Eagles peck high flying Canaries
Two Pardini second half goals down CONI Cup hopefuls Modena
The season so far
Lazio had finished 1st in the Prima Divisione Group D (2nd tier) and won promotion the previous season. They then finished 3rd in the mini-league for the Prima Divisione national title. The player-manager was Hungarian Jenő Löwy. Lazio had won 17, drawn 1, lost 6. Top scorer was Dante Filippi with 7 goals. This was the last season without newly formed A.S Roma founded on "request" of the fascist regime and which Lazio refused to join.
This season the manager was Austrian Franz Sedlaceck. Lazio had been busy in the transfer market. Arriving were defenders Renato Bottacini (SPAL), Dino Canestri (Prato), midfielders Luigi Bodrato (Sampierdarenese), Pietro "Pierino" Cappa (Prato), Pio Maneschi (back from Alba Audace), Paolo Paganini (SPAL) plus forwards Carlo Cevenini V (Milan), Camillo Fenili (Juventus), Gino Lamon I (Treviso) and Renato Sanero (Juventus-on loan).
Leaving were defender Augusto Parboni (retiring), midfielder Olindo Galli (Foligno), Jenő Löwy (Maccabi Bratislava) plus forwards Aldo Fraschetti and Giorgio Okely I (both retiring).
Lazio had finished 10th in the A group. They won 4 (including Milan 3-1), drew 3 and lost 13. This meant they would play the CONI Cup for the teams who did not qualify for the final Divisione Nazionale group for the title.
So far Lazio had won 3, drawn 1 and lost 3. There were three more games, the first was today's clash with Modena.
Modena had finished 6th in the Divisione Nazionale A group (top tier). The manager was first Hungarian Imre Payer and then Giuseppe Forlivesi. The Gialloblu had won 6, drawn 6 and lost 6. Top scorer was Czech Václav Hallinger with 7 goals.
This season the manager was first Forlivesi again and then, from the fourth fixture onwards, Hungarian József Ging. The "Canarini" (Canaries) finished 5th in the Divisione Nazionale B so a slight improvement but not enough to qualify for the league title phase (top 4 from each of two groups) as they finished just two points behind 4th placed Casale.
In the Coppa CONI, so far Modena had won 6 games out of 7 (including Lazio 5-2) and were top of group B.
A difficult game for Lazio against a good Modena side.
The match: Thursday, July 5, 1928, Campo Rondinella, Rome
Both sides had important absences. Lazio were without their keeper Ezio Sclavi and forward Dante Filippi while Modena were missing forwards Alfredo Mazzoni, Guglielmo Zanasi and future Lazio Francesco Rier (1928-30).
Lazio were on top in the first half. Carlo Cevenini V was particularly lively but his crosses and assists were not finalised by his teammates. For all their pressure Lazio only had four corners and one shot saved by Fausto Brancolini.
Modena had defended but they too had one dangerous effort saved by Substitute keeper Bruno Nicolini. Halftime Lazio 0 Modena 0.
Lazio had attacked more but the goalless draw was a fair reflection of the first period.
The second half was a different story. Modena came back on a lot more determined to show their superiority. In the first twenty minutes the visitors attacked constantly and took siege on the Lazio area.
In the 69th minute however, against the run of play, Lazio scored. A scramble in the Modena area was finally resolved by Odoacre Pardini who put Lazio in front. Lazio 1 Modena 0.
A surprise lead and in fact it did not last long. Straight from the re-start Aldo Aimi burst down the wing and crossed perfectly for Giorgio Todeschini who equalised. Lazio 1 Modena 1, all in two minutes.
The game then quietened down for about ten minutes but in the 79th Lazio again took the lead. A Cappa-Pardini combination enabled the latter to beat Brancolini again and get his brace. More importantly Lazio 2 Modena 1.
The Emiliani at this point surged forward looking at least to level the score and they thought they had when Aimi scored but the referee had seen a foul committed by the Gialloblu winger.
In the last minute Cevenini V had only the keeper to beat but the referee cruelly blew the final whistle just before he could shoot. Not to worry Lazio had won against solid opponents. Full time score Lazio 2 Modena 1.
A good win for Lazio who had defended well with standout performances by captain Renato Bottacini and Dino Canestri and then taken their chances. For Modena the best players were Bruno Dugoni, Angelo Piccalunga and the unstoppable Aimi.
