August 12, 1997: Benfica Lazio 0-1

Classy Mancini

A Mancini goal gives Lazio a prestigious win in Lisbon

What happened in Serie A 1997-98

Also on this day:

• August 12, 1990, Real Madrid Lazio 1-1 (4-6 on pens). Lazio win prestigious trophy by beating Real Madrid on penalties.

• August 12, 2008, Lazio PAOK Thessaloniki 2-0. Lazio put on a good performance despite the heat in the first Roman pre-season friendly.

The season so far

President Sergio Cragnotti was certainly not happy with what had happened the previous season. Zdenek Zeman was sacked half way through and Dino Zoff had picked up the pieces and led Lazio to a UEFA Cup qualification.

Cragnotti had chosen Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager. Sven had been working for Sampdoria for the last five years and had established a strong relationship with Roberto Mancini. Mancini had not renewed his contract with Sampdoria, so Cragnotti convinced him to come to Lazio. It was a major change in philosophy: if Lazio had ambitions, they needed to think ambitiously.

A few other players, that were to become the backbone of the best Lazio ever, arrived in the 1997 summer transfer window: Giuseppe Pancaro, Marco Ballotta and Matias Almeyda. Vladimir Jugovic and the return of Alen Boksic were the other major signings.

Lazio had had their weeks of pre-season training at Vigo di Fassa near Trento and had played a couple of friendlies. They then had beaten Olympiakos, played the Memorial Cecchi Gori, where after beating Gremio they had lost on penalties against Fiorentina, and drawn away with Feyenoord.

Today was the final pre-season friendly against Benfica.

The match: Tuesday, August 12, 1997, Stadio Da Luz, Lisbon

In front of a raucous crowd of 60,000 at Lisbon’s “De la Luz” stadium, Lazio earned a deserved 1-0 win over Benfica in a match decided by a moment of class from Roberto Mancini.

Benfica, spurned on by their fans, almost struck immediately. In the 3rd minute, Brazilian forward Paulo Nunez converted from close range, only for the goal to be ruled out for a razor-thin offside. Lazio’s back line looked flat-footed on the occasion, but they quickly found their rhythm.

In the 10th minute, Beppe Signori broke through on goal, only to be denied by legendary 38-year-old Belgian goalkeeper Michel Preud’homme, who rolled back the years with a sharp save. Soon after, a clever exchange between José Chamot and Mancini saw the Argentine deliver a pinpoint cross that Mancio nodded just over the bar.

Vladimir Jugovic provided another highlight in the 25th minute with a surging run down the left, forcing Preud’homme into another fine stop from a tight angle. As halftime approached, Lazio turned on the pressure. Alen Boksic’s disguised pass left Mancini clear on goal, but Benfica defender José Soares somehow blocked his shot at the last instant.

The breakthrough finally came in the 43rd minute. Mancini darted toward the centre of the box, meeting Signori’s inch-perfect cross from the left with a precise header into the far corner—unstoppable and decisive.

With this win, Lazio not only spoiled Benfica’s season debut but also sent a message of intent for the season ahead, showcasing both defensive steel and creative flair.

Who played for Benfica

Preud'Homme, Edgar, Gamarra, Jorge Suares, Ronaldo, El Hadrioui (Minto), Bruno Caires (46' Jordao), Calado, Sanchez (46' Nuno Gomez), Joao Pinto (67' Taument), Paolo Nunes (82' Leonidas) Manager: Manuel José

Who played for Lazio

Marchegiani, Pancaro, Nesta, Lopez (82' Grandoni), Chamot (67' Negro), Fuser, Venturin, Jugovic (67' Nedved), Mancini (67' Rambaudi), Boksic (82' Marcolin), Signori (72' Buso). Manager: Eriksson

Referee: Jorge Cordado

Goal: 43' Mancini

What happened next

The change in Lazio between Zeman's mentality and Eriksson's was a bit slow at the beginning. Lazio were not playing all that well, even though they beat Roma 3-1 in ten men and drew in Milan both against Inter and Milan.

