Lazio deserve more but have to settle for draw
Biancocelesti unlucky and not helped by distracted referee
Also on this day: December 31, 1988, Pisa Lazio 1-1. A massive blunder a few minutes from time rewards ten-man Lazio with a draw. A fair result. Lazio Hero of the day: Ruben Sosa
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 10th, first under Hungarian József Viola and then from the 20th game onwards under player-manager Luigi Allemandi.
This season Lazio had another Hungarian manager Géza Kertész. Lazio could not invest much over the summer due to the usual financial difficulties. Three Argentinians had arrived months earlier in February but now finally had the right documentation to be put on the Lazio books: midfielder Enrique Flamini (Racing Club), forwards Evaristo Barrera (Racing Club) and Silvestro Pisa I (Independiente). So, the three "oriundi" were Lazio's reinforcements. Oriundi were foreign players with Italian origins who could even represent Italy.
The main players leaving Lazio were defender Benedicto Zacconi (retiring), midfielder Giovanni Riccardi (Liguria) and forward Emilio Capri (Torino).
Lazio had started the season well. After 12 matches the Biancocelesti were on 15 points. Lazio had won 6 (including Juventus 4-0 at home and Milan 2-0 away), drawn 3 and lost 3. Silvestro Pisa had scored 6 goals and Silvio Piola 5 goals.
In Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti had got through the first round of 32 beating Triestina 2-1 away after extra-time (with a Silvio Piola winner).
Ambrosiana-Inter had finished 3rd the previous season and won the Coppa Italia (Novara 2-1). Their manager was future Lazio Tony Cargnelli
This season Cargnelli was still in charge and the Nerazzurri were one of the favourites for the Scudetto. Some new arrivals were keeper Angelo Caimo (Novara) and defender Bernardo Poli (Brescia). Leaving were midfielders Bruno Vale (Novara) and Piero Antona (Fiorentina).
So far, the "Biscione" (Serpent- historic symbol of the city of Milan) had 15 points, the same as Lazio. The Nerazzurri had some good wins, Juventus 4-0, Napoli 4-0, Roma 3-0 but also some heavy defeats, Bari 0-3 and recently the derby 0-3. Umberto Guarnieri already had 8 goals to his name.
In Coppa Italia the Nerazzurri had been beaten a week earlier by Torino 1-2 at home and were eliminated.
So, an important high table clash today between two good sides.
The match: Sunday, December 31, 1939, Stadio PNF, Rome
A very cold period in Rome as there had been snow and the pitch was slightly icy. Today, however, it was still cold but sunny and the crowd was about 20,000 for an eagerly anticipated game.
The pitch was very heavy but both teams tried to keep the ball on the ground and play decent football.
Ambrosiana Inter, boosted by the return of Giovanni Ferrari had more of the game in the first half. The Nerazzurri attacked more while Lazio's counter attacks were not effective. Lazio’s defence with Alfredo Monza and Maximiliano Faotto in particular did a great job fending off the visitors' threats until a minute before halftime when the "Biscione scored.
In the 44th minute Attilio Demaria surged forward from midfield and reaching the by-line near the corner flag put in a powerful high cross which Giacomo Blason caught, but the ball slipped from his hands, hit the post and went in. Lazio 0 Ambrosiana 1. An altogether deserved lead for the Milanese who had done more.
The second half started more balanced with both sides having chances. First Silvio Piola uncharacteristically missed an easy opportunity from a corner and then Ferrari had a shot saved by Blason. In the 52nd minute a Piola backward header forced a difficult save from the keeper.
In the 54th minute, however, Ambrosiana had a colossal chance to double their lead. Blason rushed off his line to save from an outstretched Ferrari but the ball then reached Annibale Frossi, unmarked about five metres from the open goal, but he incredibly blasted it over the bar.
Lazio then stirred after the scare and Piola in particular seemed to liven up. In the 56th minute he dribbled past four defenders and from about ten metres out hammered the ball past Giuseppe Peruchetti. A wonderful goal and Lazio 1 Ambrosiana 1.
The game changed and Lazio were now in the driving seat while Ambrosiana looked tired. Lazio pushed forward for the next thirty minutes looking for a winner.
They almost got it in the 70th minute. Pisa freed Barrera down the wing and he crossed for Piola whose acrobatic header shaved the post.
In the 72nd minute Peruchetti saved another Piola header.
In the 76th minute Ambrosiana, after soaking up so much pressure, had a chance of their own. Guarnieri, despite being clearly in offside, was played on by the referee and had only Blason to beat but the Lazio keeper came off his line and denied the forward. The fans were not happy but they would soon be furious.
In the 82nd minute Barrera hit the post and on the rebound Giuseppe Ballerio blatantly touched the ball with his hand but the referee did not notice.
Then in the 85th minute, a Silvestro Pisa effort was not held onto by Peruchetti but neither Luigi Vettraino nor Flamini managed to finish off the rebound. In the 86th minute from a corner the ball was again handled in the area this time by Ugo Locatelli but the referee was still distracted and saw nothing. Final score Lazio 1 Ambrosiana 1, but some controversy towards the end. The Lazio fans did not have to look far for ammunition as they bombarded the referee with snowballs. Harmless stuff compared to modern times.
