arne Selmosson forced the visiting keeper, Antonio Pin, into a difficult save and on the rebound Humberto Tozzi backheeled into the area but defender Ivano Blason cleared.
In the 12th minute after a scramble in the area a Tozzi shot was walled by defenders and then Selmosson's attempt was saved into corner by Pin.
The game then went a bit flat with the only episode being a bad clearance by keeper Bob Lovati but Benito Sarti was unable to take advantage and fired over the bar.
The game revived around the half hour mark when in the 32nd minute Padova's Sergio Pison shot wide and a minute later Pasquale Vivolo headed just over the bar from a Selmosson cross.
In the 35th minute the game was stopped and a minute's silence was observed for the 8th anniversary of the Superga tragedy when the whole Grande Torino squad had lost their lives in an aircrash.
When the game restarted Lazio went extremely close to scoring. In the 36th minute Selmosson shot centrally, Pin saved and the ball spun up and hit the crossbar. In the 43rd minute Lorenzo Bettini too was denied by the Veneto-born keeper.
Despite Lazio's dominance in the 45th minute the visitors could have snatched the lead. Enore Boscolo beat Umberto Pinardi and was one-on-one with Lovati but his shot was weak and central and Lovati saved and then Adelmo Eufemi cleared. Half time 0-0.
At the beginning of the second half the Euganei were forced to move an injured Amedeo Bonistalli out to the wing.
In the 52nd minute Lazio had a scare when Lovati dropped the ball in a crowded area and Silvano Chiumento volleyed towards goal only for Giovanni Molino to pull off a brilliant save... with his hands. Fortunately for the Biancocelesti the penalty was not given as the referee had seen a precedent foul on the keeper.
Lazio came up against the woodwork again in the 59th minute. Franco Carradori took a freekick and Vivolo rose up and headed but hit the crossbar.
Five minutes later Lazio scored. The move was started by Renzo Burini and continued by Tozzi who cleverly laid the ball back to Vivolo whose powerful shot went up into the roof of the net. The visitors protested for a possible offside but after consulting the linesman the referee gave the goal, 1-0.
The Biancoscudati at this point abandoned their defensive approach and started to attack more as a team than with the odd counterattack. In the 68th minute Lovati was called into action on a dangerous header by Bonistalli who was slightly injured but still threatening.
In the 79th minute the Patavini had a penalty appeal. The ball ricocheted between Lovati and a defender and as Pison was about to pounce he was touched on the leg by the keeper causing him to roll to the ground. The referee, perhaps unimpressed by the theatrics, gestured to play on.
Having abandoned their catenaccio the visitors were almost caught on the break themselves. Burini set up Tozzi in front of goal but Pin rushed out of the box and kicked away.
In the 80th minute the Veneti equalised. Chiumento put a high ball into the area and a misunderstanding between Lovati and Molino meant the ball came off Eufemi and went backwards towards the goal where Pison had an easy tap-in, 1-1.
Lazio pushed desperately in the remaining ten minutes. In the 87th minute Tozzi fell over in a favourable position, in the 88th Pin came off his line to slap away a good Carradori cross and in the 90th minute Pin again just anticipated Tozzi. The last chance was for Selmosson but, after Pin had clashed with a defender and lost the ball, the Swede's shot shaved the post. Final score Lazio 1 Padova 1.
Lazio had possibly deserved more but Padova had battled hard with efficient and solid defending so had by no means taken a point undeservedly. The Padovani's tactical approach, an excellent goalkeeper and a bit of bad luck had prevented Lazio from clinching the two points.
Lazio were still 3rd, on 35 points. The Biancocelesti now had a two-point cushion on 4th place (Inter and Udinese on 33).
Padova were now joint 13th, on 27 points with Vicenza and Triestina. They had increased their lead on the second relegation slot to four points (Atalanta who had lost 2-4 in Bologna).
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Carver
Who played for Padova
Pin, Blason, Moro, Sarti, Azzini, Mari, Rosa, Pison, Bonistalli, Chiumento, Boscolo
Manager: Rocco
Referee: Perego
Goals: 64' Vivolo, 80' Pison
What happened next
Lazio finished 3rd again, on 41 points. In the last 4 games they won 2 (Inter 1-0 and Palermo 6-2 away) and drew 2 (Genoa and Torino both 2-2 at home). The top scorer was Arne Selmosson with 12 league goals. Another positive season for Lazio.
Padova finished 11th on 32 points. In the last games they won 1 (Juventus 2-1 at home) and drew 3 (Udinese and SPAL both 0-0 away and Fiorentina 2-2 at home). The top scorer was Amedeo Bonistalli again with 12 league goals.
The Serie A champions were Milan for the sixth time. Triestina and Palermo went down to Serie B.
Let's talk about Nereo Rocco
Today in our opponents series we will talk about a player and later great manager.
Nereo Rocco was born in Trieste, on May 20, 1912. His father was Austrian with Roch as surname but it was changed to Rocco by the fascist regime in 1925, while his mother was from Trieste. He came from a wealthy background as his family had a meat business which supplied the navy.
