Lazio too strong for Juve
A Flamini double in eight minutes was enough for Lazio to beat Juventus.
Also on this day: January 22, 1967, Lazio Juventus 0-0. Referee does not see a clearly valid goal and Lazio are able to clinch a point. Player of the day: Pietro Dotti
The season so far
In the summer 1949 Lazio were looking for a centre forward. They almost bought Jean Baratte, but the deal fell through at the last minute. A lot of players were tried out but in the end, Manager Mario Sperone had to make do with the previous season’s forwards plus the return of Flavio Cecconi. Only in November did Lazio finally find their centre forward: Dionisio Arce.
Several players were signed in the summer transfer window: Lucidio Sentimenti IV, his brother, Vittorio Sentimenti III, Zeffiro Furiassi, Edmondo Veronici and Aldo De Fazio. Some players had to go to make room for the new ones and among them was goalkeeper Uber Gradella, who had never completely recovered from a knee injury, and Salvador Gualtieri. They both quit football altogether.
The new look Lazio took a few games to develop into a team but when they did they became a force to reckon with. The Biancocelesti crushed Roma in the first derby of the season 3-1, won 5-2 away against Sampdoria and demolished Novara at home 4-0.
Before the game against Juve, Lazio were joint seventh with Torino. Juventus were top.
The match: Sunday, January 22, 1950, Stadio Comunale, Turin
This game should have been a mismatch between a very strong team at the top of the table and another weaker team. I say should, because on the pitch it looked like the other way round.
In the 5th minute Rinaldo Martino’s shot was just wide, giving the home crowd the illusion that this was just the beginning of an onslaught. But instead Lazio started to put Juventus in difficulty with Enrico Flamini and Flavio Cecconi. The latter hit the woodwork in the 18th minute and a few seconds later his header was marvellously saved by Giovanni Viola. The subsequent corner was fatal for Juve. Aldo Puccinelli’s cross was cleared short by Alberto Piccinini and picked up by Cecconi. He pretended to shoot but passed the ball to Flamini. 1-0 for Lazio.
Eight minutes later Lazio made it two. Long kick from Sentimenti IV, ball to Cecconi who passed it to Flamini in the penalty box surrounded by the Juventus’ defence. El Flaco looked up and decided to shoot. The slow ball ended up in the back of the net for Flamini’s double.
Shock result. Lazio slowed down and Juventus charged forward. In the 38th minute Giampiero Boniperti to Martino who crossed the ball in the box for Karl Aage Praest who feigned, taking the Lazio defence by surprise. The ball got to John Hansen who whacked it in.
Lazio reacted and had a few easy chances at the end of the first half with Puccinelli and Cecconi. Viola saved Juventus more than once, particularly on a Vittorio Sentimenti III shot.
Boniperti was moved to the centre in the second half but the danger was avoided by a brilliant performance by Furiassi who never allowed him to shoot. Puccinelli shot too high in the 52nd minute from a favourable position and a minute later there was a great save from Sentimenti IV. A Hansen shot was deflected by Boniperti but the Lazio legend saved this attempt and then another by Martino seconds later.
Lazio tried to make three. In the 61th minute Puccinelli's shot beat Viola, but not Alberto Bertuccelli who saved. The Juve goalkeeper was miraculous eight minutes later on a Romano Penzo scissor shot as well as on the Norberto Hofling attempted tap in. In the 74th minute Romolo Alzani touched the ball with his hand in the box but the referee signalled to play on. The ball got to Boniperti but Sentimenti IV saved.
Two minutes later, penalty for Juve. The referee, probably having doubts on the previous decision, decided that during an almighty scrum in the Lazio penalty box Alzani fouled a Juventus player. Giacomo Mari was hypnotised by Sentimenti IV and his shot went wide. That was the end for the Bianconeri.
But not for Lazio. In the 82nd minute Puccinelli dribbled three Juventus players but his shot was just wide. A few minutes later Hofling was fouled by Piccinini in the box but made the mistake of getting up and shooting. Viola saved and the referee did not give a penalty.
In the dying seconds Praest’s desperate shot was again saved by Sentimenti IV. On the subsequent corner the Lazio defence cleared and the ref whistled game over.
