April 21, 2002: Lazio-Verona 5-4

Dag Jenkins
6 days ago
16 min read

Late drama but Lazio hold on to win

Despite being four goals up with ten minutes to go Lazio risk throwing it away

The season so far

The previous season had seen title winning Sven-Goran Eriksson leaving the club and the return of Dino Zoff. Lazio had fought for the title but eventually just lost out to city rivals Roma. A 3rd place finish did however give them a Champions League participation.

Lazio's main investments this year were defender Jaap Stam (Manchester United) and midfielder Gaizka Mendieta (Valencia). Mendieta in particular was considered a major swoop after his performances in the Champions League for Valencia. In had also come midfielders Giuliano Giannichedda and Stefano Fiore (both from Udinese), Fabio Liverani (Perugia), Brazilian César (São Caetano), Ivan de la Peña (back from loan periods after a disappointing time at Lazio two years earlier) and Serb forward Darko Kovacevic (Juventus but he had then left in January to Real Sociedad).

Lazio had however lost scudetto legends Pavel Nedved (Juventus), the 'Matador' Marcelo Salas (Juventus) and Juan Sebastian Veron (Manchester United) plus Fabrizio Ravanelli (Derby County) and Roberto Baronio (Fiorentina - on loan).

The season had started with three lacklustre draws which led the club to substitute manager Dino Zoff with Alberto Zaccheroni. The Biancocelesti had not really improved initially with 1 win, 2 draws and 3 defeats (including derby 0-2) in the first 6 games. Then came five consecutive wins (including Juventus 1-0) but it did not last and since then the Biancocelesti had won 6 (including Perugia 5-0), drawn 6 (including Juventus 1-1 and Inter 0-0 both away) and lost 5 (including derby 1-5...and Verona 1-3). Lazio were however unbeaten in the five games since the awful derby and came from two consecutive wins (including 1-0 away in Florence a week earlier). Lazio were currently 7th on 47 points, only one point behind Milan in the last European UEFA slot.

In the Champions League Lazio had gone through the qualifying round by beating FC København 5-3 on aggregate in August. The Biancocelesti had then crashed out in the first group phase with two wins and four defeats: Galatasaray (0-1, 1-0), PSV Eindhoven (0-1, 2-1) and Nantes (1-3, 0-1).

In Coppa Italia, Lazio had played in the last 16 against Siena winning 3-1 on aggregate but then been eliminated by Milan 3-5 on aggregate in the quarters.

Verona had come 14th in the previous season under Attilio Perotti. The Veronesi had defeated Lazio 2-0 at home but lost 3-5 in Rome. They had stayed up by winning the last three games and then beating Reggina on away goals in a dramatic relegation playoff (1-0, 1-2). A remarkable escape. The top scorer was Emiliano Bonazzoli with 7 league goals. The squad included four Lazio connections: Leonardo Colucci (1994-95), Marco Piovanelli (1995-1997), Massimo Oddo (2002-07) and Anthony Śerić (2004-05).

This year the manager was Alberto Malesani. The main new signings were defender Paolo Cannavaro (Parma - on loan), Carlo Teodorani (Ternana - via Milan) and Marco Zanchi (Juventus - on loan), midfielder Luca Matteassi (Brescello) plus forwards Mario Frick (Arezzo) and Johnnier Montaño (Parma - on loan). In January defender Dario Dainelli (Brescia - on loan) had been added.

Leaving were defenders Luigi Apolloni (retiring), Marco Cvitanović (Venezia), Marco Franceschetti (Fiorentina) and Martin Laursen (Parma, then Milan) and forward Emiliano Bonazzoli (Parma - end of loan). On paper, not a great transfer market.

Verona were currently 11th, on 39 points with Piacenza. The Gialloblu were relatively safe with a five-point cushion on Udinese and Brescia on 34 (with three games to go) while Venezia, Fiorentina and Lecce were already relegated. The Scaligeri had won 11 (including Chievo 3-2 in derby and Lazio 3-1), drawn 6 and lost 14 (including second derby 1-2). They came from a 1-0 home win over Udinese.