However, after the controversial loss against Juventus in early December they managed to go 16 games in Serie A without losing, from Juventus-Lazio 2-1 to Lazio-Juventus 0-1. In between Lazio were simply brilliant, beating Milan, Inter and Roma. Unstoppable, one could really see the change in mentality. On the eve of the game against Juventus, Lazio were only two points behind the Bianconeri and were dreaming of winning the scudetto. However, the Mother of all games proved to be fatal. Lazio gave all they had but Angelo Peruzzi saved everything and referee Pierluigi Collina did the rest. He sent Nedved off perhaps too harshly and did not award a clear penalty to Lazio.

The loss deflated the Lazio world. Lazio drew the next match and lost the next five. What happened? Lazio had played under continuous pressure and had reached the finals of both the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup. Too many games and too few players. The team just collapsed both physically and mentally.

In Coppa Italia, after eliminating Roma in the quarterfinals, they beat Juventus in the semis and faced Milan in the final. Having lost the first leg 1-0 in the last minute, Lazio had to win the return match by two goals and hope that Milan did not get an away goal. But when the Rossoneri scored with Demetrio Albertini at the beginning of the second half, Lazio needed to score 3 goals to win. They did so with the most amazing ten minutes in their history and brought home the Coppa Italia. Lazio had not won anything since the 1974 scudetto.

In the UEFA Cup, Lazio had the better of Auxerre in the quarterfinals and Christian Vieri’s Atletico Madrid in the semis. The final against Inter was exactly a week after the win in Coppa Italia. Lazio fell behind in the early stages of the game but this time they did not have the energy to come back. They lost their first European final 3-0.

A marvellous season for Lazio, the best since 1974. Mancini was the player with the most games played (51), Boksic and Nedved the top goal scorers with 15.

What happened in Serie A 1997-98

Juventus had won the scudetto the previous year ahead of Parma and Inter. Coming up from Serie B were Brescia, Empoli, Lecce and Bari.

In the 1997-98 season there had been lots of manager changes in the big teams: Gigi Simoni to Inter, Sven-Goran Eriksson to Lazio, Zdenek Zeman to Roma, Alberto Malesani to Fiorentina and Fabio Capello had gone back to Milan.

The major transfers had been Roberto Mancini and Alen Boksic to Lazio, Pippo Inzaghi and Daniel Fonseca to Juventus, Ronaldo and Diego Simeone to Inter, Leonardo and Patrick Kluivert to Milan, Cafu and Vincent Candela to Roma.

Juventus and Inter were clear favourites but there was curiosity to see what the Rome teams could do under their new managers. Big question marks around Milan, whereas Parma and Fiorentina were considered outsiders.

August-September

Four games to start off with between the end of August and September. Inter began very well and were top followed by all the rest, except Milan who had a rather dismal start. Lazio beat Napoli in the first match and drew with Milan in the second, Roma and Juventus drew and Inter beat Fiorentina.

In the Champions League qualifying round in August, Parma crushed Widzew Lodz 7-1 on aggregate and proceeded to the group stage. In the first round Parma drew 0-0 against Sparta Prague and Juventus hammered Feyenoord 5-1. In the first round of the Cup Winners Cup, Vicenza beat Legia Warsaw 2-0. In the UEFA Cup first round Udinese, Lazio and Inter went through but Sampdoria were eliminated by Athletic Bilbao.

The big teams also started their Coppa Italia campaign. In the round of 32 no real surprises with perhaps the exception of Serie B team Pescara eliminating holders Vicenza.

In the Supercoppa in August Juventus had predictably dominated Vicenza 3-0.

Inter 12, Parma 10, Juventus 8, Roma 8, Sampdoria 8, Lazio 7, Atalanta 7, Vicenza 7, Fiorentina 6, Empoli 6, Udinese 6, Napoli 4, Brescia 4, Milan 2, Bologna 2, Piacenza 1, Bari 1, Lecce 0

October

Just a couple of games in October, due to the Nazionale break, so not a lot of changes in the table. However, some interesting scores. Inter and Lazio drew, Roma crushed Napoli who also lost at home to Inter. Juventus beat Fiorentina who were now a bit behind, as were Lazio and Milan.

