Slaughtered
Lazio score five times against a dismal Genova
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season had been pretty poor and Lazio only managed to avoid relegation in the last game.
There was not much money to invest so only minor signings were made. The most important thing was to keep Leopoldo Caimmi and Mario Malatesta, the two stars of the team. Ferenc Molnar who had come in towards the end of the previous season had been confirmed as manager. Also arriving was Gino Lamon from Padova. Leaving Lazio were Francesco Rier (Juventus), Giuseppe Valenti (Lecce) and Dino Sbrana II (also to Lecce). Luigi Saraceni II and Ugo Ciabattini had retired.
In the first 8 games Lazio had won four (including beating Bologna and a 1-0 win in Milan), lost three and drawn the opening game and were currently seventh, only two points off second place.
The match: Sunday, November 23, 1930, Stadio Rondinella, Rome
Lazio almost scored immediately despite playing against the sun. Pietro Pastore with a spectacular acrobatic bicycle kick in the first minute of play allowed Manilo Bacigalupo to show off his skills as he miraculously parried. But after five minutes, the Biancocelesti stopped playing and left the initiative to the Ligurians who however were unable to break down Lazio's defensive wall.
Nothing much else happened in the first half, but in the second there were fireworks. In the 50th minute a great shot from Carlo Cevenini V opened the score and seven minutes later Lazio doubled. Pastore set up Alfredo Foni who had a simple chance and did not miss.
Genoa only mustered some type of reaction in the 60th minute but it did not last and the Biancocelesti, urged on by the crowd, in the 75th minute made it three thanks to Mario Malatesta. Pastore, easily the best man on the pitch, finally found satisfaction when a magnificent bicycle kick gave Lazio their fourth goal.
The Ligurians at this point, especially since Benito Mussolini was in the stands watching, put in their maximum effort and hit the woodwork twice with Elvio Banchero and Virgilio Levratto and may have even deserved to score but Ezio Sclavi was not in the mood to concede and saved everything he could. At a certain point, Levratto had a nervous breakdown and started to weep. But the crowd cheered him on and he got over it.
Not happy with the 4-0, Malatesta made it five in the 89th minute.
(NB. Genova 1893 is in fact Genoa Cricket and Football Club. They had to change names in 1928 when the Fascist regime made clubs change names to make them more Italian).
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Molnar
Who played for Genova 1893
Bacigalupo, Lombardo, Spigno, Barbieri I, Albertoni, Burlando, Patri, Bodini I, Stabile, Banchero I, Levratto
Manager: Szekany
Referee: Gama
Goals: 50’ Cevenini V, 67’ Foni, 75’ Malatesta, 80’ Pastore, 89’ Malatesta
What happened next
At the end of the first half of the season the Biancocelesti were in sixth place having drawn the derby and beaten Juventus. In the second half the situation more or less stayed put and Lazio ended up eighth. There was not much ambition due to the limited resources, hence not much more could be asked for.
Two Brazilian brothers, Joāo and Octavio Fantoni from Cruzeiro were signed in April 1931. The two brothers would be the backbone of the future Brasilazio.
Mattei II was the player with most appearances (34) and Pastore the top goal scorer with 13 goals.
Let’s talk about Odoacre Pardini
Odoacre Pardini was born in Pietrasanta, near Lucca, on January 14, 1905.
He started his football career with Lucchese where he played from 1920 to 1924.
In the summer of the latter year, he signed for Lazio. He played one season in Rome before returning to Lucca for one year, presumably on loan since he was back in the capital in 1926. He stayed seven more years at Lazio until 1933 when he moved to Pisa. He spent one year in Tuscany and then moved back to Rome. He was waiting to be given a new contract and, in the meantime, he trained with the Biancocelesti. In December 1934 it looked like he found an agreement first with Livorno and then with Bologna but in both cases the deal was not sealed. So, he signed for Lazio again and stayed another two years.
After his adventure with Lazio, he quit football and went into coaching. He was head coach of Pontedera from 1938 to 1941.
At Lazio he made 177 appearances for Lazio with nine goals. He played both at midfield and in defence. With Lazio he won the Coppa Fornari.
Apart from being an excellent footballer, Pardini was also a sprinter, a good swimmer, a rock climber, and a boxer.
He died in Pietrasanta in December 1977.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | National Champ. | First Division | National Division | Coppa Coni |
1924-25 | 14 (1) | - | - | 14 (1) | - | - | - |
1926-27 | 11 (4) | - | - | - | 11 (4) | ||
1927-28 | 23 (3) | - | - | - | - | 14 | 9 (3) |
1928-29 | 22 (1) | - | - | - | - | 22 (1) | - |
1929-30 | 28 | 28 | - | - | - | - | - |
1930-31 | 32 | 32 | - | - | - | - | - |
1931-32 | 8 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - |
1932-33 | 22 | 22 | - | - | - | - | - |
1934-35 | 10 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - |
1935-36 | 7 | 6 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Total | 177 (9) | 106 | 1 | 14 (1) | 11 (4) | 36 (1) | 9 (3) |
Sources
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