In the Coppa Italia they had been eliminated immediately by Siena on away goals (0-1 away and 3-2 at home).

Lazio were favourites today against Verona but the visitors were not mathematically safe yet so would surely put up a fight.

The match: Sunday, April 21, 2002, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

A showery day brought about 40,000 spectators to the Olimpico.

Lazio were missing defender Paolo Negro and midfielder César but had striker Hernan Crespo back at least for the bench after just over a month out.

Verona were without defenders Massimo Oddo and Marco Zanchi plus forwards Alberto Gilardino and Adrian Mutu.

Lazio took only two minutes to threaten the Verona goal as on a bouncing ball at the edge of the box a defender hesitated and failed to clear so was anticipated by Claudio Lopez but the Argentine hammered the ball over the bar.

In the 5th minute "El Piojo" prepared his shot well on the right side of the area but his low strike shaved the post.

In the 10th minute Verona surprisingly took the lead but not without some controversy. Fernando Couto running back towards the box on the right seemed in control but was challenged by Mauro Camoranesi and fell to the ground so the visitors' winger raced into the box and squared low to an unmarked Mario Frick in the middle who had no problem beating Angelo Peruzzi, 0-1. From the replay it seemed the Verona player had clipped Couto's leg but the referee gave the goal.

Verona were on a high and in the 13th minute were dangerous again. Frick crossed from the left and Camoranesi anticipated Beppe Favalli but his volley went just wide.

The Gialloblu smelt blood and in the 18th minute Frick turned well and hit a curling right foot which hit the top of the crossbar and went over.

Lazio gradually settled and in the 29th minute they equalised. Lopez put in a high cross from the right and Jaap Stam lunged forward, got a foot to it and volleyed, the ball hit the ground and spun up hitting the underside of the crossbar and went over the line, 1-1.

After their initial difficulties it was now Lazio who had enthusiasm on their side. Favalli crossed, Lopez teed up Dejan Stankovic inside the box on the left but the Serb's thundering shot was saved into corner by Fabruzio Ferron. Following the subsequent corner, Stankovic moved forward along the by-line and with the outside of his foot flicked a cross towards the far post where Daio Dainelli, possibly worried by the arrival of Stam, handballed instead of heading and gave away a clear penalty. Lopez smashed a medium height spotkick past Ferron, 2-1.

Just before halftime Lazio scored again. In the 44th minute Lopez was again the provider as he crossed from the left and Stankovic scored in a slightly unorthodox fashion by letting the ball bounce against his thigh but they all count, 3-1 at halftime.

After an awful first twenty minutes Lazio were now flying.

Things got even better in the 52nd minute as Stankovic got his brace in spectacular style. He was teed up by Fabio Liverani, however the Serb, at the edge of the box, still had it all to do but out of the hat he produced a brilliant chipped lob which went over and behind Ferron, 4-1. A wonderful goal.

At this point Verona started to make some changes; Adailton for Marino Melis in the 53rd minute and Alessandro Mazzola for Vincenzo Italiano in the 56th. Meanwhile in the 55th minute Diego Simeone came on for Liverani.

Verona then had a good curling effort by Adailton but Peruzzi was reactive and parried away.

In the 62nd minute Hernan Crespo finally made his return after his injury and replaced Stankovic who was applauded off the field.

In the 75th minute Lazio were reduced to ten men. The referee whistled a foul against Stam in attack and the Dutchman made it clear he disagreed but the referee was not having it and pulled out a yellow card for dissent which, added to the defender's previous booking, meant he was off. Stam was more than likely right but he had exaggerated in his reaction and found an oversensitive referee.

Despite being in ten men Lazio scored three minutes later. Beppe Pancaro, who had replaced Lopez two minutes earlier, perfectly dosed his cross from the right and Crespo headed in, 5-1.