Parma won their two group games in the Champions League and were well placed. Juventus were second in their group after losing to Manchester United. Vicenza went through to the second round of the Cup Winners Cup and won the first leg of the third. In the 1st leg of the UEFA Cup second round, Inter and Udinese lost, Lazio drew 0-0 against Rotor Volgograd. Not easy for the Italian teams now.

The first leg of the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia was played with no major surprises even though Fiorentina, Parma and Milan only had slender advantages, after their home games, going into the second leg.

Inter 16, Juventus 14, Parma 14, Roma 12, Sampdoria 11, Brescia 10, Atalanta 10, Udinese 10, Lazio 8, Vicenza 8, Fiorentina 7, Empoli 7, Milan 5, Napoli 4, Bari 4, Bologna 3, Lecce 3, Piacenza 2

November

Four games in November. Inter beat Parma and drew the derby, Lazio won the Roman derby, Milan and Juventus drew. Still Inter ahead, Roma had crept up to third place. Lazio, Fiorentina and Milan had also moved up while Napoli were bottom.

In the two CL games Parma only earned one point and were virtually out since the teams that proceeded to the quarterfinals were the six winners of the groups plus the two best runners-up. Parma could not top their group and only a series of very lucky scores would allow them to be one of the best second place teams. Juventus on the other hand had to beat Manchester United to hope to qualify.

Vicenza qualified for the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners Cup where they would play Roda in March. Inter and Lazio managed to go through to the third round of the UEFA Cup but Udinese were eliminated by Ajax. In the first leg of the third round Inter lost 2-0 to Strasbourg and were almost out, Lazio won in Vienna against Rapid and were almost through.

The second leg of the Coppa Italia round of 16 produced no surprises with the exception of the elimination of Roberto Baggio’s Bologna by Atalanta. Interesting quarterfinals: Fiorentina-Juventus, Lazio-Roma, Milan-Inter and Parma-Atalanta.

Inter 26, Juventus 22, Roma 19, Udinese 19, Parma 18, Lazio 15, Sampdoria 15, Vicenza 15, Fiorentina 13, Milan 13, Atalanta 11, Empoli 10, Brescia 10, Bari 10, Lecce 10, Bologna 8, Piacenza 7, Napoli 5

December

The year closed with three games. Juventus beat Lazio and, due to Inter losing at Udine just before Christmas, were now only one point behind. The Nerazzurri did however demolish Roma. Behind the big two there was Udinese, doing very well as usual. Down below Napoli already had a foot in Serie B.

Parma were eliminated in the Champions League but Juventus managed to qualify as one of the two best second place finishers. They would play Dynamo Kiev in the quarterfinals in March. Inter and Lazio were through to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. They would play Schalke 04 and Auxerre in March.

Inter 30, Juventus 29, Udinese 26, Parma 25, Roma 23, Lazio 21, Fiorentina 20, Milan 20, Sampdoria 19, Vicenza 18, Brescia 14, Empoli 13, Bologna 12, Piacenza 12, Bari 12, Atalanta 11, Lecce 10, Napoli 5

January

1998 started with the big match Inter-Juventus won by the Milanese, but Juventus went top after the Nerazzurri lost at home to Bari and drew with Empoli. Udinese, third, won in Rome and Lazio, fourth, won in Florence.

In the Coppa Italia quarterfinals, Milan thrashed Inter, Lazio destroyed Roma. In the semi-finals they would play Parma and Juventus respectively.

Juventus 38, Inter 37, Udinese 34, Lazio 31, Parma 29, Fiorentina 27, Sampdoria 27, Roma 26, Milan 24, Bari 22, Vicenza 21, Brescia 20, Piacenza 17, Bologna 16, Empoli 16, Atalanta 14, Lecce 11, Napoli 6

February

The lack of European fixtures allowed five games to be played. Lazio beat both Milan and Inter and had now joined the latter in second place behind Juventus who beat Roma. Udinese were keeping up. Below, Napoli and Lecce needed a miracle to avoid relegation.

Lazio won 2-1 in Turin against Juventus in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final. In the other match Milan and Parma drew 0-0.

