April 2, 1994: Genoa Lazio 1-1
- Simon Basten
- Apr 2
- 11 min read
Two goals in three minutes
Signori immediately responds to Onorati giving Lazio a draw
The season so far
For the first time in 16 years Lazio were finally to play in a European tournament, since they had qualified for the UEFA Cup in the previous season. In order to celebrate the occasion, President Sergio Cragnotti was particularly busy during the summer transfer window: in came Luca Marchegiani (Torino), Roberto Di Matteo (Aarau), Paolo Negro (Brescia), Luciano De Paola (Brescia, but he was immediately sold to Atalanta) and Fabrizio Di Mauro on loan from Fiorentina. But more specifically, Cragnotti was able to reach an agreement for the signing of the best player in Europe: Alen Boksic. Unfortunately, the agreement was for the 1994-95 season and Marseille President Bernard Tapie did not want to let the Croat go any earlier. As a consequence, Lazio bought Pierluigi Casiraghi from Juventus. In the end, Cragnotti was a lot more convincing and Boksic arrived in the winter transfer window.
The arrival of the new players meant that some of the old ones had to go. Therefore, Lazio said goodbye to Karl-Heinz Riedle (Borussia Dortmund), Angelo Gregucci (Torino), Giovanni Stroppa (Foggia), Maurizio Neri (Brescia) and Valerio Fiori (Cagliari). In the winter transfer window Thomas Doll and Dario Marcolin were loaned out to Eintracht Frankfurt and Cagliari respectively.
The European adventure did not last long as Lazio were eliminated by Boavista 2-1 on aggregate. The Coppa Italia campaign went even worse and the Biancocelesti were immediately eliminated by Serie C side Avellino.
At the end of the first half of the season the Biancocelesti were fifth, just two points away from second place held by Juventus and Sampdoria.
Lazio were currently fourth together with Parma just a couple of points off second place and with a seven-point advantage over Torino and Napoli. A UEFA Cup qualification was practically secured since there were just five games left in the season.
The match: Sunday, April 2, 1994, Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
Two goals in the space of three minutes lit up what was otherwise a gritty but not particularly thrilling match. In the end, the draw suited both Genoa and Lazio.
Lazio looked like a team with little left to prove this season—calm, composed, and already thinking ahead with the arrival of Zdenek Zeman and Dino Zoff new President.
Genoa, free from those off-field distractions, tried to press their surprisingly passive opponents but lacked clarity and precision. Franco Scoglio once again shuffled his tactical setup, pushing Dan Petrescu into a more advanced wing role, dropping Gennaro Ruotolo deeper, and keeping John Van’t Schip in a position that was, at times, hard to interpret.
Genoa were at their most dangerous in the first half, even if their finishing let them down. Tomas Skuhravy battled tirelessly but never really tested Luca Marchegiani. Van’t Schip struggled to make an impact, while Mario Bortolazzi stood out in midfield. Paul Gascoigne, despite limited movement, still dictated the tempo with his class.
From the start, Lazio didn’t look particularly driven. Their defence held firm—Roberto Cravero especially—while Roberto Di Matteo impressed in midfield before suffering a fractured elbow that will rule him out for some time. Gascoigne contributed intelligently, while Aron Winter and Diego Fuser drifted in and out of the game.
Up front, Alen Boksic had an off day, allowing Fabio Galante to dominate their duel. Beppe Signori, meanwhile, was quiet for long stretches but still delivered a moment of brilliance.
Against an unusually subdued Lazio, Genoa created several chances. Petrescu wasted a great opportunity in the 5th minute when Skuhravy tried a shot in the box walled by the Lazio defence, in came the Romanian who could not do better than head the ball to Marchegiani. After a shot wide from Ruotolo and the Czech, Roberto Onorati following a corner later missed the target with the goal at his mercy in the 15th minute. A controversial moment just before halftime—when Skuhravy was pushed in the box—was waved away by the referee, sparking furious protests from both the fans and Scoglio. There did not really seem much in it anyway. All Lazio could muster in the first 45 minutes was a shot from Fuser saved by the keeper.
Anyone expecting a quiet second half was proven wrong. Genoa broke the deadlock in the 58th minute when Skuhravy’s shot hit the bar and Onorati reacted quickest to score.
But Lazio didn’t panic. While Boksic continued to struggle, Signori stepped up. Just three minutes later, he curled a superb free kick around the wall and past a stunned Stefano Tacconi to level the score.
