October 28, 1928: Lazio Pro Vercelli 1-1
- Simon Basten
- Oct 28, 2025
- 4 min read
Lazio dominate but Pro Vercelli’s keeper holds firm
Cevenini’s strike cancels out an early Seccatore goal, but Cavanna keeps Vercelli in the game with a string of stunning saves
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season had been awful. They came 10th in the National Division and were initially relegated to the First Division but a change in plan led to the creation of two divisions for the 1928-29 league. The top eight of each would play the first Serie A in 1929-30.
There were a lot of new signings: Aldo Spivach (Udinese), Silvio Griggio (Vicenza) and Aroldo Vaccari (Modena) to reinforce the attack, Francesco Rier (Modena) Giuseppe Valenti (Viterbese), Carlo Radice (Virtus Goliarda) and Marino Frulani (Pro Gorizia) for the midfield. Renato Sanero went back to Juventus after a year long loan and Camillo Fenilli was sold to Napoli. Manager Franz Sedlacek was confirmed.
Lazio’s first three games were all losses: 6-2 against Bologna away, 1-0 home to Brescia and 4-2 at Cremona. Sedlacek was sacked and in came former Lazio legend Fernando Saraceni.
The match: Sunday, October 28, 1928, Campo Rondinella, Rome
Lazio took control early, dictating the pace for the first twenty-five minutes, though Pro Vercelli rarely looked in serious danger. The Piedmont side tested goalkeeper Ezio Sclavi in the 25th minute after a corner, and a minute later Giuseppe Cavanna parried a dangerous Aldo Spivach shot. At 31 minutes, Cavanna was again on hand to deny a Silvio Griggio effort. The remainder of the first half saw both teams battle in midfield, with goalkeepers largely untroubled.
Early in the second half, referee Casetta — who had overseen the match effectively — sent off Mario Zanello for persistent rough play. Lazio pushed forward, trying to capitalize on the numerical advantage, but in the 10th minute a swift counterattack between Luigi Bajardi and Giuseppe Seccatore allowed the latter to beat Sclavi, helped by a moment of hesitation from Dino Canestri.
Lazio struck back just four minutes later. Carlo Cevenini V, set up by Spivach, unleashed a precise, angled shot from fifteen meters that left Cavanna no chance. The final thirty minutes turned into a relentless Lazio siege on the Vercelli goal. Yet Cavanna stood tall, turning aside three attempts from Spivach, Francesco Rier, and, in a truly spectacular save, Leopoldo Caimmi — keeping his side in the game.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Saraceni I
Who played for Pro Vercelli
Cavanna, Zanello, Bredo, Pensatti, Ardizzone, Greppi, Lepora, Villa, Bajardi, Seccatore, Casalino
Manager: Soutschek
Referee: Casetta
Goals: 55’ Seccatore, 59’ Cevenini V
What happened next
After the bad start Lazio gradually started to play well and accumulate points. At the end of the first 15 games the Biancocelesti had won three, drawn two and lost all the others. In came new manager Augusto Rangone. In the next 8 games Lazio won three and lost the others so Ferenc Molnar was appointed new manager. The Hungarian made a difference and Lazio were able to win 4 matches out of 6. The final game of the season was a decider against Napoli who had the same points as Lazio. Eighth position would have meant Serie A for the following year. But the match was a goalless draw so both teams were forced to go to a playoff.
On June 23 1929 at the Stadio San Siro in Milan, Lazio and Napoli played to death but there was no winner. The match ended 2-2. A second playoff was scheduled for June 30 at Padova but it was postponed.
At this point politics took control. Serie A needed to have both Napoli and Triestina because they could not start a national championship with neither a southern Italian team nor one from Venezia Giulia, that had become Italian only ten years earlier. As a consequence, Lazio too were admitted to the 1929-30 Serie A which instead of being made up of 16 teams, was now going to be 18. The same happened for Serie B so Prato, Legnano, Reggiana and Fiorentina would play in the second tier.
Bottacini and Spivach were the players with most appearances (30) and Spivach the leading goal scorer (13).
Let’s talk about Riccardo Barisonzo
Riccardo Barisonzo was born in Cagliari on May 24, 1882. He was elected President of the Lazio football sector in 1926 and re-elected in 1927 and 1929 before the arrival of Remo Zenobi.
He was member of parliament in 1929 and in 1930 was elected President of the Italian Federation of Heavy Athletics (weightlifting, wrestling) and held that position until 1941. At the same time, in 1931 he served as President of Trastevere and, from October of that same year, President of Lazio’s Rugby Section.
In 1932, he also took on the role of Vice President of the International Federation of Weightlifting and was elected President of Lazio’s Rugby, Clay Pigeon Shooting (Tiro a Volo), and Basketball Sections — the latter of which he led until 1946.
On December 3, 1939, he was elected President of the Hockey Section. Finally, on September 18, 1940, he President of the Roller-Skating Section.
In 1940, he was awarded the Stella al Merito Sportivo (Star of Sporting Merit).
He died in Cagliari in 1969.
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