Juventus 48, Lazio 44, Inter 44, Udinese 42, Fiorentina 38, Parma 38, Roma 38, Milan 34, Sampdoria 34, Bologna 26, Brescia 23, Bari 23, Vicenza 23, Empoli 20, Piacenza 20, Atalanta 20, Lecce 12, Napoli 10

March

Five games. Lazio and Inter won the derbies and closed the gap with Juventus who drew with Napoli and Udinese. The Biancocelesti missed a chance to go top drawing at home against Piacenza. Juventus battered Milan and Parma beat Inter.

In the CL quarter finals, Juventus drew at home but then won away against Dynamo Kiev and would play Monaco in the semis. Vicenza destroyed Roda 9-1 on aggregate in the Cup Winners Cup and would now meet Chelsea in the semi-finals in April. Inter, after extra time, and Lazio went through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. In the first leg they both won, Inter 4-2 against Spartak Moscow at home and Lazio 1-0 against Christian Vieri’s Atletico Madrid away.

Lazio would face Milan in the final of the Coppa Italia. The Biancocelesti drew at the Olimpico while Milan managed to go through with a goal in the third minute of injury time.

Juventus 57, Inter 56, Lazio 55, Udinese 49, Roma 46, Parma 46, Fiorentina 44, Milan 39, Sampdoria 37, Bologna 34, Vicenza 30, Brescia 28, Empoli 27, Bari 27, Piacenza 26, Atalanta 25, Lecce 18, Napoli 12

April

Four games in April. Juventus won in Rome against Lazio who had run out of steam and were collapsing. Inter beat Roma and Udinese but lost the crucial match against Juventus. April 26, 1998, Juventus-Inter, winner took all. Alessandro Del Piero scored for the Bianconeri in the first half but in the second a blatant penalty on Ronaldo was ignored by the referee who immediately after gave one to Juventus. All hell let loose on the pitch, outside the stadium and even ended up in parliament. In the end, Juve-Inter 1-0 and the scudetto was virtually staying in Turin. In the relegation battle, Napoli were in Serie B, Lecce almost, and it did not look good for Brescia and Atalanta either.

Juventus were through to the final of the Champions League after beating Monaco 6-4 on aggregate. They would face Real Madrid. Vicenza lost the semi-final of the Cup Winners Cup. After winning 1-0 at home against Chelsea they lost 3-1 at Stamford Bridge. Excellent run though. Inter and Lazio would play the final of the UEFA Cup in Paris in April after winning their semi-finals.

Lazio won the Coppa Italia for the first time since 1958. They lost the first leg in Milan 1-0 and were 1-0 down in the second too but then three goals in ten minutes earned them their first silverware since the 1973-74 scudetto.

Juventus 69, Inter 65, Lazio 56, Parma 55, Udinese 55, Roma 52, Fiorentina 48, Sampdoria 46, Bologna 44, Milan 43, Vicenza 35, Bari 34, Empoli 33, Piacenza 32, Brescia 29, Atalanta 28, Lecce 22, Napoli 13

May

The final three games consolidated Juventus’s lead and the Bianconeri won the scudetto. Inter gave up after losing in Turin, Lazio continued to free fall. The top two would play the Champions League next year, Lazio the last ever Cup Winners Cup, Udinese, Roma, Fiorentina and Parma the UEFA Cup. Brescia and Atalanta joined Lecce and Napoli in Serie B.

Salernitana, Venezia, Cagliari and Perugia were promoted to Serie A.

Top scorer was Oliver Bierhoff with 27 goals ahead of Ronaldo (25) and Roberto Baggio (22).

Juventus lost the Champions League final 0-1 to Real Madrid despite being the favourites. In the final of the UEFA Cup Inter beat a very tired Lazio 3-0 for their third win in the competition.

Final table: Juventus 74, Inter 69, Udinese 64, Roma 59, Fiorentina 57, Parma 57, Lazio 56, Bologna 48, Sampdoria 48, Milan 44, Bari 38, Empoli 37, Piacenza 37, Vicenza 36, Brescia 35, Atalanta 32, Lecce 26, Napoli 14

Source

Lazio Wiki