Solid defensive performance gives Lazio precious away win
Vicenza attacked for most of the match but Lazio resisted the waves and clinched victory in Veneto.
Also on this day:
December 29, 1968, Lazio Foggia 2-2. Denied three penalties and two nil down, Lazio fight back with late goals and clinch a draw.
The season so far
The previous season, for the first time since 1929, the league had been divided into two groups; Alta Italia (for the Northern teams) and Centro-Sud Italia (Centre-South). The top four in each group then played against each other for the Scudetto (won by Torino).
Lazio had not qualified for the final stage, coming 7th in the Centre-South group. A disappointing season in which they had changed manager twice; from Dino Canestri to Salvador Gualtieri (player/manager) and finally Tony Cargnelli. The 1946-1947 season was again a single national league.
This season the Austrian Cargnelli had been confirmed, but there had been some changes to the squad. New faces were: defender Luigi Cassano (Alessandria), midfielders Enrique Flamini (Cruzeiro), Mario Magrini (Pro Gorizia), Luciano Ramella (Como) and forward Bruno Ispiro (Genoa). Leaving the capital were defender Aldo De Pierro (Sora), midfielder Guido Manfrè (Siracusa) and forwards Petar Manola (Olympique Lyonnais) and Ferrero Tossio (Ternana).
This season, after a winning start away at Bari, they had then lost the next three. At this stage they had 10 points after 4 wins, 2 draws and 7 defeats (including the derby).
Vicenza had not qualified for the final stage of the league either the previous season. They came 11th in the Alta Italia group. Their manager Pietro Spinato had been kept on.
This season they had started off winning away against Milan, but in the last 6 games they had only earned 2 Points. They were currently on 11 points thanks to 4 wins, 3 draws and 6 defeats. A very similar season to Lazio so far.
The match: Sunday, December 29, 1946, Stadio Comunale, Vicenza
The day was sunny but the field was slippery from the previous day's rain. Vicenza were slight favourites but Lazio fancied their chances against opposition only one point ahead in the table.
The hosts started strongly and after only two minutes Giuseppe Caleri had an effort blocked by Uber Gradella. The Lazio keeper repeated himself not even a minute later on a shot by Arnaldo Cadei. In the 22nd minute a dangerous header by Bruno Quaresima went just wide. Lazio finally came out of their shell after 25 minutes when Costantino De Andreis went close to putting them in the lead. More chances for Vicenza followed with Quaresima and Serafino Conti. In the 44th minute, however, Lazio scored against the run of play. A solo effort by De Andreis who burst down the wing, cut inside into the box and beat keeper Giuseppe Romano with a clinical finish. So, despite a lot of pressure and more chances for Vicenza, the halftime score read Vicenza 0 Lazio 1.
The first twenty minutes of the second half again saw the hosts have more possession and territorial superiority but without creating any real scoring opportunities. In the 20th minute, however, they drew level. A quick one-two between Quaresima and Caleri was finished off by Caleri with a powerful strike.
At this point the home crowd really got behind the Biancorossi and Vicenza went for the winner. Their forwards however were imprecise and unable to transform the pressure into goals. Sensing Vicenza's toothless forward line's inefficiency Lazio became increasingly confident they could possibly win this for themselves. Salvador Gualtieri and Enrique Flamini in particular pushed Lazio forward more often and their belief paid off.
In the 79th minute Gualtieri fed Bruno Ispiro who then dribbled past several players and provided a perfect assist for Aldo Puccinelli who struck the ball in from close range.
Ten minutes to go and 2-1 to Lazio. The hosts, who had spent so much energy for such little reward, had nothing more to give. They never really threatened Gradella again and Lazio earned a precious, hard fought away victory.
Who played for Vicenza
Romano, Parena, Foscarini, Campana, Grosso, Sandroni, Cadei, Conti, Quaresima, Carraro, Caleri
Manager: Pietro Spinato
Who played for Lazio
Gradella, Cassano, Carton, Alzani, Gualtieri, Brunetti, Puccinelli, Magrini, Ispiro, Flamini, De Andreis
Manager: Cargnelli
Referee: Pizziolo
Goals: 44' De Andreis, 65' Caleri, 79' Puccinelli
What happened next
A week later Lazio would draw at home against Atalanta. They then won two and drew one of the next three. On February 2, however, they lost 1-2 at home to Juventus and went on a dismal run of one point in the next six matches (0-0 in the derby). They luckily picked up in the last third of the season and in the last thirteen games they won five, drew seven and only lost once. They ended the season with a 3-3 draw away against Juventus. All these ups and downs meant their final position was 10th, ahead of city rivals Roma anyway. Lazio's top scorer was Puccinelli with 13 goals.
