A win for Europe
Lazio beat Cremonese not without difficulty and keep a glimmer of hope for a European qualification
Also on this day: April 26, 1925, Lazio Pro Italia 1-0. Not a great match by Lazio but at least they won. Lazio Legend of the day: Carlo Nesi
The season so far
The year was heavily influenced by a player who would not play a single minute of the 1991-1992 season. In the summer of 1991 Lazio bought Paul Gascoigne. A massive deal for Dino Zoff’s side, but unfortunately Gazza’s dangerous tackle in his final match for Tottenham inflicted a very serious injury to the English player that would keep him out of the game for over a year.
Lazio had to therefore change plan and in came Thomas Doll, a German midfielder with similar characteristics and who was believed to be able to play well with Lazio’s forwards Karl-Heinz Riedle and Ruben Sosa.
Lazio started the season with a draw at home against Parma, and this will be one of the main issues for the 1991-1992 campionato, that is, a difficulty in winning at home. Not only. Lazio conceded too many goals in the dying stages of games. It was a physiological problem but was untalkative Dino Zoff the right manager to convey calm?
Despite the disappointing season Lazio were still only two points from a possible European Cup qualification. First and foremost, they had to beat Cremonese.
The match: Sunday April 26, 1992, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio started well and Thomas Doll tried his luck in the 5th minute from outside the box but Michelangelo Rampulla saved. Four minutes later Lazio scored. Ruben Sosa on the right flew down the wing, low cross towards the centre of the box and Doll, unmarked, beat the Cremonese goalkeeper. 1-0 for Lazio.
The German International tried again from outside the box shortly after but Rampulla saved. Doll in the 21st minute crossed into the box, Felice Garzilli anticipated Ruben Sosa and almost scored an own goal. Rampulla came to the rescue.
Cremonese almost equalised in the 26th minute. Enrico Piccioni’s shot from outside the box was very well saved by Valerio Fiori who also parried the subsequent Matjaz Florijancic corner kick. Doll again in the 26th minute crossed for Karl-Heinz Riedle but his header was too high. Six minutes later penalty for Lazio. Piccioni fouled Riedle in the box and Ruben Sosa took the spot kick giving Lazio the double advantage.
The 2-0 did not last long. The Biancocelesti had suicidal tendencies that year so why pass a comfortable afternoon when one can self-harm and live in fear? In the 34th minute cross from the left, Angelo Gregucci and Fiori clashed going for the ball, Florijancic was ready to score but was fouled by Raffaele Sergio. Penalty for Cremonese and former Lazio Gustavo Dezotti reduced the deficit.
The only Lazio player who seemed interested in doing something was Doll but it was like preaching in a desert.
In the second half, Ruben Sosa crossed from the left and Riedle with his classic header made it three for Lazio. The Uruguayan and Doll both had chances to make it four, but Rampulla managed to save. As a consequence Cremonese again reduced the deficit in the 65th minute. Corrado Verdelli had a shot saved by Fiori, the ball reached Dario Marcolin who, from a difficult position, managed to score with a low shot.
The Biancoclelesti went into a panic and Cremonese could have taken advantage, but the Grigiorossi were too weak to capitalise and Lazio were able to close the game.
Despite the win, the fans were not happy and at the end of the match there were lots of boos.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Cremonese
Rampulla, Garzilli (75' Lombardini), Favalli, Piccioni (64' Maspero), Bonomi, Verdelli, Giandebiaggi, Iacobelli, Dezotti, Marcolin, Florijancic.
Substitutes: Violini, Montorfano, Ferraroni.
Manager: Giagnoni.
Referee: Rodomonti
Goals: 9’ Doll, 32’ Ruben Sosa (pen), 34’ Dezotti (pen), 49’ Riedle, 65’ Marcolin
What happened next
After this game, Lazio were in sixth place. Europe could have been a possibility since there were still four games left. However the Biancocelesti lost the next three so any chances were squandered.
