1943–44 Roman War Championship

1943-44 Roman Football Championship 1943–44 Roman War Championship Association football Rome December 4, 1943 July 2, 1944The date of the rescheduled match between Juventus and Tirrenia (15th matchday), originally played on May 10th and then canceled due to a technical error by the referee. The regular championship schedule ended on May 28, 1944 with the last matches of the 18th round. Direttorio XI Zona/Comitato Regionale LazialeFrom the book by Roberto Vantaggiato and Rolando Mignini, "CR Lazio una storia lunga 95 anni", FIGC LND Comitato Regionale Lazio, Rome 2004, in the paragraph "Il Direttorio torna Comitato" (The Directorate becomes a committee again) on p. 91. The Direttorio XI Zona organized all the matches of this championship except the only one that was not played before the liberation of Rome. After the liberation of the capital, the old name, which had been dropped in 1926 after the Charter of Viareggio, was restored and the only match not yet played was played. Round-robin tournament 10 SS Lazio (1st title) 90 341 Umberto Lombardini (21) The 1943–1944 Roman War Championship, better known as the Roman Mixed National Division Championship,Name indicated by the Directorate of Lazio in accordance with the directives of the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; 10 October 2013 16 December 1943 1 Corriere dello Sport Il calendario della I Divisione e altre deliberazioni del Direttorio http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1943_296_0001 was the first of two mixed regional National Division championships played in the Lazio territory during World War II. It was organized by the Direttorio XI Zona and was contested by ten Roman teams. The championship was won by SS Lazio, who finished the tournament one point ahead of runners-up AS Roma. Teams from different levels of national and regional soccer at the time took part in the competition, from Serie A (first level) to the Prima Divisione (fourth level). Originally, this edition of the Roman championship was valid as Lazio's regional phase of the 1944 National Division (Campionato Alta Italia), but the Liberation of Rome prevented the winner of the championship, Lazio, from taking part in the interzonal finals for the title. The championship had in fact ended on May 28, 1944 (only one match remained to be played), and the following week the Direttorio XI Zona initiated the "four-team tournament", a post-season competition for the top four finishing teams. Following the Liberation of Rome (June 4, 1944) the tournament was suspended for two weeks. The Comitato Regionale Laziale (the new name of the Direttorio XI Zona after the liberation) organized the four-team tournament, which was won by Roma on June 25, and arranged for the only unplayed match to be played on July 2, after the end of the postseason tournament. Season Background thumb|Luigi Ridolfi, president of the FIGC during the fall of fascism.|right On July 25, 1943, Mussolini was overthrown by King Victor Emmanuel III, imprisoned in a secret place and replaced by Marshal Pietro Badoglio, thus ending the 20-year fascist regime and removing from office all those who had held positions in the regime; on the same day, Marquis Luigi Ridolfi Vay da Verrazzano, president of the F.I.G.C., also resigned. Inevitably, the structure of football collapsed and the teams released their players, in most cases not organizing training sessions during the summer of 1943; however, many players continued to train independently of the clubs, allowing the game to survive despite the absence of an organization behind it. Meanwhile, after confusing diplomatic maneuvers, Badoglio and the King decided to accept the armistice imposed by the Allies: Italy surrendered, signing it on September 3, later made public on September 8. Soccer never stopped in Italy, and friendly matches continued to be played throughout the peninsula amid the war and bombing.23 December 2013 22 June 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130622164624/http://www.lastoriasiamonoi.rai.it/puntate/spalti-di-guerra/446/default.aspx Carlo Durante lastoriasiamonoi.rai.it Spalti di guerra - La storia del campionato di calcio 1943-1944 http://www.lastoriasiamonoi.rai.it/puntate/spalti-di-guerra/446/default.aspx In the fall, on November 27, the federation, which was governed by the Republic of Salò in the north, announced in a special communiqué that the 1943-1944 football championship would be played through a mixed system, with Serie A, B and C clubs playing in a single tournament, divided into regional groups, and then a single group between the finalists. Even before the federal communiqué, the Direttorio di Zona was planning to organize an independent championship, which it intended to call the "Campionato Regionale di 1ª Categoria", which would award the title of Roman Champion.