Lazio make it difficult but win
Two goals up and missing a penalty Lazio let Bari back into game but survive Cockerels late revival
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished a positive 4th, under Hungarian manager Géza Kertész. The highlights were wins against Juventus 4-0, Roma 1-0, at home and Fiorentina 3-2, Milan 2-0 and Bari 5-1 away. Top scorer was Silvio Piola with 10 goals (9 in A).
This season Kertész had started but was replaced by Ferenc Molnár after 6 games. The main new players this season were: keeper Uber Gradella (Verona), defender Italo Romagnoli (Napoli), midfielders Alberto Fazio (San Lorenzo), Salvador Gautieri (San Lorenzo) plus forward Aldo Puccinelli (Pontedera) and Otello Zironi (Modena).
Saying goodbye were: keepers Giacomo Blason (Napoli) and Vincenzo Provera (Pro Vercelli), defender Maximiliano Faotto (Napoli), midfielders Bruno Camolese (Vicenza), Luigi Milano (Napoli) plus forwards Evaristo Barrera (Napoli), Umberto Busani (Napoli) and Giovanni Costa (Spezia).
Some important players in Lazio history were coming and going.
So far, in Serie A Lazio had played 11 games and were joint 11th with Milano and Napoli on 9 points. The Biancocelesti had won 2 (including the most recent game a 4-1 home win against Venezia), drawn 5 (including Juventus 2-2 at home on debut and derby 1-1) and lost 4. There were two relegation slots and Lazio were only one point above.
Bari had finished 11th in Serie A the previous season. The Galletti had got through three managers; Hungarian András Kuttik (1-10), Raffaele Costantino (11-21) and future Lazio, Luigi Ferrero (22-30). Bari had beaten Lazio 1-0 in Rome but then lost 1-5 at home. Bari had reached the semi-finals of Coppa Italia but lost 0-2 away to Genova 1893. Top scorer was Lino Begnini with 11 (9 in A)
This year initially the manager was Giambattista Patarino but he had been sacked after 8 games and replaced by Angelo Albanese. The main novelties to the squad were: keeper Leonardo Costagliola (Pro Italia-Taranto), defender Pietro Tabor (Livorno), midfielders Ivo Isetto (Montevarchi), Achille Piccini (Lucchese), José Campagnucci (Macerata), Ottavio Rossi (Siracusa) plus forwards Sergio Trevisan (Potenza), Luciano Alghisi (Roma) and Gaetano Lupi (Molinella-on loan).
Leaving were: defenders Ambrogio Alfonso (Livorno), Fabio Del Bianco (Livorno), midfielders Silvio Bonino (Livorno), Renato Cappellini (Napoli), Raffaele Mancini (Livorno) plus forwards Alessandro Duè (Trani) and Riza Lushta (Juventus).
An interesting player in the squad was Tommaso Maestrelli who would later become a Lazio legend as manager winning the 1973-74 Scudetto.
Bari were not doing well. The Biancorossi were currently bottom of the table with 6 points. They had won 1 (Triestina 4-2 away), drawn 4 and lost 6. They came from a 0-4 thumping in Florence and had conceded 31 goals in 11 games.
A good opportunity for Lazio to pull themselves up in the league table.
The match: Sunday, December 29, 1940, Stadio della Vittoria, Bari
A perfect day for football, sunny and mild, gathered about 12,000 spectators.
Bari were without midfielder Ivo Isetto while Lazio had first keeper Uber Gradella and defender Giuseppe Baldo missing.
The Romans appeared superior from the start. They took the lead after fifteen minutes with the help of the Bari defence. Italo Romagnoli belted the ball forward and two defenders missed it with one then going for a back pass to the keeper which proved too short, Enrique Flamini sprinted forward, went around the keeper and slotted it in. Bari 0 Lazio 1.
Bari attempted a reaction but it was Lazio who had a colossal chance to double their lead. An Ottavio Rossi handball gave them an opportunity from the spot kick. Otello Zironi stepped up but hit the crossbar, the ball bounced back and Luciano Ramella had a go but Alfonso Ricciardi saved. A few minutes later Luigi Vettraino missed a sitter so at half time it was Bari 0 Lazio 1.
Lazio in control but should have been two up. It was the third penalty out of four they had missed this season.
In the second half Bari piled forward. For the first ten minutes Lazio did not come out of their own half but the Galletti were unable to score.
It was instead Lazio who scored again in the 58th minute. A Silvio Piola pass forward found Umberto "Bomba" Lombardini who surged forward and beat Ricciardi. The Lazio player had seemed offside but the linesman flag stayed down. Bari 0 Lazio 2.
Lazio relaxed and Bari pushed forward again. They managed to pull a goal back in the 80th minute. Corrado Giubilo parried a shot but Ottorino Dugini was the quickest on the rebound and Bari were back in the game, 1-2.
The Biancorossi threw themselves at the Lazio defence but despite constant pressure and a few scrambles in the area the visitors were able to keep the Galletti out. Final score Bari 1 Lazio 2.
Lazio had won with merit but had made it unnecessarily difficult for themselves. With a two goal lead they had let the bottom of the table side back into the game and had to suffer to defend the win.
The main thing however was leaving Puglia with the two points. Lazio were now joint 9th with Milan and Venezia on 11 points, two points above the drop zone. With the win the Biancocelesti had also overtaken city rivals Roma who had lost 1-3 at home to Novara.
