Who said Lazio were on holiday?
Lazio thrash Triestina to silence those who doubted the Biancocelesti would play at their best
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had arrived fourth for the second year running. An excellent result for the club, preceded only by the big northern Italian clubs.
This season the Biancocelesti had a new manager, Giuseppe Bigogno, and some new players: midfielders Luigi Fuin (Palermo), Ragnar Larsen (Sandaker) and Sigvard Lofgren (Helsingborg) plus forwards Lelio Antoniotti (Pro Patria), Armando Macci (Reggiana) and Sukru Gulesin on return from his loan to Palermo. Leaving Lazio were Aldo De Fazio (Lucchese), Mido Bimbi (Udinese), Flavio Cecconi (Napoli) and the forwards Dionisio Arce (Napoli), Norberto Hofling (Pro Patria) and Leoncino Unzain (Toulon).
Despite this revolution, especially in attack, Lazio had begun the season well and after the first half of the season they were third together with Inter and Spal, three points away from Milan, second. Leaders Juventus had a substantial four-point lead over the rossoneri. The good season continued with prestigious wins (Bologna, Juventus) but also too many games lost to weaker teams.
With one match to the end of the season they were fifth, two points behind Fiorentina. The scudetto had already been won by Juventus.
The bottom of the Serie A table read: Triestina 32 points, Bologna 31, Lucchese 30, Padova 29, Legnano 16. Apart from the latter, everything was still possible. During the week there had been a lot of pressure on Lazio. Usually in the last games, the stronger team, already on holiday, let the weaker squads win, and the football league sent a letter to the club to remind them to play at their best. Even the other teams involved in the fight to stay in Serie A had put pressure on the Biancocelesti. A win would shut them up.
The match: Sunday, June 22, 1952, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio began the match well and after 13 minutes they were already 2-0 up. In the 11th minute Aldo Puccinelli dribbled past three players and attempted a shot which beat the keeper. Two minutes later Lelio Antoniotti went off on the left and passed back to Sukru Gulesin who crossed into the box. Puccinelli got hold of the ball and, thanks to Antonio Nuciari staying completely still on the line, passed to Sigvard Lofgren who volleyed the ball in the net.
Triestina attempted a comeback and Lucidio Sentimenti IV was forced to make a magnificent save in the 30th minute on a Domenico De Vito shot. In the 39th minute a Bruno Ispiro-Enore Boscolo one-two gave an opportunity to reduce the deficit to José Curti and he did not miss. In the 42nd minute a Sukru freekick hit the crossbar.
In the 49th minute, Ispiro had the biggest chance to equalise. On a free kick in the penalty box, Curti passed to the former Lazio player who just had the keeper to beat. But he took too long and Zeffiro Furiassi stopped his shot. In the 59th minute Antoniotti passed to Sukru who raced towards the goal. Marco Mariuzza tried to stop him by grabbing his jersey but the Turk just continued and in front of Nuciari gave Lazio their third of the day.
Triestina had nothing left and the Biancocelesti went close to scoring a fourth when Sukru, again on a free kick, hit the crossbar for the second time. In the 79th minute the Turk, having received the ball from Romolo Alzani, from very close to the by-line tried an almost impossible shot which surprised Nuciari and Lazio went 4-1 up.
All in all, a comfortable win for the Biancocelesti. Triestina were forced to a playoff with Lucchese who had beaten Spal 2-0 to stay in Serie A.
Who played for Lazio
Sentimenti IV, Montanari, Furiassi, Alzani, Sentimenti V, Fuin, Puccinelli, Larsen, Antoniotti, Lofgren, Sukru
Manager: Bigogno
Who played for Triestina
Nuciari, Belloni, Valenti, Petagna, Mariuzza, Giannini, Boscolo, Curti, Ispiro, Petrozzi, De Vito
Manager: Perazzolo.
Referee: Agnoli
Goals: 11’ Puccinelli, 13’ Lofgren, 39’ Curti, 59’ Sukru, 79’ Sukru
What happened next
Lazio finished fourth in the company of Fiorentina. Once more they were preceded by the three big teams of Serie A, Juventus, Milan and Inter, but arriving fourth for three consecutive years for a club like Lazio with little financial backing was a big deal.
The player with the most appearances was Lucidio Sentimenti IV (38) and top scorer was Sukru with 16 goals.
Triestina won the playoff against Lucchese. They drew the first game 3-3 and needed a replay which they won 1-0. They then had to play another playoff against the team that arrived second in Serie B, Brescia. They won that too thanks to a Bruno Ispiro goal and stayed in Serie A.
Lazio 1951-52
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 60 |
Top appearances
Player | Serie A |
Sentimenti IV | 38 |
Alzani | 37 |
Fuin | 35 |
Furiassi | 30 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Serie A |
Sukru | 16 |
Puccinelli | 9 |
Larsen | 7 |
Lofgren | 7 |
Antoniotti | 6 |
Let's talk about Bruno Ispiro
Bruno Ispiro was born on March 20 1920 in Rovigno d’Istria where he started playing professional football in 1936 for Amplea. In 1940 he signed for Genova 1893 (the name of Genoa Football and Cricket Club had to take due to the fascist regime’s urge to eliminate all foreign names). He stayed there for three years, until Italian football stopped due to the Second World War. In that period, he went back to Amplea. In 1945 he returned to Liguria and played for a year until he signed for Lazio in 1946.
He was not particularly tall as a forward, but his speciality were headers since he was a sly and quick player and could often outfox the defenders. At Lazio he made 28 appearances with 5 goals. After a year he signed for Triestina where under the legendary manager Nereo Rocco, the club achieved second place, beaten only by the Great Torino. That year he scored 9 goals and in 1948-49 scored 15 goals including 5 in the 9-1 in which Triestina crushed Padova. As the club got weaker, he scored less. In 1952 though, his was the winning goal in the playoff against Brescia to see who would stay in Serie A. He stayed in Trieste until 1954 when he signed for Reggiana in the fourth tier for one final season.
Ispiro scored 83 goals in 281 games during his career.
He died in Trieste on April 21, 1992.
Season | Serie A Appearances | Serie A Goals |
1946-47 | 28 | 5 |
Sources
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