September 11, 1949: Lucchese-Lazio 2-2
A fair point on debut
Despite showing superiority in the second half Lazio have to settle for a point in Lucca
The season so far
Lazio had finished 13th in Serie A the previous season. The manager was first Orlando Tognotti (1-10) and then Mario Sperone. The highlights were beating Bologna 8-2, Genoa, Modena and Palermo all 5-1 and Triestina 4-0. Both derbies ended up in draws. Top scorer was Romano Penzo with 12 league goals.
This season Sperone stayed on as manager and Lazio were active on the transfer market. Arriving were: keeper Lucidio Sentimenti IV (Juventus), defender Zeffiro Furiassi (Fiorentina), midfielders Flavio Cecconi (Atalanta) and Vittorio Sentimenti III (Juventus) plus forward Dionisio Arce (Sporting Luqueño).
Leaving were: keepers Uber Gradella (retiring) and Marco Brandolin (Udinese), midfielders Salvador Gualtieri (Vicenza) and Guido Tavellin (Verona-on loan), Paolo Todeschini (Napoli) plus forward Costantino De Andreis (Napoli).
Today was the Serie A opener at Lucca.
Lucchese had finished 8th the previous season, under former Lazio player Gipo Viani (1934-38). Lucchese's best results were beating Juventus 2-1, Fiorentina 4-0, Roma and Novara 5-1 and Palermo 6-2, all at home. The Rossoneri beat Lazio 2-1 at home but lost 1-2 in Rome. The top scorer was Ugo Conti with 15 league goals.
This season the manager was former Genoa legend Ottavio Barbieri. The main new signings were; goalkeeper Luigi Geatti (Treviso), defenders Bruno Padulazzi (Legnano) and Araldo Caprili (Juventus), midfielders Rino Ferrario (Arezzo), Menotti Avanzolini (Fiorentina) and Gianni Toppan (Milan) plus forwards Renato Cattaneo (Vicenza), Mihály Kincses (Bari), Elio Onorato (Milan), Bruno Mazza (Genoa), Ferruccio Valcareggi (Vicenza), Franco Mori (Carrarese) and Carlo Lenci (Legnano).
Leaving were; goalkeeper Giovanni Viola (Juventus-end of loan), defenders Raffaele Cuscela (Torino), Alberto Bertuccelli (Juventus), Manrico Guerrieri (Prato) and Cesare Nay (Torino-end of loan), midfielders Mihály Uram (Spezia), Renzo Merlin (Roma) and Pietro Magni (Genoa) plus forwards Josef Fabian (Bari), Ugo Conti (Livorno), Giancarlo Bacci (Roma), Danilo Michelini (Prato), Aldo Peruzzo (Catania) and Luigi Carrello (Pro Vercelli).
Quite an overhaul to the squad.
A difficult debut for Lazio but Lucchese had made massive changes to the squad so this was a very different team from the one which had done well in 1948-49.
The match: Sunday, September 11, 1949, Stadio di Porta Elisa, Lucca
A hot and sunny day in the beautiful walled town of Lucca brought about 5,000 spectators to the small Porta Elisa ground. A consistent number had come up from Rome.
Lazio were without defender Romolo Alzani while Lucchese were missing midfielder Ferruccio Valcareggi.
The first half was extremely balanced.
Lazio took the lead in the 36th minute when Enrique Flamini finished off a good move by Norberto Höfling and Aldo Puccinelli, 0-1
Lucchese levelled three minutes later as Bruno Mazza latched onto a Luigi Rossellini free kick and his header beat Lucidio Sentimenti, 1-1.
Both keepers made some good saves and at the break the teams were even, a fair scoreline.
In the second half however Lazio dominated.
In the 49th minute Höfling hit the crossbar with the keeper beaten.
Lazio were constantly on the attack but in the 63rd minute, against the run of play, the Rossoneri scored. It was Mazza again who punished Lazio to put the Tuscans in front, 2-1.
Lazio continued to push and less than ten minutes later equalised with Serafino Montanari following a defensive hesitation by the hosts, 2-2.
A minute later both Mario Magrini and Gyula Toth were sent off for mutual pushing and shoving.
Lucchese's defence continued to look doddery but Lazio were unable to take advantage and the game ended with a point each.
A fair result although Lazio had been in control in the second half and, with a bit more lucidity and precision in front of goal, could have taken the two points. An away draw on their debut however was a decent result.
The best players for Lazio were Francesco Antonazzi, Zeffiro Furiassi and Leandro Remondini while for the Tuscans, Carlo Scarpato and Menotti Avanzolini had played very well.
Next up for Lazio was a difficult game at home to Juventus while Lucchese would play Triestina at home.
Who played for Lucchese
Geatti, Caprili, Padulazzi, Rossellini, Avanzolini, Scarpato, Cattaneo, Toth, Mazza, Kincses, Onorato
Manager: Barbieri
Who played for Lazio
Sentimenti IV, Antonazzi, Remondini, Furiassi, Sentimenti III, Montanari, Puccinelli, Magrini, Höfling, Flamini, Penzo
Manager: Sperone
Referee: Bernardi
Goals: 36' Flamini, 39' Mazza, 63' Mazza, 72' Montanari
Red Cards: 73' Magrini (La) and Toth (Lu)
What happened next
Lazio had a good season and finished 4th, on 46 points. In the remaining games Lazio won 18 (including Roma 3-1, Bologna, Inter and Milan all 3-2 and Palermo 5-0 at home, Juventus 2-1 away), drew 9 (including 2nd derby 0-0) and lost 10 (including Juventus 1-3 at home). The top scorer was Norberto Höfling with 13 league goals.
In June, Lazio would play the prestigious Latin Cup (top 3 unable to participate due to the 1950 World Cup) but lost 0-3 to Benfica and 1-2 against Atlético Madrid.
Lucchese struggled and finished 15th, on 32 points (+3 on B zone). From the 18th fixture onwards Barbieri was replaced by future Lazio manager Federico Allasio (1954). The Tuscans then won 11 (including Triestina 7-2, and Padova 6-3 at home), drew 19 (including Roma 2-2 away) and lost 17 (including Lazio 2-4 away). The top scorer was Mihály Kincses with 19 league goals.
After 1950 Lucchese only spent two more seasons in Serie A and have never been back since. They are currently in Serie D.
Out of today's squad Bruno Pedulazzi would play for Inter (2 league titles), Rino Ferrario for Juventus (2 league titles), Bruno Mazza for Inter and Fiorentina (2 league titles for Inter and 1 with La Viola) while Valcareggi would become Italy head coach (1966-74).
The 1949-50 Scudetto was won by Juventus (8th title) while Bari and Venezia went down to Serie B.
Let's talk about Lazio Jersey 1949-50
The 1949-50 shirt was similar to the previous season.
It was light blue with a white collar and three white buttons, a Polo shirt. The shorts were white while the socks were light blue.
This was the first season where the captain's arm band was introduced. Lazio chose the colour red.
Sources
Comments