Fantoni III by name and by nature
A goal by Guarisi and a hat-trick by Fantoni III crush Milan
Also on this day:
January 21, 1998, Roma Lazio 1-2 Coppa Italia. Lazio also won the second leg of the Coppa Italia quarter final derby with a goal from Gottardi in the dying minutes of the match.
January 21, 2018, Lazio Chievo Verona 5-1. After several disappointments, Lazio record a rare but big home win against Chievo.
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 10th under Austrian Karl Stürmer. Lazio had some good wins against Inter away, Juventus and Milan at home plus a derby, but were too inconsistent to challenge for the higher positions.
This season the Austrian manager had been confirmed. Lazio's financial situation did not permit much investment on the transfer market and the main signings were midfielders Giovanni Battioni (Grion Pola), Raggio Montanari (Foggia) and Duilio Salatin (Palestra Itália). Leaving was defender Dino Canestri (retiring).
So far, Lazio had played 18 games, winning 6, drawing 6 (including Juventus 2-2 away) and losing 6. Lazio were in joint 9th position with Palermo on 18 points. In their last match Lazio had lost 0-1 away to the Sicilians.
Milan had finished 11th the previous season under Hungarian manager József Bánas. The Rossoneri had drawn 0-0 at home against Lazio and lost 0-2 in Rome. Top scorer was Mario Romani with 19 league goals.
This season the manager was József Viola, a Hungarian who would later coach Lazio. The main new players were: keeper Alessandro Bonetti (Triestina), midfielders Antonio Bortoletti (Triestina), Andrea Capitanio (Triestina), Arrigo Fibbi (Triestina), Benedetto Stella (Pro Patria) and forward Mariano Tansini (Padova, but had already been at Milan 1927-30).
Leaving the Rossoneri were: defender Francesco Pomi (Catania, after 221 league games), midfielders Guerino Cattaneo (Cagliari), Attilio Kossovel (Atalanta), Mario Malatesta (Liguria), Giuseppe Marchi (GC Vigevanesi), Luigi Oscar Moroni (Lucchese) plus forward Mario Magnozzi (Livorno).
Milan were currently joint 3rd with Bologna on 22 points. The Rossoneri had won 9 (including Lazio 4-2, Juventus 3-1 at home), drawn 4 and lost 5 (including derby 0-3). A week earlier the Diavolo had beaten Fiorentina 2-0 at home making it three wins in a row.
Milan were slight favourites today but there were only four points separating the two sides in the table.
The match: Sunday, January 21, 1934, Stadio PNF, Rome
A slightly overcast day but dry and mild saw a crowd of about 15,000 congregate at the P.N.F stadium.
Lazio had defender Pedro Rizzetti missing, replaced by Marino Furlani, while Milan had no absences.
The game was lively from the start. In the first two minutes Alejandro Demaria completely mishit a Filó Guarisi cross and then a Guarisi freekick went high.
Milan answered but only earned a couple of corners. In the 10th minute Giuseppe Bonizzoni anticipated Leonízio Fantoni III before he could shoot from a good position.
In the 16th minute Lazio took the lead. Joāo Fantoni I surged forward and set up Guarisi in the middle, the Brazilian hit a precise shot which the keeper, covered by several defenders, could not save. Lazio 1 Milan 0.
The game continued to be entertaining and both sides had chances. In the 24th minute Ezio Sclavi saved on Luigi Cresta, in the 25th Pietro Arcari shot wide, in the 33rd Dario Compiani made a fortuitous save in a scramble and another good save on a Fantoni III header in the 35th, in the 36th Benedetto Stella fired over the bar. Towards the end of the half Lazio's Pietro Buscaglia came out worse for wear from a tackle with Bartoletti and was moved out to the left wing while De Maria came into the middle. In the 38th minute Sclavi made an excellent save on Mario Romani and a few minutes later on Arcari and then, for Milan, Compagni saved low on Guarisi. Half time Lazio 1 Milan 0.
An evenly matched and exciting first 45 minutes but Lazio were ahead.
The second half started with a bang and after only two minutes Lazio doubled their lead with Fantoni III. In the 47th minute from a De Maria cross both Fantoni III and Compagni jumped up but the Lazio striker got there first and his header put Lazio 2-0 up.
At this point Milan heads dropped, while Lazio were rampant. In the 55th minute the Biancocelesti scored again. De Maria found Guarisi whose shot was dangerous but when it took a further touch by Fantoni III it became lethal. Lazio 3 Milan.
Three goals down Milan had a reaction with shots by Arcari, Stella and Giovanni Moretti, in the 65th, 70th and 71st minutes, all well saved by Sclavi.
Lazio however were always dangerous on the break and scored again in the 78th minute. It was Fantoni III again who got his hat-trick with a close-range finish from another De Maria cross. Lazio 4 Milan 0.