Who played for Lazio
Nicolini, Bottacini, Canestri, Marcacci, Pardini, Berti II, Cevenini V, Paganini, Sanero, Cappa, Fenili
Manager: Sedlacek
Who played for Modena
Brancolini, Boni, Sabbadini, Breviglieri, Alles, Tedeschini, Aimi, Dugoni, Manzotti, Carnevali, Piccaluga
Manager: Ging
Referee: Melandri
Goals: 69' Pardini, 70' Manzotti, 79' Pardini
What happened next
Lazio then won the next two games, Livorno 2-1 and Padova (W.O) and finished 3rd. Lazio should have been relegated for their 10th position in the league but in the end stayed up due to an enlargement of the top-flight format. Top scorer in total was Renato Sanero with 6 goals (4 in league and 2 in CONI).
Modena then lost 1-4 to Pro Vercelli and beat Livorno 5-2. They finished joint top with Pro Vercelli who they then defeated 2-1 in a playoff in Milan after extra-time.
This meant they qualified for the final of the CONI Cup against the winners of the A group, newly formed A.S Roma. The games ended 0-0 in Rome and 2-2 in Modena and then Roma won the decider 2-1 in Florence after extra-time.
This was the second and last Coppa CONI to be held and the following season would be the last one divided in groups. From 1929-30 Serie A would be one single league. Lazio were in it but it was not easy ...
The Scudetto was won by Torino.
Lazio 1927-28
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
National Division | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 17 |
Coppa Coni | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
Total | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 35 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | National Division | Coppa Coni |
Paganini | 27 | 18 | 9 |
Canestri | 26 | 17 | 9 |
Bottacini | 26 | 17 | 9 |
Bodrato | 25 | 20 | 5 |
Pardini | 23 | 14 | 9 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | National Division | Coppa Coni |
Sanero | 6 | 4 | 2 |
Lamon I | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Ottier | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Cevenini V | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Bodrato | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Pardini | 3 | - | 3 |
Let's talk about Walter Marcacci
Walter Marcacci was born in Castellina Marittima (Pisa) on November 21, 1908.
He was formed in the Lazio youth sector and in 1927 joined the first team squad.
In 1927-28 the manager was Austrian Franz Sedlacek. Lazio finished 10th in the A group of the Divisione Nazionale. The highlight was beating Milan 3-1. Marcacci played 2 league games and 2 in the Coppa CONI (for teams not qualified for Divisione Nazionale finals) with 1 goal (Livorno… as he was originally from Pisa).
In 1928-29 Lazio had four different managers: Sedlaceck (1-3), Fernando Saraceni (4-14), Augusto Rangone (15-23) and Ferenc Molnár (24-34). Lazio finished 8th in the B group of the Divisione Nazionale. The best results were a 4-0 win in Florence, a 2-1 in Naples, a 1-0 away to Juventus and home wins against Inter 1-0 and Fiorentina 5-1. Lazio qualified for the following year's new Serie A format after a playoff replay against Napoli was cancelled due to an enlargement of the format. Marcacci played 6 league games.
In 1929-30 in Serie A the manager was first Molnár, then Pietro Piselli and then Molnár again. Lazio finished 15th. The best wins were 3-0 against Bologna, 6-0 Cremonese, 4-0 Padova and Modena. Lazio lost the first derbies against newly formed Roma. Marcacci played 9 league games.
In 1930-31 Molnár started but was replaced in May by Cesare Migliorini and then for the last three games player- manager Amilcar came in. Lazio finished 8th in Serie A. The highlights were a 1-0 away win against Milan, Genova 5-0, Juventus 2-1, Inter 1-0 all at home while both derbies ended in draws. Marcacci played 7 league games.
In 1931-32 Amilcar stayed on as player-manager and Lazio finished 13th. The best results were a 2-1 away win at Juventus and a record 9-1 home win over Modena. Marcacci this year however made no league appearances.
The 1932-33 season was Marcacci's last at Lazio. The manager was Austrian Karl Stürmer and the Biancocelesti finished 10th. Lazio won their first derby 2-1 and also beat Inter 2-1 away plus Juventus 1-0 and Milan 2-0 at home. By now Marcacci was a regular with the reserves in the Prima Divisione (3rd tier) playing 21 games.
At 24 he retired to pursue a medical career. He had graduated in Medicine and Surgery in 1932 and later went to become Head of the Dietetics Department in the Sant'Eugenio Hospital in Rome.
Marcacci was a midfielder. He was not a regular at Lazio but made 24 league appearances plus 2 in the Coppa CONI. He then chose a doctor's career over one in football.
He died in Rome on June 28, 1989.
Lazio career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | National Division | Coppa Coni |
1927-28 | 4 (1) | 2 | 2 (1) | |
1928-29 | 6 | 6 | - | |
1929-30 | 9 | 9 | - | - |
1930-31 | 7 | 7 | - | - |
Total | 26 (1) | 16 | 8 (1) | 2 |
Sources
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