June 10, 2001: Lazio Fiorentina 3-0

Simon Basten
5 days ago
6 min read

It’s not over yet

Lazio beat Fiorentina and there is still a very slim chance to be champions again

Also on this day:

June 10, 1951, Milan Lazio 1-2. Lazio surprise Milan but the Rossoneri win the scudetto just the same.
June 10, 1923, Lazio Ideale Bari 6-0. By crushing Ideale Bari 6-0, Lazio reached the final of the Southern League.

The season so far

The previous season Lazio won their second scudetto in dramatic circumstances. In the final game of the season Juventus had a two-point lead over the Biancocelesti. While Lazio had finished their match at the Olimpico beating Reggina 3-0, between the first and second half of Perugia-Juventus there was a massive storm that waterlogged the pitch. The second half started an hour later than it should have. Perugia scored with Alessandro Calori and Juve were unable to turn the game around. Lazio had won!!!

In the summer transfer window, President Sergio Cragnotti had decided that Lazio needed a strong centre-forward and a more reliable goalkeeper. In came Hernan Crespo (Parma), one of the best forwards in the world, and Angelo Peruzzi (Inter), one of the best goalkeepers. Other signings included forward Claudio Lopez (Valencia), midfielder Dino Baggio (Parma) and the return of Roberto Baronio from his loan at Reggina. Also bought were midfielders Stefano Fiore and Giuliano Giannichedda from Udinese but they were left to the Bianconeri on loan for an extra year. Leaving Lazio were Alen Boksic (Middlesbrough), Dario Marcolin (Sampdoria), Gianpiero Pinzi (Udinese), Marco Ballotta (Inter), Matias Almeyda and Sergio Conceição to Parma as partial payment for Crespo.

The problem was that Lazio had been unable to sign a right-winger. Lazio had tried to get Boudewijn Zenden from Barcelona but had failed.

The season was going to be a strange one since, due to the Olympic Games in Sydney, the Italian Federation decided to start the Campionato on October 1. However, the Champions League would be played in September all the same so the Italian teams involved in the European competitions would play with few games in their legs. Not ideal.

After winning the Super Coppa against Inter in September, Lazio did not start too well in the campionato and by the end of the year were fourth with 21 points, way off Roma who were leading the Serie A eight points ahead. There had been a lot of problems. This first issue was that Sven-Goran Eriksson had signed a contract with the English FA to manage England starting from the summer of 2001. This meant that it was going to be his last year with Lazio. This created a negative psychological situation in the team, uncertain of what would happen in the future. Secondly, Crespo got injured early on and he was taking time to get back into form. Thirdly, the team was badly missing a right-winger since Attilio Lombardo was past his prime and Dejan Stankovic was fulfilling the task but rather reluctantly. Fourthly, Claudio Lopez, Lazio’s star summer signing, got injured early on in the season and would be out for a lengthy period.

In the Campionato, once Zoff arrived, things improved. They were currently third, five points behind Roma but had possibly thrown all chances of catching the Giallorossi with a draw in the last second against Inter the previous game. They could have been just three points behind with two games to the end and Roma with serious energy issues.

The Giallorossi were to play in Naples and it looked as if today was going to be a sombre day for Lazio fans.

The match: Sunday, June 10, 2001, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Last home match of the season and everybody was disappointed. Roma were just a step away from the scudetto and the Biancocelesti who had got very near the Giallorossi had thrown everything away in the previous game against Inter. And also considering that Fiorentina were really not in the mood, more concentrated on the second leg of the Coppa Italia Final, the game could have been boring.

The fans cheered Roberto Mancini on his return to the Olimpico. When Sven-Goran Eriksson left; he too had resigned as he was Sven’s assistant. Pavel Nedved too, rumoured to be the first player to leave in the summer, got a lot of support.

