A prestigious victory
A fantastic and deserved win for Lazio against Inter thanks to goals from Magrini, Flamini and Sentimenti III
Also on this day: April 16, 1933, Pro Patria Lazio 2-3. Gabriotti, Demaria and Fantoni I give Lazio a deserved victory. Player of the day: Francesco Gabriotti
The season so far
In the summer 1949 Lazio were looking for a centre forward. They almost bought Jean Baratte, but the deal fell through at the last minute. A lot of players were tried out but in the end, Manager Mario Sperone had to make do with the previous season’s forwards plus the return of Flavio Cecconi. Only in November did Lazio finally find their centre forward: Dionisio Arce.
Lots of players were signed in the summer transfer window: Lucidio Sentimenti IV, his brother, Vittorio Sentimenti III, Zeffiro Furiassi, Edmondo Veronici and Aldo De Fazio. Some players had to go to make room for the new ones and among them was goalkeeper Uber Gradella, who had never completely recovered from a knee injury, and Salvador Gualtieri. They both quit football altogether.
The new Lazio took a few games to develop into a team but when they did they became a force to be reckoned with. The Biancocelesti crushed Roma in the first derby of the season 3-1, won 5-2 away from home against Sampdoria and demolished Novara at home 4-0. They also beat Milan and Juventus.
Coming into this game Lazio were fourth, just three points behind Inter.
The match: Sunday, April 16, 1950, Stadio Nazionale, Rome
Lazio started the game much stronger than Inter and scored in the 7th minute. Sentimenti III passed the ball to Aldo Puccinelli on the right who crossed. Enrique Flamini had everything figured out even before the ball left the Lazio winger's foot. His volley was unstoppable and Lazio went ahead.
It could have been two up almost immediately after but Ferenc Nyers II shot was just wide. In the 11th minute Servaas Wilkes had a chance to equalise but he shot wide from a favourable position.
Lazio scored again in the 15th minute. Romano Penzo crossed into the middle of the box, Camillo Achilli had a second of indecision which Mario Magrini exploited to the fullest. 2-0 for Lazio.
Inter started pushing and Gino Armano, thanks to a Wilkes assist, had a chance but Sentimenti IV saved. The Lazio legendary keeper did the same shortly after on an Aldo Campatelli shot from outside the box. In the 30th minute Inter lost Achilli due to injury (there were no substitutions then). Despite the inferiority, Inter closed the gap in the 38th minute. Campatelli crossed a free kick into the box that Wilkes headed towards the goal. The header was weak and Leandro Remondini left it for Sentimenti IV. Unfortunately for Lazio the ball hit his backside allowing Istvan Nyers I a comfortable tap in. An error of over confidence.
The second half started exactly like the first. In the 50th minute Sentimenti III had the ball 25 metres from the goal. “Who do I pass it to?”, he asked himself. All the Biancocelesti were marked, so Vittorio attempted a shot. The missile that came off his boot would have been impossible to save even for Superman. 3-1 for Lazio.
Inter started pushing again and Wilkes hit the woodwork twice with a single shot. Francesco Antonazzi then fouled Nyers I in the box in the 75th minute. Penalty for Inter and Nyers I scored his double.
In the chaos that followed Penzo and Puccinelli missed easy chances. Campatelli had the last ball of the match. His cross in the box was headed wide by Renato Miglioli.
A great win for Lazio, now just one point behind third place.
Who played for Lazio
Sentimenti IV, Antonazzi, Furiassi, Alzani, Remondini, Sentimenti III, Puccinelli, Magrini, Penzo, Flamini, Nyers II
Manager: Sperone
Who played for Inter
Soldan, Miglioli, Basso, Giacomazzi, Campatelli, Achilli, Armano, Wilkes, Amadei, Fiorini, Nyers I.
Manager: Cappelli
Referee: Bertolio
Goals: 7’ Flamini, 15’ Magrini, 38’ Nyers I, 50’ Sentimenti III, 75’ Nyers I (pen)
What happened next
Lazio arrived fourth behind the great northern teams Juventus, Milan and Inter. They managed to win at least one game against the greats and played very well throughout the season. They had a very strong defence and were the team that conceded less goals, together with Juventus, just 43.
Sentimenti IV played more than anybody else (37 games) and Hofling was the top scorer with 13 goals.
At the end of the season Lazio played the Latin Cup, an international competition between the French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian teams, because the top three Italian teams had declined participation. The Biancocelesti were unable to do much due to the might of Benfica (lost 3-0) and Atletico Madrid (lost 2-1), but in this case merely participating was a big honour for Lazio.
Lazio 1949-50
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 67 |
Latin Cup | 2 | - | - | 2 | 1 |
Total | 40 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 68 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Latin Cup |
Sentimenti IV | 37 | 37 | |
Sentimenti III | 37 | 36 | 1 |
Furiassi | 36 | 36 | |
Puccinelli | 35 | 34 | 1 |
Antonazzi | 35 | 33 | 2 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Serie A |
Hofling | 13 |
Puccinelli | 10 |
Flamini | 10 |
Remondini | 7 |
Penzo | 7 |
Let's talk about Mario Magrini
Mario Magrini was born on October 25 1919 at Monfalcone near Gorizia. In reality his surname was Magrin, but under Mussolini anybody with even a hint of being foreign had to change name to make it more Italian.
He began his football career in the youth team of Monfalcone and in 1938 debuted in Serie A with Triestina. He played a couple of years in Trieste before moving first to Livorno and then to Spezia.
In 1946 he joined Lazio and stayed for six years. He was a good, reliable midfielder who occasionally also scored goals and was part of the team that reached fourth place for three consecutive seasons from 1949 to 1952. In his stay at Lazio he played 153 games in Serie A with 23 goals, twice in the Latin Cup and twice in the Zentropa Cup.
In 1952 he signed for Monza in Serie B where he played his last professional season.
He died at Monfalcone in 1978.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Latin Cup | Zentropa Cup |
1946-47 | 31 (2) | 31 (2) | - | - |
1947-48 | 32 (5) | 32 (5) | - | - |
1948-49 | 32 (9) | 32 (9) | - | - |
1949-50 | 25 (3) | 23 (3) | 2 | - |
1950-51 | 22 (3) | 20 (3) | - | 2 |
1951-52 | 15 (1) | 15 (1) | - | - |
Total | 157 (23) | 153 (23) | 2 | 2 |
Sources
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