September 1, 1907: Sport Club Siena Lazio 0-5

Simon Basten
14 hours ago
4 min read

Overwhelming Superiority

Lazio score five in 30 minutes – and the game is stopped!

The season so far

These were the early days of football in Rome. In the previous season, Lazio had won the first Roman League with ease, beating Virtus and Roman to establish themselves as the leading club in the capital.

In September, Lazio were invited to take part in a football match during an interprovincial gymnastics competition in Perugia, where they faced Sport Club Siena.

The match: Sunday, September 1, 1907, Perugia

The match lasted just 30 minutes.

By that time, Lazio had already scored five goals. Their superiority was so overwhelming that the organisers decided to bring the game to an early end, particularly as the event's schedule was already running late.

The Lazio players were awarded diplomas and bottles of wine as prizes before leaving the field.

Who played for Sport Club Siena

Unknown

Who played for Lazio

Zaccagna, Federici, Andreoli, Omodei, Dos Santos, Faccani, Pellegrini, Saraceni I, Ancherani, Zucchi I, Baldi

Goals: Lazio 5 in the first 30 minutes

What happened next

The extraordinary match in Perugia was only the beginning. Lazio went on to play another seven matches, winning the Coppa Tosti and the Interregional Pisa Tournament – an extraordinary competition in which they won three games in a single day!

Let’s talk about Francisco Dos Santos

Francisco dos Santos was born in Paiões, near Sintra, Portugal, on 22 October 1878. Orphaned of his father at the age of two, he entered the Casa Pia institution in Lisbon as a child, where his exceptional talent for drawing and modelling quickly became apparent. He subsequently attended the Lisbon School of Fine Arts, studying under the sculptor José Simões de Almeida and graduating with distinction. Football was already part of his life: he played for the Casa Pia team before continuing his studies and sporting activities in Portugal.

In 1903, dos Santos won a state scholarship to continue his artistic education in Paris. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and worked in the studio of the celebrated sculptor Charles Raoul Verlet. His time in Paris was financially difficult, however, and in 1906 he obtained another scholarship, this time allowing him to move to Rome and continue his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts. Rome would prove decisive not only for his artistic development but also for his football career.

Dos Santos encountered Lazio while in Rome in 1906. According to LazioWiki, he came across the Biancocelesti playing football in Villa Borghese and was immediately attracted by what he saw. Already an experienced footballer from his time in Portugal, he asked to become a member of the club and was accepted. He soon established himself as one of Lazio's most important players. A midfielder noted for his intelligence, vision and understanding of the game, he eventually became captain of the Lazio football team.

His time with Lazio coincided with some of the most important successes of the club's pioneering years. Dos Santos was part of the team that won the 1908 inter-regional final in Pisa, when Lazio famously played three matches in a single day on 7 June to establish themselves as champions of Central and Southern Italy. He also helped the Biancocelesti win the Coppa Tosti and Coppa Baccelli, further establishing Lazio as the leading football team in Rome and one of the strongest in central Italy.

His presence in the Lazio team was also significant in the wider history of football. Dos Santos is generally regarded as the first Portuguese footballer to play abroad, having played for Lazio between 1906 and 1909. He was also one of the earliest foreign players to make a significant contribution to Roman football. Lazio itself describes him as one of the club's pioneering foreign-born athletes and highlights his later importance in Portuguese football.

Football, however, remained only one part of dos Santos' remarkable life. His years in Italy were extremely important artistically. His scholarship was extended, allowing him to remain in Rome beyond the original period, and he produced works including Crepúsculo, which is now held at the Museu do Chiado in Lisbon. His work during this period shows the influence of both the classical artistic tradition he encountered in Italy and the more modern sculptural approaches he had studied in Paris, particularly those associated with Auguste Rodin.

Dos Santos returned permanently to Portugal in 1909, although he continued to play football after his return. He became involved with Sporting Clube de Portugal and remained active in the game until at least 1911, sometimes even working as a referee. At the same time, his reputation as an artist grew rapidly. In 1910–11 he won a competition for a female bust representing the new Portuguese Republic, while his later works included Salomé, Marinheiro ao Leme and Prometeu. His artistic career culminated in his involvement in the monumental Marquês de Pombal project in Lisbon, for which his team won the competition.

His artistic style combined academic training with a more dynamic and expressive approach. Art historians have noted the influence of Rodin and other European sculptors, while his works are characterised by movement, strong modelling and considerable emotional intensity. Salomé, now in the Museu do Chiado, is regarded as one of his masterpieces, while Marinheiro ao Leme and the Marquês de Pombal monument remain among the most visible reminders of his work in Lisbon.

Dos Santos died suddenly in Lisbon on 27 April 1930, aged only 51, bringing to an end the life of an extraordinary sporting and artistic pioneer. He had succeeded in two very different worlds: he became a respected figure in Portuguese sculpture while also leaving his mark on the formative years of Lazio. His story is therefore particularly unusual in football history — a pioneering Portuguese artist who came to Rome to study sculpture, discovered Lazio almost by chance, became its captain and helped the club win some of its earliest major honours.

Lazio Career

Season	Total games (goals)	Perugia Trophy	Viscogliosi-Baccelli Cup	Interregional Pisa Trophy	Tosti Cup
1907-08	6 (1)	1	1 (1)	3	1
1908-09	2	-	-	-	2
Total	8 (1)	1	1(1)	3	3