October 11 1942: Lazio -Bologna 2-1
Comeback win on home debut
Trailing at halftime Lazio storm back to beat Bologna
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 4th under Austrian Alexander Popovic. The Biancocelesti had beaten Ambrosiana Inter 1-0 and Milano 5-2 away and Juventus 2-1 at home. They had also thrashed today's opposition 5-1 at home and drawn 2-2 away. The top scorer was Silvio Piola with 21 goals (18 in A).
This season Popovich stayed on. There was not much money but there had been a few changes to the squad. The main players coming in were: defender Alessandro Capponi (Ferrara) plus forwards Engelbert Koenig (Catania) and Petar Manola (BSK Belgrade).
Leaving were defender Maximiliano Faotto (Ascoli), midfielders Bruno Camolese (Vicenza), Giuseppe Baldo (retiring - after 7 seasons with 169 league games) and forward Otello Zironi (Modena).
So far in Serie A Lazio had played one game, a 0-0 away draw with Triestina.
In Coppa Italia Lazio had qualified for the quarter finals beating Napoli 2-1 and Juventus 3-2, both away. The Biancocelesti would now play Roma in May.
Bologna had finished 7th the previous season under Austrian Hermann Felsner. Their best results were beating Modena 4-0, Juventus 2-0, Milan 3-1, Livorno 7-1 at home, Fiorentina 5-2 and Ambrosiana Inter 1-0 away. The top scorer was Ettore Puricelli with 16 goals (14 in A).
This season the manager was former player Mario Montesanto (280 league games between 1930-1942). The main new players were: forwards Frane Matošić (Hajduk Split), Adriano Minelli (Carpi) and Carlo Alberto Bonaretti (Suzzara).
Leaving were: midfielder Mario Montesanto (but as mentioned staying on as manager) plus forwards Piero Andreoli (Verona), Bruno Arcari (Brescia - on loan, he would be back 1945-48) and Giovanni Busoni (Modena).
On their league debut the Rossoblu had beaten Atalanta 2-0 at home with a Matošić brace.
In the Coppa Italia the Felsinei had beaten Ambosiana Inter 2-0 at home and Modena 4-0 away to qualify for the quarterfinals. They would play Genova 1893 at home in May.
A difficult home debut for Lazio and a balanced game was expected.
The match: Sunday, October 11, 1942, Stadio PNF, Rome
A mild and sunny day attracted about 25,000 spectators to the P.N.F stadium.
Lazio were missing midfielder Salvador Gualtieri while Bologna were without midfielder Dante Nardi.
The game started without any particular tacticisms and was open. Bologna especially produced a series of swift and flowing moves. The goal came in the 18th minute but was from a set piece. Raffaele Sansone crossed into the area where Héctor Puricelli rose up and headed low to Uber Gradella's right, 0-1.
Bologna continued to combine well despite not creating any big chances.
Gradually however Lazio stirred. In the 21st minute Silvestro Pisa headed just wide and in the 31st Silvio Piola blasted a shot from 30 metres out which hit the top bin woodwork.
The game then calmed and reached halftime goalless.
.
The second half opened with a bang. In the very first minute Lazio equalised. Vittorio Malagoli committed a foul on Piola and Pisa took the subsequent freekick which penetrated the crowded area and beat Pietro Ferrari, 1-1.
The game was enjoyable with both teams attacking but without major chances.
In the 63rd minute Lazio went in front. Piola in an unusual defensive position hit the ball forward to Hengelbert Koenig who raced past Secondo Ricci and Aurelio Marchese and seeing Ferrari coming off his line hit a shot which went in under the crossbar, 2-1.
At this point a strong Bologna reaction was expected. It never really came also due to the fact that Sansone pulled a muscle so was exiled and innocuous on the wing. The Rossoblu still had two good chances but Puricelli missed them both from close range. The Uruguayan forward also hit a post but he was offside.
Lazio defended valiantly with Piola also helping out in defence and held on for a precious win. Final score: Lazio 2 Bologna 1.
A balanced game between two teams of similar level but Lazio had edged it and clinched a good first home win.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Popovic
Who played for Bologna
Ferrari, Pagotto, Ricci, Malagoli II, Andreolo, Marchese, Biavati, Sansone, Puricelli, Matošić, Reguzzoni
Manager: Montesanto
Referee: Pizziolo
Goals: 18' Puricelli, 46' Pisa I, 63' Koenig
What happened next
Lazio finished 9th on 28 points. In the next 28 games the Biancocelesti won 9 (including Inter 3-1, Juventus 5-3, Roma 3-1, Milano 4-2 at home and Juventus 4-2 drew 7 (including Torino 2-2 away) and lost 12 (including Roma 0-1). The top scorer was Silvio Piola with 21 league goals.