Lazio pulled back, more than satisfied with the score line. Fantoni I with a head injury took refuge on the wing while Guarisi started showing off his skills with darting runs and dribblings.
Milan pushed forward for a consolation goal but apart from a few corners never really threatened again. Final score Lazio 4 Milan 0.
A great win for Lazio. The whole team had played well but special mentions for the two full-backs Enzio Serafini and Armando Bertagni who had been impeccable, goalkeeper Sclavi and of course hat-trick hero Fantoni III.
Lazio moved up to joint 6th with Fiorentina, Roma and Pro Vercelli on 20 points. Milan dropped down to joint 4th with Bologna on 22 points.
Who played for Lazio
Sclavi, Bertagni, Serafini, Furlani, Tonali, Fantoni II, Guarisi, Fantoni I, Fantoni III, Buscaglia, Demaria
Manager: Stürmer
Who played for Milan
Compiani, Rigotti II, Bonizzoni, Torriani, Bortoletti, Capitanio, Arcari III, Moretti, Romani, Stella, Cresta I
Manager: Viola
Referee: Bevilacqua
Goals: 16' Guarisi, 47' Fantoni III, 55' Fantoni III, 78' Fantoni III
What happened next
Lazio finished 10th again, on 31 points. They lost the next three matches, won the following two and then drew the derby 3-3 after being 0-3 down. In the last 9 games they continued to be inconsistent and won 2, drew 2 and lost 5 (including Inter 1-8 away). Top scorer was Anfilogino "Filó" Guarisi with 12 goals.
Milan faded too and finished 9th, on 33 points. The Rossoneri won another 3, drew 5 and lost 7 (including derby 1-2). Top scorer was Pietro Arcari with 15 goals.
Juventus won their 6th Scudetto while Padova, Genova 1893 and Casale went down to Serie B. Casale, who had won a Scudetto in 1914, have never been back since.
Let’s talk about Leonízio Fantoni III
Leonízio Fantoni was born in Belo Horizonte on February 12, 1912.
In Brazil he was known as Niginho while in Italy he became Leonisio Fantoni III.
He started his career with Palestra Itália, now known as Cruzeiro. He played with "A Raposa" (The Fox) from 1927 to 1932. In this period, he won 3 Mineiro league titles.
In 1932 he moved to Europe and joined Lazio. He stayed three seasons in the capital.
In 1932-33 the manager was Austrian Karl Stürmer and the Biancocelesti finished 10th. Lazio had nine Brazilians in the squad, including Leonízio's brother Joāo Fantoni I and cousin Octavio Fantoni II. Leonízio played 2 league games.
In 1933-34 the manager was still Stürmer and Lazio again finished 10th. Leonízio played more regularly, making 21 league appearances with 9 goals (Torino, Genova 1893, Alessandria, Juventus x2, Milan x3, Casale). His finest moments were obviously getting a brace in a 2-2 away draw to Juventus and his hat-trick in a 4-0 home demolition of Milan.
The 1934-35 season would be his last. The manager was now Czech Walter Alt and Lazio finished 5th with the help of new star Silvio Piola. Leonízio only played 2 league games with 1 goal (Juventus). He left Lazio mainly because he was worried he could be called up by the Italian army for the imminent war in Abyssinia (Fantoni was "Oriundo" so also classified as Italian).
In 1935 he returned to Brazil and Palestra Itália. He stayed with the Foxes two seasons (with 1 Paulista league title), then spent one at Vasco da Gama, another three at Palestra Itália (with 1 Mineiro league title) and then four with Palestra when they changed name to Cruzeiro (with another 3 Mineiro league titles).
He won 5 caps for Brazil with 2 goals. He won bronze at the 1938 World Cup in France and silver at the 1937 South-American Championship in Argentina. In the 1938 World Cup semi-final against Italy he was supposed to play due to an injury to top scorer Leônidas but Benito Mussolini protested claiming a "traitor" could not play against Italy and FIFA forced Brazil not to play him. Another twist in the story came when Fantoni accused Leonidas of feigning injury behind payment by the Italian Football Federation. Fantoni never managed to prove it and Italy won 2-1 before going on to become World Champions.
After retiring he became a manager in Brazil. He coached Cruzeiro in 1948-49, Santos 1950-51 and then Cruzeiro for three more spells; 1953-55, 1959-61 and 1962-63.
Leonízio Fantoni III was a forward. He was nicknamed "Menino Metralha" (Machine Gun) and "Tanque" (Tank) for his goal scoring skills. He made up the group of Brazilian players which led the Biancocelesti to be called Brasilazio in that period. He played 25 league games for Lazio with a memorable brace and hat-trick against Juventus and Milan.
He died in Belo Horizonte on September 5, 1975.
Lazio Career
Season | Serie A Appearances | Serie A Goals |
1932-33 | 3 | - |
1933-34 | 21 | 8 |
1934-35 | 2 | 1 |
Total | 26 | 9 |
Sources
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