De Andreis brace dampens Alessandria's remaining survival hopes
A carefree Lazio and two goals by Roman De Andreis deny the Grey Bears victory and almost condemn them to relegation
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished joint 10th (with Inter, Samp and Genoa) under Austrian Tony Cargnelli and above Roma anyway (15th).
This season the Austrian had stayed on but then been replaced by Orlando Tognotti after 21 matches.
In the summer Lazio had made some changes to the squad. The main novelties were; defenders Sergio Piacentini (Sampdoria) and Leandro Remondini (Modena), midfielder Flavio Cecconi (Maceratese) plus strikers Orlando Fantoni IV (Palmeiras) and Romano Penzo (Brescia).
Leaving Lazio were defenders Luigi Cassano (Sampdoria) and Edoardo Valenti (Perugia), midfielder Antonio Sessa (Triestina) plus forwards Bruno Ispiro (Triestina) and Engelbert Koenig (Sampdoria).
So far Lazio were in mid-table after 13 wins, 11 draws and 14 defeats, on 33 points. They had lost the first derby at home but won the second 2-0 away. Top scorer was Penzo with 16 goals.
A week earlier Lazio had beaten Varese 2-1 at home and there were now three games left.
Alessandria had finished 14th the previous season. They had changed managers twice; from Giovanni Battista Rebuffo to Felice Borel and finally Hungarian Lajos Nemes Kovács.
This season the manager was still Kovács but the "Grigi" (The Greys) were in difficulty. They were in the relegation zone. After a decent first half of the season with 6 wins (including Roma 4-0), 5 draws and 9 defeats (including Lazio 1-0) the "Orso" (The Bear) had lost strength. In the return fixture list Alessandria had so far won 4, drawn 3 and lost 10 (including Torino 10-0). They also had lost the last four consecutive games. Top Scorer was Carlo Stradella with 12 league goals (4 in one match against Roma).
So, a relaxed mid-table Lazio against a desperate Alessandria today.
The match: Sunday, June 13, 1948, Stadio Moccagatta, Alessandria
A cloudy day in Piedmont with a sparse crowd for Alessandria's last home game.
Lazio started at a lightning pace putting the locals in difficulty from the onset. Enrique Flamini was wasteful after only two minutes and in the 10th minute Gino Armano shot straight at the keeper from a favourable position. Lazio pushed on and in the 14th minute Costantino De Andreis had a shot cleared off the line by Rosetta.
Lazio’s efforts were rewarded in the 20th minute. An Romolo Alzani freekick was turned in by De Andreis. Alessandria 0 Lazio 1.
The lead did not last long however as in the 26th minute the "Orso grigio" (The Grey Bear) stirred. On a Cesare Gallea free kick, Corrado Giubilo mistimed his jump and was punished by Carlo Stradella lurking near goal. Alessandria 1 Lazio 1, that was also the halftime score line.
In the second half the "Mandrogni" (historic area of the town) came on with more urgency, in line with their desperate position in the table. In the 55th minute a brilliant move involving Gallea, Luigi Soffrido and Aristide Coscia was finished off with a Stradella strike but it went just wide.
The home side's dominance bore its fruits in the 63rd minute when they took the lead with a goal by Coscia. Alessandria 2 Lazio 1.
The difference in motivation between the sides continued to show and Alessandria almost made it three in the 65th minute when a powerful shot by Soffrido whistled over the bar. Shortly after the "Grigi" had a penalty appeal turned down when Fabio Frugali was allegedly tripped inside the area.
Alessandria's survival hopes took a blow in the 69th minute as Lazio equalised. The same duo as in the first goal conjured up a similar move. An Alzani freekick was met by De Andreis who headed past Anselmo Giorcelli. Alessandria 2 Lazio 2.
The game then petered out, Alessandria unable to push for the winner and Lazio satisfied with the point.
A fair draw in the end despite the Alessandrini's superior incentives. An away point for Lazio, never to be scoffed at.