That goal effectively ended the contest.
Who played for Genoa
Tacconi, Torrente, Lorenzini, Petrescu, Galante, Caricola, Ruotolo, Bortolazzi, Van't Schip, Skuhravy, Onorati
Substitutes: Berti, Cavallo, Bianchi, Nappi, Ciocci
Manager: Scoglio
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Bonomi, Negro, Di Matteo (53' Di Mauro), Luzardi, Cravero, Fuser, Winter, Boksic (69' Casiraghi), Gascoigne, Signori
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Braschi
Goals: 59’ Onorati, 62’ Signori
What happened next
By the end of the season Lazio were third, behind Milan and Juventus. Marchegiani and Winter played the most games (40) and Signori was the top scorer with 23 goals.
As everybody imagined, Cragnotti did not confirm Zoff for 1994-95, but in order to keep a man so highly respected in the football world, he made him President of the club. Zdenek Zeman would be the next Lazio manager.
What happened in Serie A 1993-94
The previous season Milan had won the scudetto quite comfortably, losing their substantial lead only in the last few games. As a consequence, they were the obvious favourites also for the 1993-94 Serie A.
In the summer transfer window, the Rossoneri, already with a formidable team, added Christian Panucci, Brian Laudrup, brother of Michael, and in the autumn Marcel Desailly. They did let go Ruud Gullit (to Sampdoria) after six years of triumphs and Frankie Rijkaard after five years (Ajax). Samp also got David Platt hence on paper had an interesting team. Parma signed Gianfranco Zola and Massimo Crippa from Napoli who were in a state of financial bother. Roma got hold of Abel Balbo from Udinese and Lazio continued on their spending spree with the additions of Luca Marchegiani and Pierluigi Casiraghi. Inter added Dutch International Denis Bergkamp and Juventus a young promising forward: Alessandro Del Piero. Roma had a new manager in Carletto Mazzone, long time fan, and Napoli gave the leadership of the team to Marcello Lippi. They also acquired Paolo Di Canio and said goodbye to Careca.
On the whole, a few interesting teams but none which could hold off the might of Silvio Berlusconi’s Milan
August-September
Milan started the season well winning the Supercoppa played on August 21 in Washington DC. They beat Torino 2-0.
In the first six games of Serie A, the Rossoneri had already taken the lead followed by Parma, Torino and Sampdoria. The Romans were already behind. They had a slow start even though Roma did beat Juventus, but then lost at home to Napoli and away to Milan, and Lazio beat Parma and drew with Inter.
In the Champions League first round, Milan eliminated Aarau 1-0 on aggregate. Parma and Torino eliminated Degerfors and Lillestrom in the first round of the Cup Winners Cup. In the UEFA Cup, Cagliari, Inter, Juventus and Lazio eliminated Dinamo Bucharest, Rapid Bucharest, Lokomotiv Moscow and Lokomotiv Plovdid.
Milan 11, Parma 9, Torino 9, Sampdoria 9, Juventus 8, Inter 8, Cagliari 7, Foggia 6, Napoli 6, Atalanta 5, Cremonese 5, Roma 5, Lazio 5, Genoa 4, Piacenza 4, Udinese 3, Reggiana 3, Lecce 1
October
Milan's pace slowed down and the top of the table was taken by Juventus and Sampdoria with the Rossoneri, Parma and Inter one point behind. Milan drew with Lazio and Juventus but lost against Sampdoria despite being 2-0 up. The winning goal was scored by Gullit, vengeance is sweet. Juve won the Turin derby whereas the Rome clash saw the seventh consecutive draw.
In the first leg of the Champions League second round Milan won 6-0 away at Copenhagen. Parma won 1-0 away and Torino 3-2 at home against Maccabi Haifa and Aberdeen in the first leg of the Cup Winners Cup second round. In the UEFA Cup second round first leg, Cagliari and Juventus drew away 1-1 to Trabzonspor and Kongsvinger, Inter and Lazio won 1-0 at home against Apollon Limassol and Boavista.
Three big surprises in the second round of the Coppa Italia. The first round had taken place in August without the Serie A teams. In the second, Napoli, Lazio and Juventus were eliminated by Empoli, Avellino and Venezia.