The crowd however, despite the referee, showed their appreciation to both sides' performances. It had been an entertaining game and played well considering the conditions. Lazio in the end would have deserved to win but a draw was an acceptable result.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Kertesz
Who played for Ambrosiana Inter
Peruchetti, Poli, Ballerio, Locatelli, Olmi, Campatelli, Frossi, Demaria I, Guarnieri, Ferrari, Ferraris II
Referee: Galeati
Goals: 44' Demaria, 56' Piola
What happened next
Lazio had a good season and finished 4th. They won 12, drew 11 and lost 7. The highlight was defeating Roma, on the 26th May, 1-0 with an Enrique Flamini goal (history would repeat itself 73 years later..). Top scorer was Piola with 10 goals (9 in A) while Pisa got 9 league goals.
In Coppa Italia Lazio beat Macerata 2-0 in the last 16 but then lost to Fiorentina 1-4 away in the quarterfinals.
Ambrosiana- Inter had a great season and went on to win the Scudetto for the 5th time. The Nerazzurri won 20 (including Lazio 4-0, Milano 3-1, Bologna 1-0) drew 4 and lost 6. Top scorer was Guarnieri with 16 (15 in A).
At the bottom end Liguria and Modena slipped down to Serie B.
Lazio 1939-40
Comeptition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 36 |
Coppa Italia | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | 5 |
Total | 33 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 49 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Monza | 33 | 30 | 3 |
Ramella | 33 | 30 | 3 |
Baldo | 31 | 28 | 3 |
Milano | 30 | 28 | 2 |
Vettraino | 30 | 27 | 3 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Piola | 10 | 9 | 1 |
Pisa | 9 | 9 | - |
Vettraino | 8 | 7 | 1 |
Barrera | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Flamini | 5 | 5 | - |
Busani | 5 | 5 | - |
Lets talk about Evaristo Barrera
Evaristo Vicente Barrera was born in Cruz del Eje (Rosario-Argentina), on November 30, 1911.
He started his football career with Argentino de Rosario. In 1932 he joined Racing Club Avellaneda from near Buenos Aires. He stayed 7 seasons with "La Academia" playing 142 league games and scoring a phenomenal 136 goals. He was top goal scorer of the Primera División twice (1934, 1936).
In February 1939 he arrived in Italy with compatriots Silvestro Pisa and Enrique Flamini. They were signed by Lazio but could only play from the 1939-40 season due to bureaucratic problems.
Lazio's manager was Hungarian Géza Kertész and the Biancocelesti had a good season finishing 4th. Barrera played 16 league games with 6 goals (Milan, Bari, Bologna, Juventus, Napoli, Liguria) and 2 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Macerata). Lazio's highlights were beating Milan 2-0 away, Juventus 4-0 at home and winning the return derby 1-0. Barrera personally got all his goals from February onwards once he had settled in. His most important ones came in a 2-2 draw with Milan, a 2-2 with highly competitive Bologna and an 88th minute equaliser away to Napoli.
In fact, the following season he joined Napoli where he stayed two seasons. In the first, under Antonio Vojak, the Partenopei finished 7th. Barrera played 27 league games with 9 goals and two games in Coppa Italia. His most important goal came in a 3-2 home win over Milan. teammates included former Lazio, keeper Giacomo Blason, Umberto Busani and Luigi Milano.
In the second season under the Vesuvius things did not go as well and Napoli were relegated. Barrera played 20 league games with 3 goals. Two of his goals came against Juventus, one in a 1-1 away draw and the other in a 4-1 home win.
In 1942-43 he joined Ascoli in Serie C. He played 20 league games with 11 goals and the "Picchio" (Woodpecker) finished 2nd under Uruguayan and former Lazio player, Maximiliano Faotto.
In 1943 he moved to Piedmont and Novara but the war affected football too and the Gaudenzani played in the Campionato Alta Italia. Barrera played 7 games. By this point Barrera like many was suffering the poverty of the war years, especially having four children.
In 1945 he joined Gozzano (Novara-Piedmont) in Prima Divisione (4th tier) and the Rossoblu narrowly missed out on promotion.
In 1945-46 Barrera played for Cremonese in Serie B, playing 21 league games with 10 goals. The Grigiorossi finished 5th in the final Serie B-C Alta Italia group and would play in Serie B the following year.
He then played one last season with Mortara (Pavia) in Serie D.
He then retired and settled in Novara and in November 1956 became the manager and finished 6th in Serie B. One of his players was future Lazio, Giambattista Moschino.
In 1957-58 he stayed on but was replaced during the season by Dane Frank Pedersen. Novara finished 11th.
He then had a stint with Magenta (Milan) in Serie D before returning to the Novara youth sector in 1961-62.
In 1962-63 he was first team manager of Novara again, in Serie C. The Azzurri finished 2nd, narrowly missing out on promotion.
In 1963-64 he was manager of nearby Casale in Serie D. The Neri finished 8th.
Between 1964-67 and 1970-72 he was manager at youth level of Ramatese (Verbania-Piedmont).
Barrera died on June 7, 1982 in Novara.
Barrera was a forward. He arrived in Europe at 28 after being a formidable striker in his homeland of Argentina. He is one of Racing Club's top ever goal scorers. He also has "El Primer Grande's" record for goals in one season, 34. In Italy he played 63 games in Serie A and scored 18 goals. He was famous for his shot which was described as powerful and accurate.
At Lazio he arrived with Flamini and Pisa and of the three, "El Flaco” Flamini was the more successful but Barrera had a decent spell at Lazio scoring 6 goals. The problem was there was too much competition for places up front, with untouchable Silvio Piola plus Umberto Busani, Giovanni Costa, Silvestro Pisa and Luigi Vettraino. Barrera however made a good contribution in his one season in Rome, helping Lazio to a positive 4th place.
Appearances and goals for Lazio
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1939-40 | 18 (7) | 16 (6) | 2 (1) |
Sources
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