Bizzari and Tozzi secure Lazio win
With two goals in the second half by Bizzarri and Tozzi, Lazio secure a fundamental win.
Also on this day: December 24, 1955, Lazio Novara 2-0. The Biancocelesti beat Novara with two goals in the last 15 minutes. Player of the day: Attilio Giovannini
The season so far
During the summer of 1958, Lazio sold their star player Arne Selmonsson. The Biancocelesti were in great financial difficulty and were forced to sell their best player. Unfortunately, the highest bidder were Roma and despite various attempts to boycott the transfer, plus the fact that the Swede was not really that happy to play for the other team of Rome, Selmosson was sold to Roma.
Strangely enough it looked as Lazio was not going to suffer the loss of their best player.
The Coppa Italia was played in the solar year and for the first time since the end of World War II. The Serie A, as normal when there was a World Cup, had been anticipated by three weeks to allow the Nazionale to train before the competition. However, without Italy’s participation, there was a need to “invent” something for the Italians to think about, so, instead of launching the Coppa Italia in the 1958-59 season as initially planned, they decided to fill the June gap with the new cup.
The first group phase, which took place in June, saw Lazio win four times and draw twice, therefore winning their group. The second phase took place in September. The team with the biggest stadium had the home advantage. Lazio beat Serie B side Marzotto in the quarterfinals, Juventus in the semi-finals and Fiorentina in the final. It was the first national trophy for the club after 58 years.
There was optimism for the start of the season, but things did not go well. Just three wins in the first 11 games and a loss in the derby – with a Selmosson goal. Lazio really missed its “moon ray”, as the Swede was nicknamed.
The match on Christmas Eve was a replay of the December 7 game that had been suspended due to fog with the teams on a goalless draw.
The match: Wednesday, December 24, 1958, Stadio Giuseppe Moccagatta, Alessandria
It had rained considerably before the game and the pitch was not in a great shape. Lazio were in control for the entire match with the exception of the first few minutes. Manager Fulvio Bernardini had organised his team in attacking mode with lots of passes, but the terrible conditions of the pitch made that game plan look suicidal. Roger Vonlanthen went on the counter attack in the 4th minute and, despite being slowed down by the mud, his shot hit the post. Giovanni Molino cleared the penalty box but in came Michele Manenti who, fortunately for Lazio, hit the other post. Once the manager realised his mistake, Lazio started to have a more cautious approach. Long passes to the forwards were the key in order to overcome the conditions of the pitch.
Vonlanthen was dangerous on numerous occasions but the Lazio defenders mitigated the perils. In the 35th minute Humberto Tozzi had a chance but his shot was saved by the Alessandria goalkeeper. Six minutes later Franco Carradori shot wide, as did Tozzi at the end of the first half.
There was no contest in the second half. Alessandria’s forwards began to tire and Lazio dominated. Lazio scored in the 53rd minute. Carlo Tagnin took a free kick, the ball reached Egidio Fumagalli whose first cross was sent back by the defence, but his second attempt reached Claudio Bizzarri. The right-winger stopped the ball and shot it under the cross bar. 1-0 for Lazio.
The referee sent off Aldo Nardi in the 72nd minute and three minutes later Lazio made it two. Bruno Franzini passed the ball to Tozzi who beat the goalkeeper. Alessandria scored in the dying minutes but an offside decision did not allow the Piemontese to reduce the deficit.
A tough match, in difficult conditions, but a nice Christmas present for the Lazio supporters.
Who played for Alessandria
Cuman, Nardi, Boniardi, Snidero, Pedroni, Pistorello, Castaldo, Manenti, Vonlanthen, Dorigo, Tacchi.
Manager: Pedroni.
Who played for Lazio
Lovati, Lo Buono, Eufemi, Carradori, Molino, Tagnin, Bizzarri, Franzini, Tozzi, Costariol, Fumagalli
Manager: Bernardini
Referee: Jonni
Goals: 53’ Bizzarri, 75’ Tozzi
What happened next
Lazio continued their inconsistency throughout the season and suffered some humiliating losses (5-0 against Milan, 6-1 against Juventus), including the derby with Selmosson scoring yet again. In the first half of the season Lazio totalled only 14 points. The second half went only slightly better (16 points). The final 11th place was certainly not good enough.
