February 27, 1994: Piacenza-Lazio 1-2
- Dag Jenkins
- 12 hours ago
- 7 min read
Negro and Di Matteo overturn Piacenza
Two unlikely match winners as Lazio come from behind to get deserved win
The season so far
Lazio had finished 5th, under Dino Zoff, qualifying for the UEFA cup for the first time in fifteen years. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 32 goals (26 in A and league top scorer).
This season Zoff was confirmed. Over the summer a few new players had arrived: Luca Marchegiani (Torino), defender Paolo Negro (Brescia), midfielders Luciano De Paola (Brescia), Roberto Di Matteo (Aarau), Fabrizio Di Mauro (Fiorentina - on loan) plus forwards Pierluigi "Gigi" Casiraghi (Juventus) and then in the autumn Alen Boksic (Olympique Marseille).
There were some goodbyes as well: goalkeeper Valerio Fiori (Cagliari), sadly fan favourite, defender Angelo Gregucci (Torino), midfielder Giovanni Stroppa (Foggia) plus forwards Maurizio Neri (Brescia) and German Karl-Heinz Riedle (Borussia Dortmund). In the autumn Thomas Doll (Eintracht Frankfurt - on loan) had also left.
Lazio were currently 5th in the table in Serie A, on 29 points. Lazio had won 11 (including Juventus 3-1 at home and Inter 2-1 away), drawn 7 (including derby 1-1) and lost 6. They came from a 0-1 home defeat to Milan.
Lazio had been knocked out of the UEFA Cup in November by Boavista. Lazio had won 1-0 at home but had then succumbed to two goals by a certain Ricky in Portugal. There had been talk in the Roman media of Zoff getting the chop after the elimination but he was still on the bench three months later.
Lazio were also already out of the Coppa Italia having suffered a shock exit to third tier Avellino 0-2 on aggregate.
Piacenza were newly promoted. This was their first participation in Serie A in their history. The previous season they had come 3rd in Serie B under manager Gigi Cagni. The top goal scorer was Antonio De Vitis with 19 league goals.
Cagni was still manager this season. The main new players for the top flight were defender Cleto Polonia (Verona) and forward Marco Ferrante (Parma). Not a great transfer market considering the difficulty of Serie A.
Leaving were midfielder Fabrizio Fioretti (Verona) and forward Fulvio Simonini (without a team for a year, despite scoring promotion goal).
So far, the "Papaveri" were joint 11th, with Roma on 22 points. They had won 7 (including Foggia 5-4, Roma 1-0 and Inter 2-1 at home), drawn 8 (including Milan 0-0 at home) and lost 9 (including Lazio 0-1 away). The Biancorossi were holding their own in the top category but were still only three points from the drop zone (Genoa and Udinese on 19).
In Coppa Italia the Emiliani had reached the quarterfinals but lost 3-4 on aggregate to Torino. To get there they had knocked out Perugia 3-2 and Milan 2-1, both on aggregate.
Not an easy game for Lazio today. Piacenza especially at home were competitive (W5, D1, L1), had not lost in six months and had already surprised a few big teams at the Galleana.
The match: Sunday, February 26, 1994, Stadio Galleana, Piacenza
A grey day in Emilia brought just under 15,000 to the small stadium built in 1969 and named after the area of its location.
Piacenza were missing defender Stefano Maccoppi while Lazio had no really important absences.
The first half was balanced even if Lazio had more chances. Both sides defended well and tried to strike on the break. For the locals Francesco Turrini threatened with a header from an Agostino Iacobelli cross but Luca Marchegiani saved on the far post. For the Romans, Alen Boksic went on a good run and shot from the left but Massimo Taibi parried, then the keeper made an even better save on a low Diego Fuser cross goal strike and finally a Beppe Signori header went just wide. Halftime Piacenza 0 Lazio 0. Lazio not dominating but they would be ahead on points in a boxing match.
In the second half the first chance was for Gianpietro Piovani but his shot flew well over the bar. Then the goals came. In the 59th minute the Emiliani went in front. A hesitation by Mauro Bonomi was punished by Piovani who struck an excellent first time, medium height, cross goal effort which beat Marchegiani, 1-0.
The Poppies had no time to bask in the sun, metaphorically at least, considering today's weather, as only a minute later Lazio equalised.
In the 60th minute Signori floated a free kick into the area where Paolo Negro took advantage of his heading skills to rise high and beat Taibi, 1-1.
Lazio now suddenly showed their superior quality and started to dominate in midfield. The hosts were in difficulty and in the 65th minute took off forward Marco Ferrante and brought on midfielder Giuseppe Ferrazzoli.
In the 72nd minute the Roman Eagles completed their comeback. Paul Gascoigne brilliantly set up Roberto Di Matteo in the box and the Italo-Swiss controlled the ball and with the outside of his boot placed it inside the far post, 1-2.
Piacenza immediately changed defender Carannante for Massimo Brioschi but the damage was done. There were a few scrambles in the Lazio area but the Biancocelesti were now generally in control and easily played out the last fifteen minutes even without resorting to any substitutions. They almost made it three with another Negro header but maybe a brace by the Brescia-born defender would have been too much to ask. Final score Piacenza 1 Lazio 2.