A great and prestigious win for Lazio. They played the perfect match.
Who played for Juventus
Viola, Bertuccelli, Manente, Mari, Parola, Piccinini, Boniperti, Martino, Vivolo, J. Hansen, Praest.
Manager: Carver.
Who played for Lazio
Sentimenti IV, Piacentini, Furiassi, Alzani, Remondini, Sentimenti III, Puccinelli, Flamini, Hofling, Cecconi, Penzo
Manager: Sperone
Referee: Galeati
Goals: 20’ Flamini, 28’ Flamini, 38’ J. Hansen
Four players of the Juventus team would later play for Lazio. Carlo Parola, the great Juventus midfield player, played his last season with Lazio in 1954-55. Pasquale Vivolo moved to Lazio for the 1953-54 season and stayed for five years. John Hansen arrived in 1954 and with his 15 goals gave a huge contribution to Lazio staying up that season. Karl Aage Praest arrived in 1956 and stayed a year.
The Juventus manager Jesse Carver came to Lazio in January 1956 replacing Roberto Copernico. He stayed for the 1956-57 season and steered Lazio to third place.
Also to note is the presence of Giampiero Boniperti in the Juve team, one of the greatest Italian forwards of all times and future President of Juventus from 1971 to 1990.
What happened next
Lazio continued along the path set in the first half of the season and arrived fourth behind the great northern teams Juventus, Milan and Inter. They managed to win at least a game against the three greats and played very well throughout the season.
Sentimenti IV played more than anyone (37 games) and Hofling was the top scorer with 13 goals.
At the end of the season Lazio played the Latin Cup, an international competition between the French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian teams, because the top three Italian teams had declined participation. The Biancocelsti were unable to do much due to the might of Benfica (lost 3-0) and Atletico Madrid (lost 2-1), but in this case just taking part was a big honour for Lazio.
Lazio 1949-50
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 67 |
Top five appearances
Player | Serie A |
Sentimenti IV | 37 |
Furiassi | 36 |
Sentimenti III | 36 |
Puccinelli | 34 |
Alzani | 33 |
Antonazzi | 33 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Serie A |
Hofling | 13 |
Puccinelli | 10 |
Flamini | 10 |
Remondini | 7 |
Penzo | 7 |
Let's talk about Vittorio Sentimenti III
Vittorio Sentimenti was the brother of Lucidio Sentimenti, one of the Sentimenti family football dynasty.
The Sentimenti’s were nine brothers, all of them played football but “only” five of them professionally. Three of the brothers played for Lazio: Vittorio (III), Lucidio (IV) and Primo (V). Ennio (I) was the only one of the brothers that had nothing to do with the Biancocelesti since Arnaldo (II) became manager of Lazio’s youth teams between 1953 and 1957.
Why is there a roman numeral at the end of their surnames? At that time players with the same surname were given a Roman number to distinguish them all. Therefore you had five Sentimenti’s and later in the 1960’s Mazzola I, Sandro who played for Inter, and Mazzola II, Ferruccio, who played for Lazio.
Vittorio was born at Bomporto on August 18 1918. He started his career in the youth teams of Modena and then moved to the A team on a permanent basis in the 1936-37 season. He stayed in Emilia Romagna until 1941 after having played three seasons in Serie B and two in Serie A.
In 1941 he moved to Juventus and stayed until 1949. After 210 games and 62 goals for the Bianconeri, Vittorio as well as Lucidio were sold to Lazio. He played three years for Lazio and was highly considered by the Lazio fans who called him “Il Bersagliere” for his competitive spirit on the pitch. He played 76 games for Lazio and scored nine times.
In 1952 Lazio sold him to Torino where he stayed four years before going back to Modena for a year in 1956. His last professional year was with Aosta in the amateur league as player-manager.
He died in Turin on September 27, 2004.
Appearances and goals for Lazio
Season | Played (goals) | Serie A | Latin Cup |
1949-50 | 37 (4) | 36 (3) | 1 (1) |
1950-51 | 28 (4) | 28 (4) | - |
1951-52 | 12 (2) | 12 (2) | - |
Total | 77 (10) | 76 (9) | 1 (1) |
Sources
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