Norwegian win
A Larsen double after a bad first half give Lazio the win
The season so far
In the previous season Lazio had come an excellent 4th for the third year running under manager Giuseppe Bigogno. As usual, there was not much money for transfers so the only good players arriving were midfielder Per Bredesen, Norwegian International, forwards Giovanni Migliorini (Inter) and Paolo Bettolini (Magenta), winger Emilio Caprile (Juventus) plus the returns of Renato Spurio and Aldo De Fazio from the loans.
Leaving Lazio were centre-forward Sukru Gulesin (Palermo) and Leoncino Unzain (Toulon) and alas also fan favourites Enrique Flamini (Reggiana) and Vittorio Sentimenti III (Torino). Vittorio Bergamo arrived from Sampdoria in the autumn.
So far Lazio had played four games, won one, drawn one and lost two.
The match: Sunday, October 12, 1952, Stadio Torino, Rome
In the first quarter of an hour there had been attempts from both sides, but nothing spectacular. Then in the 19th minute Napoli scored. Hans Jeppson had a shoulder to shoulder duel with Primo Sentimenti V, the Lazio player lost and collapsed to the ground, the Neapolitan forward advanced and from seven metres out beat Lucidio Sentimenti IV.
Jeppson almost made it two in the 28th minute when his shot just missed the target. In the 31st minute a quick play by Ragnar Larsen- Aldo Puccinelli which allowed Lelio Antoniotti to have a chance but his volley went wide. The rest of the half showed a very confused Lazio which Napoli did not take advantage of preferring to control the game. Mistake. Also because Jeppson towards the end of the half got injured and was forced out to the wing.
In the second half Lazio put their foot on the accelerator. After a Jepposon shot which went wide, in the 53rd minute a Per Bredesen attempt was parried into corner by Giuseppe Casari. From the subsequent corner Puccinelli tried a shot which was deflected. Larsen was the quickest one to reach the ball and from two metres managed to equalise.
Lazio went on a rampage with shots from Antoniotti, Larsen and Rino Di Fraia. In the 73rd minute Romolo Alzani to Antoniotti who volleyed towards Larsen and the Norwegian made no mistake.
The Biancocelesti did not stop and tried to get a third. Immediately after the second goal a Bredesen shot was saved by the keeper. The Norwegian tried again in the 80th minute but his attempt went wide. In the 85th minute Casari anticipated Di Fraia avoiding the third goal. Napoli had no energy left and could not do much.
Good win for Lazio despite the awful first half.
Who played for Lazio
Sentimenti IV, Montanari, Furiassi, Alzani, Sentimenti V, Fuin, Puccinelli, Bredesen, Antoniotti, Larsen, Di Fraia
Manager: Bigogno
Who played for Napoli
Casari, Delfrati, Comaschi, Gramaglia, Viney, Granata, Vitali, Formentin, Jeppson, Amadei, Pesaola
Manager: Monzeglio
Referee: Marchetti
Goals: 19’ Jeppson, 54’ Larsen, 72’ Larsen
What happened next
The first half of the season was rather positive and Lazio reached 6th place, just four points off second place Milan. Despite losing to future champions Juventus 5-0 in Turin, they had won the derby, beaten Napoli and drawn against Inter. The first match of the second half had seen Lazio triumph 4-0 at Udine but then the Biancocelesti lost 6 out of seven games and Tognotti was fired and replaced by Alfredo Notti. In his first game Lazio beat Roma but then they would only win one more game and finished with three consecutive defeats. In the end they came a disappointing 10th.
Sentimenti IV, Primo Sentimenti V and Bredesen were the players with most appearances (32), and the top goal scorers were Larsen and Bettolini with 7 goals.
Lazio 1952-53
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 38 |
Top five appearances
Player | Serie A |
Bredesen | 32 |
Sentimenti IV | 32 |
Sentimenti V | 32 |
Larsen | 31 |
Puccinelli | 31 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Serie A |
Larsen | 7 |
Bettolini | 7 |
Bredesen | 6 |
Puccinelli | 6 |
Antoniotti | 4 |
Let's talk about Rino Di Fraia
Rino Di Fraia was born on February 20, 1932, in Sestri Levante in Liguria. He started playing for Rapallo Ruentes in Serie C. He was noticed and tried out by Lazio during a friendly in February 1952. He impressed and the club signed him.
He debuted in Serie A on October 12 in the match won against Napoli and also played the derby on March 22, 1953, with Lazio triumphing 2-0. In total he made three appearances for the A team, but played more consistently for the reserves team who won the league.
In 1953 he was sold to Carrarese in Serie C where he stayed a year, making 25 league appearances with five goals. In 1954 he signed for Sambenedettese where he played for four seasons obtaining a promotion to Serie B in 1955. He made 116 league appearances with 27 goals. In 1958 he moved to Piacenza in Serie B where he stayed for three years before playing his last years of active football with Spezia in 1961 and Lavagnese from 1962 to 1965.
He was a decent winger and obviously the highlight of his career was playing for the first team of the Italian capital.
He died in Sestri Levante on December 7 2010, after heart surgery.
Lazio Career
Season | Apperances Serie A |
1952-53 | 3 |
Source
Lazio Wiki
Wikipedia
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