1919–20 Prima Categoria

19th season of top-tier Italian football
Football league season
Prima Categoria
1919–20 Internazionale team
Season1919–20
ChampionsInternazionale
2nd title
← 1914–15
1920–21 →

The 1919–20 Prima Categoria season was won by Internazionale.

It was the first championship after World War One.

Regulation

Struggles between minor and major clubs continued after four years of wartime break. The planned split between two national leagues had been forgotten, and the regional FAs became the lords of the tournament, which was expanded to 48 clubs. The championship was divided in a preliminary regional phase of ten matchdays, while the following national phase was split into a semifinal round of ten matchdays and a final round between three clubs.

The main tournament was split in eight groups of six clubs. First and second clubs, together with the third teams of Piedmont, advanced to the national championship. Worst clubs had to ask for re-election.

National championship was split in three groups of six clubs. Group winners advanced to the final group of three clubs. The whole tournament consequently had twenty-two matchdays.

The experimental Southern groups had their own special regulations.

Teams

Six clubs had collapsed during the war. However, Regional FAs agreed to expand the league to 48 clubs. They variously chose to promote, re-elect, or invite clubs to fill the spots they had been granted to.

Pre-league qualifications

Piedmont

Played on October 5, 1919, in Alessandria.
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Alessandrina 1-0 US Novarese

Lombardy

Played on October 5, 1919.
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Enotria Goliardo 2-0 Pro Patria et Libertate
Trevigliese 3-2 Monza
Atalanta 2-0 Soc. Bergamasca Ginnastica & Scherma

Liguria

All matches played on November 5, 1919, in Genoa. Three available spots.

Round 1

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Sampierdarenese 1-0 SPES Genova
GC Grifone 5-1 Sestrese

Round 2

Team 1  Score  Team 2
SPES Genova 3-0[1] Sestrese

Emilia

Matches played on September 29 and October 5, 1919, in Bologna.

Round 1

Team 1  Score  Team 2
GS Bolognese 1-0 Audace

Round 2

Team 1  Score  Team 2
GS Bolognese 1-0 SPAL

Campania

Round 1

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Pro Caserta 6-0 Brasiliano
Savoia 3-2 Stabia

Round 2

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Pro Caserta 4-0 Savoia

Verdicts

Atalanta, Enotria Goliardo, Grifone GC, Sampierdarenese, GS Bolognese, Pro Caserta, SPES Genova, Trevigliese and Alessandrina were admitted to the 1a Categoria.

Amatori Giuoco Calcio Torino, Pastore, Ausonia Pro Gorla, Legnano, Saronno, Varese, Pavia, Carpi, Mantova, and Nazionale Emilia had been previously added to the championship by the Regional FAs.

Northern Italy

Qualifications

Piedmont - Group A

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Pro Vercelli 10 7 2 1 29 7 +22 16 Qualified
2 Juventus 10 6 4 0 25 5 +20 16
3 Torino 10 6 3 1 27 10 +17 15
4 Biellese 10 2 1 7 12 34 −22 5
5 Amatori Torino 10 1 2 7 7 24 −17 4 Relegation play-off
6 Alessandrina (E) 10 1 2 7 12 32 −20 4 Merged with Alessandria
Source: Panini
(E) Eliminated
Results table
Home \ Away AMT BIE JUV PVE TOR ALE
Amatori Torino 4–2 1–5 0–4 2–2 2–3
Biellese 1–0 0–3 1–6 2–9 4–2
Juventus 3–1 4–0 1–1 1–1 3–0
Pro Vercelli 8–1 3–0 0–0 1–0 2–0
Torino 3–0 3–2 1–1 4–0 3–1
Alessandrina 1–1 0–0 0–4 0–4 0–1
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Relegation play-off
Played on February 2, 1920, in Novara.
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Amatori Torino 2-1 Alessandrina

Piedmont - Group B

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Alessandria 10 9 1 0 29 7 +22 19 Qualified
2 Casale 10 5 2 3 20 13 +7 12
3 Novara 10 5 1 4 25 14 +11 11
4 US Torinese 10 3 2 5 14 26 −12 8
5 Pastore Torino 10 3 1 6 21 28 −7 7
6 Valenzana (T) 10 0 3 7 5 26 −21 3 Re-elected
Source: Panini
(T) Qualified, but not yet for the particular phase indicated
Results table
Home \ Away ALE CSL NOV PAS UST VAL
Alessandria 4–2 3–0 4–1 1–0 6–0
Casale 1–1 3–0 3–2 1–1 3–1
Novara 0–1 1–0 8–1 6–1 5–1
Pastore Torino 1–2 1–2 1–4 3–1 2–0
US Torinese 2–5 2–1 2–0 3–8 2–1
Valenzana 0–2 0–4 1–1 1–1 0–0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Liguria

