July 27, 1999: Elfsborg Lazio 1-4

Nordic Sun and Boksic shine in Western Sweden

A positive practice game for Lazio with a convincing attacking performance

Player of the day: Gasperino Cinelli

Also on this day: July 27, 2005, Lazio Olympique Marseille 1-1 Intertoto Cup. Lazio play well but Méité goal cancels out Di Canio opener to make Marseille favourites ahead of return game.

Source Lazio Wiki

The season so far

The previous season Lazio had come agonisingly close to winning the title. They were only overtaken by eventual champions Milan in the penultimate game of the season and in controversial circumstances. Lazio were held to a 1-1 draw in Florence with some extremely dubious refereeing decisions by Treossi, including the denial of a clear penalty on Marcelo Salas.

This season there had been some important changes to the squad. Three more Argentinians were signed; defender Nestor Sensini (Parma), midfielders Diego "El Cholo" Simeone (Inter) and Juan Sebastian Veron "La Brujita" (Parma). Another midfielder Dario Marcolin was back from a loan spell (Blackburn) and striker Simone Inzaghi was added (Piacenza). In the summer big Swedish forward Kennet Andersson had arrived from Bologna.

Lazio had also lost an important player in striker Christian Vieri who was sold to Inter for a then world record transfer fee of 90 billion Lire (approx 45 million Euros). Spanish midfielder Ivan de la Peña had gone to Olympique Marseille after a disappointing spell at Lazio and Roberto Baronio went to Reggina on loan.

Lazio had started their Swedish tour five days earlier and had drawn 1-1 with IFK Gothenburg in front of 30,000 spectators with an equaliser on a Sinisa Mihajlovic freekick. After today they would then play Helsingborgs on July 29 before heading off to Amsterdam to play Atlético Madrid and Ajax. The first really important match however would be on August 27 against Manchester United in the UEFA European Super Cup in Monte Carlo.

Elfsborg, from the town of Borås in south -west Sweden, were in the middle of their domestic league as the Allsvenskan is played from spring until autumn. The previous season they had finished 10th. "Di Gule" had won four league titles but their last was in 1961.They are fifth for participation in the top flight and seventh for the number of titles so a medium - high Swedish club.

A good test for Lazio. The Swedes were no world beaters but a decent side and far fitter than the Biancocelesti at this point of the year.

Today's game was being played in Varberg, a small coastal town just south of Gothenburg.

The match: Tuesday, July 27, 1999, Påskbergsvallen, Varberg

A beautiful, sun drenched, nordic, summer day welcomed Lazio to western Sweden. A crowd of about 8,000 were present for this friendly game. It was a pleasant return home for Lazio’s Kennet Andersson and manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Lazio had a strong team out. The only absences were Beppe Pancaro injured plus the three South Americans who had played the Copa America: Matias Almeyda, Diego Pablo Simeone and Salas.

The difference in quality between the two sides was immediately clear. Lazio also had a particularly inspired Alen Boksic.

In the 2nd minute the "Alien" unleashed a left foot which the keeper, with difficulty, saved into corner.

In the 11th minute the Croat went past, or rather through, two Swedish defenders and with the outside of his right foot beat Johansson with a low strike. Elfsborg 0 Lazio 1. Applause all round.

Only three minutes later Boksic set off from inside his own half and caused havoc in the other before sliding a perfect ball to Andersson who went around the keeper and scored. Elfsborg 0 Lazio 2.

In the 27th minute Juan Sebastian Veron sent a thirty-five-metre pass to the left of the area and found young Gasperino Cinelli who squared to Boksic whose powerful left footed effort was parried by the keeper and, while it was bouncing near the goal line, Andersson was then unable to make contact for the tap -in.

It was instead the Swedes who surprisingly scored in the 32nd minute. Alessandro Nesta was guilty of a rare mistake coming out of defence and Karlstrand scored from close range. Elfsborg 1 Lazio 2.

At half time came the customary mass substitutions in these early summer friendlies. The "Ellos" made five while Lazio made ten. The majority of Lazio’s replacements however were by no means reserves and included Paolo Negro, Fernando Couto, Sergio Conceição, Dejan Stankovic, Pavel Nedved, Simone Inzaghi and Roberto Mancini.

Nedved was lively from the start and tried several shots and Mancini pulled the strings beautifully in the last third of the field.

In the 59th minute Lazio scored again. A good Nedved-Conceição combination led to a low cross by the Portuguese which Inzaghi pounced on to make it 3-1 to the Biancocelesti.

The Swedes made three more changes before Lazio made it four in the 79th minute. An Inzaghi-Conceição one-two put the Italian striker through on goal and he did not miss. Elfsborg 1 Lazio 4.

There was still time for Inzaghi to win a penalty but he sacrificed his possible hat-trick and Stankovic took it and missed. Final score: Elfsborg 1 Lazio 4.

A good run around for Lazio against inferior but physical and fitter opposition. The Romans had given all their players a game except the third keeper, Emanuele Concetti, and the only player who had stayed on for the full 90 minutes was Beppe Favalli.

Lazio had been trying to buy Nicolas Anelka all summer and it now seemed any potential deal had fallen through. Not a great loss if Boksic and Inzaghi kept this up against stronger opponents and fan favourite Marcelo "El Matador" Salas would also soon be back.

