Signori shines in front of new fans
Two goals by new signing give fans hope for upcoming season
The season so far
Lazio's new President Sergio Cragnotti's first summer transfer market had been an ambitious one. In had come three promising young players from Cremonese: Giuseppe Favalli, Mauro Bonomi and Dario Marcolin plus the likes of defender Roberto Cravero (Torino) midfielders Diego Fuser (Milan) and Aron Winter (Ajax) plus forward Beppe Signori (Foggia).
The main talking point however was the arrival of Paul Gascoigne from Tottenham. One of the most exciting players of his generation, he arrived with great expectations, despite a recent serious injury. Lazio had lost fan favourite Ruben Sosa who had not renewed his contract and had let go Raffaele Sergio (Torino) and Gabriele Pin (Parma).
The previous season Lazio had finished 10th. The Biancocelesti won 11, drew 12 (including both derbies) and lost 11. This year they hoped to improve on that position.
Lazio had already played three competitive friendlies; Bayer Leverkusen 1-2, Schalke 04 3-1 and Ternana 4-0. This was the first in front of their home crowd. The league would not start until September 6.
Atlético Mineiro are from Belo Horizonte in Brazil. The "Galo" had won 2 Brazilian titles (1937 and 1971). The previous season the Alvinegro (Black and Whites) had won the Mineiro League and then finished 3rd at national level.
The match: Monday, August 17, 1992, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A 20,000 crowd turned up at the Olimpico. Rome was empty in this period as it was only two days after "ferragosto" the national summer festivity.
Lazio put out a strong team and Paul Gascoigne was present in the stands awaiting his return to full fitness.
The Biancocelesti started well with free-flowing attacks inspired by an already fit Aron Winter.
In the 18th minute the Romans took the lead. Winter won back possession in the Brazilians' area and fed Diego Fuser whose low cross was tapped in by Beppe Signori, with the complicity of a slow and hesitant Claudio.
In the 22nd minute a Karl-Heinz Riedle speciality of the house, a towering header, went just wide.
Lazio continued to dominate and the "Galo" were merely passive sparring partners. In the 37th minute Thomas Doll was forced off the field with a hopefully light injury and replaced by Dario Marcolin. Halftime Lazio 1 Atletico Mineiro 0.
A promising home debut so far with Winter, Fuser, Favalli, Roberto Bacci and Signori all particularly sharp already.
For the second period the South-American visitors replaced the keeper Claudio with Fred and forward Vanderley with Wiver.
The following 45 minutes were less intense by Lazio and the Brazilians even came out of their shell slightly but the Eagles' defence led by Roberto Cravero was solid.
Lazio made two more substitutions: Armando Madonna for Fuser on the hour and Giovanni Stroppa for Aron Winter with twenty minutes to go. The Alvinegro too made two more changes in the last quarter: Carlos for an injured Angelo and Leandro for Agamenon.
Lazio controlled the game without pushing excessively and went close with another Riedle header.
Lazio and Signori made it two with five minutes to go. It was a goal the fans would see often in the coming years, a low left foot by Signori drilled into the corner. Lazio 2 Atlético Mineiro 0. The sadness at the departure of Rubén Sosa was already fading, the fans had a new idol "Beppe-gol".
A positive test for Lazio who were applauded by their fans. The Brazilians visitors had not been the sternest of opponents but the Biancocelesti had linked up well, with speed and precision. They had also discovered a new goal machine and had Gascoigne still to come.
Who played for Lazio
Fiori, Bonomi, Favalli, Bacci, Gregucci, Cravero, Fuser (59' Madonna), Doll (37' Marcolin), Riedle, Winter (71' Stroppa), Signori
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Atlético Mineiro
Claudio (46' Fred), Paulo Sergio, Anderson, Nael, Altivo, Helio, Agamenon (78' Leandro), Moacir, Angelo (73' Carlos), Ical, Vanderley (46' Wiver)
Manager: Milito
Referee: Quartuccio
Goals: 18' Signori, 85' Signori
What happened next
Lazio had a good season and improved on the previous one finishing 5th (only many years later would top 4 finish give Champions league places). So, after 15 years, they were back in Europe qualifying for the UEFA Cup. This was welcomed by big celebrations on the last home game against Napoli (a highly entertaining 4-3 win).
The highlights of the season were a late Paul Gascoigne equaliser against Roma and a 3-1 home win against Inter. Gascoigne played 26 games, scoring 4 goals and showing flashes of his class such as his superb solo goal in a 3-2 away win at Pescara.
Giuseppe Signori would win the first of his top Serie A scorer awards with 26 goals (plus 6 in Coppa Italia).
Atlético Mineiro finished 20th in their next Brazilian Serie A. They would be Brazilian champions again in 2021 while they won the Copa Libertadores in 2013.
Lazio 1992-93
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 51 |
Coppa Italia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
Total | 40 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 78 |
Top Five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Fuser | 38 | 33 | 5 |
Signori | 38 | 32 | 6 |
Favalli | 36 | 32 | 4 |
Winter | 36 | 30 | 6 |
Bacci | 35 | 31 | 4 |
Top Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Signori | 32 | 26 | 6 |
Fuser | 11 | 10 | 1 |
Riedle | 10 | 8 | 2 |
Winter | 8 | 6 | 2 |
Gascoigne | 4 | 4 | - |
Let's talk about Aron Winter
Aron Winter was born in Paramaribo (Suriname), on March 1, 1967.
