August 2, 1997: Lazio Olympiacos 3-2, Friendly
- Lazio Stories
- Aug 2
- 9 min read
Mancini show
Lazio delight the fans with an exceptional first half and a spectacular Mancini
Also on this day: August 2, 2019: Bournemouth Lazio 3-4. Lazio won in Bournemouth playing well in attack, but not so well in defence.
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, who 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. Today was the presentation of the team at the Olimpico against Olympiacos from Greece.
The match: Saturday, August 2, 1997, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Before Roberto Mancini began his show, Vladimir Jugovic missed a sitter in the opening seconds of the game. In the 5th minute Mancio put in a perfect cross for Pierluigi Casiraghi but his header went wide by a whisker. Sixty seconds later, another great pass this time for Paolo Negro who dribbled a couple of players and forced the keeper to parry into corner. The Mancini show continued with a fantastic 40-metre pass to Casiraghi who was fouled in the box but the referee was much too far away to be able to see it. In the 26th minute Mancio saw Alen Boksic moving in between the Greek defensive line, perfect pass and it was 1-0 for the Biancocelesti.
After Peter Ofori-Quaye missed a chance on a Stelios Giannakopoulos assist, in the 41st minute Lazio made it two. Diego Fuser took a free kick from the left, cross into the box and Casiraghi anticipated everybody for the 2-0.
In the beginning of the second half Sven-Goran Eriksson substituted Mancini with Roberto Rambaudi and tiredness began to seep in. Only natural since the pre-season training had started just a couple of weeks earlier. Olympiacos reduced the deficit in the 60th minute with Ofori Quaye on a Petros Passalis assist but seven minutes later Beppe Signori, who had started the second half in place of Casiraghi, invented a splendid pass for Boksic who made it three. In the 87th minute Anastasios Mitropoulos scored a second for the visitors.
An excellent training match for Lazio. Eriksson was very pleased particularly with the quality of the first half.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani (71’ Ballotta), Negro (71’ Gottardi), Nesta (71’ Grandoni), Lopez (46’ Chamot), Pancaro, Fuser (67’ Venturin), Jugovic (71’ Marcolin), Nedved, Mancini (52’ Rambaudi), Casiraghi (46’ Signori), Boksic (71’ Buso)
Manager: Eriksson
Who played for Olympiacos
Elefteropulos, Varesanovic, Karataidis (75' Mitropoulos), Anatolakis (75' Bandovic), Sabanazovic, Gerogevic, Niniadis (71' Karapialis), Jannakopulos (46' Georgatos), Ivic (50' Gocic), Alexandis (46' Passalis), Ofori Kuoye
Manager: Dušan Bajević
Referee: De Santis
Goals: 26’ Boksic, 41’ Casiraghi, 60’ Ofori Kuoye, 67’ Boksic, 86’ Mitropoulos
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 in ten men they beat Roma 3-1 and had drawn in Milan both against Inter and Milan. However, since 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 again. 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.
Let’s talk about Alen Bokšić
Alen Boksic was an exceptional talent who, despite not living up to his potential, delighted Lazio fans for many years.
He was born in Makarska, Croatia, on January 21, 1970. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of Croatian football.
He started his career at nearby Hajduk Split. He played there for four years from 1987-1991. He made 111 appearances and scored 30 goals, also winning a Jugoslavian Cup in 1991.
In the summer of 1991 he went abroad to France and signed for Cannes in Ligue 1. He only played once for the seaside club but a year later he made the jump to bigger club Marseille along the coast. It was in Marseille that he really started to show his talent. In his only season with Marseille he scored 29 goals (23 in league) in 46 appearances. A phenomenal achievement making him France's top scorer and helping to win the league title (then taken away for match fixing scandal). Marseille also lifted the pre-champions league European Cup beating Milan in the final in Munich. Boksic was a candidate for the prestigious Golden Ball award and came fourth (behind winner Roberto Baggio, Denis Bergkamp and Eric Cantona).
In November 1993 Boksic moved to Italy. He was signed by ambitious Lazio for 15 billion Lire (approx. 8 million Euros). At Lazio he would play for three seasons (1993-1996). He played 80 games and scored 19 times. He impressed but the Lazio manager was Zdenek Zeman, particularly renowned for his tough training methods. Boksic was said to not willingly accept these sessions and perhaps didn't show his full potential.