In the Coppa Italia they lost 1-2 against Roma in the quarterfinals.
Bologna finished 6th on 29 points. In the remaining games they won 11 (including Milano 3-0, Lazio 4-0, Inter 3-1, Roma 4-2 at home, Liguria 7-1 away), drew 5 (including Juventus 2-2 at home and Roma 1-1 away) and lost 12.
In the Coppa Italia the Rossoblu were then eliminated 2-5 by Genova 1893.
The Scudetto was won by Torino for their 2nd title. The clubs going down were supposed to be Bari and Liguria but they avoided the drop due the remodel of the league format in the war period (the league was split into regional tournaments).
Let's talk about: Carlo Reguzzoni
Carlo Reguzzoni was born in Busto Arsizio (Varese), on January 18 1908.
His first team was his hometown club Pro Patria. From 1926 to 1930 he played 75 league games and scored 52 goals.
The Tigrotti finished 1st in the Prima Divisione (2nd tier) and promoted, 7th (Group B of top flight), 5th (Group B) and 12th in the first-ever Serie A.
His managers were Imre János Bekey from Hungary (two and a half seasons) and Augusto Rangone. At Pro Patria he formed a great attacking partnership with Andrea Gregar. Interesting to note is that the 1926-27 promotion squad was made up exclusively of local boys.
In 1930 Reguzzoni joined Bologna and stayed 13 seasons. He was bought for 80,000 lire, an astronomical price at the time. He proved worth it and played 359 league games and scored 155 goals.
The Rossoblu won the Scudetto 4 times (1936, 1937, 1939 and 1941) and the Mitropa Cup twice (Central European Cup, 1932 and 1934). These were Bologna's glory years, "lo squadrone che tremare il mondo fa".
At Bologna he played alongside other forwards such as Angelo Schiavio (242 league goals), Bruno Maini, Héctor Puricelli and Frane Matošić.
His managers were Hermann Felsner, Gyula Lelovics, József Nagy, Achille Gama, Pietro Genovesi, Angelo Schiavio, Lajos Kovács, Árpád Weisz (2 league titles), Hermann Felsner (2 league titles to add to 1925 and 1929) and Mario Montesanto.
The war then interrupted sport at national level and Reguzzoni returned to Pro Patria where in 1944 the Biancoblu finished 6th in the Lombard League under Carlo Rogotti. Reguzzoni played 14 games with 3 goals.
In 1945-46 he was back in Bologna in the Divisione Nazionale Alta Italia (there was no single national Serie A yet). Bologna finished 6th but won the Coppa Alta Italia (consolation tournament for teams out of national finals).
The managers were: Alexander Popovic (1-13) and Angelo Schiavio with Pietro Genovesi (14-26). Reguzzoni played 18 league games with 2 goals. This season he played alongside forward Gino Cappello.
In 1946 he returned home to Pro Patria for two more seasons. The Tigrotti were in Serie B but won the league and promotion under Carlo Rigotti.
Reguzzoni played 40 league games with 13 goals. The following season in Serie A he suffered an injury halfway through and only played11 games with 1 goal. Pro Patria finished 8th under Aldo Biffi.
Reguzzoni then retired at 40.
At international level he only earned one cap for Italy (Romania in a friendly). This was because Vittorio Pozzo preferred to play with Gino Colaussi (Triestina and Juventus) and Raimundo Orsi (Juventus).
After retiring he had a few coaching experiences with the Pro Patria youth teams, Juventus Duomo (Domodossola) and Luino (Varese) at amateur level.
Reguzzoni was a prolific club player. He was a winger but apart from crosses and assists he could also score goals.
His best years were with Bologna in the 1930s and early 40s. He scored 168 goals (155 in A, 5 in Coppa Italia and 18 in Europe). He is Bologna's 2nd top scorer in Serie A (behind Schiavio) and 3rd for appearances (behind Giacomo Bulgarelli and Tazio Roversi). He won an impressive 4 league titles with the Rossoblu.
On a curious note, he was the cousin of Lazio player (1935-43) and later briefly manager (1958), Alfredo Monza.
Reguzzoni died in Busto Arsizio, on December 16, 1996
The ground in Busto Arsizio where he made his debut, in via Valle Olona, now bears his name.
Source
Comments