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Genoa 10 9 1 0 49 3 +46 19 Qualified
2 Andrea Doria 10 6 3 1 29 9 +20 15
3 GC Grifone (E) 10 3 2 5 11 35 −24 8 Disbanded
4 Sampierdarenese 10 2 3 5 12 28 −16 7
5 Savona 10 2 2 6 8 21 −13 6
6 SPES Genova (T) 10 2 1 7 5 18 −13 5 Re-elected
Source: Panini
(E) Eliminated; (T) Qualified, but not yet for the particular phase indicated
Results table
Home \ Away ADO GEN GRI SAM SVN SGE
Andrea Doria 1–1 6–0 4–1 3–1 4–0
Genoa 5–1 6–0 8–0 5–0 3–0
GC Grifone 0–7 0–8 3–1 1–1 1–0
Sampierdarenese 1–1 0–4 4–4 1–2 1–0
Savona 0–0 0–4 0–2 2–3 0–1
SPES Genova 0–2 1–5 2–0 0–0 1–2
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Lombardy - Group A

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Internazionale 10 8 2 0 42 12 +30 18 Qualified
2 Brescia 10 6 2 2 21 16 +5 14
3 Juventus Italia 10 4 1 5 16 15 +1 9 Qualification play-off
4 Trevigliese 10 2 5 3 21 25 −4 9
5 A.C. Libertas 10 2 1 7 11 31 −20 5 Relegation play-off
6 Cremonese (T) 10 2 1 7 14 26 −12 5 Re-elected
Source: Panini
(T) Qualified, but not yet for the particular phase indicated
Results table
Home \ Away BRE CRE INT JIT LMI TVG
Brescia 1–0 1–1 4–0 4–0 3–3
Cremonese 2–4 0–2 0–3 5–3 3–1
Internazionale 6–0 5–2 4–2 6–0 8–2
Juventus Italia 2–0 2–0 2–4 0–1 0–1
Libertas Milano 0–1 4–1 0–3 0–4 3–3
Trevigliese 2–3 1–1 3–3 1–1 4–0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Qualification playoff
Played on January 4, 1920, in Brescia.
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Juventus Italia 2-0 Trevigliese

According to season 1919-20's FIGC rules in case of two teams sharing same position a playoff should have been played. When FIGC managers were noticed of too many matches programmed not for promotion or relegation sudden decided to change rules, just because of the few referees available for those matches, and upcoming matches (lower divisions) urged to get started. Later this playoff wasn't considered for the final table.

Relegation playoff
Played on February 15, 1920, in Brescia.
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Libertas Milano 2-0 Cremonese

Lombardy - Group B

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Milan 10 10 0 0 43 8 +35 20 Qualified
2 Enotria Goliardo 10 7 0 3 24 15 +9 14
3 Atalanta 10 4 1 5 11 16 −5 11[a]
4 Chiasso 10 3 2 5 15 18 −3 8
5 Pavia 10 2 1 7 11 19 −8 5
6 Ausonia Pro Gorla (T) 10 0 2 8 8 36 −28 2 Re-elected
Source: Panini
(T) Qualified, but not yet for the particular phase indicated
Notes:
  1. ^ 2 bonus points?
Results table
Home \ Away ATA AUS CHI ENO MIL PAV
Atalanta 2–0 1–0 0–2 0–4 1–0
Ausonia Pro Gorla 1–2 0–4 4–7 0–10 0–2
Chiasso 3–3 1–1 2–0 1–2 1–3
Enotria Goliardo 1–0 4–0 4–0 1–4 3–2
Milan 5–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1
Pavia 0–1 1–1 1–2 0–1 1–6
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Lombardy - Group C

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 US Milanese 10 8 2 0 35 8 +27 18 Qualified
2 Legnano 10 7 1 2 26 7 +19 15
3 Saronno 10 6 0 4 25 18 +7 12
4 Nazionale Lombardia 10 3 1 6 19 33 −14 7
5 Varese 10 1 2 7 15 30 −15 4 Relegation play-off
6 Como (T) 10 2 0 8 13 37 −24 4 Re-elected
Source: Panini
(T) Qualified, but not yet for the particular phase indicated
Results table
Home \ Away COM LEG NLO SAR USM VAR
Como 0–4 2–1 1–4 1–8 5–3
Legnano 4–0 4–1 2–0 0–1 3–0
Nazionale Lombardia 4–2 1–4 4–2 2–6 5–4
Saronno 4–2 3–1 4–0 0–3 5–1
US Milanese 3–0 1–1 4–0 3–1 2–2
Varese 2–0 0–3 1–1 1–2 1–4
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Relegation play-off
Played on February 8, 1920, in Saronno.
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Varese 2-1[2] Como