Let’s face it, the problems had been clear right from the beginning. Only six wins at home were certainly not enough to have any hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
The main event of the year was however the acquisition of the club by Sergio Cragnotti, who would buy Lazio from Gian Marco Calleri on March 12, 1992. Lazio would gradually become a financial superpower over the next decade and achieve the best results in their history.
Roberto Bacci was the player with most appearances in the 1991-92 season (37) and Ruben Sosa with the most goals (15).
Lazio 1991-92
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 43 |
Coppa Italia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Total | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 48 |
Top Five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Bacci | 37 | 33 | 4 |
Pin | 36 | 32 | 4 |
Doll | 35 | 31 | 4 |
Fiori | 35 | 32 | 3 |
Ruben Sosa | 35 | 31 | 4 |
Top Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Ruben Sosa | 15 | 13 | 2 |
Riedle | 13 | 13 | - |
Doll | 8 | 7 | 1 |
Stroppa | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Let's talk about Dario Marcolin
In that Cremonese team there were three players that the next season would play for Lazio: Beppe Favalli, Mauro Bonomi and Dario Marcolin. All three were stars of the Italy Under 21 National team and Sergio Cragnotti thought that if there was a need to start a long term cycle, why not start from the crème de la crème of Italian young football.
Marcolin was born in Brescia on October 28, 1971. He grew up from a footballing perspective in a local team before arriving at Cremonese in 1984. He debuted in Serie A on February 18 1990 and played at Cremona for three years. He was very highly considered and Lazio set their eyes on him.
He joined the Biancocelesti in the 1992-93 season but did not really impress in the first season.
He was then loaned first to Cagliari and then Genoa a year after. He returned to Lazio for the 1995-96 season and appeared 25 times, often from the bench. But it was to be expected. Marcolin was not the type of player that one could see as a first choice player for Zdenek Zeman. He played slightly less the next year but appeared more often once Sven Goran Eriksson took over. In the 1997-98 season he played a lot in the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup and won his first silverware, the Coppa Italia. He also participated in the victorious Super Coppa final in Turin against Juventus in 1998 before being sent on loan to Blackburn Rovers.
After a not so positive year in England he came back for the triumphant 1999-00 season and won a Scudetto (though he never played in Serie A) and a Coppa Italia (5 appearances). At the end of the season he signed for Sampdoria in Serie B.
He was a key player for the blucerchiati and played two seasons in Genoa before going to Piacenza in 2002, in Serie A. He did not last long and in January 2002 he moved to Napoli, again in Serie B, where he stayed for two seasons. When Napoli went bust in 2004 he became a free agent and joined Palazzolo in Serie C2 for his last year as an 11- a- side footballer. In 2005-06 he played 5-a-side for a year and even earned a cap for Italy.
Marcolin was a pillar of the Italian Under 21 team. He played 32 times for them, including the Olympic team, and won the Under 21 European championship of 1992 and 1994.
When he stopped playing he became a manager, first as assistant at Brescia and then for Roberto Mancini at Inter. He coached Monza in 2008 but was fired in December. In 2009-10 he joined Catania as assistant coach for Sinisa Mihajlovic and continued with the Serb the next season too but this time for Fiorentina.
His solo experiences at Modena, Padova, Catania and Avellino were not very lucky, so the next step was punditry, first at Sky and since 2018 at Dazn.
Dario Marcolin played 111 times for Lazio (70 in Serie A with two goals on penalties, 24 in Coppa Italia, 2 in Champions League, once in the Cup Winners Cup, 13 in the UEFA Cup and once in the Super Coppa final).
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions Leage | Cup Winners Cup | UEFA Cup | Super Coppa |
1992-93 | 19 | 15 | 4 | - | - | - | - |
1993-94 | 8 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 2 | - |
1995-96 | 25 | 20 | 3 | - | - | 2 | - |
1996-97 | 19 | 13 | 3 | - | - | 3 | - |
1997-98 | 31 (2) | 18 (2) | 7 | - | - | 6 | - |
1998-99 | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
1999-00 | 7 | - | 5 | 2 | - | - | - |
Total | 111 (2) | 70 (2) | 24 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 1 |
Sources