Bari meanwhile had seen the distance from survival increase from two points to three (Triestina had surprisingly beaten Inter 2-0 and Genoa drawn 1-1 at Bergamo).
Who played for Bari
Ricciardi, Andrighetto, De Boni, Carlini, Arienti, Rossi, Trevisan, Begnini, Fusco, Dugini, Fabbri
Manager: Albanese
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Molnár
Referee: Galeati
Goals: 15' Flamini, 58' Lombardini, 80' Dugini
What happened next
Lazio just managed to avoid relegation on goal difference. The Biancocelesti finished 14th. After another five games Molnár was replaced by Dino Canestri with Lazio 15th, in the second relegation slot. Things then improved with 4 wins (including derby 2-0), 6 draws (including Inter 1-1 away) and 2 defeats. Top scorer was Silvio Piola with 10 league goals.
Things went better in the Coppa Italia where Lazio reached the semi-finals. The Biancocelesti defeated Triestina 2-1 away, Milano 2-0 away and Spezia 5-2 away but then lost to Venezia 1-3 away.
Bari ended up rock bottom and relegated. After today's game Albanese was sacked and in came Pasquale Ranieri but the Galletti would only win another 4, draw 1 (Lazio 2-2) and lose 12. Top scorer was Sergio Trevisan with 7 league goals.
In Coppa Italia, Bari went out immediately losing 0-2 at home to Novara.
Bari however would bounce straight back up the following season, winning the Serie B championship.
The 1940-41 Scudetto was won by Bologna for the 6th time while Bari went down with Novara.
Let’s talk about Alfonso Ricciardi
Alfonso Ricciardi was born in Avellino, on October 21, 1913.
His first club was his hometown Avellino, in those days called Avellinese.
In 1933 he joined Campobasso in Seconda Divisione (4th tier). The Lupi finished first and were promoted to Prima Divisione (3rd tier) after a playoff. Ricciardi played 18 league games.
In 1934 he moved to Salernitana where he stayed for four seasons. The Granata were in Prima Divisione and finished 2nd thus joining Serie C where they finished 6th, 2nd and 1st (promoted to Serie B). Ricciardi played 94 league games.
In 1938 he signed for Bari in Serie A and stayed three seasons.
In his first the manager was Hungarian József Ging and Bari finished 11th. Ricciardi played 11 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.
In the second the managers were three: Hungarian András Kuttik (1-10), Raffaele Costantino (11-21) and finally future Lazio manager Luigi Ferrero (22-30) and the Galletti again finished 11th and reached the Coppa Italia semi-finals (Genova 0-2). Ricciardi played more regularly making 29 league appearances.
In his final year, under Ferrero the Biancorossi were relegated finishing 16th and Ricciardi again played 29 league games plus 3 in Coppa Italia. In his three seasons one of his teammates was legendary future Lazio manager Tommaso Maestrelli.
In 1941 he joined Milano (Italianised name for Milan at the time). He stayed two seasons.
In the first he made no appearances under Mario Magnozzi and the Rossoneri finished 10th and were losing finalists in the Coppa Italia (Juventus 2-5 on aggregate). The main keeper was Giovanni Rossetti.
The following season, still under Magnozzi, Milan finished 6th and Ricciardi played 3 league games. In his days with the Rossoneri his teammates included former Lazio Paolo Todeschini (1948-49 as player and 1961-62 as manager).
During the war years in 1943-44 he played for Seregno (Monza) where he also had his first experience as coach in the Lombard mixed Serie C- Prima Divisione league in which the Azzurri finished 3rd.
After the war he played one last season for Torrese (Torre Annunziata- Napoli) modern day Savoia. He only played 2 league games but the Oplontini were promoted to Serie B despite finishing 4th. This was to reward the club for having kept the club going during the war years.
Ricciardi then retired at 32 and concentrated on coaching.
He started in his hometown of Avellino. He stayed for two seasons between 1947 and 1949. The Irpini were in the Lega Interregionale of Serie C and finished 3rd and 1st but were relegated due to disciplinary offenses.
In 1949-50 he spent a season at Campobasso again. The Rossoblu were in the Lega Interregionale Sud of Promozione (4th tier) and finished 2nd.
In 1950 he joined Livorno in Serie B. The Amaranto finished 3rd. The following season he stayed on but after 16 games was replaced by Englishman Edmund Crawford. The "Triglie" were eventually relegated.
After stepping down as head coach at Livorno he continued to work for them first as sporting director and then as administrative director.
In 1956 he joined Lazio as a director and became general secretary of the club. In 1962 he also had a brief spell as technical director with Bob Lovati on the bench. They took over from Paolo Todeschini after 21 games but were then replaced by Carlo Facchini after six games (W1, D2, L3). Lazio eventually finished 4th but not without controversy as in a crucial game against Napoli a perfectly good goal was absurdly disallowed and the Partenopei then finished one point ahead of Lazio and won promotion.
Ricciardi was a goalkeeper. He played 72 games in Serie A and was on Milan's books for two years. He won two promotions: Campobasso to the third tier and Salernitana to Serie B. It was at Bari however where he had most satisfactions.
As a manager he won another promotion to Serie B with Avellino but it was then revoked through no fault of his own.
At Lazio he will be remembered mainly as a director. The idea to make him manager was an idea of president Massimo Giovannini and at the time even Ricciardi himself expressed doubts about the decision as he did not have vast coaching experience and had been working in other roles for several years.
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