The April 22-28 games in Lazio history witnessed a clinched Coppa Italia final, less worry over relegation (even if in one case it did end badly), and a fantastic derby win. We also remember Maurilio Prini who gave the Biancocelesti their first ever silverware.
Matches of the Week
Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Location: Stadio Olimpico, Turin
Fixture: Juventus Lazio 1-2, Coppa Italia Semi-Final, Second Leg
A fantastic win against Juventus opens the gates to the final of the Coppa Italia. Zarate and Kolarov are the scorers.
Date: Sunday, April 23, 1978
Location: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Perugia 2-0
An ill-tempered game is decided by an own goal and a world class Bruno Giordano. Vital two points for Lazio.
Date: Sunday, April 23, 1995
Location: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Roma 2-0
Lazio changed skin and avenged the previous derby by triumphing 2-0 with goals from Casiraghi and Signori.
Date: Sunday, April 24, 1966
Location: Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Cagliari 3-1
Thanks to Sacco, Bartu and Rozzoni, Lazio beat Cagliari and move to safer waters.
Date: Sunday, April 27, 1980
Location: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Fixture: Lazio Napoli 1-1
Lazio tries harder in the first half but ultimately both sides settle for the necessary points to stay in Serie A.
In Memory: Maurilio Prini
Maurilio Prini was a very modern winger for his time. He was very fast so was able to cover both attack and defence. It may seem obvious now, but in the 1950s, at least in Italy, the players more or less stayed within their given space of movement. But then came Fulvio Bernardini, former Lazio and Roma star player, who revolutionized Italian football.
In Florence, he invented a more elastic wing-midfielder system than the classic one, with players changing position depending on who had the ball. Furthermore, they were told not to pass directly to their teammates but in a free space so that the latter could reach the ball before their opponents; a more modern approach.
Fiorentina won a scudetto in 1956 and reached the final of the European Cup a year later, beaten by the great Real Madrid of Alfredo Di Stefano. Prini was a fundamental player in that team so when Bernardini came to manage Lazio in the summer of 1958, he brought Maurilio with him.
It was an immediate triumph as Lazio eliminated Roma in the group phase and Juventus in the semi-final. On Wednesday, September 24, 1958, the Biancocelesti beat Fiorentina 1-0 with a Prini goal, winning their first ever silverware.
Maurilio Prini died in Florence on April 29, 2009. He made a total of 86 appearances for Lazio, with 11 goals, between 1958 and 1962.
Birthdays this Week
- Antonio Rizzolo 22-4-1969, forward, Italy, 50 appearances, 8 goals (1987-89)
- Franco Carradori 24-4-1934, midfielder, Italy, 164 appearances, 13 goals (1955-61)
- Kurt Christiansen 26-4-1957, midfielder, Denmark, 22 appearances, 3 goals (1964-65)
- Luigi Corino 26-4-1966, defender, Italy, 46 appearances (1991-94)
- Giuseppe Massa 26-4-1948, forward, Italy, 168 appearances, 35 goals (1967-72)
- Valerio Fiori 27-4-1969, goalkeeper, Italy, 130 appearances (1988-93)
- John Hansen 27-4-1924, forward, Denmark, 27 appearances, 15 goals (1954-55)
- Diego Pablo Simeone 28-4-1970, midfielder, Argentina, 136 appearances, 18 goals (1999-03)
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.