Winter started his career as an amateur in his home country of Holland with SV Lelystad. At 19 he was bought by Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam. He made his debut on April 6 against Utrecht. He played 187 games for Ajax scoring 44 times and winning 2 Dutch Cups ('87, '88), a league title ('91), a UEFA Cup Winners Cup ('87) and a UEFA Cup ('92).
In 1992 he joined Lazio for 5 billion lire (approx €2.5 million), in owner Cragnotti's attempt to build a competitive squad, both domestically and internationally. Winter, along with Karl Heinz Riedle, Doll and Gascoigne, added prestige to Lazio and definitely put them on the European map. Winter played 4 seasons for Lazio.
In 1992-93 the manager was Dino Zoff and the Biancocelesti finished 5th, qualifying for UEFA Cup after 15 years. Winter played 30 league games with 6 goals (Milan, Atalanta, Inter, Ancona, Torino, Napoli) and 6 games in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Cesena, Torino).
In 1993-94 Lazio finished 4th (UEFA again). Winter played 34 league games with 4 goals (Udinese, Lecce, Udinese, Lecce), 2 games in Coppa Italia and 4 in the UEFA Cup with 1 goal (Boavista). He won his first derby, after three draws.
In 1994-95 Zdenek Zeman arrived as manager. Lazio finished 2nd (UEFA) but way off champions Juventus. Winter played 29 league games with 5 goals (Napoli x2, Padova, Inter, Sampdoria), 6 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Napoli) and 8 in the UEFA Cup in which Lazio reached the quarter finals (Borussia Dortmund 1-2). In the league Lazio had some great wins including Napoli 5-1, Padova 5-1, Foggia 7-1, Milan 4-0, Fiorentina 8-2, Genoa 4-0, Inter 4-1 all at home plus Inter 2-0, Roma 2-0 and Juventus 3-0 all away.
The 1995-96 would be his last in Rome. Lazio finished 3rd (UEFA) and Winter played 30 league games with 6 goals (Bari, Cremonese, Sampdoria, Atalanta x2, Fiorentina), 3 games in Coppa Italia and 4 in the UEFA Cup with 1 goal (Olympique Lyonnais). In Serie A Lazio had some memorable victories including Juventus 4-0, Sampdoria 6-3, Atalanta 5-1, Cagliari 4-0, Roma 1-0, Fiorentina 4-0 all at home and Atalanta 3-1 away.
In total Winter played 155 games for Lazio (123 in Serie A, 16 in Coppa Italia and 16 in the UEFA Cup) with 27 goals (21 in Serie A, 3 in Coppa Italia and 3 in UEFA Cup). He was an immensely popular player at Lazio. His name was chanted throughout his time at the Olimpico and all the stories of racism and anti-Semitism were vastly exaggerated by the media, all due to some isolated graffiti on a city wall.
It was with sadness that the “Laziali” saw him leave to Inter in 1996, where he went on to play for 3 seasons, but without ever reaching the heights of his Lazio days. At Inter he made 77 appearances with 1 goal (against Lazio ironically) before moving back to Ajax for 2 seasons in 1999 (51 appearances, 4 goals). He then played a season with Sparta Rotterdam (32 appearances ,1 goal) before returning to Ajax but without playing any competitive matches again.
After retiring he has had coaching experiences, especially as assistant for Ajax, but also as head coach at Toronto FC for a year. He was also Greece's assistant coach for 2 years (2019-21) and is now Suriname national coach, a return to his roots.
At International level Winter won 84 caps for Holland with 6 goals. He was part of the European Championship winning Dutch team of 1988 but made no appearances in the final stages. He played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, and was selected for the 1998 World Cup in France.
Aron Winter was an elegant, classy player who had both quality and quantity. He was a central midfielder with excellent athleticism, intelligence and vision. Apart from his technique, he had a strong personality and was a model professional. He usually played left-sided central midfield; a box-to-box player confirmed by his high goal scoring rate for Lazio. He was also versatile and was deployed as full back and even centre-back for Holland.
Aron Winter is remembered at Lazio as a model player, rarely involved in any controversies and as a solid, reliable but also high-quality midfielder. His years at Lazio are identified with their gradual rise as a domestic force, which would later culminate in winning several trophies. Winter was part of that build up and he gave Lazio an international identity and respect.
On a personal level Winter was one of my favourites. Here was an established European star coming to my club, maybe things were finally changing… On the pitch he was hard-working but had class too and all without any of the Italian or South-American antics and theatrics. He was also a player of my generation. I was no longer the starry-eyed boy looking up to unreachable idols but admiring players of my age, of international level, representing my beloved team.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1992-93 | 36 (8) | 30 (6) | 6 (2) | - |
1993-94 | 39 (5) | 34 (4) | 1 | 4 (1) |
1994-95 | 43 (7) | 29 (5) | 6 (1) | 8 (1) |
1995-96 | 37 (7) | 30 (6) | 3 | 4 (1) |
Totals | 155 (27) | 123 (21) | 16 (3) | 16 (3) |
Sources
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