Four goals up with just over ten minutes to go Lazio were surely home and dry…

In the 80th minute the Scaligeri pulled one back with an excellent long-range bullet by Leonardo Colucci, 5-2. It nevertheless seemed merely a consolation goal.

This was followed however by another visitor's goal in the 88th minute. Colucci hit a seemingly innocuous shot after his freekick was walled but Peruzzi uncharacteristically fumbled it and Michele Cossato lunged in, beating Alessandro Nesta to the ball, and scored 5-3.

Things still appeared under control for Lazio but the drama then changed to horror as in the 90th minute the Gialloblu scored again. Adailton surprised Peruzzi with a freekick on the far post, 5-4.

The game was turning into a potential nightmare for Lazio but fortunately there were only three minutes of added time and the Biancocelesti managed to scrape home with the win. Final score: Lazio 5 Verona 4.

A strange game. The visitors were on top for the first twenty minutes and could have scored more than the solitary goal. For the next hour Lazio dominated and buried the Veneti with five goals. At this point it seemed all over but helped by Stam's red card the Scaligeri incredibly scored three goals in the last ten minutes to seriously put Lazio's win in doubt.

Lazio were now 5th, on 50 points and only one behind Chievo in 4th (in last Champions League slot). A place in the most prestigious European competition, which until recently had seemed impossible, was now suddenly within reach. Next up was a trip to Bologna.

Verona were now joint 11th, on 39 points with Piacenza. Their cushion on Serie B however had been cut to two points (Brescia on 37). The positive fact was that there were two other teams between them and the relegation zone (Parma on 38 and Udinese on 37). With two games to go the Veronesi were worried but not panicking.

Who played for Lazio

Peruzzi, Stam, Nesta, F.Couto, Favalli, Castroman, Giannichedda, Liverani (55' Simeone), Stankovic (62' Crespo), Fiore, C.Lopez (76' Pancaro)

Substitutes: Marchegiani, Poborsky, Mendieta, S.Inzaghi

Manager: Zaccheroni

Who played for Verona

Ferron, Dainelli, P.Cannavaro, Teodorani, Cassetti, Italiano (56' Mazzola), L.Colucci, Melis (53' Adailton), Salvetti, Camoranesi, Frick (83' Cossato)

Substitutes: Nigmatullin, Montaño, Matteassi, Šerić

Manager: Malesani

Referee: Farina

Goals: 10' Frick, 29' Stam, 32' C.Lopez (pen), 45' Stankovic, 52' Stankovic, 78' Crespo, 80' L.Colucci, 88' Cossato, 90' Adailton

Red Card: 74' Stam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_8-oqgW86M

What happened next

Lazio lost 0-2 in Bologna but then won the last game of the season and finished 6th. They therefore salvaged a disappointing season by qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

They ended with a controversial victory over Inter on the now famous May 5th. This last game saw Inter needing a win to be sure of the scudetto. There was also the chance of Roma stealing the championship had Inter and Juve failed to win and Roma did so. There was therefore a lot of talk of Lazio throwing the game to avoid the “unmentionables” glory.

Many Lazio fans were initially blatantly supporting Inter but the risk was soon out of the question with Juve taking an early double lead away at Udinese. Inter still had their fate in their own hands but inexplicably collapsed at the Olimpico against opposition who didn't exactly play as if their life depended on it. Inter may have assumed it was a done deal but Karel Poborsky's lack of understanding of the city rivalry dynamics, and hence fierce determination, together with Inter's lacklustre performance, produced one of the few championship-deciding last match of the season shock results in recent history. Another one obviously being Juventus getting washed away in Perugia two years earlier, handing the scudetto to Lazio in even more dramatic fashion.

Lazio's top scorer was Hernan Crespo with 20 goals (13 in A).

Fortunately, Roberto Mancini was already on his way back to Lazio.

Verona surprisingly ended up relegated. The Scaligeri then lost the next two games (Milan 1-2 at home and Piacenza 0-3 away) and finished 15th. They were overtaken at the final hurdle by Udinese, Parma, Brescia and Piacenza. The top scorer was Adrian Mutu with 12 league goals. The Gialloblu would not be back in Serie A until 2013-14, after also spending four seasons in the 3rd tier. In these years they were overshadowed by Chievo as Verona's top club.

