Arrivederci 1947-48!!!
A spectacular six goal draw finishes off the season
Also on this day: July 4, 1937, Lazio Grasshoppers 6-1, Central European Cup. Lazio fall behind but then score six including a Piola hat-trick. Player of the day: Libero Marchini
The season so far
The previous season had been disappointing and Lazio arrived only 10th, so for the 1947-48 season fans had hoped for a better year. Toni Cargnelli was confirmed manager and the most important new arrivals were Flavio Cecconi from Venezia and Sergio Piacentini from Sampdoria plus Leandro Remondini from Modena in the autumn transfer window. Leaving the capital were Luigi Cassano and Henglebert Koenig to Sampdoria, Bruno Ispiro and Antonio Sessa to Triestina, plus Edoardo Valenti to Perugia.
At home Lazio were a force to be reckoned with, but away from home their performances were pretty dismal. After the first half of the season Lazio were 13th with 17 points, just two points off the relegation zone. Cargnelli had been sacked and replaced with Orlando Tognotti.
The new manager was able to improve things. Lazio continued to be disappointing away from home, just one game won … against Roma, but at home they beat Inter and Bologna plus a great 5-0 win against Fiorentina.
The game against Sampdoria was the last of the season. Both teams had nothing else left to fight for.
The match: Sunday July 4, 1948, Stadio Nazionale, Rome
Sometimes the last matches of the season can be boring when there is nothing at stake. But not this one. The two teams threw all tactics out the window and played openly.
Sampdoria started really well and put the Lazio defence in great difficulty. In the 8th minute an unlucky deflection by Leandro Remondini on an Adriano Bassetto shot gave the Genoese lead. The Biancocelesti reacted and equalised in the 24th minute. A Flavio Cecconi-Romano Penzo-Aldo Puccinelli combination allowed the little Lazio winger to score with a clinical shot.
In the 40th minute the Biancocelesti took the lead when a cross by Cecconi was hammered in by Costantino De Andreis.
In the second half a Hengelbert Koenig double gave Sampdoria the lead. In the 59th minute the former Lazio centre forward tapped the ball in after a Giuseppe Baldini shot hit the crossbar. Two minutes later the Austrian scored again following a Bassetto assist.
In the 67th minute Lazio equalised. Cecconi won a challenge with Bruno Gramaglia and beat Satiro Lusetti.
Everybody was happy at the end of the game and the spectators applauded both teams. They had enjoyed themselves.
Who played for Lazio
Giubilo, Remondini, Piacentini, Alzani, Gualtieri, Del Pinto, Puccinelli, Magrini, Penzo, Cecconi, De Andreis
Manager: Tognotti
Who played for Sampdoria
Lusetti, Vicich, Ballico, Zorzi, Bertoni, Gramaglia, Rebuzzi (II), Bassetto, Koenig, Barsanti, Baldini.
Manager: Baloncieri
Referee: Camiolo
Goals: 8’ Remondini (og), 24’ Puccinelli, 40’ De Andreis, 59’ Koenig, 61 Koenig, 67’ Cecconi
What happened next
Lazio finished 10th with 39 points. One could not really ask for more especially since with 12 away losses out of 20 there was not much room to make more points.
Romolo Alzani was the player with most appearances (38), Romano Penzo scored the most goals (17).
Lazio 1947-48
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 40 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 54 |
Top five appearances
Player | Serie A |
Alzani | 38 |
Remondini | 35 |
Gradella | 34 |
Puccinelli | 34 |
Penzo | 33 |
Top 5 goal scorers
Player | Goals |
Penzo | 17 |
Remondini | 6 |
Puccinelli | 6 |
De Andreis | 6 |
Magrini | 5 |
Cecconi | 5 |
Let’s talk about Henglebert Koenig
Henglebert Koenig was born in Vienna on October 8 1920. Son of Englebert Koenig, manager of Milan and other Italian clubs in the 1930s and 40s, he started playing football in First Wien. In 1940 he signed for Fiorentina but only played a couple of games.
In 1941 he joined Catania in Serie C where he scored an impressive 18 goals in 23 games. This was good enough for Lazio, who signed him in the summer of 1942. He stayed for five years including the two war time local championships. He played a total of 103 games for Lazio (65 in Serie A, 25 in the war time league, 2 in Coppa Italia and 11 in various war time tournaments) scoring 79 goals (36 in Serie A, 30 in the war time league, two in Coppa Italia and 11 in various war time tournaments). He was a powerful player, very physical, who could play with both feet and was an excellent header of the ball.
In 1947 he signed for Sampdoria and stayed just a year before swapping sides of the city and joining Genoa. It was the first direct transfer between the two teams. He stayed with Genoa for two years before ending his career with Messina in Serie B.
He died in San José in Costa Rica on November 23 1997.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Centre-South National Champ. | Post Centre-South Champ. | Coppa Italia | Roman Champ. | Other |
1942-43 | 21 (8) | 19 (6) | - | 2 (2) | - | ||
1943-44 | 14 (19) | - | - | - | 12 (16) | 2 (3) | |
1944-45 | 22 (22) | | | | 13 (14) | 9 (8) | |
1945-46 | 24 (18) | - | 18 (11) | 6 (7) | - | - | |
1946-47 | 22 (12) | 22 (12) | - | - | - | ||
Total | 103 (79) | 41 (18) | 18 (11) | 6 (7) | 2 (2) | 25 (30) | 11 (11) |
Sources
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