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 19. The news of the official resumption of the championship was greeted with great enthusiasm, and the organization of three football championships began in the capital: the Boys' Championship, intended for the youngest players, the 2nd Category Championship, and the 1st Category Championship, the winner of which would win the title of Roman Champion.23 December 2013 18 November 1943 Corriere dello Sport Notizie sulle squadre romane che parteciperanno al campionato http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1943_272_0001 The initial organization of the first category was decreed by the Direttorio XI Zona, a name adopted by the Direttorio in 1934 with the inclusion of Lazio in the federal championship; in collaboration with engineer Ottorino Barassi, the Direttorio opened registration to all teams in the first three divisions of the Italian league; thus, eight teams initially registered: Lazio and Roma (Serie A), Mater (Serie B), Ala Italia, Alba, Littorio and Vigili del Fuoco (Serie C), and La Disperata, which had just won promotion to Serie C by winning the 1942-1943 Lazio First Division championship. A ninth team, Elettronica, asked to participate, but the Direttorio initially decided not to admit them.23 December 2013 26 November 1943 Corriere dello Sport Per il campionato romano di calcio saranno giocate 25 partite la settimana http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1943_279_000123 December 2013 27 November 1943 Corriere dello Sport Le deliberazioni del Direttorio di zona sul campionato romano di calcio http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1943_280_0001 Later, Trastevere joined Elettronica in appealing to the Direttorio to be included in the first division championship, and the appeals committee, meeting on the evening of December 1, decided to grant the two clubs' request, increasing the number of participating teams from eight to ten.23 December 2013 1 December 1943 Corriere dello Sport Il campionato di calcio a Roma http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1943_283_000123 December 2013 2 December 1943 Corriere dello Sport Elettronica e Trastevere ammesse al Campionato http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1943_284_0002 By December 4, everything was in place for the first Roman War Championship to be played. The only changes in the days leading up to the championship were the names: the Gruppo Sportivo Ala Italia changed its name to Società Sportiva Tirrenia, while the Gruppo Sportivo Littorio adopted the name Società Sportiva Avia.23 December 2013 3 December 1943 Corriere dello Sport I calendari della prima categoria e del campionato ragazzi http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1943_285_0001 Championship At the same time as the invasion of France, the Allies occupied Rome (June 4) and, within a few weeks, the rest of central Italy. As mentioned above, the city of Rome, being an open city, was relatively unaffected by the war; the main problems that arose were the possibility of bombing (an eventuality to which the Direttorio responded by allowing the referee to order a brief suspension of the game in the event of an air alert, and only if the alert posed a real danger to the players and the public) and the lack of playing fields, especially those used by the military stationed in the city. This second difficulty repeatedly forced teams to play the rounds over several days (usually between Saturday and Sunday), sharing the few available fields and also playing at unusual times. Among the most frequently used facilities were the Stadio della Rondinella, the Motovelodromo Appio, the Montesacro field and the Apollodoro field; the Stadio Nazionale, which was initially accessible, became rarely available after the Anzio landing until it was requisitioned; Roma thus had to play the remaining matches at the Motovelodromo Appio,Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 20. as did Lazio, who often played at the Rondinella. The tournament officially began on December 4, 1943, with the match Avia-Vigili del Fuoco 2-0: the first goal was scored by Elio Bianchi in the 32nd minute of the first half.