Out of today's squad Mauro Camoranesi would spend eight seasons at Juventus and win the World Cup with Italy while Vincenzo Italiano would become a highly respected manager (Fiorentina and Bologna amongst others). Anthony Seric would play for Lazio on loan in 2004-05.

Juventus were crowned champions for the 26th time. In the end Milan overtook both Lazio and Chievo and qualified for CL with Roma (2nd) and Inter (3rd). The verdicts below were Verona to travel down to Serie B with Venezia, Fiorentina and Lecce.

Let's talk about Dejan Stanković

Dejan Stankovic was born in Belgrade, on September 11, 1978.

He comes from a footballing family as his father played for OFK while his mother played for Sloga.

His first club as a kid was Teleoptik (generally considered Partizan's reserve side) but in 1992 he joined Red Star Belgrade.

He made his debut for "Zvezda" (Star) in 1994. In his first season he played 7 league games and scored 1 goal. Red Star won the Yugoslavian double.

The following year he played more regularly, 24 league games with 4 goals, 4 in the Yugoslav Cup with 1 goal and 2 games in the Uefa Cup. The "Crveno-beli" (The Red and Whites) won the domestic cup but finished 2nd in the league behind Partizan.

In 1996-97 he played 26 league games with 10 goals, 6 in the cup and 5 in the Cup Winners Cup with 2 goals (a brace against Kaiserslautern). Again "Zvezda" finished 2nd behind Partizan and won the Yugoslav Cup.

The 1997-98 season would be his last in Belgrade as a player. He played 28 league games with 15 goals, 7 in the cup and 3 in the Cup Winners Cup with 3 goals. Again, the Red and Whites finished 2nd, this time behind Obilić but with no cup glory.

In 1998 he joined Lazio in Serie A. He made a great debut, scoring against Piacenza in a 1-1 away draw. The manager was Sven-Goran Eriksson and Lazio finished 2nd going extremely close to the Scudetto. They did however win the Italian Supercoppa (2-1 Juventus) and lifted the last ever Cup Winners Cup (Majorca 2-1). Stankovic played 29 league games with 4 goals (Piacenza, Cagliari, Sampdoria, Piacenza), 5 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Cosenza), 7 in the CWC with 4 goals (Partizan…, Panionios x2 and Panionios again) plus the Italian Supercoppa.

The following season Lazio won the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia. Stankovic made 16 league appearances with 3 goals (Lecce x2, Fiorentina), 4 in Coppa Italia, 11 in Champions League with 2 goals (Maribor, Olympique Marseille) plus the European Super Cup (won beating Manchester United 1-0). Lazio also won the Italian Supercoppa beating Inter 4-3.

In 2000-01 Eriksson was replaced by Dino Zoff in January and Lazio finished 3rd. Stankovic played 21 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Udinese) and 9 in Champions League (Lazio reached quarterfinals, Valencia 3-5 on aggregate).

In 2001-02 Zoff started but was soon replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni. Lazio finished 6th and Stankovic played 27 league games with 7 goals (Brescia, Perugia, Milan, Roma, Udinese, Verona x2), 4 in Coppa Italia and 5 in the Champions League with 1 goal (Galatasaray). It was a negative season for Lazio but Stankovic performed well.

In 2002-03 his former teammate Roberto Mancini returned as manager. Lazio improved and finished 4th (CL qualification). Stankovic played 29 league games with 6 goals (Reggina, Roma, Empoli, Milan, Roma, Parma), 2 games in Coppa Italia and 7 in the UEFA Cup (Lazio reached semifinals, Porto 1-4)

The 2003-04 season would be his last in Rome. In January he joined Inter. He had played 15 league games with 2 goals (Empoli, Perugia), 4 in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Parma home and away) and 8 in the Champions League. For the record Lazio finished 6th (UC qualification) and won the Coppa Italia (Juventus 4-2 on aggregate).

