Good practice game on lake

Dag Jenkins
Aug 15, 2023
3 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Season 1961-62

Pre Season Friendly

Tuesday, August 15, 1961

Campo Sportivo Comunale, Bolsena (Viterbo)

Vulsinia-Lazio 1-3

Lazio score three first half goals against strengthened amateurs

Lazio had only been training for five days and this was their first summer friendly. Serie B would start on September 3 away to Cosenza while the Coppa Italia would begin on August 27 at home against Genoa.

Vulsinia are an amateur club from Bolsena in the province of Viterbo in northern Lazio. Volsini was an important Etruscan town which was destroyed by the Romans in 264 BC . It was then rebuilt as Volsinii Novi and is modern day Bolsena, situated on the what was known as Lake Volsinio, now also Bolsena. It is the biggest lake in Lazio and 5th in Italy.

In the 1960s, 70s and 80s Lazio would often play friendlies in small villages around the region. These were festive occasions where you could see the players up close. I saw one game in Cerveteri as a boy in the late 1970s where I was literally kneeling a metre from the pitch.

The match

A large crowd turned up for this big event for the village. The pitch was short, narrow and uneven making passing difficult and increasing the risk of injuries.

Lazio were already missing defender Adelmo Eufemi and forward Mario Maraschi out injured.

Lazio mixed up the cards playing a combination of regulars and reserves.

A curious fact was that in the official line-ups Franco Adorni, Nello Governato and Graziano Landoni had different surnames. This was due to the fact that they were doing their military service so officially were not allowed to be playing.

Vulsinia on the other hand had former Lazio keeper Nicola Giannisi in goal, as he was from Bolsena and currently between clubs plus two Serie A players, two from B and three from C, all under false names…

The game's script was written in the first half. Lazio took the lead on the quarter of an hour mark with Claudio Bizzarri.

The Tusciani surprisingly equalised a few minutes later with Giovanni Casciani. The Bolsena-born winger had recently played for Lazio reserves against the first team in a practice game.

Lazio soon stamped down their superiority with goals by Longoni in the 23rd minute and Juan Carlos Morrone in the 34th.

For the second half the locals made five changes and Lazio ten although Longoni and Pinti continued in place of other substituted players.

The game lost momentum and the main thing was to put minutes in the legs and avoid injury. Unfortunately the irregular surface of the field caused one victim as Diego Zanetti suffered a slight ankle sprain but soldiered on.

A good day out on Lake Bolsena. Next up were more difficult preparation games against Bologna and Partizan Belgrade, both in Rome.

Who played for Vulsinia

Giannisi, Focarelli (46' Casaroli), Bellini (46' Labardi), Cardarelli I, Bianchi (46' Focarelli), Rossi (46' Pani), Baruzzi (46' Cardarelli II), Neri, Casciani, Menichelli, Serra

Who played for Lazio

Cei (46' Pezzullo), Zanetti, Prini (46' Adorni), Carosi (46' Noletti), Seghedoni (46' Napoleoni), Gasperi (46' Vignoli), Bizzarri (46' Longoni), Mecozzi (46' Landoni), Pinti (46' Rozzoni), Morrone (46' Governato), Longoni (46' Pinti)