Juventus 15, Sampdoria 15, Parma 14, Milan 14, Inter 14, Napoli 12, Cremonese 11, Lazio 11, Torino 10, Cagliari 10, Foggia 9, Roma 9, Piacenza 8, Udinese 6, Genoa 6, Reggiana 6, Atalanta 6, Lecce 4
November
Milan and Parma caught up with Sampdoria at the top of the table followed by Juventus. The Rossoneri won the derby, Inter and Juventus drew 2-2 in a spectacular match. Lazio, slowly recovering from the bad start, signed Alen Boksic, big Croatian centre-forward from Olympique Marseille.
Milan obviously qualified for the group stage of the Champions League after winning against Copenhagen 7-0 on aggregate and in the first game drew 0-0 against Anderlecht away. Parma and Torino qualified for the quarter finals of the Cup Winners Cup. Parma won on penalties, and Torino won away 2-1. In the UEFA Cup second round, Cagliari drew 0-0 at home and qualified for the third round as did Juventus who won 2-0 and Inter who drew 3-3 away. Lazio were eliminated after they lost to Boavista 2-0. In the first leg of the third round Juventus won 3-0 at home against Tenerife, Inter 1-0 away to Norwich City and Cagliari 3-1 against Mechelen.
Parma 19, Sampdoria 19, Milan 19, Juventus 17, Torino 16, Inter 15, Lazio 15, Napoli 14, Cagliari 14, Cremonese 13, Roma 13, Piacenza 12, Foggia 10, Genoa 10, Udinese 8, Atalanta 8, Reggiana 8, Lecce 4
December
The final three games of the year saw Milan back solitary on top, followed at a short distance by Samp, Parma and Juve. Parma lost to Roma and Napoli, Juventus were beaten by Lazio in Rome and Sampdoria lost against Inter.
Milan beat Porto 3-0 in the second match of the Champions League group stage. After two games, Milan had 3 points, Porto and Werder Bremen 2, Anderlect 1. Inter, Cagliari and Juventus all went through to the UEFA Cup quarter finals.
Milan played the Intercontinental Cup against Sao Paulo after Olympique Marseille were excluded due the match fixing scandal that banned them from playing international club competitions. Sao Paulo won 3-2.
In the round of 32 of the Coppa Italia, Piacenza eliminated Milan and the big clash between Sampdoria and Roma went to the former after a penalty shootout.
Milan 23*, Sampdoria 22, Parma 21, Juventus 21, Inter 20, Lazio 20, Napoli 18, Torino 17, Cremonese 17, Roma 16, Foggia 15, Cagliari 14, Piacenza 14, Reggiana 12, Genoa 11, Atalanta 11, Udinese 10*, Lecce 4
* one game in hand
January
Milan said goodbye to the rest of the field and now the gap was four points. Juventus, who drew against Roma at home, Sampdoria and Parma, who beat Lazio, followed. Below there were quite a number of teams who were fighting it out to avoid relegation. A first spot had already been booked by Lecce, last and way behind.
Torino, Ancona, Parma and Sampdoria qualified for the Coppa Italia semi-finals eliminating Piacenza, Venezia, Foggia and Inter.
Milan 32, Juventus 28, Sampdoria 28, Parma 27, Inter 25, Lazio 25, Napoli 23, Torino 23, Foggia 20, Roma 20, Cagliari 20, Piacenza 19, Cremonese 18, Udinese 17, Reggiana 16, Genoa 16, Atalanta 15, Lecce 6
February
Milan extended their lead winning twice in Rome. They were followed by Juventus, who drew the derby, and Sampdoria, who lost to Parma but won away to Roma. Inter lost at home to Lazio and sacked Osvaldo Bagnoli replacing him with former World Champion Gianpiero Marini. Roma were sucked into the relegation battle but there were seven teams involved.
In the Coppa Italia semi-finals, Ancona beat Torino 1-0 on aggregate and Sampdoria eliminated Parma 3-1 on aggregate. They would meet in the double final in April.
Milan 40, Juventus 34, Sampdoria 34, Parma 33, Lazio 31, Torino 27, Inter 26, Foggia 25, Napoli 25, Cagliari 25, Roma 22, Piacenza 22, Cremonese 21, Udinese 21, Genoa 21, Reggiana 18, Atalanta 16, Lecce 9
March
Milan beat Juventus away and that was it for the scudetto this year. They also won the derby and beat Sampdoria. Enough said. Juventus, Sampdoria, Parma and Lazio had more than a foot in next year’s UEFA Cup, Torino and Napoli could have a chance in case of one of the top five winning a Cup. Inter risked being sucked behind even though they did have a five point lead over the relegation zone. Finally, the Rome derby after many years had a winner: it was Lazio, obviously. Atalanta would follow Lecce to Serie B. Two places remaining.
