Birth of a new hero
Flamini scores early on and Giovannini saves a penalty on his debut. Fantastic win.
The season so far
Lazio, as usual, did not have much money for the summer transfers. All the same, three interesting players arrived from South America: Evaristo Barrera, Silvestro Pisa plus Enrique Flamini. They all arrived via boat in February of 1939 together with many other “oriundi” trying to be signed by an Italian club. The three could not play in the 1938-39 season so they were signed for the next one.
The Biancocelesti had also a new manager, Kertesz Geza, who substituted Luigi Allemandi.
Lazio did pretty well in the first half of the season, beating Milan, Napoli and Juventus and drawing against the formidable Ambrosiana Inter. They were fourth, just two points off leaders Bologna. They continued to do well even in the second part but could not keep up with Ambrosiana and Bologna. They were currently fifth in the company of Torino, two points away from third place.
The match: Sunday, May 26, 1940, Stadio PNF, Rome
Everybody thought Roma would win easily. Lazio were forced to play with four reserves. Since Giacomo Blason, Vincenzo Provera and Corrado Giubilio, the three main goalkeepers, were injured, manager Geza Kertesz was forced to put very young Corrado Giovannini in goal. He was joined by Alessandro Ferri, Renato Ferrarese and Elvezio D’Orazi.
But the Biancocelesti scored early. D’Orazi managed to avoid the ball going out and passed to Ferri who crossed in the box. Evaristo Barrera headed towards the left and in came Enrique Flamini who with a powerful volley placed the ball in the top right-hand corner of the Roma goal.
The Giallorossi attacked and in the 36th minute Aristide Coscia, all alone in front of the goalkeeper, sent the ball out. In the 45th minute a prolonged Coscia-Michelangelo Pantò-Amedeo Amadei-Francisco Provvidente play sent the ball onto the crossbar.
In the second half, Lazio set up a wall in front of the young goalkeeper who made his first save in the 50th minute when he parried a Pietro Serantoni shot. D’Orazi and Barrera missed easy chances to score the Biancocelesti’s second, before the game degenerated with continuous fouls by both sides. In the 67th minute a Provvidente header was parried and immediately after a Barrera powerful shot went wide. In the 73rd minute Ferri touched the ball with his hand in the box. Penalty for Roma. The players decided to settle things once and for all with their fists and D’Orazi and Giuseppe Bonomi were sent off.
It took three minutes to take the spot kick. Pantò took it and Giovannini saved, becoming the hero of the day.
Roma then attacked even more, but the Lazio defence controlled well and brought home the impressive victory.
Who played for Lazio
Giovannini, Ferrarese, Monza II, Milano, Ramella, Ferri, Vettraino, Dagianti, Barrera, Flamini, D’Orazi
Manager: Kertesz
Who played for Roma
Masetti, Acerbi, Gadaldi, Serantoni, Donati, Bonomi, Amadei, Pantò, Provvidente, Coscia, Alghisi
Manager: Schaffer
Referee: Soliani
Goal: 12’ Flamini
What happened next
Lazio finished the season with a prestigious fourth place behind Ambrosiana Inter, Bologna and Juventus. An excellent season for the Biancocelesti with 12 wins, 11 draws and 7 defeats.
Alfredo Monza and Luciano Ramella topped the appearances (33) whilst Silvio Piola was the top goal scorer with 10 goals. Unfortunately, the great Silvio had been plagued by injuries this season otherwise Lazio could have competed for even higher positions.
Eight days after the end of the season Benito Mussolini declared war on Great Britain and France.
Lazio 1939-40
Comeptition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 36 |
Coppa Italia | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | 5 |
Total | 33 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 49 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Monza | 33 | 30 | 3 |
Ramella | 33 | 30 | 3 |
Baldo | 31 | 28 | 3 |
Milano | 30 | 28 | 2 |
Vettraino | 30 | 27 | 3 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Piola | 10 | 9 | 1 |
Pisa | 9 | 9 | - |
Vettraino | 8 | 7 | 1 |
Barrera | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Flamini | 5 | 5 | - |
Busani | 5 | 5 | - |
Lets talk about Vittorio Dagianti
Vittorio Dagianti was born in Rome on May 10, 1919. He was a product of the Lazio youth sector and debuted in Serie A on February 5, 1939 in the game the Biancocelesti lost against Genoa.
He was a good midfield player and in three years made 28 appearances with five goals.
In 1941 he signed for Salernitana in Serie C and a year later returned to Rome but on the wrong side of the Tiber. He became involved in a controversial episode. In a Coppa Italia match against Torino, a brawl broke out between the players and the linesman was kicked in the stomach. The ref accused Amadeo Amadei who would later be banned for life but subsequently let off. The real culprit however was Dagianti. He again played for Roma in the 1945-46 season.
After the war he went back to Salernitana for three years (in his first year the club was promoted to Serie A but immediately relegated the season after) and Napoli for two where he won another promotion to Serie A. He ended his career with Chieti in Serie C.
In the 1970s he was manager of minor Roman teams.
He died on June 4, 1994 in Teramo
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1938-39 | 9 (2) | 8 (1) | 1 (1) |
1939-40 | 4 (1) | 3 (1) | 1 |
1941-42 | 15 (2) | 14 (2) | 1 |
Total | 28 (5) | 25 (4) | 3 (1) |
Sources
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