At Inter he found Alberto Zaccheroni as manager and the Nerazzurri finished 4th. Stankovic played 14 league games with 4 goals (Milan, Brescia, Juventus, Bologna) and 2 games in Coppa Italia. He played alongside Christian Vieri and Matías Almeyda from his Lazio days.

In 2004-05 former Lazio teammate Roberto Mancini arrived as manager (with Fernando Orsi as assistant). The "Beneamata" finished 3rd, reached the quarterfinals of Champions League (Milan 0-5 on aggregate) but won the Coppa Italia (Roma 3-0 on aggregate). Stankovic played 31 league games with 3 goals (Chievo, Atalanta, Cagliari), 6 games in Coppa Italia and 10 in the Champions League with 3 goals (Basel, Anderlecht, Valencia). His teammates included Sinisa Mihajlovic, Juan Sebastian Veron and Beppe Favalli.

In 2005-06 Inter finished 3rd but were awarded the Scudetto due to Juventus and Milan's misdemeanours in the Calciopoli scandal. The Nerazzurri ‘also' won the Italian Supercoppa beating Juventus 1-0 with a goal by Veron in extra-time and the Coppa Italia (Roma 4-2 on aggregate). In the Champions League the quarterfinals were fatal again (Villareal on away goals). Stankovic played 23 league games with 2 goals (Lecce home and away), 6 games in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Lazio home and away) and 8 in CL with 2 goals (Ajax home and away). He played alongside former Lazio César.

In 2006-07 Mancini was still there but his assistant became Sinisa Mihajlovic. Inter won the league fair and square as well as the Italian Supercoppa (4-3 Roma, from 0-3 down) but lost the Coppa Italia final (4-7 on aggregate to Roma). In the Champions League they only reached the last 16 (Valencia on away goals). Stankovic played 34 league games with 6 goals (Chievo, Catania x2, Milan, Fiorentina, Empoli), 3 in Coppa Italia and 7 in CL. His teammates included Hernan Crespo.

In 2007-08 the Nerazzurri won the Scudetto again but lost the Supercoppa and Coppa Italia finals (both to Roma 0-1 and 1-2). In the Champions League they went out to Liverpool 0-3 on aggregate in the last 16. Stankovic played 21 league games with 1 goal (Udinese), 3 in Coppa Italia and 6 in CL. He played alongside former Lazio, Luís Jimenez.

In 2008-09 José Mourinho's reign started. The "Special One" won the league and the Italian Supercoppa (Roma on penalties after 2-2 draw, Stankovic missed his penalty) but again went out in the last 16 in the Champions League (Manchester United 0-2 on aggregate). In Coppa Italia they lost in the semis to Sampdoria 1-3 on aggregate. Stankovic played 31 league games with 5 goals (Roma, Chievo, Catania, Lecce, Milan), 1 in Coppa Italia, 5 in CL plus the Supercoppa game.

The 2009-10 season was a vintage one for Inter. They won the so-called “triplete", the Scudetto, Coppa Italia (Roma 1-0) and Champions League (Bayern Munich 2-0). The one they did not win was the Italian Supercoppa as they surprisingly lost 1-2 to Lazio in Beijing. Stankovic played 29 league games with 3 goals (Milan, Udinese, Genoa), 1 in Coppa Italia, 12 in CL with 2 goals (Rubin, Dynamo Kiev) plus the Supercoppa. His teammates included former Lazio, Goran Pandev.

In 2010-11 Rafa Benitez arrived as manager but only lasted 17 games before being replaced by Leonardo. Inter finished 2nd behind Juventus but won the Coppa Italia (Palermo 3-1), the Italian Supercoppa (Roma 3-1) and the Club World Cup (TP Mazembe 3-0). They lost the European Super Cup (Atlético Madrid 0-2) and went out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League (Schalke 3-7 on aggregate). Stankovic played 26 league games with 5 goals (Parma x3, Bologna, Udinese), 3 in Coppa Italia with1 goal (Roma), 7 in CL with 2 goals (Tottenham, Schalke 04) plus another 4 games between Supercups and World Cup for Clubs with 1 goal (Seongnam - South Korea).