Milan beat Werder Bremen away and drew at home in the Champions League group stage. They then drew at home 0-0 against Anderlecth. They lead Group B with seven points and were qualified for the semi-finals, Porto were on 6, Anderlecht 4, Werder Bremen 3. The first two qualified for the semis. Torino were eliminated by Arsenal in the quarter finals of the Cup Winners Cup 1-0 on aggregate, whilst Parma reached the semi-finals after beating Ajax 2-0 on aggregate. In the first leg of the semi-final, Parma lost 2-1 against Benfica.
In the UEFA Cup quarter finals, Cagliari eliminated Juventus 3-1 on aggregate and Inter beat Borussia Dortmund 4-3 on aggregate and they would face each other in the semi-finals. In the first leg of the latter, Cagliari beat Inter 3-2, coming from behind.
Milan 46, Juventus 39, Sampdoria 39, Parma 37*, Lazio 37, Torino 30, Napoli 30, Inter 28, Cremonese 27, Foggia 27, Genoa 27, Piacenza 27, Cagliari 27, Roma 26, Udinese 23, Reggiana 22*, Atalanta 17, Lecce 11
* one game in hand
April
Milan secured the scudetto by drawing at home to Udinese with 180 minutes to go. It was their 14th title and third consecutive win. Juventus, Lazio and Parma would play in the UEFA Cup. Sampdoria won their fourth Coppa Italia. After a goalless draw in Ancona, Samp won 6-1 in Genoa. They wouldplay in the Cup Winners Cup. The last European place with one game to the end of the season, would be battled out between Torino and Napoli. Foggia and Roma still had a chance but were slightly behind. These four teams would meet in the last game (Foggia-Napoli and Roma-Torino). Inter, Cremonese and Genoa were almost safe, Reggiana, Piacenza and Udinese in a difficult spot.
Milan drew the last match of the group stage of the Champions League against Porto ensuring the home advantage in the single matched semi final. They played Monaco and won 3-0. They would play Barcelona in Athens in May in the final.
Parma would play Arsenal in the final of the Cup Winners Cup in Copenhagen. They beat Benfica 1-0 in the second leg. Inter reached the final of the UEFA Cup after beating Cagliari 3-0 in the second leg of the semi-final. In the first leg of the final, they won 1-0 away against Salzburg.
Milan 50, Juventus 45, Sampdoria 44, Lazio 42, Parma 40, Napoli 34, Torino 34, Roma 33, Foggia 33, Inter 31, Cremonese 31, Genoa 31, Cagliari 30, Reggiana 29, Piacenza 29, Udinese 28, Atalanta 19, Lecce 11
May
In the last game of the season Napoli won at Foggia and secured the last spot for next year’s UEFA Cup as Torino were beaten by Roma. Below, on Friday April 29, Piacenza drew at Parma. The table now read Inter 31, Cremonese 31, Genoa 31, Cagliari 30, Piacenza 30, Reggiana 29, Udinese 28. This meant that Cagliari needed a point and Reggiana needed to win to stay in Serie A. They both won, Cagliari at Lecce and Reggiana against a Milan who were already on holiday.
In a fantastic match, Milan won their 5th Champions League after they beat favourites Barcelona 4-0. Parma lost the final of the Cup Winners Cup to Arsenal 1-0. Inter won the UEFA Cup after beating Salzburg 1-0 in the return match too.
Next year Milan would be in Champions League, Samp in the Cup Winners Cup, Juve, Lazio, Parma and Napoli in the UEFA Cup. Piacenza, Udinese, Atalanta and Lecce in Serie B, Fiorentina, Bari, Brescia and Padova (winner of the playoff with Cesena) in Serie A.
To scorer: Beppe Signori with 23 goals.
Final table: Milan 50, Juventus 47, Sampdoria 44, Lazio 44, Parma 41, Napoli 36, Roma 35, Torino 34, Foggia 33, Cremonese 32, Genoa 32, Cagliari 32, Inter 31, Reggiana 31, Piacenza 30, Udinese 28, Atalanta 21, Lecce 11
Sources
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