Veneto

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Padova 10 8 1 1 25 6 +19 17 Qualified
2 Venezia 10 5 3 2 13 9 +4 13
3 Petrarca Padova 10 5 1 4 24 20 +4 11
4 Vicenza 10 3 1 6 14 19 −5 7
5 Hellas Verona 10 2 2 6 15 26 −11 6 Relegation play-off
6 Udinese (T) 10 2 2 6 7 18 −11 6 Re-elected
Source: Panini
(T) Qualified, but not yet for the particular phase indicated
Results table
Home \ Away HEL PAD PET UDI VEN VIC
Hellas Verona 1–2 3–3 5–0 0–0 2–1
Padova 7–0 2–0[a] 3–1 0–1 4–0
Petrarca Padova 4–3 1–2 2–0 4–2 3–5
Udinese 3–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 0–2
Venezia 3–0 1–3 1–0 2–0 1–1
Vicenza 3–0 0–1 1–5 0–1 1–2
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ Forfeit
Relegation play-off
Played on March 14, 1920, in Venice.
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Hellas Verona 1-0 Udinese

Emilia

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Bologna 10 8 2 0 39 5 +34 18 Qualified
2 Modena 10 6 3 1 30 6 +24 15
3 Mantova 10 3 4 3 11 11 0 10
4 Carpi 10 3 1 6 9 22 −13 7
5 Nazionale Emilia 10 2 2 6 7 28 −21 6
6 GS Bolognese (T) 10 2 0 8 9 33 −24 4 Re-elected[3]
Source: Panini
(T) Qualified, but not yet for the particular phase indicated
Results table
Home \ Away BOL CRP GSB MAN MOD NEM
Bologna 2–0 8–0 0–0 4–0 9–0
Carpi 2–6 2–1 0–0 0–3 0–1
GS Bolognese 2–4 0–2 3–0 1–9 2–0
Mantova 1–3 2–1 2–0 0–0 5–1
Modena 0–0 6–0 4–0 2–0 5–0
Nazionale Emilia 0–3 1–2 2–0 1–1 1–1
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Semifinals

The National semifinals had 18 clubs: six from Piedmont and Lombardy FAs, two from the other three Regional FAs.

Group A

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Genoa 10 9 1 0 24 6 +18 19 Qualified
2 Pro Vercelli 10 6 2 2 20 11 +9 14
3 Alessandria 10 5 1 4 13 11 +2 11
4 Milan 10 4 1 5 13 16 −3 9
5 Legnano 10 1 3 6 8 18 −10 5
6 Venezia 10 0 2 8 5 21 −16 2
Source: Panini
Results table
Home \ Away ALE GEN LEG MIL PVE VEN
Alessandria 0–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 3–1
Genoa 2–1 5–0 2–1 2–1 5–0
Legnano 1–2 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–1
Milan 3–0 0–2 3–1 1–2 2–1
Pro Vercelli 1–0 1–1 2–1 5–1 4–1
Venezia 0–1 0–2 0–0 0–1 1–2
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Group B

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Juventus 10 8 1 1 21 4 +17 17 Qualified
2 US Milanese 10 7 1 2 14 10 +4 15
3 Modena 10 4 1 5 17 13 +4 9
4 Casale 10 2 4 4 7 8 −1 8
5 Brescia 10 2 2 6 4 14 −10 6
6 Padova 10 2 1 7 10 24 −14 5
Source: Panini
Results table
Home \ Away BRE CSL JUV MOD PAD USM
Brescia 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–1
Casale 3–0 0–1 0–2[a] 1–0 1–1
Juventus 2–0[a] 1–0 3–0 6–1 3–0
Modena 4–0 1–1 0–1 4–1 0–1
Padova 1–0 0–0 1–3 2–4 1–3
US Milanese 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–1
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Forfeit

Group C

Classification
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Internazionale 10 7 2 1 37 13 +24 16 Qualified
2 Novara 10 6 1 3 22 15 +7 13
3 Bologna 10 6 1 3 20 14 +6 13
4 Torino 10 4 1 5 17 21 −4 9
5 Andrea Doria 10 2 1 7 14 21 −7 5
6 Enotria Goliardo 10 2 0 8 11 37 −26 4
Source: Panini
Results table
Home \ Away ADO BOL ENO INT NOV TOR
Andrea Doria 1–4 3–1 3–3 1–2 0–1
Bologna 2–0 7–1 0–1 2–0 2–1
Enotria Goliardo 3–1 1–2 1–5 0–5 2–0[a]
Internazionale 1–0 5–0 7–0 5–2 4–0
Novara 3–2 1–1 5–1 1–0 2–0[a]
Torino 1–3 3–0 2–1 6–6 3–1
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 (in Italian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Forfeit

Final round

Classification

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Internazionale 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 3 Champions and qualified
2 Juventus 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 2
3 Genoa 2 0 1 1 3 4 −1 1
Source: Panini

Results

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Juventus 3–2 Genoa
Internazionale 1–0 Juventus
Internazionale 1–1 Genoa

Southern Italy tournament

An experimental amatorial tournament was played in Southern Italy.

Final round

Played on 13 June 1920, in Bologna.
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Livorno 3–2 Fortitudo Roma

Livorno qualified to the National Final.

National final

Played on 20 June 1920, in Bologna.
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Internazionale 3–2 Livorno

Footnotes

  1. ^ After the first half. Second half not played for tiredness.
  2. ^ After extra time.
  3. ^ Later acquired by Virtus Bologna

References and sources

  • Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005
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