In 1996 Boksic moved up north to Italian giants Juventus. With the Bianconeri he won the Intercontinental Club Cup, the European Super Cup and the Scudetto. He also played in the Champions League final defeat to Borussia Dortmund. He only scored 7 goals in Turin, with 4 coming in the Champions League. He was criticised for not being clinical enough in front of goal and he also suffered several injuries. As it was he returned to Lazio in 1997, after only one season up north. Lazio re-signed him for 25 billion Lire (approx. 13 million Euros) so not exactly a masterpiece of economic strategy. The fact was Boksic wanted to return and Lazio were glad to have him back, even at double the price.
Back in the capital, under new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, Boksic would then have possibly his best season so far, scoring 10 goals in Serie A. Lazio fought for the title until April and won the Coppa Italia. Towards the end of the season, however, Boksic got injured again and was forced to miss the 1998 World Cup in France (Croatia came 3rd).
In the following season Boksic was again hindered by physical problems but Lazio won the European Cup Winners Cup in Birmingham. The following year he and Lazio won the biggest prize of all, the Scudetto. In total Boksic played six years at Lazio over two spells. He played 115 games for Lazio in Serie A and scored 31 goals, plus 15 appearances in Coppa Italia with 8 goals, 10 in Champions League with one goal, 3 in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup with one goal and finally 14 in the UEFA Cup with 2 goals, for a total of 157 games with 43 goals.
After some problems with Lazio manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, in the summer of 2000 Boksic signed for Middlesbrough, in the English Premier League. He would play in North Yorkshire for three years totalling 68 games with 22 goals. He was said to earn the highest wages in the whole league and this fact, along with his aloof and solitary character, never enabled him to completely fit in. Despite this he did have some highs on the banks of the River Tee. He scored some decisive derby goals and helped Boro stay in the Premier League. He showed flashes of his masterclass but ultimately left a feeling of unfulfilled possibilities in the North-East and in England.
In 2003 Boksic retired from football. Injuries and lack of motivation led him to call it a day at 33. He had been a great player but could have been outstanding.
At International level he earned 40 caps for Croatia and scored 10 goals. He was unlucky that his only World Cup Finals appearance came in the twilight of his career in 2002, when the Croatian team of that generation were also past their peak.
Boksic was a modern attacker. He was 1.89 metres tall, physically strong and dynamic. He would drop from the box, switch flanks, attract and disorientate defenders with his runs, accelerations and dribbling. Running at defenders at full force he was devastating. He had power and skill enabling him to open up defences and give depth to his team. He was never a 20-plus goal striker (except for his season at Marseille) but all his other attributes made up for his lack of efficiency in front of goal. When he did score however they were often quality, he was no tap-in goal scorer.
There was and always will be a sense that with his talent, technique and physical prowess Boksic could have done more, a lot more. Early in his career he had been compared to Marco Van Basten, in the way he could do it all. Without injuries and perhaps a different mindset Boksic could have been one of the all-time greats.
At Lazio he was called the 'L'Alieno' (The Alien) obviously for his name but also for his aloofness and extra-terrestrial qualities. When I witnessed his debut for Lazio I thought he might well be from another planet, he was that good. In his six years in Rome he scored some memorable goals; lobs, chips, headers, powerful strikes, you name it, he scored them. He scored in derbies and a crucial goal in the Cup Winners Cup Semi-final against Lokomotiv Moscow. In Rome too however, he left a feeling of what could have been. He was physically strong (when not injured anyway...) but probably not mentally. He was considered a bit of a rebel and was solitary (he has since bought an island off Croatia), not mixing as well as the others in the squad. He disliked some of the training methods, didn't play with even the most minor niggle and was once even rumoured to have refused to play because his shirt was too tight!
He will however be remembered at Lazio as a superb player. An exceptional talent who, despite not living up to his potential, delighted Lazio fans for many years. He was part of the Cragnotti glory years and will forever belong to the Scudetto winning squad of 2000, in the most successful period in the club's history.
Lazio Career
Sources
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