Who played for Alessandria
Giorcelli, Ottonello, Di Gennaro, Gallea, Rosetta, Tortarolo, Armano, Soffrido, Stradella, Coscia, Frugali
Manager: Kovács
Who played for Lazio
Giubilo, Antonazzi, Piacentini, Alzani, Rosi, Brunetti, Puccinelli, Magrini, Penzo (I), Flamini, De Andreis
Manager: Tognotti
Referee: Longagnani
Goals: 20' De Andreis, 26' Stradella, 63' Coscia, 69' De Andreis
What happened next
Lazio demolished Fiorentina 5-0 a week later and then drew the last match 3-3 away to Sampdoria. The Biancocelesti finished 10th after 13 wins, 13 draws and 14 defeats. Top scorer was Romano Penzo with 17 league goals.
The town named in honour of Pope Alexander III would not see top-flight football the following year. A week later Alessandria lost 4-0 away to Sampdoria and were relegated. They then won 3-1 away against Milan but their fate was already sealed. They finished 20th, with 11 wins, 9 draws and 20 defeats. They were then put up a position as Napoli were downgraded to last place due to corruption accusations by Bologna. Top scorer was Stradella with 14 league goals.
The Scudetto was won by a dominant Torino for their 6th title (5th consecutive, this was the "Grande Torino before the tragic air crash at Superga in 1949). Alessandria went down with Vicenza, Salernitana and Napoli. Roma escaped the drop by one point.
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 Costantino De Andreis
Costantino De Andreis was born in Rome, on August 27, 1925.
He was a product of the Lazio youth sector. He joined Lazio as a boy and played at all the age levels leading up to first team football.
His debut came in the 1943-44 season under Dino Canestri. The war meant there was no national championship so the Roman teams played amongst themselves. De Andreis played two games and Lazio won the championship. Both derbies were drawn (mind you they were all derbies).
In 1944-45, Lazio came second, winning 8, drawing 2 and losing 4. De Andreis scored 2 goals (Albaerotecnica, MATER). Lazio and Roma won one derby each.
The following season the league was divided into the Centre-South group (with Lazio) and the North group. Lazio came 7th with 6 wins, 5 draws and 9 defeats. Lazio changed manager twice: from Dino Canestri (1-10) to Salvador Gualtieri (11-16) and finally Tony Cargnelli (17- 20). Again Lazio won a derby each with Roma.
In 1946-47 Lazio finished 10th under Austrian Tony Cargnelli. The Biancocelesti won 12, drew 12 and lost 14. De Andreis played 22 league games and scored 8 goals (Brescia x 3, Bologna, Napoli, Vicenza, Atalanta, Venezia). Lazio drew one derby and lost the other.
In 1947-48 Lazio again finished 10th, first under Cargnelli and then after 21 matches Orlando Tognotti. De Andreis played 30 league games with 6 goals (Milan, Sampdoria, Roma, Alessandria x 2, Sampdoria). He scored the second goal in Lazio's 2-0 derby win.
In the 1948-49 season Tognotti started as manager but was replaced by Mario Sperone after ten matches. Lazio came 13th and De Andreis played 18 matches with 5 goals (Pro Patria, Modena, Novara, Palermo, Novara).
In 1949-50 he joined Napoli on loan for a season in Serie B. He played under Eraldo Monzeglio and the "Partenopei" won the league and promotion. De Andreis had made a good contribution, playing 38 league games and scoring 12 goals.
In 1950 he came back to Lazio but in November was sold to Salernitana in Serie B. He played five seasons for the "Ippocampi " (The Seahorses) finishing 13th, 8th, 11th, 12th and finally 18th (relegated to C). He played 114 games in Salerno and scored 23 goals.
He then played one more season at amateur level with local Federconsorzi Roma before retiring.
De Andreis was a forward. He was Roman, a Lazio fan and had the satisfaction of playing 98 games for his boyhood club with 21 goals. He achieved every true Laziale's dream of scoring in a winning derby. He is in fact in the very restricted number of Lazio born fans to have done so, others that come to mind are Bruno Giordano, Vincenzo D'Amico, Paolo Di Canio and Danilo Cataldi.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | National Championship | Roman Championship |
1943-44 | 2 | - | - | 2 |
1944-45 | 13 (2) | - | - | 13 (2) |
1945-46 | 13 | - | 13 | - |
1946-47 | 22 (8) | 22 (8) | - | - |
1947-48 | 30 (6) | 30 (6) | - | - |
1948-49 | 18 (5) | 18 (5) | - | - |
Total | 98 (21) | 70 (19) | 13 | 15 (2) |
Sources
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