November 30, 1930: Lazio Alessandria 3-1

Simon Basten
8 hours ago
5 min read

Biancocelesti break down Alessandria wall

Despite falling behind early, Lazio managed to overcome the Piedmontese defence in the second half

The season so far

The previous season had been pretty poor and Lazio only managed to avoid relegation in the last game.

There was not much money to invest so only minor signings were made. The most important thing was to keep Leopoldo Caimmi and Mario Malatesta, the two stars of the team. Ferenc Molnar who had come in towards the end of the previous season had been confirmed as manager. Also arriving was Gino Lamon from Padova. Leaving Lazio were Francesco Rier (Juventus), Giuseppe Valenti (Lecce) and Dino Sbrana II (also to Lecce). Luigi Saraceni II while Ugo Ciabattini had retired.

In the first nine games Lazio had won five (including beating Bologna and a 1-0 win in Milan), lost three and drawn the opening game. They were currently seventh, only two points off second place.

The match: Sunday, November 30, 1930, Campo Rondinella, Rome

Alessandria, who had taken the kick-off, immediately put pressure on the Lazio defence: a cross from the left winger was pushed away by Ezio Sclavi but not far enough and Edoardo Avalle was ready to meet the ball on the volley and drive it into the upper left corner. A lightning-quick goal of excellent quality.

After achieving this early breakthrough, Alessandria immediately set up one of their classic defensive matches, which had so often brought frustration to the Roman teams. At this point, knowing Alessandria’s precise defensive resources and their solidity, there were not many who would have predicted that the fate of the match could be reversed. Everything that then happened in the first half seemed to confirm this prediction. Lazio, launched in pursuit of the equaliser, ran into the solid Alessandria defence without being able to break it down. Their attacks lacked momentum, cohesion, and determination, and the last hopes faded when Luigi Ziroli and Alfredo Foni wasted a couple of favourable chances.

The second half began with the same pattern, but the Lazio forwards seemed more determined and more alert. Alessandria’s defence began to feel the pressure and twice had to concede corners, only to quickly regain control over the opposing attackers. In the 65th minute, the decisive episode: a run by Mario Malatesta put Pietro Pastore one-on-one with Giuseppe Ballerio; the duel ended in favour of the Lazio centre-forward, who beat Natale Balossino with a low shot into the left corner. This brought signals of surrender among the grey shirts while Lazio, who until this moment had played without much conviction, were suddenly transformed. Their renewed drive broke down Alessandria's last defensive efforts, who subsequently conceded two more goals. In the 80th minute Balossino punched away a Foni cross, but the ball arrived to Malatesta who headed it in. Five minutes later Malatesta-Carlo Cevenini one-two and Charles V made it three.

Important win for the Biancocelesti.

Who played for Lazio

Sclavi, Tognotti, Mattei II, Pardini, Furlani, Caimmi, Ziroli, Foni, Pastore, Malatesta, Cevenini V

Manager: Molnar

Who played for Alessandria

Balossino, Gallino, Ballerio, Lauro, Gandini, Lotti, Cattaneo, Avalle, Banchero (II), Borelli, Chierico

Manager: Revesz

Referee: Zorzi

Goals: 2’ Avalle, 65’ Pastore, 80’ Malatesta, 85’ Cevenini V

What happened next

At the end of the first half of the season the Biancocelesti were in sixth place having drawn the derby and beaten Juventus. In the second half the situation more or less stayed put and Lazio ended up eighth. There was not much ambition due to the limited resources, hence not much more could be asked for.

Two Brazilian brothers, Joāo and Octavio Fantoni from Cruzeiro were signed in April 1931. The two brothers would be the backbone of the future Brasilazio.

Mattei II was the player with most appearances (34) and Pastore the top goal scorer with 13 goals.

Let’s talk about Piero Pastore

Pietro Mario Pastore, better known as Piero, was born in Padua on April 3, 1903. He was an excellent striker who later became an actor.

He started playing football for his home town and after the First World War he was a regular in the first team. In 1920 he signed for Juventus where he played for 6 seasons and won the scudetto in 1925-26. That year he scored 26 goals.

In 1927 he was involved in the first Italian match fixing scandal. It involved three Juve players who were allegedly paid to let Torino win the derby. It was a very controversial case. The Torino accountant, Guido Nani, and a student Francesco Gaudioso, who knew many of the players, approached Luigi Allemandi to try to get him and other players to “help” Torino win the derby. Toro not only won the match coming from behind, but also won the scudetto.

Apparently, the deal between Nani and Gaudioso was an upfront payment first, and the remainder of the money if Torino won the championship. When the Granata became champions, Gaudioso wanted his part of the deal but for unknown reasons Nani refused. At this point the student leaked the story to the press and the case exploded.

In the sporting investigation that followed, the whole story came out. Gaudioso had bribed Allemandi, Federico Munerati and Pastore, the latter two the worst players on the pitch (Pastore had even been sent off for a retaliatory foul). Allemandi was paid in cash, Munerati in booze and Pastore betted on Juventus losing.

Torino’s title was revoked, Allemandi got a life ban (later revoked, he even went on to win the World Cup for Italy in 1934) and the other two had an official warning.

As a consequence, in 1928 Pastore was sold to Milan. That year he participated in the Amsterdam Olympic Games and won a bronze medal.

In 1929 he was loaned to Brescia for a US tour and in the States he was noted for his likeness with Rodolfo Valentino, the famous silent movie star. He thus started his acting career with small parts in a couple of films.

In 1929-30 he signed for Lazio and played for two seasons. He went back to Milan in 1931 but stayed for only a year and decided to invest in his acting career. Back at Lazio in 1932, he really was not that interested in playing football and in two years played only 18 games. In 1933 he was the protagonist of the film Steel, directed by Walter Ruttman.

In his last two years in football he played for Perugia in Serie B in 1934-35 and four games for Roma in 1935-36.

He played minor roles in over 60 films including Roman Holiday alongside Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, Ulysses, starring Kirk Douglas, and Barabbas with Anthony Quinn.

He played 73 games for Lazio and scored 33 goals.

He died in Rome on January 8, 1968.