In 2011-12 Inter had three different managers; Gian Piero Gasperini (1-4), Claudio Ranieri (5-29) and Andrea Stramaccioni (30-38). Inter had a poor season finishing 6th (EL) and lost the Italian Supercoppa final (Milan 1-2). Stankovic played 19 league games, 5 in CL plus the Supercoppa.

The 2012-13 season would be his last and he only played 3 league games due to Achilles tendon problems. Inter finished 9th under Stramaccioni. In his last year the squad included former Lazio, Gaby Mudingayi, Tommaso Rocchi and Juan Pablo Carrizo. He played a total of 326 games for Inter with 42 goals.

At almost 35 Stankovic retired.

He also won 39 caps for Yugoslavia with 9 goals, 22 caps for Serbia & Montenegro with 4 goals and 42 caps for Serbia with 3 goals. He played in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 for Yugoslavia, in the 2006 World Cup for Serbia and Montenegro and in the 2010 World Cup for Serbia. He is the only player to have played at three world cups for three different nations.

After retiring he was assistant to Stramaccioni at Udinese in 2014-15 and then worked briefly as club manager for Inter and as a UEFA consultant. He then coached Red Star Belgrade from December 2019 and stayed until August 2022. He won three consecutive league titles with Zvezda and two domestic cups.

In October 2022 he returned to Italy and joined struggling Sampdoria. The Blucerchiati were bottom of the table and winless. Stankovic was not able to save the sinking ship and "Il Doria" were relegated to Serie B after only 3 wins. He then had a season at Ferencváros in Hungary (winning the league in 2023-24). His next club was Spartak Moscow (2024-25) and he is currently back as head coach of Red Star Belgrade.

Stankovic was a superb player, solid and versatile. He is 1.81 and 75 kilos. He was a central midfielder but could also play externally or behind the strikers. He was a player who could do everything, attack and defend. He had a cracking shot, good aerial abilities, positioning and timing. He was every manager's ideal player, skilful, a good tackler, hardworking and could also score goals.

In his club career he won 1 Yugoslav league title and 3 cups, the Scudetto 6 times, the Coppa Italia 5 times, the Italian Supercoppa 6 times, 1 Champions League, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 1 European Super Cup and 1 Club World Cup.

At Lazio Stankovic was part of the glory years. He arrived young but soon became an accomplished midfielder. He played in formidable midfields alongside Veron, Simeone, Almeyda, Conceição and Sensini to name a few. He played 208 games for Lazio and scored 34 goals. He won a Scudetto, a Coppa Italia, the Italian Supercoppa twice, a Cup Winners Cup and a European Supercup. Six trophies in six years. The name Stankovic at Lazio reminds the fans of success, especially in his first years.

He has three sons and they all carryied on the family tradition of playing professional football. While Stefan retired early, Aleksander is a midfielder for Club Bruges while another, Filip, is a goalkeeper with Venezia. It will be difficult however to emulate Dejan's career.

Lazio Career

Season	Total games (goals)	Serie A	Coppa Italia	Champions League	Cup Winners Cup	UEFA Cup	UEFA Super Cup	Super Coppa
1998-99	42 (9)	29 (4)	5 (1)	-	7 (4)	-	-	1
1999-00	32 (5)	16 (3)	4	11 (2)	-	-	1	-
2000-01	33 (2)	21	2 (1)	9	-	-	-	1 (1)
2001-02	36 (8)	27 (7)	4	5 (1)	-	-	-	-
2002-03	38 (6)	29 (6)	2	-	-	7	-	-
2003-Jan 04	27 (4)	15 (2)	4 (2)	8	-	-	-	-
Total	208 (34)	137 (22)	21 (4)	33 (3)	7 (4)	7	1	2 (1)