November 13, 1927: Napoli-Lazio 0-0
Good point on Bay of Naples
Lazio come away with decent draw in the first ever match against recently founded Napoli
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 1st in the Prima Divisione Group D (2nd tier) and won promotion. They then finished 3rd in the mini-league for the Prima Divisione national title.
The player-manager was Hungarian Jenő Löwy. Lazio had won 17, drawn 1, lost 6. The top scorer was Dante Filippi with 7 goals. This was the last season without newly formed A.S Roma founded on "request" of the fascist regime and which Lazio refused to join.
In the current season the manager was Austrian Franz Sedlacek. Lazio had been busy in the transfer market. Arriving were defenders Renato Bottacini (SPAL), Dino Canestri (Prato), midfielders Luigi Bodrato (Sampierdarenese), Pietro "Pierino" Cappa (Prato), Pio Maneschi (back from Alba Audace), Paolo Paganini (SPAL) plus forwards Carlo Cevenini V (Milan), Camillo Fenili (Juventus), Gino Lamon I (Treviso) and Renato Sanero (Juventus - on loan).
Leaving were defender Augusto Parboni (retiring), midfielder Olindo Galli (Foligno), Jenő Löwy (Maccabi Bratislava) plus forwards Aldo Fraschetti and Giorgio Okely I (both retiring).
So far in the Divisione Nazionale Girone A, Lazio had lost the first 4 games but then finally won the most recent one 2-1 at home against Brescia at home. The Biancocelesti were therefore struggling on 2 points. There would be three relegations.
Napoli had finished 10th in the Divisione Nazionale Girone A the previous season. It was Napoli's first ever season as they only were founded in 1926. The managers were both Austrian, first player Anton Kreutzer and then Bino Skasa. The top scorer was Ernesto Ghisi with goals. Napoli were let into the top flight as Internaples had won the 1925-26 Prima Divisione Lega Sud.
This season the manager was first Jean Steiger from Switzerland but after four games he had already been replaced by Ferenc Molnár from Hungary. The main new players were midfielders Pino Ghisi (Fortitudo-Rome), Nicola Cassese (Bagnolese-Naples), Biagio Zoccola (Casertana) plus forwards Gontrano Innocenti (Livorno), Oreste Tosini (Alessandria) and Corrado Gariglio (Alessandria).
In the winter, defender Vittorio Ramello would be added from Reggiana to replace Giuseppe Pirandello who passed away (January 30 1928, syncope after a Napoli vs Lazio game).
Leaving were midfielders Kreutzer (retiring), Leslie Minter (retiring) and Ermanno Latella (Padova) plus forwards Giulio Bobbio (Savoia-Torre Annunziata, Naples), Vincenzo Venturi (free agent) and Osvaldo Sacchi (Scafatese-Salerno).
Napoli had won their first game 4-0 at home to Reggiana but then lost the next 4 (including Milan 1-5 and Cremonese 0-5 away). Napoli had 2 points, the same as Lazio.
Today was already very much a relegation clash.
The match: Sunday, November 13, 1927, Campo Arenaccia, Naples
A solid crowd turned up at the Campo Arenaccia. The ground in the Arenaccia area of town had been inaugurated in 1923. This was the first-ever game between Napoli and Lazio.
Lazio were without midfielder Odoacre Pardini while Napoli had no real absences.
Napoli attacked and had long periods in which they pegged Lazio back but they lacked accuracy and lucidity. The hosts only really threatened Enzo Sclavi twice, first with Attila Sallustro and then with Nicola Cassese. The Lombard keeper however was on good form and saved.
Lazio's defence absorbed Napoli's pressure without too many problems and in the second half gradually became more authorative. The Biancocelesti had efforts by Gino Lamon and Renato Sanero denied by Vittorio Pelvi.
In the last ten minutes especially, if any team looked likely to win it was Lazio.
An away draw however was a decent result against a direct rival for survival.
Lazio had produced a solid performance and all the players had put in a good shift.
Who played for Napoli
Pelvi, Pirandello, P.Innocenti I, Zoccola, P.Ghisi II, G.Innocenti II, Cassese, Sallustro, Costa, E.Ghisi I, Tosini
Manager: Molnár
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Sedlacek
Referee: Dani
What happened next
Lazio finished 10th and should have been relegated but stayed up due to the league format being enlarged. In the next 25 games the Biancocelesti won 3 (including Milan 3-1), drew 12 and lost 10 (including Napoli 0-2 at home). The top scorer was Renato Sanero with 6 goals (4 in DN and 2 in CC)
In the Coppa CONI they came 3rd in group B (W6, D1, L3). This was a tournament for the teams who did not make it into the Divisione Nazionale final stage.
Napoli finished 9th and they too should have gone down but escaped for the same reason as Lazio. They then won 4, drew 9 and lost 7 (including Alessandria 1-11 and Torino 0-11). The top scorer was Ernesto Ghisi with 14 goals (8 in DN and 6 in CC).
In the Coppa CONI the Partenopei finished 3rd in group A. They won 6 (including Roma 2-0 at home), drew 2 and lost 4.
Napoli played at the Arenaccia until 1930. It then hosted cycling races and, in the 1950s, rugby matches. In 1959 it was renovated and became a multi-sports complex. It is now Stadio Militare all'Arenaccia and owned by the Italian Army.
Napoli then moved to the Stadio Vesuvio, then to the Stadio Arturo Collana in Vomero and finally in 1959 to the San Paolo stadium (now Diego Armando Maradona)
The 1927-28 Scudetto was won by Torino for the first time. As mentioned there were no relegations.
Let's talk about: Lazio Jersey 1927-28
The shirts went back to the traditional light blue and white. The shirt was light blue with a white Mandarin collar with white laces. There was also a white stripe near the cuffs and a horizontal hoop on the lower part of the shirt.
The National Fascist Party imposed the presence of their symbol inside the club logo of all clubs. Lazio' badge therefore was made up of light blue and white vertical stripes with the fascist emblem in the middle (lictor's fasces).
This was the first season after Lazio had seriously risked disappearing. The regime decided to merge several roman clubs to create a strong capital club that could compete with the northern power houses. On June 7, 1927 a new club was created. Fortunately Lazio managed to avoid being incorporated into the newly formed A.S Roma and remained proudly independent. This was mainly due to the efforts of General Giorgio Vaccaro, an influential figure in Italian sport and Lazio vice-president.
Football in Rome would never be the same again.
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