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 102. The other scheduled matches followed on December 5, with the exception of Alba-Lazio 0-4, played on December 8. The second day, played on December 11, was marked by two big wins, which were not uncommon during the tournament: Lazio defeated Elettronica 7-0 at home, with Lombardini scoring a hat-trick, while M.A.T.E.R. defeated Trastevere 9-2 away, with a hat-trick from Pisani and a brace from Marcello Pieri (III); four of the Pieri brothers, Enrico (I), Nicola (II), Marcello (III) and Pieri (V), played for M.A.T.E.R.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 153-157. In the third round, M.A.T.E.R. recorded another big victory, a 7-1 win over Elettronica, while Lazio and Roma won against Vigili del Fuoco and Trastevere respectively; on the fourth day, Trastevere got its first point by drawing 3-3 with Avia, while Roma overcame Elettronica, in the match played on Christmas Eve, 8-1 with 5 goals from Amedeo Amadei; Lazio defeated M.A.T.E.R., thus confirming the trend of the two main Capitoline clubs, which had collected as many victories in the first four days.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 103. Between the fourth and fifth day of the first round, the Gruppo Sportivo La Disperata changed its name to Società Sportiva Juventus,23 December 2013 30 December 1943 1 Corriere dello Sport Le deliberazioni del Direttorio - Gli orari delle partite e la gara delle "sperimentali" http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1943_307_0001 and Lazio and Roma finished the fifth round (the first of 1944) in a draw: 1-1 between Lazio and Juventus, 2-2 between Roma and M.A.T.E.R.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 104. The distance between the two leaders and the runners-up remained unchanged at 2 points due to the draw of Tirrenia. On the sixth day, the first Rome Derby was played: both teams had some problems with their attacking line, and Lazio had to play without their starting goalkeeper Uber Gradella, who was disqualified.6 January 1944 1 Corriere Dello Sport Lazio-Roma "partitissima" del girone d'andata http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1944_05_0001 Vedasi anche pagina 2. The match was played at the Stadio Nazionale in front of 13,000 fans, and although Lazio played the better game, according to the press, the match ended in a draw: a goal by Manola (8') was followed by a goal by Amadei (19').10 January 1944 1 Corriere Dello Sport Lazio e Roma chiudono la "partitissima" con il sesto 1-1 su nove risultati pari http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1944_08_0001 Tirrenia, taking advantage of the draw between Lazio and Roma, won 5-0 against Juventus (4 goals by Perugini). After this match, Oreste Roccasecca (II) left Roma for Vigili del Fuoco: he became the only player in all of Italy to play for two different teams in the wartime championship. On the seventh day, the match between Lazio and Tirrenia ended 1-1: Koenig's first goal for Lazio (71') was followed by Celestini's goal a minute later, leaving Roma, who had beaten Avia 2-0 the day before, alone at the top of the table. For the first time, the top two teams were separated and one of them left the other in first place.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 105. The next day, both Lazio and Roma won their matches (against Avia and Alba), as did Tirrenia, who beat Trastevere 5-2. Tirrenia, in 3rd place with 12 points, was already 4 points ahead of fourth-placed M.A.T.E.R. and Juventus. The first round ended in two halves: three games were played on January 30th, while the remaining two (Alba-Avia and Vigili del Fuoco-Roma) were played on February 13th. The second of these matches was suspended because of the improper behavior of the player Glauco Signorini, right wing of Vigili del Fuoco, who threatened the referee Giuseppe Fois (one of the main referees of the league, former referee of Serie A in the pre-war period) to the point that he was forced to end the match in the 85th minute with the score 2-0 for Roma; the Direttorio later homologated this result.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 106. The second round began on February 27, 1944, the 10th matchday: Lazio and Roma were again level on points, as Roma's draw with Juventus was matched by Lazio's 3-0 win over Alba; Tirrenia missed the chance to move within a point of the top two, losing 1-0 at home to M.A.T.E.R.. The 11th day saw another defeat for Tirrenia, who lost 4-2 to Roma, while Lazio beat Elettronica 6-1; the other matches ended in three draws that did not really change the standings.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 107. The 12th round saw two more wins for Lazio and Roma, against Vigili del Fuoco and Trastevere respectively; Tirrenia also returned to winning ways, and Alba, with a 2-1 win over Juventus, joined Elettronica at the bottom of the standings with 6 points. In the following round, both Roma and Lazio won, while Tirrenia drew at home against Alba, thus increasing its distance from the leaders; Elettronica, defeated by Roma, remained in last place.