January 2, 1994: Lazio Sampdoria 1-1
- Simon Basten
- Jan 2
- 6 min read
One half each, one goal each
Lazio dominate the first half, Sampdoria the second, a draw was the natural consequence
The season so far
For the first time in 16 years Lazio were finally to play in a European tournament, since they had qualified for the UEFA Cup in the previous season. In order to celebrate the occasion, President Sergio Cragnotti was particularly busy during the summer transfer window: in came Luca Marchegiani (Torino), Roberto Di Matteo (Aarau) and Paolo Negro (Brescia) and Luciano De Paola (Brescia, but he was immediately sold to Atalanta) and Fabrizio Di Mauro on loan from Fiorentina. But more specifically, Cragnotti was able to reach an agreement for the signing of the best player in Europe: Alen Boksic. Unfortunately, the agreement was for the 1994-95 season and Marseille President Bernard Tapie did not want to let the Croat go any earlier. As a consequence, Lazio bought Pierluigi Casiraghi from Juventus. In the end, Cragnotti was a lot more convincing and Boksic arrived in the winter transfer window.
The arrival of the new players meant that some of the old ones had to go. Therefore, Lazio said goodbye to Karl-Heinz Riedle (Borussia Dortmund), Angelo Gregucci (Torino), Giovanni Stroppa (Foggia), Maurizio Neri (Brescia) and Valerio Fiori (Cagliari). In the winter transfer window Thomas Doll and Dario Marcolin were loaned out to Eintracht Frankfurt and Cagliari respectively.
The European adventure did not last long as Lazio were eliminated by Boavista 2-1 on aggregate. The Coppa Italia campaign went even worse and the Biancocelesti were immediately eliminated by Serie C side Avellino.
In Serie A the Biancocelesti were not doing too badly. They were fifth in the company of Inter, but just three points off the leaders Milan. Today’s opponents, Sampdoria, were second, two points away.
The match: Sunday, January 2, 1994, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Sampdoria immediately started with a bang, courtesy of Luca Marchegiani. In the 6th minute there was a corner for the Genoese. Alberico Evani took it, Marchegiani went for the punch but was anticipated by Ruud Gullit who headed the ball in. An uphill start for the Biancocelesti.
At this point enter Alen Boksic who started his show in the 10th minute when he dribbled past a few players and tried a shot from outside the box, palmed away into corner by Gianluca Pagliuca. In the 15th minute massive whack on a free kick from Beppe Signori, the ball just slightly too high. In the 25th, Paul Gascoigne dribbled himself towards the box, crossed, Boksic tried a header which was only just high. Two minutes later Diego Fuser from the right crossed into the area, Boksic tried to anticipate Pagliuca but the ball went wide.
Sampdoria did not stay put. In the 35th minute great ball from Evani to Roberto Mancini who all alone in front of Marchegiani tried a volley which shaved the post. Two minutes later, ball in the box, the Genoese defenders tried to clear but Roberto Di Matteo had a chance, Mancini stopped him with a foul and the ref indicated penalty. Signori scored from the spot kick.
In the second half, Lazio stopped playing and handed over the reins to their opponents. In the 55th minute Gullit all alone in front of Marchegiani but the Biancoceleste keeper managed to save. In the 65th minute, Gullit crossed towards the centre of the box, David Platt headed towards Vladimir Jugovic who tried a volley, but Marchegiani was ready for it. Platt tried another volley ten minutes later, but the ball went wide. The last opportunity came in the 82nd minute with Boksic who again received the ball and went off dribbling past a number of players, but went too close to the byline so when he did try a shot it was from an impossible angle and Pagliuca saved.