Who played for Elfsborg

Johansson (46' Bogsio), Sjoberg, Pedersen (68' Ljungcrante), Aruhage, Martinsson (63' Stromberg), Svensson, Mohlin (67' Edenvik), Bengtsson (46' Klarstrom), Ingolfsson (46' Niklasson), Berglund (46' Inago), Carlstrand (46' Wahlemark)

Manager: Strömberg

Who played for Lazio

Marchegiani (46' Ballotta), Gottardi (46' Di Fiordo), Nesta (46' Negro), Mihajlovic (46' Couto), Favalli, Lombardo (46' Conceição), Sensini (46' Stankovic), Veron (46' Pinzi), Cinelli (46' Nedved), Andersson (46' S. Inzaghi), Boksic (46' Mancini)

Substitutes: Concetti

Manager: Eriksson

Referee: Ingvarsson (Swe)

Goals: 11' Boksic, 14' K.Andersson, 32' Carlstrand, 59' S. Inzaghi, 79' S. Inzaghi

What happened next

In the next friendly Lazio beat Helsingborgs 2-1 (Boksic, Stankovic) and then won the Amsterdam Cup defeating Atlético Madrid 3-1 and Ajax 3-2.

Lazio went on to have had an epic season. They won the European Super Cup 1-0 against Manchester United in Monte Carlo, on August 27, with a goal by Marcelo Salas.

The Biancocelesti then won the Scudetto on a dramatic last day of the season. Lazio had to wait an hour after they had won their match for Juventus' game to finish as it had been interrupted due to rain, and so to finally win the league again, 26 years after the heroes of 1974.

A few days later Lazio won the Coppa Italia too, drawing the second leg 0-0 away to Inter (first leg 2-1).

In the Champions League they were defeated in the quarter finals, 3-5 by "high" flying Valencia.

Despite this disappointment it was a triumphant season for Lazio, the best in their history.

Elfsborg finished 9th in the Swedish league which was won by Helsingborgs. Elfsborg have since won two more titles and three domestic cups. They recently surprised A.S Roma by beating them 1-0 in the 2024-25 Europa League .

Lazio 1999-2000

Competition	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals scored
Serie A	34	21	9	4	64
Coppa Italia	8	4	3	1	18
Champions League	14	6	6	2	26
UEFA Super Cup	1	1	-	-	1
Total	57	32	18	7	109

Top five appearances

Players	Total	Serie A	Coppa Italia	Champions League	UEFA Super Cup
Nedved	47	28	6	12	1
Simeone	47	28	7	11	1
Veron	47	31	4	11	1
Mihajlovic	46	26	7	12	1
Pancaro	45	28	5	11	1

Top five goal scorers

Players	Total	Serie A	Coppa Italia	Champions League	UEFA Super Cup
Inzaghi	19	7	3	9	-
Salas	17	12	-	4	1
Mihajlovic	13	6	4	3	-
Veron	10	8	-	2	-
Boksic	8	4	3	1	-

Let's talk about Gasperino Cinelli

Source Lazio Wiki

Gasperino Cinelli was born in Latina on January 3, 1982.

He was formed in the Lazio youth academy and was considered to be a great prospect. At 17 he was named best player at the 1999 Torneo di Viareggio, the most important youth tournament in Italy.

In the summer of 1999 he was added to Lazio’s first team squad and played in some summer friendlies.

In August 1999 however, he was loaned to Ternana in Serie B. The Rossoverdi managers were first Vincenzo Guerini (1-21) and then Tarcisio Burgnich (22-38) and they finished 10th. The "Fere" had Fabrizio Miccoli, Fabio Artico, Pierpaolo Bresciano and, from January, Francesco Baiano, so Cinelli did not feature. Unfortunately, this would also be the peak of Cinelli's career.

In 2000-2001 he spent a season on loan at Arezzo in Serie C1. The Amaranto's manager was 1982 World Champion Antonio Cabrini and the Aretini finished 4th. His teammates included Lazio connections, Roberto Bacci (1990-95), Emanuele Concetti (1998-2000, 2001-2003) and Riccardo Bonetto (2006-07, 2009-11).

After his Tuscan experience he returned to the Rome area and joined F.C Aprilia Racing Club at regional level (5th tier). There followed spells with A.S.D Igea Virtus Barcellona in Sicily (2003-04), Latina (2003-05), Alessandria (2004-05), Derthona (2005-06), Rieti (2006-07), Albalonga (2007), Monterotondo (2007-08), Latina (2010-11), Anziolavinio (2011-12), A.S.D Circe (2011-12) and Pontinia (2017-18). A far cry from playing with Nesta, Veron and Boksic in the summer of 1999.

At 34 he retired. He was a centre-forward. He played 3 games for Italy U15's, 2 for the U16's with 2 goals and 3 games for the U18's.

A player who was once described as a cross between Vincenzo D'Amico and Alen Boksic (and what a player that would have been) never made it at any highly competitive level. A pity.

Lazio Career

Season	Bench Coppa Italia
1999-00	1

Sources

Lazio Wiki (1)

Lazio Wiki (2)