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 108. The 14th day saw the final separation between Lazio and Roma: the bianco-celesti defeated Juventus 4-0, while the giallo-rossi drew 1-1 with M.A.T.E.R.; these results were decisive, as they gave Lazio the points advantage that allowed them to win the championship at the end of the tournament. In the other matches, Tirrenia won the match against Vigili del Fuoco, while Alba returned to the bottom of the table, losing the direct match against Trastevere. The derby between Lazio and Roma, played on the 15th day, again ended in a 0-0 draw. In front of a crowd of 18,000, the game was poorly played by both teams, due to the weather conditions, characterized by a strong and hot wind, which weakened the players and made them less agile.8 May 1944 1 Il Littoriale La Lazio verso la conquista del titolo http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0001_1944_106_0001 Roma goalkeeper Guido Masetti was injured after saving a shot from Michele Andreolo, dislocating his shoulder: he was therefore replaced by left-back Paolo Jacobini, while Masetti moved to the left wing. Trastevere's first lineup problems began against Vigili del Fuoco, who fielded only 9 players and lost 5-1; Tirrenia had won 3-0 against Juventus, but the game was later canceled due to a technical error by referee Cappucci and rescheduled for July 2.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 109. On the 17th, Trastevere again had line-up problems and could only field 10 players: they lost 9-3 to Tirrenia in the highest-scoring match of the championship; Colaneri scored 5 goals, matching Amadei's tally against Elettronica on the 4th.Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 110. The draw between Roma and Lazio kept the gap unchanged, so the following three days, in which both teams won their respective matches, did not change the final result: Lazio won the Roman championship one day earlier, beating Trastevere 8-0 on May 27, making Roma's 4-2 win over Vigili del Fuoco on May 28 irrelevant. At the end of the tournament, Umberto Lombardini was the top scorer with 21 goals in 16 matches, while Amedeo Amadei had the best goalscoring average with 16 goals in 8 appearances. Although the winner would automatically qualify for the final of the Italian championship, wartime events prevented this from happening: the liberation of Rome on June 4, 1944 did not allow Lazio, who had won the title of "Roman champion" just a week earlier, to participate in the interzonal final. The Direttorio XI Zona, which had come under the control of the FIGC of the Kingdom of the South and renamed itself the Comitato Regionale Laziale, finished the "four-team tournament" that had begun the day before the arrival of the Allied troops, with the last match played on July 2, 1944. In any case, the tournament retained the status of National Division (also to distinguish it from the Roman First Division championship), while becoming an autonomous regional league, independent of the wartime championship organized by the Fascist FIGC. In addition to the league matches, matches were organized between "representative" teams: these were teams composed of a selection of the best players of the league, divided according to different criteria; for example, there was the challenge between "Representative A" and "Representative B" (or "Rappresentativa Assi" and "Rappresentativa Giovani"),16 April 1944 1 Il Littoriale della Domenica L'incontro di oggi allo Stadio motivo dominante della stagione calcistica http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=000E_1944_16_0001 played in April: the "A" representative was composed of the best players of Roma and Lazio, while the other one was composed of players of the other teams; this was for charity purposes.2 April 1944 1 Il Littoriale Un eccezionale incontro tra Rappresentative romane http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=000E_1944_14_0001 Participating teams Club Previous season Alba Roma 2nd in Group I of Serie C Avia 4th in Group L of Serie CUnder the name G.S. R.S.T. Littorio Elettronica Group B of the First Division Juventus RomaUntil the 4th matchday it was called G.S. La Disperata. Champion of Lazio First DivisionUnder the name G.S. La Disperata. Lazio 9th in Serie A MATER 12th in Serie B Roma 9th in Serie A Tirrenia 3rd in Group I of Serie CUnder the name G.A. Ala Littoria. Trastevere Group C of the First Division VV.FF. Roma 4th in Group L of Serie C Coaches Team