The fans seemed to be more concentrated on what Roma were doing in Naples and when Nicola Amoruso scored at the San Paolo in the 18th minute, Lazio also almost went ahead. Sinisa Mihajlovic took a free kick and crossed, Hernan Crespo headed the ball onto the post. Previously there had been attempts from Karel Poborsky, Nedved, Claudio Lopez and Mihajlovic, all to no avail. The Viola were passive and Crespo had another chance in the 19th minute but his header off a Claudio Lopez cross was too central. In the 35th minute the Biancocelesti scored. Claudio Lopez dribbled past Roberto Massaro and crossed, Alessandro Pierini tried to anticipate Crespo but deflected the ball towards the goal, Crespo and Giuseppe Taglialatela tried to get to it in some way but the Viola defender in an attempt to clear then kicked the ball into his own net.

Fiorentina finally gave Angelo Peruzzi a bit of work to do when a Mauro Bressan shot in the 39th minute was saved into corner by the keeper.

Alas Gabriel Batistuta equalised for Roma in the 42nd minute and the Olimpico went silent. It was Crespo who livened things up in the 44th when on a Claudio Lopez counterattack he found himself alone in front of the keeper and made no mistake.

In the interval Mancini decided to send in Manuel Rui Costa and Enrico Chiesa, but it was Lazio who scored in the 55th minute. Francesco Totti had just scored a penalty in Naples and Roma had virtually won the scudetto, when Juan Sebastian Veron took a corner and Paolo Negro headed the ball into the net.

The game practically ended here. All ears were then on what was happening in Naples. In the 81st minute Fabio Pecchia scored for Napoli. It was not over. Roma on 72, Juventus 70, Lazio 69. One match left.

Who played for Lazio

Peruzzi, Negro, Nesta, Mihajlovic (73’ Pancaro), Favalli, Poborsky (77’ Gottardi), D. Baggio, Veron (68’ Simeone), Nedved, Crespo, C. Lopez

Substitutes: Favazza, Colonnese, Salas, Ravanelli

Manager: Zoff

Who played for Fiorentina

Taglialatela, Moretti, Pierini, Adani, Bartolucci, Rossi (46' Chiesa), Bressan, Di Livio (46' Rui Costa), Amoroso, Massaro (78' Amaral), Nuno Gomes

Substitutes: Toldo, Repka, Vanoli, Lassisi

Manager: Mancini

Referee: Collina

Goals: 34’ Pierini (og), 44’ Crespo, 55’ Negro

What happened next

In the last game Roma had to face Parma who decided not to play and allowed the Giallorossi to win their third scudetto. At that point the Biancocelesti, who were winning at Lecce, threw in the towel and lost the game.

Pavel Nedved was the player with most appearances (46) and Crespo the leading goal scorer (28). The Argentine was also the leading Serie A goalscorer with 26 goals.

Let's talk about Daniele Adani

Daniele Adani was born on July 10, 1974 in Correggio near Reggio Emilia. After playing with Sammartinese, in 1990 he joined the Modena youth teams and debuted in Serie B in 1992. He stayed until 1994 making 51 appearances and one goal before moving to Lazio.

With the Biancocelesti he made just one appearance in Coppa Italia before being sold to Brescia in the winter transfer window. He played for five seasons in Lombardy, three in Serie B and two in Serie A making 167 appearances with 10 goals. In this first stint there were two relegations and two promotions. In 1999 he joined Fiorentina and played 109 games, with 8 goals, over three seasons. He won the Coppa Italia in 2000-01.

After Fiorentina went bust in 2002 he joined Inter where he stayed for two seasons. He did not play as much as he probably would have liked, especially in his first year in Milan, but went on to make 45 appearances with 5 goals in all competitions.

In 2004 he went back to Brescia but left after some fans broke onto the training ground. His last years in top flight football were with Ascoli and Empoli, though he seldom played. Before quitting, he spent his last two years back with Sammartinese in the minor leagues.

Adani played five times for Italy, all friendlies, between 2000 and 2004.

Once he stopped playing he moved into punditry working for all the major Italian TV stations. Passionate about Latin American football, he shows great knowledge and expertise, though perhaps slightly over the top. He has also participated in talk shows on YouTube and other social media.

Adani was a good defender and had a long career, though he probably did not impress Zdenek Zeman much in his very brief stint with Lazio.