Lazio dominated the first half, Sampdoria the second. All in all, a fair result.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Bergodi, Bacci, Di Matteo, Bonomi, Cravero, Fuser, Winter, Boksic, Gascoigne (48’ Di Mauro), Signori (71’ Casiraghi)
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Sampdoria
Pagliuca, Mannini, Serena, Gullit, Vierchowod, Sacchetti, Lombardo, Jugovic, Platt, R. Mancini (80' Salsano), Evani
Substitutes: Bariglione, Dall'Igna, Invernizzi, N.Amoruso
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Nicchi
Goals: 6’ Gullit, 37’ Signori (pen)
What happened next
With Signori out of action Lazio lost a lot of potential. After defeat at Foggia, they managed to beat Reggiana but then lost again at Parma.
Finally, with Signori back from injury one could see light at the end of the tunnel. Lazio won in Milan against Inter, the derby, and by the end of the season they were third, behind Milan and Juventus. Marchegiani and Winter played the most games (40) and Signori was the top scorer with 23 goals.
As everybody imagined, Cragnotti did not confirm Zoff for 1994-95, but in order to keep a man so highly respected in the football world, he made him President of the club. Zdenek Zeman would be the next Lazio manager.
Let’s talk about Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit was born in Amsterdam on September 1, 1962. After playing with amateur teams Meer Boys and DWS, he began his professional journey with Haarlem where he played for three seasons starting from 1979, two in the top tier, playing 101 games with 36 goals.
In 1982 he signed for Feyenoord where he stayed for another three seasons winning the League and national cup in 1983-84, making 109 appearances with 45 goals.
The big jump came in 1985 when he joined PSV. He won the Eredivise twice, playing 75 games with 53 goals and even reached the national team. His rise to fame stirred the attention of AC Milan whom he joined in 1987.
With the Rossoneri he won everything possiblle: the scudetto three times (1987-88, 1991-92, 1992-93), two European Cups (1988-89, 1989-90), two Intercontinental Cups (1989, 1990), the UEFA Super Cup twice (1989, 1990), and the Italian Supercoppa three times (1988, 1992, 1994). He was part of Arrigo Sacchi’s formidable team and in the 4-4-2 he played in various positions: second striker, centre forward and midfielder. He dominated the game physically and had great skills.
After some physical issues and a not-so-great relationship with Fabio Capello, in 1993 he joined Sampdoria on loan taking them to third place and winning a Coppa Italia, a trophy that he had not won with Milan. In that season he was the star of the team and his great year saw him decide to go back to the Rossoneri. But he only stayed until November after a falling out with the club and retuned to Genoa on a permanent basis. He made 171 appearances with 56 goals with Milan.
After a year with Sampdoria, he signed for Chelsea. Here he went back to play in defence, a role he had at the beginning of his career. In 1998 he became player-manager and won the FA Cup, the youngest manager to do so and the first non-British coach. In February 1998, at 36, he resigned as manager and quit active football to concentrate on a coaching career.
At International level, Gullit played 66 times for the Netherlands with 17 goals. He was one of the stars of the team that won the European Championship in 1988 beating the USSR in the final with one of his goals. He played in the 1990 World Cup losing in the Round of 16 to West Germany. Just before the 1994 World Cup he quit the national squad.
After his experience with Chelsea in 1998 he joined Newcastle taking them to the FA Cup final. But after getting just one point in the first five games of the 1999-00 season, he resigned. In March 2003 he was chosen as under-19 coach for the Netherlands and a year later became co-head coach with Dick Advocaat for the 2004 Euros.
In 2004 he became head coach for Feyenoord but quit at the end of the season. In November 2007 he was chosen as manager for LA Galaxy but resigned in August 2008. After working for Milan as scout, in January 2011 he signed for Terek Groznyj in the Russian Premier League. With the team second from last, in June he was sacked. Back with the national team in 2017 and Advocaat in May 2017, he resigned in November after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
He is currently doing punditry for beIN Sports and Ziggo Sport.
Ruud Gullit was one of the best players of the 1990s. To quote Vujadin Boskov, he was like a deer coming out of the forest. Majestic, powerful, strong, great vision of the game, he was the ideal player for AC Milan and won everything. A pleasure to watch.
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