Lazio are winners … finally!!
From the Scudetto of 1974 there had been Tommaso Maestrelli's illness and death, Luciano Re Cecconi's tragic end, the 1980 betting scandal and subsequent relegation punishment, the Giorgio Chinaglia President era of shattered dreams, six years in total of Serie B playing teams like Campobasso, Barletta, Rimini, the minus 9 point deduction and playout to avoid the third tier, oblivion or worse, city rivals winning things and playing a European Cup Final (fortunately lost). Then in the 90's things had got gradually better for the long suffering Lazio fan and now finally was time to celebrate.. Lazio had won!!
The road to the final
In the first round in September Lazio had knocked out Fidelis Andria, 3-0 away and 3-2 at home. Next up were Napoli in November, Lazio comfortably won 4-0 at home and, despite a slight scare and a 3-0 away defeat, the Biancocelesti set up a quarter-final derby.
On January 6 Lazio thumped the "Cousins" 4-1 in the home leg and then won the return 2-1 with a Guerino Gottardi 94th minute winner, an ultimate humiliation for the Giallorossi.
In the semifinal Lazio faced Juventus. In February Lazio won 1-0 in Turin with a Alen Boksic winner. The return leg in Rome ended up 2-2 but the "Zebras" only equalised with a 93rd minute own goal so it was not unbearably nail biting. Lazio were in the final, thirty years on.
Milan knocked out Reggina, 0-0 at home and 2-0 away in the first round. Then they beat Sampdoria twice, 2-1 away and 3-2 at home. Next up in the quarterfinals were city rivals Inter and the Rossoneri triumphed 5-0 and then lost 0-1. In the semi-final they got the better of Parma on away goals; 0-0 in Milan and 2-2 in Parma (with a 93rd minute Patrick Kluivert equaliser). Milan were in the final after eight years (lost to Juventus) but they had not won it since 1977 (Inter 2-0).
Today was the return leg of the final. Only many years later would someone come up with the bright idea of going back to playing a one match final in the capital.
The away match was won by Milan 1-0, on the 8th of April at San Siro. Lazio had dominated for most of the match and showed they were a better team. However Milan's keeper Sebastiano Rossi had a great game making several decisive saves and even got the assist for Milan's winner. In the last minutes of the match when Lazio were still vowing their missed opportunities Rossi gave the ball a massive hoof upfield, it bounced near the Lazio penalty area where George Weah, thanks to a defensive mix up between Paolo Negro, Alessandro Nesta and Luca Marchegiani, headed the ball over the Lazio keeper and into the net. An unexpected win for Milan and a thoroughly undeserved defeat for Lazio. All was not lost however as there was still the return match in Rome in three weeks time.
The match: Wednesday, April 29, 1998, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
So came the 29th of April. Milan had a slight advantage but Lazio had already proved they were just as good as Milan, if not better. There was also an underlying feeling among Lazio fans that this was our time, our moment to win.
A great crowd of 70,000 (7,000 Milanisti too) and a marvellous atmosphere welcomed the two teams onto the field. Lazio were without Matias Almeyda, Beppe Pancaro, José Chamot and Alen Boksic while Milan were missing Leonardo and Zvonimir Boban. Lazio played with Roberto Mancini and Gigi Casiraghi up front while Milan answered with Dejan Savicevic and George Weah.
The first half started at a slow pace. Milan were satisfied with their lead and Lazio weary of conceding an away goal. Lazio however attacked more and had a first chance with Pavel Nedved. On a cross from Diego Fuser, the Czech brought the ball down well and from an angle was one-on-one with the keeper but pushed it just too far allowing Rossi to anticipate him. Lazio's next chance was clearer when Casiraghi chested down a Vladimir Jugovic cross and again from an angle got a low shot which Rossi saved with the help of the post. Milan were kept under control especially by Alessandro Nesta, in fine form, the "Diavolo's" only chance came on a Weah close range shot on a Ibrahim Ba low cross but he was slightly too far forward and, challenged by two defenders, his effort went high. On the half hour mark Savicevic went off injured and was replaced by Kluivert. Halftime score Lazio 0 Milan 0. A first 45 minutes which satisfied the visitors far more than the hosts.