Coach Team Coach Alba Orlando Tognotti M.A.T.E.R. Fulvio Bernardini Avia Giovanni Degni Roma Guido Masetti Elettronica Attilio Ferraris (IV) Tirrenia ? Juventus ? Trastevere ? Lazio Dino Canestri Vigili del Fuoco Annesi9 February 1944 1 Corriere Dello Sport Roma-Vigili: si gioca per la classifica http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1944_34_0001 Final standings Pos. PositionTeamPts PointsPld PlayedW WonD DrawnL LostGF Goals forGA Goals against1.Lazio321814406082.Roma3118135062173.Tirrenia2518113444274.MATER1718311435275.Juventus Roma161856719286.VV.FF. Roma151855821256.Avia151855830408.Alba Roma1018261024428.Elettronica10183411195910.Trastevere91833122768 Legend:       Champion of Rome and qualified for the four-team tournament.       Qualified for the four-team tournament. Notes: Two points for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss. Results Calendar 1st half of the season (1st)Matchday 12nd half of the season (10th) Dec. 42-0Avia-Vigili del Fuoco 0-0 Feb. 27 Dec. 52-0Roma-Juventus Roma1-1Mar 120-1Mater-Tirrenia1-0Feb. 26 Dec. 82-1Elettronica-Trastevere2-2Feb. 27 0-4 Alba-Lazio0-3Mar. 121st half of the season (2nd)Matchday 22nd half of the season (11th) Dec. 111-2Tirrenia-Roma2-4Mar. 191-1Vigili del Fuoco-Alba1-1 Dec. 129-2Mater-Trastevere2-2Mar. 183-2Juventus Roma-Avia1-17-0Lazio-Elettronica6-1 1st half of the season (3rd)Matchday 32nd half of the season (12th) Dec. 181-3Avia-Tirrenia0-2 Mar. 251-2Vigili del Fuoco-Lazio0-1 Mar. 26 Dec. 191-0Juventus Roma-Alba1-27-1Mater-Elettronica0-0 Mar. 254-0Roma-Trastevere7-1 Mar. 261st half of the season (4th)Matchday 42nd half of the season (13th) 24 dic.1-8Elettronica-Roma0-5 Apr. 23-2 Tirrenia-Alba1-1 Apr. 1 26 dic.0-2Juventus Roma-Vigili del Fuoco0-22-0 Lazio-Mater4-2 Apr. 23-3 Trastevere-Avia 2-3 Apr. 1 1st half of the season (5th)Matchday 52nd half of the season (14th)Dec. 310-0 Vigili del Fuoco-Tirrenia1-2 Apr. 22Jan. 16-0Avia-Elettronica1-41-1 Lazio-Juventus Roma 4-0 Apr. 23 Jan. 21-2 Alba-Trastevere1-2 Apr. 222-2 Roma-Mater1-1 Apr. 231st half of the season (6th)Matchday 62nd half of the season (15th)Jan. 81-1Mater-Avia2-2 May 65-0 Tirrenia-Juventus RomaOriginally played on May 10, 1944, and ending with a score of 0-3, it was abandoned and replayed due to a technical error by referee Cappucci.2-1 July 2Jan. 91-1Roma-Lazio0-0 May 70-3 Vigili del Fuoco-Trastevere5-1 May 60-0 Elettronica-Alba1-4 May 7 1st half of the season (7th)Matchday 72nd half of the season (16th)Jan. 150-2Avia-Roma1-6 May 143-0 Juventus Roma-Trastevere2-1Jan. 162-2 Alba-Mater2-2 May 131-1 Lazio-Tirrenia 6-1 May 141-0 Vigili del Fuoco-Elettronica1-31st half of the season (8th)Matchday 82nd half of the season (17th)Jan. 222-2Mater-Vigili del Fuoco1-2 May 200-1 Avia-Lazio0-7 May 21Jan. 230-0Elettronica-Juventus Roma2-45-2 Roma-Alba 6-2 May 202-5 Trastevere-Tirrenia3-9 May 21 1st half of the season (9th)Matchday 92nd half of the season (18th) Jan. 300-0Juventus Roma-Mater1-1 May 272-0 Tirrenia-Elettronica4-2 May 280-2 Trastevere-Lazio0-8 May 27Feb. 133-5Alba-Avia0-2 May 28Feb. 200-2Vigili del Fuoco-Roma2-4 Statistics Teams Points by matchday 1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18thAlba Roma011112333346779101010Avia Roma22235666891010121213131315Elettronica222223344556688101010Juventus Roma024455789101111111111131516Lazio2468910111315171921232526283032MATER024456789111213131415161617Roma246891012141617 1921232425272931Tirrenia224679101214141416171921 21 2325Trastevere000135555677799999VV.FF. Roma01134 4677899111113131515 Individual statistics Top goalscorers 23 December 2013 31 May 1944 Il Littoriale Le nostre statistiche - Lombardini primo nella graduatoria dei tiratori scelti http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0001_1944_126_0002Cacozza Fontanelli 1998 112. thumb|Gravestone of Mario Forlivesi. One of the tournament's best newcomers,26 April 1944 1 Il Littoriale Amadei o Forlivesi? http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0001_1944_96_0001 Continued on page 2.12 February 1944 1 Corriere Dello Sport Vigili del Fuoco-Roma http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1944_37_0001 he died of meningitis in April 1945. Player Club GoalsITA 1861 Umberto LombardiniLazio 21Germany 1935 Engelbert KönigLazio16Italy 1861 Amedeo AmadeiRoma16ALB 1943 Naim KryeziuRoma11ITA 1861 Lelio ColaneriTirrenia10ITA 1861 Luigi PeruginiTirrenia10ITA 1861 Marcello Pieri (III)MATER9ITA 1861 Mario ForlivesiRoma8ITA 1861 Alessandro CapponiLazio7ITA 1861 Enzo CozzoliniRoma7 Four-team tournament 1944 Four-team tournament Association football Rome June 2, 1944 June 25, 1944 Associazione Sportiva Roma Knockout tournament 4 AS Roma 4 28 The