The April 15-21 games became ever so important as the seasons approached their end. There were Scudetto hopes in 1973 and 2000, a promotion to be reached in 1969, a relegation to be avoided in 1984, and a fourth place to consolidate in 1950. We also remember one of Lazio’s legends: Humberto Tozzi.
Matches of the Week
Date: Saturday, April 15, 2000
Location: Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
Fixture: Fiorentina Lazio 3-3
Lazio’s scudetto hopes seemingly shattered in Florence again. A spectacular game but a deja-vu situation as Lazio fall five points behind Juventus with only four games remaining.
Date: Sunday, April 16, 1950
Location: Stadio Nazionale, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Inter 3-2
A fantastic and deserved win for Lazio against Inter thanks to goals from Magrini, Flamini and Sentimenti III.
Date: Sunday, April 20, 1969
Location: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Brescia 1-0
A Fortunato goal in the second half gives Lazio the top of the Serie B table and a four-point lead over 4th place.
Date: Saturday, April 21, 1973
Location: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Milan 2-1
Despite injuries, Lazio fend off the devil and join the Rossoneri at the top of the table. Chinaglia is unstoppable.
Date: Saturday, April 21, 1984
Location: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Napoli 3-2
A lightning strike by Giordano, returning in the first eleven after four months, and a Laudrup brace steer Lazio to a possibly crucial win.
In Memory: Humberto Tozzi
Humberto Tozzi was one of a kind. A Brazilian centre-forward with great potential, but he did not like to train and sometimes did not even want to play, but he could change the course of a game in a second.
To help understand the type of player he was, we can take as an example the game against Bologna on December 21, 1958. Humberto literally did not move for the entire game. If the ball came his way, he just let it pass. The entire Stadium was booing him and manager Fulvio Bernardini did not know what to do (at that time you could not substitute players). The Biancocelesti fell behind at the end of the first half. In the 78th minute, quite by chance, he was hit by the ball and woke up. He dribbled the entire Bologna defence and the goalkeeper and equalized. The ball went back to the centre of the pitch and Tozzi repeated what he had just done to score a second. 2-1 for Lazio. Game over.
He played 103 games for Lazio and scored 45 goals. He was a key member of the team that won the Coppa Italia in 1958, Lazio’s first-ever national trophy. He also scored the first-ever Brazilian goal at the Olympics.
Tozzi passed away on April 17, 1980, in Rio de Janeiro.
Birthdays this Week
- Felipe Anderson, 15-4-1993, forward, Brazil, (so far) 319 appearances, 58 goals (2013-18, 2021-24)
- Mourad Meghni, 16-4-1972, midfielder, France/Algeria, 60 appearances, 2 goals (2007-10)
- Marcello Consiglio, 17-4-1894, forward, Italy, 76 appearances, 56 goals (1911-21)
- Stefano Fiore, 17-4-1975, midfielder, Italy, 133 appearances, 30 goals (2001-04)
- Patric, 17-4-1993, defender, Spain, 204 appearances, 4 goals (2015-24)
- Enrique Flamini 17-4-1917, forward, Argentina, 286 appearances, 44 goals (1939-43, 1946-52)
- Valon Behrami, 19-4-1985, midfielder, Switzerland, 77 appearances, 5 goals (2006-08)
- Gustav Isaksen, 19-4-2001, forward, Denmark, 36 appearances, 3 goals (2023-24)
- Andrea Agostinelli, 20-4-1957, midfielder, Italy, 95 appearances, 3 goals (1975-79)
- Edgidio Fumagalli, 21-4-1937, midfielder, Italy 61 appearances, 5 goals (1958-61)
- Stefano Malacarne, 21-4-1925, midfielder, Italy 92 appearances (1950-55)
This Article Was Written by Dag Jenkins & Simon Basten from Lazio Stories. More Information on the Above Matches and Players can be found on LazioStories.com.