The second half started with a bang. In the first minute Demetrio Albertini was fouled by Alessandro Grandoni at the edge of the box for a free kick. The Milan midfielder took it and his low, powerful shot went through the wall and beat Luca Marchegiani to his right. Lazio 0 Milan 1. The Rossoneri were two up on aggregate and now Lazio needed three unanswered goals to lift the cup. Milan became even more defensive in the 50th minute and replaced an injured Kluivert with a midfielder, Giampiero Maini. For Lazio Guerino Gottardi came on for Grandoni, a seemingly small detail at the time but which would soon prove crucial.
The Lazio crowd still believed, urging their team forward and the Biancocelesti threw caution to the wind and attacked furiously. They were soon rewarded. In the 55th minute a long ball by Giorgio Venturin found Mancini with space in the area, "Mancio" domesticated the ball perfectly and slid it across to an unmarked Gottardi who beat Rossi. 1-1 and the stadium became a cauldron, a crazy comeback could still be possible.
Only three minutes later Gottardi, on a Mancini assist, was clumsily kicked in the air by Maldini. The foul started on the edge of the box but the dynamic of the move made Guerino go sprawling several metres into the area. For the referee Treossi it was a penalty. Jugovic stepped up and with a fierce low shot sent Rossi the wrong way. Lazio 2 Milan 1. The Stadium was on fire and Milan were groggy. Lazio still needed one more but there was still half an hour to go.
A few minutes later Casiraghi went agonizingly close hitting the post with only the keeper to beat. In the 65th minute Lazio had a corner, the ball was not cleared properly and fell to Negro whose shot was saved but not blocked by Rossi and Nesta was the quickest to slot the ball in for the 3-1. The stadium passed the safety test and didn't collapse despite the wild scenes which followed the captain's goal. Lazio now had 25 minutes to defend their dream.
At this point Milan had to attack and threw striker Maurizio Ganz on for Ba. One goal would be enough for the Rossoneri to snatch the trophy. They had a Christian Ziege freekick saved by Marchegiani and endless crosses into the area but Lazio, despite the fans obviously holding their breath every time the ball even went over the halfway line, held firm and kept Milan at bay.
Ten minutes from time both Fuser and Marcel Desailly were sent off for squabbling and kicking but tactically nothing changed. It was Lazio who came closer to scoring. After a perfect counterattack Jugovic incredibly did not find the net with a seemingly impossible to miss close range header. Lazio's fears were only delayed a fraction longer as Treossi soon after blew the final whistle. Lazio had won a trophy after 24 years!
Collective hugs with friends, family and strangers followed, along with tears of incredulity and joy flowing around the stadium. Our Lazio were victorious, for many a new and fantastic sensation.
Fuser lifted the cup in a dreamlike atmosphere. Lazio were winners and this was just the beginning.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Grandoni (50' Gottardi), Nesta, Negro, Favalli, Fuser, Venturin, Jugovic, R. Mancini (88' G. Lopez), Nedved (92' Marcolin), Casiraghi
Manager: Eriksson
Who played for Milan
Rossi, Daino, Desailly, Costacurta, Maldini, Ba (67' Ganz), Albertini, Donadoni, Ziege, Savicevic (31' Kluivert, 50' Maini), Weah
Substitutes: Taibi, Cruz, Cardone, Maniero
Manager: Capello
Referee: Treossi
Goals: 46' Albertini, 55' Gottardi, 58' Jugovic (pen), 65' Nesta
Lazio Coppa Italia Games 1997-98
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Coppa Italia | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 22 |
Appearances and goals
Player | Appearances | Goals |
Negro | 10 | - |
Fuser | 9 | 1 |
Jugovic | 9 | 3 |
Nesta | 9 | 1 |
Venturin | 9 | - |
Favalli | 8 | - |
Gottardi | 8 | 2 |
Grandoni | 8 | - |
Mancini | 8 | 1 |
Marchegiani | 8 | - |
Marcolin | 7 | - |
Boksic | 6 | 5 |
Casiraghi | 6 | - |
Nedved | 6 | 2 |
Lopez | 5 | - |
Rambaudi | 4 | - |
Signori | 4 | 6 |
Ballotta | 3 | - |
Chamot | 3 | - |
Pancaro | 3 | - |
Almeyda | 2 | - |
Buso | 2 | - |
Let's talk about Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta was born in Rome, on March 19, 1976. He is from the area of Cinecittà in south-east Rome and from a family of Lazio fans.
Nesta started his career in the Lazio youth sector. He was actually first noticed by Roma scout and former player Francesco Rocca but Nesta’s father, being a big Lazio fan, refused the Giallorossi's offer.