Humberto Tozzi was the player with most appearances (33) and Lazio’s best goal scorer (14).
Lazio 1958-59
Competition | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 37 |
Coppa Italia 1958 (final phase) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Coppa Italia 1958-59 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Total | 39 | 14 | 10 | 15 | 45 |
Top Five Appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia 1958 (final phase) | Coppa Italia 1958-59 |
Tozzi | 37 | 33 | 3 | 1 |
Carradori | 36 | 32 | 3 | 1 |
Janich | 36 | 32 | 3 | 1 |
Lo Buono | 34 | 30 | 3 | 1 |
Tagnin | 33 | 29 | 3 | 1 |
Top Five Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia 1958 (final phase) | Coppa Italia 1958-59 |
Tozzi | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 |
Prini | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
Fumagalli | 4 | 2 | 2 | - |
Bizzarri | 3 | 3 | - | - |
Carradori | 3 | 3 | - | - |
Let’s talk about Humberto Tozzi
Mad. Crazy. Lazy. Genius. These are four of the many words which fans and media used when they had to describe Humberto Tozzi. A centre-forward with great potential, he did not like to train and sometimes he did not even want to play, but he could change the course of a game in a second.
To help understand the type of player he was, we can take as an example the game against Bologna on December 21 1958, a few days before this match. Humberto literally did not move for the entire game. If the ball came his way, he just let it pass. The entire Stadium was booing him and manager Bernardini did not know what to do (at that time you could not substitute players). Lazio fell behind at the end of the first half. In the 78th minute, quite by chance, the ball hit him and he woke up. He got the ball, dribbled the entire Bologna defence, the goalkeeper, and equalised. Ball back to the centre of the pitch, Tozzi got the ball and repeated what he did for the first goal. 2-1 for Lazio. Tozzi triumphs!!!
His career is interesting. Born in Sao Joao de Meriti near Rio de Janiero on April 4, 1934, he started showing promise in Rio de Janeiro’s team Sao Critstovao in 1950 and at 18 he was called to represent Brazil at the Helsinki Olympic Games where he scored the first ever Brazilian goal at the Olympics.
Back at home, in 1953 he moved to Palmeiras where he won the golden boot of the Sao Paolo league. He was called by the national team against Chile and played in the qualifiers of the Swiss World Cup. In the latter he played just one match, the last, when Brazil were eliminated by Hungary. In that match he was sent off. He won the golden boot again in 1954. In 1955 he scored his first and only goal for Brazil.
Lazio bought him from Palmeiras in 1956 and declared him oriundo (an immigrant with Italian ancestry, therefore not considered a foreign player). The Italian Federation was not particularly convinced but in the end Tozzi played his first game for Lazio in December.
He was a fundamental part of the Lazio team and formed a spectacular attacking partnership with Selmosson. He often had disagreements with managers, was always late for training, he loved spending money and loved partying. But he did score goals and was an exceptional player, so everything was forgotten and forgiven.
He played 103 games for Lazio (92 in Serie A and 11 in Coppa Italia) and scored 45 goals (32 in Serie A and 13 in Coppa Italia). He was a key member of the team that won the Coppa Italia in 1958, Lazio’s first ever national trophy.
He went back to Palmeiras in 1960, after refusing to be sold to Torino and despite Lazio offering him a big increase in wages. He won the Brazilian national championship in 1960 and was runner up in the Copa Libertadores the following year. Later in his career he played for Fluminense, Portuguesa and Olaria.
He died in 1980, at 46 years of age.
He will always be remembered as one of Lazio’s legendary players.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1956-57 | 19 (9) | 19 (9) | - |
1957-58 | 31 (16) | 25 (7) | 6 (9) |
1958-59 | 37 (18) | 33 (14) | 4 (4) |
1959-60 | 16 (2) | 15 (2) | 1 |
Total | 103 (45) | 92 (32) | 11 (13) |
Sources
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