His first clubs as a boy were Ginnastica Trieste (1925-26), Audace Triestina (1926-27) and Triestina whom he joined in 1927.
After a year in the youth team, in 1928 he moved up to the first team squad where he would stay for 9 seasons, 8 in Serie A. He played 235 league games with 62 goals. The Alabardati finished 9th in Divisione Nazionale (but promoted to A for geo-political reasons), 15th, 14th, 13th, 8th, 11th, 10th, 6th and 12th. His managers included; Rudolf Soutschek (for two seasons), István Tóth (in two spells), Béla Révész, Mario Grassi, Károly Csapkay, Lajos Kovács and Jenő Konrad.
In 1937 he signed for Napoli and stayed three seasons. He played 52 league games with 7 goals and the Partenopei finished 10th, 5th and 13th in A. In 1938-39 he had his first managerial experience as he was part of a technical commission in charge from fixture 16-30. His actual managers were: Angelo Mattea, Eugen Payer and Adolfo Baloncieri.
In 1940 he moved north again and joined Padova in Serie B. In two years he played 47 league games with 14 goals. The Patavini finished 5th and 4th, under Stanislao Klein and József Báná.
During World War II he turned out for 94th Reparto Distrettuale ad San Giusto while after the conflict he continued locally with Cacciatore Trieste and Libertas Trieste where he was also the coach.
At 35 he retired.
He won one Italian cap in a World Cup 4-0 winning qualifier against Greece in 1934.
On retiring he continued coaching and in 1947 joined his hometown club Triestina in Serie A. He had three good years especially the first with a 2nd place finish (behind Grande Torino) followed by two 8th places.
In 1950 he moved to Treviso in Serie B. In Veneto he obtained 15th, 6th and 9th place finishes.
In 1953-54 he returned to Triestina in Serie A and finished 12th.
From 1954 to 1961 he was back at Padova. The Euganei won promotion to Serie A in his first year and then 8th, 11th, 3rd, 8th 5th and 6th in the top flight. During his last season at Padova he also had a spell in charge of the 1960 Italy Olympic team (with technical director Giuseppe Viani and co-coach Paolo Todeschini) with a 4th place.
In 1961 he was rewarded with a move to A.C. Milan. He stayed two seasons. In his first season the Rosoneri won the Scudetto and in the second their first ever European Cup (Benfica 2-1 at Wembley). His squads included Milan greats such as; Giorgio Ghezzi, Mario Trebbi, Francesco Zagatti, Mario David, Cesare Maldini and José Altafini
In 1963 Rocco joined Torino and stayed four seasons. The Granata finished 7th, 3rd, 10th and 7th.
In 1967 he returned to Milan and stayed another seven seasons (1972-73 and Dec '73-Feb '74 as T.D with Maldini as coach). The Diavolo won the Scudetto in 1968, the European Cup in 1969 (Ajax 4-1), the Intercontinental Cup in 1970 (Estudiantes 3-0) and the Coppa Italia twice in 1972 and 1973 (Napoli 2-0 and Juventus on pens) and the Cup Winners Cup in 1973 (Leeds United 1-0). In this period he coached Milan greats such as: Fabio Cudicini, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Giovanni Trapattoni, Aldo Maldera, Angelo Anquilletti, Giovanni Lodetti, Giorgio Biasiolo, Romeo Benetti, Alberto Bigon, Gianni Rivera, Kurt Hamrin, Pierino Prati and Angelo Sormani to name a few. In February 1974 he left Milan due to disagreements with the directors.
In 1974-75 Rocco coached Fiorentina for a season. La Viola finished 8th in A but won the Coppa Italia (Milan 3-2).
In October of the 1975-76 season he went back to Milan as technical director with Paolo Barison as manager. The Rossoneri finished 3rd. The squad included Milan greats such as Alberto Albertosi, Aldo Bet, Fulvio Collovati and Egidio Calloni.
In February 1977 he was called back to Milan as manager/ technical director. The Rossoneri finished 10th but won another trophy, the Coppa Italia (Inter 2-0). The squad included future top coach Fabio Capello.
He died on February 20, 1979, in his Trieste.
As a player Rocco was an attacking midfielder. He played 287 games in Serie A with 69 goals.
As a manager many named him as the first to use the "Catenaccio" style of play in Italy (very defensive with man to man marking and a libero). He was a strong and old school character, known as "El Paròn (Il Padrone - The Boss). Whatever his secret he was highly successful; he won the Scudetto twice, the European Cup twice, the Coppa Italia three times, the Cup Winners Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
He was a hard character but also known for his irony and famous one liners. Once interviewed as Padova manager before a game against fancied Juventus, to the statement "may the best team win" he answered in dialect with the ironic "Ciò, sperèmo de no!" (let's hope not).
He is a legend for many; the Trieste stadium bears his name since 1992 as does a Stadium in Marcon (Venice), Milan's training ground Milanello has his statue at the entrance and the street near Padova's ground is Via Nereo Rocco.
He is still considered one of Italy's best ever managers.
Sources
Comments