So in 1985 he started playing for the Biancoceleste side of town's youth teams. He played in various roles including attack and midfield before settling in defence. He always played with shirt number 13. In 1994 -95 he won the Primavera (U-19's) Scudetto under Mimmo Caso but was also already part of the first team squad.
He had started being involved in the first team set up in the 1993-94 season and manager Dino Zoff gave him his debut on March 18, 1994 in an away game versus Udinese. Nesta was not yet 18 when he replaced Pierluigi Casiraghi in the 78th minute. He played one more game that season as he was still very much involved in the Primavera league.
His home debut came on January 15,1995 in Lazio vs Foggia when he replaced Beppe Favalli after 29 minutes. I was at that game and he impressed immediately. With some sportsmen you can just see, even at a very early age, that they have something special. I remember the same with tennis players Pete Sampras and Novak Djokovic.
Nesta played 11 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia and Lazio had a good season under new manager Zdenek Zeman finishing 2nd. Nesta won his first derby as a protagonist, playing the whole game in a 2-0 win (April 23, Casiraghi, Beppe Signori). On that occasion Lazio had three fans on the field (Nesta, Cristiano Bergodi, Marco Di Vaio) and one on the bench (Nando Orsi).
The 1995-96 season saw Nesta become a first choice defender at Lazio. He played 23 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia and made his debut in European competitions with 3 games in the UEFA Cup. Lazio finished 3rd in the league again under Zeman. Lazio drew one derby and won the other (1-0 Signori).
In 1996-97, in January Zeman was replaced by Zoff. Nesta had an excellent season with 25 league games, 4 in Coppa Italia and 4 in the Uefa Cup. Both derbies were draws. Lazio finished 4th.
The following year with the arrival of new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and Roberto Mancini, Lazio went from a highly competitive and entertaining team to a winning one. Nesta played 30 league games, 9 in Coppa Italia (with 1 goal) and 10 in the Uefa Cup (1 goal vs Vitória Guimarāes). Nesta's Coppa Italia goal was no ordinary one, it was the winner in a 3-2 aggregate win over Milan in the final. Nesta scored in a wild Olimpico to give his boyhood club their first trophy for 24 years and first domestic cup for 40 years. Lazio also won a record 4 derbies that year (4-1 and 2-1 in the cup and 3-1 and 2-0 in the league). They arrived in their first European final but were mentally and physically worn out losing to Ronaldo's Inter 3-0 in Paris. In the league they collapsed near the end after challenging for the title until April and arrived 7th.
In the summer of 1998, at the World Cup in France, Nesta unfortunately suffered a serious injury while playing for Italy. He ruptured his cruciate ligaments and was forced to be out for the next seven months.
In the 1998-99 season he returned in December. He was not at his best but in time he got back his physical prowess. He played 20 league games with 1 goal (Salernitana), 2 in Coppa Italia and 4 in the old European Cup. Lazio went agonizingly close to the Scudetto, getting pipped by Milan by one point, also due to very dubious refereeing decisions in the penultimate game in Florence. The Biancocelesti however triumphed in Europe, winning the last ever edition of the Cup Winners Cup against Mallorca 2-1 in Birmingham. Nesta lifted the cup in front of 15,000 Lazio fans at Villa Park.
The 1999-2000 was the apotheosis of that Lazio squad. In August they won the European Super Cup beating Manchester United 1-0 in Monte Carlo. The "Aquile" then won the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia, completing a historic double. Nesta played 28 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia, 9 in the Champions League plus the European Super Cup Final. Nesta was obviously the pillar of Lazio's defence, pairing up with Sinisa Mihajlovic, Negro or sometimes Fernando Couto in the middle. In the Champions league Lazio reached the quarterfinal but were eliminated by a "high" flying Valencia 5-3.
The next season started well winning the Italian Supercoppa against Inter 4-3 but then was not as successful. Eriksson left in January after some poor results and having signed a contract for the England national team from July 2001.Dino Zoff came back to the bench and Lazio challenged for the title but ultimately fell short arriving third behind Juventus and champions Roma. In the Champions league Lazio reached the second group stage. Nesta had his usual excellent season playing 29 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia, 8 in Champions League plus the Italian Supercoppa.
In 2001-02 was even more troubled. Zoff was sacked after three games and Alberto Zaccheroni arrived. The relationship with Lazio never really took off and the season was mediocre. Lazio in the end salvaged their year in the famous last match against Inter. A 4-2 victory qualified Lazio for the UEFA Cup in 6th place but shattered Inter's Scudetto hopes. Nesta played 25 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia and 6 in the Champions League.
