Dezotti comes good and scores crucial goal towards avoiding the drop
Lazio beat distracted Sampdoria to boost survival hopes
The season so far
The previous year Lazio had finally won promotion back to Serie A. In a packed Olimpico, already under renovation for Italia '90, Lazio had beaten Taranto 3-1 to book their place back in the big time.
The new season started with a new manager. The 9- point deduction and promotion hero Eugenio Fascetti had left and in had come Giuseppe Materazzi.
Lazio’s promotion top scorer Paolo Monelli (13 goals) had also gone (Bari) along with midfielders Vincenzo Esposito (Atalanta) and Domenico Caso (Latina) while loanee forward Giuseppe Galderisi had returned to his original club (Milan) after a disappointing spell at Lazio.
Lazio fans were extremely sad to see Fascetti leave and he would never be forgotten but they also had reasons to be optimistic. Lazio were out of the purgatory of Serie B and had bought some interesting players.
Three South-Americans for a start; relatively unknown (pre-internet days) defender Nelson Gutierrez (River Plate) and Gustavo Abel Dezotti (Newell's Old Boys) plus better known, promising forward Ruben Sosa (Real Zaragoza). Lazio had also signed some Italians; defender Marco Monti (Virescit Bergamo) plus midfielders Andrea Icardi (Atalanta) and Claudio Sclosa (Pisa).
Lazio’s objective this season was to enjoy their refound elite status and hopefully not have to suffer excessively to maintain it.
The season had started reasonably well with 5 consecutive draws (still only 2 points for a win). This habit of drawing matches would become a prerogative over the season. Lazio had won a derby after ten years in January, with a goal by young homegrown talent Paolo Di Canio. Since then however, the Biancocelesti had struggled and had not won a match until May 14 with a 1-0 home win against Pisa. Lazio then beat Fiorentina 1-0 at home and drew the derby but then lost the next two, against Inter and Juventus. The Biancocelesti were on 26 points after 4 wins, 18 draws and 10 defeats. They were heavily bogged down in the relegation battle and in desperate need of a win today. The table was not pretty viewing, it read; Pisa 21, Como 22, Pescara 25, Torino 25, Lazio 26, Cesena 27, Verona 28, Bologna 28, Ascoli 28. Four teams went down so for those two last slots the situation was open to many scenarios, some very unpleasant.
In the Coppa Italia Lazio were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Atalanta 4-3 on aggregate.
Today's opposition were Sampdoria. The Blucerchiati were a very good team in that period. They had some great players; Gianluca Pagliuca, Pietro Vierchowod, Toninho Cerezo, Giuseppe Dossena, Enrico Chiesa, Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli, to name just a few). The previous season under Vujadin Boskov (officially D. T.- Technical Director for bureaucratic reasons) "La Samp" had finished 4th and won the Coppa Italia.
This year, still under Slav "Zio Vujadin", Sampdoria were again in the final of Coppa Italia and had lost the first leg 1-0 away to Napoli, the return match was on June 28. They had also reached the final of the European Cup Winners Cup but lost 2-0 to Barcelona in Berne. Four days before today's match they had lost the Italian Supercoppa final 3-1 to Milan. In the league "Il Doria" were fifth and their position could neither improve nor worsen in these last two matches. This fact and the imminent important Coppa Italia game gave Lazio some extra hope.
So Lazio clearly had more motivation and a sold out Flaminio stadium behind them but Sampdoria with so much talent were a dangerous team.
The match: Sunday June 18, 1989. Stadio Flaminio, Rome
It was a hot summer day for the match in the stadium designed by Pier Luigi Nervi. Lazio were nervy too for this crucial last home game of the season. The Stadio Olimpico was being restyled for Italia '90 so Lazio had played in the smaller stadium across the river for the whole season.
The game kicked off at 5 in the afternoon, to at least avoid the worst of the heat. Sampdoria were without Vierchowod, Cerezo and Mancini while Lazio put out their strongest line-up with Gabriele Pin back in midfield.
Lazio showed from the word go that they had more desire and fire than the visitors.
Dezotti had a good chance but blasted over the bar after a defensive blunder. Then Sosa went solo but his low shot went wide. Lazio pushed forward with defenders too looking for a breakthrough while Sampdoria seemed content to just defend. In the 25th minute Lazio lost Angelo Gregucci through injury, replaced by Raimondo Marino, not that there had been much defending to do so far.
