Good point
Lazio defend well and bring a point back to Rome
Also on this day: December 28, 1969, Bari Lazio 0-0. Bari and Lazio were too terrified to lose to be able to play out a decent match. The goalless draw was inevitable. Player of the day: Ferruccio Mazzola II
The season so far
The previous season had been disappointing and Lazio only arrived 10th so, for the 1947-48 season, fans hoped for a better year. Toni Cargnelli was confirmed as manager and the most important new arrivals were Flavio Cecconi from Venezia and Sergio Piacentini from Sampdoria plus Brazilian Orlando Fantoni. Leaving the capital were Luigi Cassano and Henglebert Koenig to Sampdoria, Bruno Ispiro and Antonio Sessa to Triestina, plus Edoardo Valenti to Perugia. In the autumn transfer window, Leandro Remondini from Modena and Romano Penzo were added.
So far, the Biancocelesti were not doing well and after 13 games they were 14th, two points clear of the relegation zone. They had only won three games (Modena, Pro Patria and Inter).
The match: Sunday, December 28, 1947, Stadio Comunale, Bologna
The game began with a rather big problem. Due to a local strike, the referee did not have any linesmen. The referee asked the two teams to allow two substitutes to fulfil the job, but Francesco Antonazzi chosen for Lazio declared that he could not do it so Mario Scotto chose two Bologna players.
This was a rather boring match which Lazio dominated in the first half even if they never created any chances, while in the second the Biancocelesti concentrated more on bringing home a point. The only possibilities Bologna had in the game were on free kicks but the specialist Bela Sarosi was always off target. The most important chance for Bologna was in the 26th minute. A fantastic team move allowed Amedeo Biavati to shoot, Uber Gradella managed to parry, Giuseppe Baiocchi had a massive opportunity with the tap in, but he kicked the ball out. In the second half Bologna managed to shoot at goal a couple of times with Istavan Mike and Gino Cappello but Gradella was safe. In the 75th minute Alessandro Ferri was sent off but Lazio did not suffer too much. The match ended in a logical goalless draw.
Who played for Bologna
Vanz, Giovannini, Spadoni, Cingolani, B. Sárosi, Marchese, Biavati, Cappello, Mike, Gritti, Baiocchi
Manager: Gyula Lelovics
Who played for Lazio
Gradella, Carton, Piacentini, Brunetti, Remondini, Ferri, Puccinelli, Fantoni IV, Alzani, Penzo I, Lombardini
Manager: Cargnelli
Referee: Scotto
What happened next
At home Lazio were a force to be reckoned with, but away from home their performances were pretty dismal. After the first half of the season Lazio were 13th with 17 points, just two points off the relegation zone. Cargnelli was sacked and replaced with Orlando Tognotti.
The new manager was able to improve things. Lazio continued to be disappointing away from home, just one game won … against Roma, but at home they beat Inter and Bologna plus a great 5-0 win against Fiorentina. Lazio finished 10th with 39 points. One could not really ask for more especially as with 12 away defeats out of 20 there was not much room to earn more points.
Romolo Alzani was the player with most appearances (38), Romano Penzo scored the most goals (17).
Lazio 1947-48
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 40 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 54 |
Top five appearances
Player | Serie A |
Alzani | 38 |
Remondini | 35 |
Gradella | 34 |
Puccinelli | 34 |
Penzo | 33 |
Top 5 goal scorers
Player | Goals |
Penzo | 17 |
Remondini | 6 |
Puccinelli | 6 |
De Andreis | 6 |
Magrini | 5 |
Cecconi | 5 |
Let’s talk about Sergio Piacentini
Sergio Piacentini was born on July 21, 1920 in Piombino, near Livorno. He started playing football with the Torino youth teams and debuted in Serie A on September 17, 1939 in the home game against Milan. He played five seasons in Turin, winning the scudetto in 1942-43 and 1945-46. In 1943-44 he played for Alessandria in the local championship that took the place of Serie A during World War II.
After his second championship win, he signed for the newly formed Sampdoria, born out of the merger between Doria and Sampierdarenese. In 1947 he moved to Rome to play for Lazio. He stayed four seasons, appearing in 75 games (73 in Serie A and two in the Latin Cup) with one goal. In his last season in Rome, Lazio arrived fourth under Mario Sperone behind the north Italian giants Juventus, Milan and Inter.
He played his last professional year in 1951-52 with the Roman team Chinotto Neri in Serie C.
He won one cap with the Italy Under 21's.
Piacentini was a strong right back who had quite a successful career. He died in Rome in April 1990.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Latin Cup |
1947-48 | 26 | 26 | - |
1948-49 | 38 (1) | 38 (1) | - |
1949-50 | 11 | 9 | 2 |
Total | 75 (1) | 73 (1) | 2 |
Sources
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