November 10, 1946: Lazio Sampdoria 4-0
- Simon Basten
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Destruction!!!
Lazio score four goals but there could have been many more
The season so far
In the previous season the teams from Serie A and B had been grouped together and divided into two groups according to geographical location. This was in order to lessen the burden of travel in a devastated country following the end of World War II. Lazio finished seventh. A mediocre season for the Biancocelesti with a terrible first half and a better second.
This season the manager Toni Cargnelli had been confirmed and there had been some new entries as far as players were concerned. Defenders Luigi Cassano (Alessandria), Emilio Carton (Verona), midfielders Antonio Sessa (Pro Gorizia) and Luciano Ramella (Como) and forwards Mario Magrini (Pro Gorizia), Bruno Ispiro (Genoa) and Cesare Ferronato (Bassano). There was a lot of optimism, and Lazio were considered possible outsiders.
But after the first 7 games of the season the Biancocelesti were only 14th having lost the derby heavily and away to Inter. A victory today would be fundamental.
Today’s opponents were Sampdoria, a new club formed by the merger between Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria.
The match: Sunday, November 10, 1946, Stadio Nazionale, Rome
After just one minute Costantino De Andreis was all alone in front of the keeper. All he had to do was to take one step further but he tried a shot and the keeper parried. Ball in the other half and this time it was Corrado Giubilo to have to save on a Fattori shot.
In the 22nd minute, De Andreis passed the ball to Henglebert Koenig who placed an almighty whack which gave Lazio their first goal of the day. Two minutes later Salvador Gualtieri hit the woodwork and towards the end of the first half Pietro Bonetti was forced to make a difficult save on an Aldo Puccinelli shot.
In the 50th minute Gualtieri cleared his box, Puccinelli as fast as lightning got hold of it and ran towards the goal scoring Lazio’s second. In the 74th minute Koenig to Puccinelli who shot, the ball hit the inside of the crossbar and went in. Seven minutes later Cesare Brunetti tried a shot which Bonetti saved but the ball slipped out of his hands. In came Bruno Ispiro who made it 4-0.
In the final minutes Giubilo made a great save on an Adriano Bassetto shot and Mario Magrini hit the woodwork once again.
Marvellous game from Lazio, one of the best of recent years.
Who played for Lazio
Giubilo, Cassano, Antonazzi, Brunetti, Sessa, Gualtieri, Puccinelli, Magrini, Koenig, Ispiro, De Andreis
Manager: Cargnelli
Who played for Sampdoria
Bonetti, Pischians, Piacentini, Fattori, Borrini, Gramaglia, Fabbri, Bassetto, Baldini, Fiorini, Frugali
Manager: Galluzzi
Referee: Camiolo
Goals: 23’ Koenig, 50’ Puccinelli, 74’ Puccinelli, 80’ Ispiro
What happened next
At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were tenth with a five-point cushion on the relegation zone and miles away from the top. Very inconsistent, the Biancocelesti had some good wins (Bologna 3-1, Sampdoria 4-0) but bad losses (4-1 against Fiorentina and 5-1 to Torino). After 25 games they were in the relegation zone, but thanks to Enrique Flamini's return they managed to work themselves up and reach tenth place at the end of the season. In the last 13 matches they lost just one and won five.
Aldo Puccinelli was the player with most appearances (36) as well as the top scorer with 13 goals.
Let’s talk about Henglebert Koenig
Son of Englebert Koenig, manager of Milan and other Italian clubs in the 1930s and 40s, he started playing football in First Wien. In 1940 he signed for Fiorentina but only played a couple of games.
In 1941 he joined Catania in Serie C where he scored an impressive 18 goals in 23 games. This was good enough for Lazio, who signed him in the summer of 1942. He stayed for five years including the two war-time local championships. He played a total of 103 games for Lazio (65 in Serie A, 25 in the war time league, 2 in Coppa Italia and 11 in various war time tournaments) scoring 79 goals (36 in Serie A, 30 in the war time league, two in Coppa Italia and 11 in various war time tournaments). He was a powerful player, very physical, who could play with both feet and was an excellent header of the ball.
In 1947 he signed for Sampdoria and stayed just a year before swapping sides of the city and joining Genoa. It was the first direct transfer between the two teams. He stayed with Genoa for two years before ending his career with Messina in Serie B.
He died in San José in Costa Rica on November 23 1997.
Lazio Career
Sources
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