Around the half hour mark, Lazio turned up the pressure and increased their efforts. In the 35th minute Marino tried his luck from the distance, his shot was deflected off a defender, wrong footing Pagliuca, but then floated the wrong side of the post.
In the 36th minute, in a scramble following a corner, Di Canio had a shot cleared off the line by a defender, the ball then spun up to Marino but his header was saved by Pagliuca.
A goal seemed on the cards and it came a minute later. In the 37th minute a long cross into the area was headed by Pin across to Dezotti who in front of goal turned a left footed volley past Pagliuca. Lazio 1 Sampdoria 0 and delirium in the small but compact Flaminio.
Before halftime Lazio almost doubled when a long pass by Ciro Muro put Sosa one-on-one against Pagliuca but his lob came back off the crossbar. Halftime Lazio 1 Sampdoria 0.
The second half started with Sampdoria slightly more positive but not dangerous. The main news came in the 52nd minute but it came from Turin via the radio where, to Lazio fans' horror, the Granata had taken the lead against the seemingly invincible and already champions Inter.
In the 63rd minute Sampdoria finally threatened but Valerio Fiori showed brilliant reflexes on a Munoz Victor bicycle kick heading for the top hand corner. In the 65th minute Lazio gave themselves extra protection by taking off forward Dezotti for midfielder Antonio Acerbis. Lazio from then on defended well while Sampdoria did not overexert themselves for an equaliser.
In the 74th minute more bad news came from Turin as Muller doubled Toro's lead. The only thing worthy of note in Rome was Marco Lanna's red card in the 90th minute for his second yellow.
Lazio controlled the last stages of the game and conquered two vital points for their survival hopes. Due to Torino's exploits it would all have to go down to the last away game in Ascoli. However things were looking better than they had a few hours earlier.
The updated table read; Como 22 (relegated), Pisa 22 (relegated), Pescara 26, Torino 27, Lazio 28, Ascoli 28, Verona 29, Bologna 29, Cesena 29.
Lazio would play Ascoli a week later and they both needed a point to survive … a match made in heaven?
Who played for lazio
Fiori, Monti, Beruatto, Pin, Gregucci (25' Marino), Piscedda, Dezotti (65' Acerbis), Muro, Di Canio, Sclosa, Sosa
Substitutes: Martina, Icardi, Rizzolo
Manager: Materazzi
Who played for Sampdoria
Pagliuca, Pellegrini III, Carboni, Pari, Lanna, Salsano, Victor, Bonomi, Vialli, Pradella (59' Breda), Dossena,
Substitutes: Bistazzoni, Affuso, Chiesa
Manager: Pezzotti
D.T: Boskov
Referee: Pezzella
Goal: 37' Dezotti
What happened next
Lazio won survival a week later with a 0-0 draw in Ascoli. The match was a predictable travesty of a competitive sporting event, both teams more than pleased with a point.
Lazio finished 11th after 5 wins, 19 draws and 10 defeats. Top scorer was Rubén Sosa with 12 goals (8 in the league).
It had been a difficult season but in their first season back in Serie A the important thing was to avoid immediate relegation. The Biancocelesti had also won a derby after ten years. They could now start building for the future.
Sampdoria beat Cesena 2-0 a week later and finished 5th. More importantly, on June 28 the Blucerchiati trounced Napoli 4-0 and lifted their 3rd domestic Italian cup. Top scorer was Gianluca Vialli with 34 goals (14 in the league). On a curious note, three Sampdoria players would go on to play for Roma (Amedeo Carboni, Lanna and Fausto Salsano) plus the coach Boskov would be a Giallorosso too.
The scudetto was won by Giovanni Trapattoni's record breaking Inter for their 13th title. The unlucky four slumping down a league were Como, Pisa, Pescara and Torino. The Granata lost the last match 3-1 at Lecce so in the end Lazio and Ascoli could have avoided some theatrics, but they were not given the script beforehand so better safe than sorry.
Lazio 1988-89
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 5 | 19 | 10 | 23 |
Coppa Italia | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 |
Total | 44 | 11 | 20 | 13 | 40 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Ruben Sosa | 43 | 33 | 10 |
Dezotti | 38 | 29 | 9 |
Beruatto | 37 | 28 | 9 |
Di Canio | 37 | 30 | 7 |
Monti | 36 | 29 | 7 |
Pin | 36 | 27 | 9 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Ruben Sosa | 12 | 8 | 4 |
Dezotti | 9 | 3 | 6 |
Gregucci | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Rizzolo | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Pin | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Let's talk about Gustavo Abel Dezotti
Gustavo Dezotti was born in Monte Buey, Argentina, on 14 February, 1964.