A deserved win in the end. After an even first hour and despite falling behind Lazio had overturned the score by equalising immediately and then showing off the superior quality of their players. The only negative was Roberto Cravero's yellow card which meant he would miss the upcoming derby.
Piacenza, whose six-month unbeaten home record was over, had held their own for two-thirds of the game but then had to succumb to the difference in class between the two squads.
Lazio were still 5th on 31 points while Piacenza were joint 11th with Roma on 22 points and now only one above Genoa and Udinese on 21 (both had won).
Who played for Piacenza
Taibi, Chiti, Carannante (73' Brioschi), Suppa, Polonia, Lucci, Turrini, Iacobelli, Ferrante (65' Ferazzoli), Moretti, Piovani
Substitutes: Gandini, Di Cintio, Papais
Manager: Cagni
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Arena
Goals: 59' Piovani, 60' Negro, 72' Di Matteo
What happened next
Lazio finished joint 3rd with Sampdoria on 44 points and qualified for the UEFA Cup again. In the next game a week later Lazio triumphed 1-0 in the Roman derby. Then in the following 8 fixtures the Biancocelesti won 4 (including Napoli 3-0 at home and Sampdoria 4-3 away), drew 3 and lost 1 (Juventus 1-6 away). The top scorer was Giuseppe Signori with 23 league goals.
Another solid season from Lazio who consolidated their presence in the European slots.
Piacenza ended up relegated. The Biancorossi finished 15th on 30 points and went down by just one point (Reggiana and Inter on 31). In the next 9 games they only won 1 (Atalanta 4-0 at home), drew 6 (including Juventus 0-0 at home) and lost 2. The top scorer was Gianpietro Piovani with 10 league goals.
Piacenza would be back in Serie A in 1995-96 but are now in the Serie D.
In Serie A Milan won their 14th title. Along with Piacenza, Serie B was the next stop for Udinese, Atalanta and Lecce.
Let's talk about Paolo Negro
Paolo Negro played for Lazio from 1993 to 2005.
Negro was born in Arzignano (Brescia), on 16 April, 1972.
Negro was a strong, physical defender who also excelled in the air. He had good pace when moving forward and despite his role was often on the score sheet.
He was a product of the Brescia youth sector but his senior career started at Bologna, where he spent two years before returning to his local club Brescia. A year later, in 1993, he was bought by Lazio where he spent the next twelve years. Negro arrived amid some scepticism from Lazio fans and local media. He did take a while settling in but over the following decade established himself as an excellent defender pairing up well both with Nesta and Sinisa Mihajlovic in the centre and also as an all round full-back.
He played 376 games for Lazio (264 in Serie A, 47 in Coppa Italia, 23 in Champions League, 3 in the Cup Winners Cup, 37 in the UEFA Cup, one UEFA Super Cup final and one Supercoppa final) scoring 24 goals (19 in Serie A, 3 in Coppa Italia, one in Champions League and one in the UEFA Cup). He played under Zdenek Zeman, Dino Zoff and Sven- Goran Eriksson amongst others. He won 8 trophies with Lazio including the “Scudetto” in 2000 and the European Super Cup in 1999 against Manchester United.
Negro will always be remembered on both sides of the Tiber due to his unfortunate own goal in the 2001 derby loss to Roma. He was then assiduously mocked for years by the “Giallorossi” fans but in all fairness it was probably Nesta who was more at fault for the blunder.
Negro did however get his revenge years later when playing for Siena, where he played for two years after leaving Lazio, between 2005 and 2007. Negro's payback moment came when he scored for Siena against Roma at the Olimpico in a shock 3-2 away victory, with all 3 goals coming from former Lazio players (Negro, Enrico Chiesa and Francesco Colonnese). It was no more "Paolo Negro gol" chants from taunting Roma fans.
At International level he won 8 caps for the 'Azzurri' national team and 10 for the Under-21s. He played a major role in Italy's runners-up medal at the 2000 European Championships.
Paolo Negro will always be remembered fondly at Lazio for his quiet, unassuming, yet jovial character and especially for his key role in the glory years.
Lazio career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Cup Winners Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Super Cup | Super Coppa |
1993-94 | 26 (1) | 23 (1) | 1 | - | - | 2 | - | - |
1994-95 | 48 (8) | 32 (4) | 8 (3) | - | - | 8 (1) | - | - |
1995-96 | 39 (1) | 31 (1) | 4 | - | - | 4 | - | - |
1996-97 | 34 (3) | 27 (3) | 3 | - | - | 4 | - | - |
1997-98 | 47 (2) | 28 (2) | 10 | - | - | 9 | - | - |
1998-99 | 28 (3) | 21 (3) | 4 | - | 3 | - | - | |
1999-00 | 42 (3) | 26 (2) | 5 | 10 (1) | - | - | 1 | - |
2000-01 | 32 (1) | 24 (1) | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - |
2001-02 | 25 (1) | 16 (1) | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - |
2002-03 | 28 (1) | 19 (1) | 3 | - | - | 6 | - | - |
2003-04 | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
2004-05 | 10 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 4 | - | 1 |
Total | 377 (24) | 264 (19) | 48 (3) | 23(1) | 3 | 37 (1) | 1 | 1 |
Sources
Comments