Second place
- Simon Basten
- Jun 4, 2024
- 3 min read
Game 34, Serie A
Sunday, June 4, 1995
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio Brescia 1-0
A last minute Colucci goal gives Lazio second place
After the first half of the season Lazio were third, four points behind Parma and five from leaders Juventus. The second part had started badly with two consecutive defeats and in the next eight games they had lost another three times. They had fallen to fifth place, six points from Parma, second. But in the next six matches they had beaten Roma, Juventus and Inter and were now third three points behind Parma, second. Juventus had already won the scudetto.
The match
On possibly their worst day, Lazio overtook Parma and seized second place, their highest-ever finish after the lone league title won in 1974. That's football. This Lazio side—undoubtedly deserving of praise, yet irritatingly dull in the final match—ultimately sealed the modest triumph of a team celebrated at the end by jubilant Biancocelesti supporters who had earlier hurled boos of frustration at them.
In short, it was a dreadful match. Lazio approached it with unjustifiable complacency, while Brescia played with an equally incomprehensible determination. For almost ninety minutes, until the goal arrived, two questions lingered: why was a team already condemned to relegation fighting with such unusual and indomitable fury? And why were Lazio treating their final commitment so casually that they risked throwing away the dream of a second leapfrog of the season, after already overtaking Roma?
For nearly an hour and a half, Brescia defended Parma's second place far better than Parma themselves were doing in Naples. The "Swallows" smothered Beppe Signori and Alen Boksic in the grip of a desperate defensive barricade. Both Lazio forwards looked as though they had already begun their summer holidays and seemed deaf even to the appeals of the willing Roberto Rambaudi, who waved his arms in vain on the right flank.
This exposed the fragility of Lazio's structure, highlighting the value of Aron Winter's contribution. Not even the good news of Napoli taking the lead against Parma managed to shake Lazio from their lethargy.
Indeed, a few minutes after the roar celebrating Napoli’s lead at the San Paolo, the Roman defence granted a free passage to Fabio Gallo. Intimidated by such generosity, he shot in disbelief and without conviction; an equally surprised Luca Marchegiani prevented disaster with an easy diving save.
The second half offered neither more nor better. Signori produced a few flashes reminiscent of his old brilliance, but to no effect. Giorgio Venturin, Diego Fuser, the young Leonardo Colucci, and the rest of the midfield worked tirelessly but without imagination. Boksic never managed to free himself from the grip imposed by Giuseppe Baronchelli and company until he was, quite rightly, replaced by Gigi Casiraghi, whose contribution seemed no better. The defence as a whole continued to struggle against Brescia's infrequent but always dangerous counterattacks, and poor Marchegiani was forced into two further interventions: first, bravely rushing out again at the feet of the escaping Gallo, and later dealing twice with attacks initiated by Maurizio Neri.
Then, just as hopes were fading, came the goal that restored the fans' voices and put smiles back on the faces of the distracted protagonists of a day that, in truth, deserved to be forgotten. The move, born of determination, began with Venturin in one of his rare constructive contributions. A Lazio player and a Brescia player both missed the ball, confusing the otherwise excellent Marco Ballotta, and the young Colucci cleverly headed it into the net, deceiving the goalkeeper.
It was a stoppage-time goal that gave Lazio a scarcely deserved victory and, at the same time, second place. Whether fully deserved or not, that second-place finish will remain in the record books.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Bacci, Favalli, Venturin, Negro, Chamot, Rambaudi, Fuser, Boksic (67' Casiraghi), L.Colucci, Signori
Manager: Zeman
Who played for Brescia
Ballotta, Francini, Di Muri, Piovanelli, Baronchelli, Bonometti (84' Corini), Schenardi, Marangon, Neri, Giunta, Gallo Substiturs: Gamberini, Borra, Faini, Bernardi Manager: A.Moro
Referee: Dinelli
Goal: 90’ L.Colucci
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