He started his career in native Argentina with Newell's Old Boys from Rosario. He made his debut for the "Rojinegro" in 1982 and went on to play 195 league games with 37 goals. In his last season, 1987-88, "La Lepra" (Leprosy) won the title. Their strange nickname derives from a charity match they organized in the 1920's to raise money for a leprosy clinic. They have a history of producing good players; Leo Messi, Gabriel Batistuta, Jorge Valdano, Abel Balbo, Nestor Sensini, Walter Samuel, Americo Gallego, Maurizio Pochettino to name a few).
In 1989 Dezotti left for Europe and joined Lazio in Serie A. The Biancocelesti were newly promoted after three years in Serie B. The manager was Giuseppe Materazzi and it was not an easy year. Lazio had difficulty scoring goals, only 23 all season in the league and seemed addicted to draws, 19. Dezotti scored 3 League goals in 29 games (Como, Inter, Sampdoria) and 6 in Coppa Italia (Pescara, Campobasso, Messina x2, Fiorentina, Inter) in 9 games.
Dezotti was not a great success in Rome. He was quick (he was nicknamed "El Galgo", the greyhound, in Argentina) but not particularly technical or a natural goal scorer. At Lazio he was often moved to the wing to use his speed. He was sometimes a bit of a scapegoat for the fans after bad results. He did however score a vital goal in Lazio’s history, a 1-0 winner against Sampdoria which practically enabled the Biancocelesti to stay up in 1989.
After only one year he moved up north to newly promoted Cremonese. The "Grigiorossi" under Tarcisio Burgnich (Italy and Inter legend as a player) were relegated with 17th place. Dezotti however had a good season and scored 15 goals (13 in league) in 30 appearances. He scored against Lazio home and away.
The following year the "Tigri" were promoted with 3rd place under first Burgnich and then Gustavo Giagnoni. Dezotti made a good contribution with 11 league goals.
Back in Serie A, Cremonese were relegated again with a 17th place finish. Dezotti was their top scorer with 9 league goals (Lazio again home and away ...) in 30 appearances.
In 1992-93 the "Violini" again won promotion under Gigi Simoni with 2nd place. They also won the Anglo-Italian Cup (3-1 Derby County). Dezotti scored another 12 league goals and 1 in the Anglo- Italian.
In 1993-94 Cremonese finally managed to survive in Serie A. "La Cremo" finished 10th under Gigi Simoni. Dezotti scored 6 league goals (including Roma in a 2-1 Cremonese win). Dezotti played 154 league games in Cremona with 51 league goals (54 in total). In the Lombard town he was and still is a bit of a cult hero.
In 1994-95 he left Italy and Europe and went to Mexico. He joined León in the Mexican top league. He stayed two seasons with " Los Esmeraldas" (The Emeralds), playing 54 games with 17 goals.
In 1996 he left the "Panzaverdes" but stayed in Mexico and joined Atlas de Guadalajara. He stayed one season with "Zorro" playing 22 games with 1 goal.
In 1997 he returned to his homeland of Argentina. He joined Quilmes but never played for "El Cervecero" (The Brewer) and in 1998 moved across the RÃo de la Plata to Uruguay. He signed for Defensor Sporting from Montevideo. Dezotti played 9 games for "La Violeta" (The Violet) with 1 goal.
At 34 Dezotti retired. At international level he played 3 times for Argentina U20's winning a World Cup silver medal in Mexico '93. He also earned 9 full Argentina caps. He made his debut in 1988 and then took part in Italia' 90. He scored the decisive penalty in the quarter final shoot out against Yugoslavia. He then played the final but was sent off in the 87th minute in the Albiceleste's defeat by Germany.
In Rome he was known as "Cicciobello" (popular Italian doll -pretty boy, for his looks). At Lazio he will be remembered mainly for that vital left-footed volley on a torrid June afternoon at the Flaminio which saved Lazio from relegation. He did not leave a great mark at Lazio but obviously improved and had a good spell at Cremonese. He scored 110 career league goals, played with Diego Maradona and is one of the select few to have played in a World Cup Final (albeit losing and being sent off ...).
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1988-89 | 38 (9) | 29 (3) | 9 (6) |
Sources