four-team tournament was held at the end of the war championship, where the four major teams of the championship faced each other: Lazio, Roma, Mater and Tirrenia. The idea of holding a four-team tournament at the end of the season had been proposed since the beginning of the championship, but it remained unrealized until Associazione Sportiva Roma took over the organization of the tournament in June. Format The format was two semi-finals, followed by finals for first and third place. The original idea was to allow teams to completely change their line-ups, temporarily using players from the clubs excluded from the competition, in order to make the matches more entertaining. However, this idea was not fully supported by the four participating clubs. A compromise was reached, allowing each team to use four players in addition to their own.23 December 2013 31 May 1944 Il Littoriale Il torneo a quattro con le migliori squadre si svolgerà sabato e domenica http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0001_1944_126_0001 Taking advantage of this rule, all the teams strengthened their squads by taking players from the excluded teams, with the exception of Lazio, who, confident of their superiority in the league, decided not to use any players other than those registered with them.23 December 2013 2 June 1944 Il Littoriale Come si presentano al torneo a quattro: la Lazio, la Roma, la Tirrenia e la Mater http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0001_1944_127_0001 Continued on page 2. Matches The matches were first place Lazio against third place Tirrenia and second place Roma against fourth place MATER. Lazio did not take any players from other teams; Tirrenia's lineup included Alberto Giusti from Avia, Otello Ricci and Renato Fiorelli from Vigili del Fuoco; MATER brought Egeo Rossi and Oberdan Marchionni from Juventus, Renato Antolini from Avia and Oreste Roccasecca from Vigili; Roma strengthened its team with Antonio Fusco (I) and Alberto Piccinini from Avia, Lido Loveri from Vigili and Ippolito Ippoliti from Juventus. The four-team tournament kicked off on June 2 with Lazio and Tirrenia facing each other: against all expectations, Tirrenia won the match, thanks mainly to Lelio Colaneri's hat-trick. Roma, on the other hand, easily beat MATER, with Kryeziu scoring three goals. The final for 3rd and 4th place was decided by Koenig and Mancini, who scored the goals that allowed Lazio to come back after MATER had taken the lead thanks to Pieri III and Roccasecca. The final was won by Roma against Tirrenia thanks to Amadei's hat-trick and Kryeziu's goal: Amadei and Kryeziu finished the tournament as top scorers with 4 goals each. Results Semifinals Finals Incontro per il terzo posto SS Lazio 2 Tirrenia 4 AS Roma 7 MATER 3 AS Roma 4 Tirrenia 0 SS Lazio 5 MATER 3 Semifinals 1944 06 02 y 17:00 SS Lazio Tirrenia 2 4 http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0001_1944_129_0001 Rome Stadio Nazionale PNF Cappucci (Rome) König 25Lombardini 41 3 7 32 Colaneri72 Perugini 1944 06 03 y 15:30 AS Roma MATER 7 3 http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0001_1944_129_0001 Rome Stadio Nazionale PNF Orlandini (Rome) Kryeziu 10 66 81Amadei 28 rig.Cozzolini 78Schiavetti 82 85 13 Marchionni20 Pieri III64 Lombardi Third place play-off 1944 06 22 y 16:00«La Lazio e la Mater giocheranno al completo» Corriere dello Sport, June 21, 1944, p. 1 SS Lazio MATER 5 3 http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1944_143_0002 Rome Stadio Nazionale PNF De Lucia (Rome) König 26 43Lombardini 64Mancini 68 76 10 15 Pieri III50 Roccasecca Final 1944 06 25 y 16:00 AS Roma Tirrenia 4 0 http://dlib.coninet.it/view_foto_inside.php?tipo=o&id=0040_1944_143_0002 Rome Stadio Nazionale PNF Fois (Rome) Kryeziu 2Amadei 51 57 89 Statistics Individual statistics Top goalscorers Player Club GoalsITA 1861 Amedeo AmadeiRoma 4Albania 1943 Naim KryeziuRoma4Italy 1861 Lelio ColaneriTirrenia3Germany 1935 Engelbert KönigLazio3ITA 1861 Marcello Pieri (III)MATER3ITA 1861 Umberto LombardiniLazio2ITA 1861 Giuseppe ManciniLazio2ITA 1861 Enrico SchiavettiRoma2 See also List of SS Lazio seasons List of AS Roma seasons References Bibliography Cacozza Daniele Scudetto a Spezia. Partite e protagonisti del campionato di guerra 1943-44 Fontanelli Carlo Mariposa Editrice 1998 Fornacette di Calcinaia it Scudetto in La Spezia. Matches and Players in the 1943-44 War Championship Italy Association football Category:Football competitions in Rome Category:Football club competitions in Italy Category:History of football in Italy Category:Association football during World War II Category:Rome in World War II Category:1943–44 in Italian football