July 29 1999: Helsingborgs - Lazio 1-2, friendly

Lazio Stories
9 hours ago
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Nordic air rejuvenates Boksic

An energetic display by the Croat helps Lazio end Swedish tour on positive note

The season so far

The previous season Lazio had come agonizingly 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.

Lazio had however triumphed in Europe winning the last ever Cup Winners Cup in May (2-1 against Mallorca in Birmingham). Goals by Christian Vieri and Pavel Nedved had clinched a hard-fought game against the Balearic "Piratas". Top scorer had been Salas with 24 goals (15 in league)

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 also 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 seven days earlier and had drawn 1-1 with IFK Gothenburg in front of 30,000 spectators with an equaliser on a Sinisa Mihajlovic freekick. They then beat Elfsborg 4-1 and today was their third game. They would then head 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. Serie A would start on August 28 but Lazio would debut on August 30.

Helsingborgs had finished 2nd the previous season under Norwegian coach Åge Hareide. They lost the title to AIK in the last game by falling to a shock defeat to already relegated Häcken. They however won their 2nd Swedish Cup defeating Örgryte IS on penalties.

This season Hareide was still in charge and "Di Röe" were currently 2nd (the Allsvenskan runs from late March/early April to November) again battling with AIK.

Lazio's third game on their Swedish tour and probably faced the best opposition yet.

The match: Thursday, July 29 1999, Stadsparksvallen, Jönköping

A sunny Thursday afternoon kick-off attracted about 10,000 spectators. The game was in Jönköping, 235 kilometres from Helsingborg. The Stadsparkvallen is a historic stadium built in 1902.

Lazio had several absences; Beppe Pancaro, Sergio Conceiçăo and Roberto Mancini were injured while Matias Almeyda, Diego Simeone and Marcelo Salas were not available yet.

The game was controlled by Lazio from the start. The Biancocelesti played with fluidity and pace, pushing the Swedes back for prolonged periods.

Lazio suffered a setback in the 21st minute as Alessandro Nesta was forced off due to a knock and replaced by Fernando Couto.

Four minutes later the Romans took the lead. Sinisa Mihajlovic hit a 40-metre pass forward to Alen Boksic and the Croat still running brought it down beautifully before beating Sven Andersson, 0-1. Boksic at his best.

A few minutes later Simone Inzaghi teed up Nestor Sensini but the Argentine was off target.

Just after the half hour Lazio scored again with a similar move to the first goal. In the 32nd minute Sensini from 50 metres away found Dejan Stankovic who pushed the ball past the keeper and then tapped it in, 0-2.

Pavel Nedved then had a dangerous shot but it was deflected behind for a corner.

"Die Röe" only threatened with a Mattias Jonson freekick as Lazio bossed the first 45 minutes.

At halftime the "Mjölkkossan" made three changes and Lazio seven, even bringing on two youth players.

The game obviously changed, losing pace and shape. The Swedes started to attack more and Lazio were content to try and strike on the break.

Both sides made several more substitutions on the hour mark but such was the friendly nature of the game that the players who went off were then allowed on again in place of someone else (such as Nedeved and Paolo Negro).

Lazio suffered another injury in the 66th minute as Inzaghi limped off with a muscular problem.

The locals pushed forward but it was Lazio who went close again when the ever active Pavel Nedved hit the crossbar.

The Scandinavians were rewarded for their efforts in the 90th minute when Magnus Powell scored with a spectacular volley, 1-2.

A good practice game for Lazio albeit with two injuries. The real game had been in the first half and Lazio had played with authority and satisfactory rhythm. Good indications had come from the usual Nedved, which was no surprise, but also from Boksic who looked fit, sharp and keen (not always the case).

A positive and sunny tour of Sweden came to an end. Two wins and a draw against top flight opponents who were a lot fitter too as in the middle of their domestic season.

Lazio now flew to Amsterdam. Helsingborgs now had to try and catch up with AIK, the "Gnaget" (The Rodent).

Who played for Helsingborgs

S.Andersson (46' Larsson), Nilsson, Powell, Jakobsson, Andersson, Bakkerud (61' Ljung), Johansson (61' Wahlstedt), Lindstrom, Stavrum (46' Prica), Johansen (46' Lindberg), Jonson

Manager: Hareide

Who played for Lazio

Marchegiani (46' Ballotta), Negro (46' Gottardi), Nesta (21' Couto), Mihajlovic (46' Di Fiordo), Favalli (66' Negro), Stankovic (46' Lombardo), Sensini, Veron (46' Pinzi), Nedved (46' Cinelli), Boksic (46' Andersson), S.Inzaghi (66' Nedved)

Manager: Eriksson

Referee: Johansson

Goals: 25' Boksic, 32' Stankovic, 90' Powell

What happened next

Lazio 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.

Helsingborgs then went on to win their 4th league title in their history, overtaking AIK. In the UEFA Cup the Swedes beat FK Riga 5-0, Karpaty Lviv on penalties but then in the 2nd round lost 1-4 to Parma. In 2000 however they shocked Italy by eliminating Inter from the Champions League in the 3rd preliminary round with a 1-0 win on aggregate.

They have since won one more Allsvenskan in 2011, 3 more Swedish Cups and 2 Super Cups. They are now however in the Superettan (2nd flight) having been relegated in 2022.

The head coach Hareide would later be in charge of Norway (2004-08), Denmark (2016-20) and Iceland (2023-24). He died in 2025.

Let's talk about Alen Boksic

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 three years from 1987-1991. He made 96 appearances and scored 27 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 played just 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 league goals in 37 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 loss 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 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.

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

Season	Total games (goals)	Serie A	Coppa Italia	Champions League	Cup Winners Cup	UEFA Cup
Nov 1993-94	21 (4)	21 (4)	-	-	-	-
1994-95	33 (11)	23 (9)	4	-	-	6 (2)
1995-96	26 (4)	23 (4)	1	-	-	2
1997-98	38 (15)	26 (10)	6 (5)	-	-	6
1998-99	6 (1)	3	-	-	3 (1)	-
1999-00	33 (8)	19 (4)	4 (3)	10 (1)	-	-
Total	157 (43)	115 (31)	15 (8)	10 (1)	3 (1)	14 (2)