Vicenza lost away to Triestina the following match. Their season would not be a bad one though with some highpoints such as away victories against Inter and Juventus. They would come in ahead of Lazio with a 6th place finish. Their top scorer was Quaresima with 13 goals.
The scudetto was won by Torino while Venezia and Triestina went down to Serie B.
Let's talk about Enrique Flamini
Enrique Domingo Flamini was born in Rosario, Argentina, on April 17, 1917.
He arrived in Italy to play for Lazio in 1939 from Argentinian club Racing Avellaneda. In Argentina he was nicknamed 'El Flaco' (thin in Spanish) for his slim physique. In Italy he was known as Enrico or Flacco (a distortion of Spanish).
In his first year at Lazio he impressed for his sheer determination but also for his speed and shooting accuracy. In his first season he played 26 league games with 5 Goals. One of them was in a derby winning triumph beating Roma 1-0 on the 26th May (?!?!). Over the next three seasons he would play 87 league games with 6 more goals.
With the worsening of the World War II situation in 1944 he returned to South America to play for Penarol in Uruguay. The following year he played in Brazil for Cruzeiro.
With the end of the war he returned to Europe and to Lazio. In the 1946-1947 season he was again representing the blue and white Eagles of Rome. He stayed for six consecutive seasons making 158 appearances and scoring 27 goals (reaching double figures in two seasons 1949-50 and 1950-51).
In 1952 he went to Reggiana in Serie C but would only play 3 times. The following season he was back at Lazio but he would not play again. His career ended in 1954-55 when he played 3 games for Terracina, a small coastal town near Rome, in Serie D.
His competitive career had basically ended in 1952 and what a career it was. At Lazio he played 272 games in Serie A, with 43 goals, and 11 games in Coppa Italia, with 1 goal. So, a grand total of 283 appearances and 44 goals.
His love affair with Lazio did not end when he hung up his boots. In 1960 Flamini started coaching in the Lazio youth sector. In 1960-1961 he was also joint first team manager with Jesse Carver for a brief period. The following year he was deputy manager and then he went back to work in the youth sector for ten years. In the 1970-71 season he was again called to help out and again acted as deputy manager to Bob Lovati after Juan Carlos Lorenzo was sacked. At Lazio he was later in charge of the talent scout staff and continued to be involved in the running of the youth sector. Maybe not on the level of Bob Lovati but Flamini, in various roles, dedicated the major part of his life to Lazio.
Flamini started off his career as a striker but later developed into a classy midfielder. He had style both on the pitch and off it and was always immaculately dressed, with perfectly gelled back hair. On the field he was quick, hardworking, had an excellent left foot and scored goals, even when he played further back as a playmaker. At Lazio he is considered to be one of the greats. He played for Lazio for ten seasons and then stayed at the club in training roles.
He died in Rome in 1982.
Adios y Gracias “Flaco”.
Lazio Career
Season | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Mitropa Cup | Latin Cup |
1939-40 | 28 (5) | 26 (5) | 2 | - | - |
1940-41 | 34 (3) | 30 (2) | 4 (1) | - | - |
1941-42 | 32 (1) | 30 (1) | 2 | - | - |
1942-43 | 30 (3) | 27 (3) | 3 | - | - |
1946-47 | 24 (4) | 24 (4) | - | - | - |
1947-48 | 26 | 26 | - | - | - |
1948-49 | 22 (3) | 22 (3) | - | - | - |
1949-50 | 32 (10) | 30 (10) | - | - | 2 |
1950-51 | 35 (10) | 33 (10) | - | 2 | - |
1951-52 | 23 (5) | 23 (5) | - | - | - |
Total | 286 (44) | 271 (43) | 11 (1) | 2 | 2 |
Sources
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