By now Lazio were in financial difficulty and forced to sell off some of their stars. All summer Lazio fans lived with the terror that Nesta would be sold. That day came on the last day of the market on 31 August 2002. He went for 31 million Euros, nowhere near his real value but Lazio were desperate and the big northern teams took advantage. A trauma for Lazio fans that they have not got over to this day. Nesta was our pride and joy, our dream and Nesta's was for him to play his whole career in Rome. Alas it was not to be and he very reluctantly went up to Milan. His last gesture was to convert some of his wages into Lazio shares to take some pressure off Lazio's coffers.
He obviously did well in Milan. He stayed ten seasons, playing alongside Maldini, Cafu, Alessandro Costacurta and Jaap Stam amongst others. He won everything there was to win; 2 Scudetti (2004, 2011), 2 Champions Leagues (2003, 2007), 1 Coppa Italia (2003), 2 Italian Supercoppe (2004, 2011), 2 UEFA Super Cups (2003, 2007) and 1 World Cup for Clubs against Boca Juniors where he also scored in the final (2007). He played 326 games with 10 goals for the Rossoneri, so certainly has legendary status there too.
Added to what he had already won at Lazio this surely makes him one of the players in history who won the most diverse competitions (the only ones eluding him being the European Championship and UEFA Cup - he was runner-up in both).
In 2012 at 36 he went to Canada, to Montreal Impact in the Major League. Here he teamed up with former Lazio Bernardo Corradi and Di Vaio and won the league title. He played 34 games for "Le CFM".
In November 2014 he joined Chennaiyn in the Indian Super League. The team was coached by former Italy teammate (and Lazio fan) Marco Materazzi but the adventure only lasted 3 games before Nesta decided to retire, putting an end to a fantastic and glorious career.
At international level he won 78 caps for Italy. He played in 3 European Championships (Runners up in 2000) and 3 World Cups (Winners in 2006). He was unlucky at World Cups, breaking his leg in 1998 and missing the last 5 games of the "Azzurri's" triumph in 2006 in Germany through injury. He also earned 6 U-21 caps with 1 goal and won the European Championship in 1996.
Since retiring he has become a manager and had spells at Miami FC plus Perugia and Frosinone in Italian Serie B.
Nesta was an incredible player, one of the best defenders in the history of football. He was nicknamed "La Tempesta Perfetta" (The Perfect Storm) as he was such a complete player. He was physically strong (1.87 for 80 kilos), athletic and fast. He had a great sense of position and was an impressive man-to-man marker, often using his anticipation skills to dispossess opponents, that failing he had his speed to fall back on (one of the few players he often suffered against strangely was Roma's Marco Del Vecchio). He was a superb tackler, specializing in the old sliding tackle, just like another Lazio great Pino Wilson. He could block the opposition but was also able to play from the back as a defensive playmaker. Combined with all these attributes he was elegant, a joy to watch. One runs out of adjectives to describe Nesta but the Italian " Fuoriclasse assoluto" (Totally outstanding) almost does him justice.
At Lazio, as they say in Italy, he was "Uno di noi" (One of us), a Lazio fan who played for his beloved club and led them to glory. Destiny took him elsewhere but it's as if he never really left. He did so much in his years at Lazio to last a lifetime. Their best player in 123 years of history.
At Lazio he made a total of 261 appearances (3 goals) and was captain for 4 seasons, he won; 1 Scudetto, 2 Coppa Italia, 2 Italian Supercoppa, 1 UEFA Cup winners Cup and 1 UEFA Super Cup. A legend.
Lazio Career
Season | Games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Cup Winners Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Super Cup | Super Coppa |
1993-94 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1994-95 | 12 | 11 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
1995-96 | 28 | 23 | 2 | - | - | 3 | - | - |
1996-97 | 33 | 25 | 4 | - | - | 4 | - | - |
1997-98 | 49 (2) | 30 | 9 (1) | - | - | 10 (1) | - | - |
1998-99 | 26 (1) | 20 (1) | 2 | - | 4 | - | - | - |
1999-00 | 40 | 28 | 2 | 9 | - | - | 1 | - |
2000-01 | 39 | 29 | 1 | 8 | - | - | - | 1 |
2001-02 | 32 | 25 | 1 | 6 | - | - | - | - |
Total | 261 (3) | 193 (1) | 22 (1) | 23 | 4 | 17 (1) | 1 | 1 |
Sources