Signori returns and Lazio are back

Simon Basten
Jan 30, 2023
3 min read

Season 1993-94

Game 21, Serie A

Sunday, January 30, 1994

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio Cremonese 4-2

Gascoigne dazzles, Casiraghi delivers, and Zoff’s men overcome Cremonese in a cold night at the Olimpico

At the end of the first half of the season the Biancocelesti were fifth, just two points away from second place held by Juventus and Sampdoria. Unfortunately, they had lost Signori due to injury in the recent games and that had diminished their potential. He was however back in the first eleven and it was time to get back to business.

The match

Lazio rediscovered both goals and confidence as Beppe Signori’s sudden return to form propelled the Biancocelesti to draw level with Inter and reclaim centre stage. On a damp, bitterly cold evening at the Olimpico, flashes of Paul Gascoigne’s flair — he would finish the match as captain — and the tireless work of Pierluigi Casiraghi proved decisive. Casiraghi set up the opener for Roberto Cravero and struck the second himself, leading Dino Zoff’s side from the front.

The stadium heated up as Gascoigne emerged from the tunnel, responding to the crowd’s ovation with satisfaction rather than sentiment. Eager to take on playmaking duties in the continued absence of Alen Boksic, he immediately began feeding Casiraghi and Signori, who met a robust Cremonese defence. Luigi Turci denied Casiraghi early on, while Signori fired a free kick high after Gascoigne was fouled, his exuberance curtailed by Marco Giandebiaggi.

But Cremonese, lacking the energy that had carried them through autumn, soon succumbed. In the 17th minute Signori sprinted down the right, Casiraghi headed on target, Turci fumbled, and Cravero bundled the ball in. Yet Lazio’s attacking sharpness contrasted with a shaky back line, and it wasn’t long before the visitors struck back. Andrea Tentoni tested Luca Marchegiani, and in the 24th minute Gianni Cristiani, unmarked, converted a cross from the right to level the match.

Sensing Lazio’s imbalance, Gigi Simoni’s side grew bolder. Aron Winter looked a shadow of himself, Diego Fuser out of sorts, and Gascoigne was already tiring. Lazio still created chances — Paolo Negro set up Casiraghi at the 35th minute — but Cremonese pushed on. Simoni replaced the injured Corrado Verdelli with Matjaz Florijancic before the interval, a move that immediately produced an offside-stopped chance for Eligio Nicolini.

The second half opened with Cremonese pressing fearlessly for the lead. Riccardo Maspero unleashed a thunderous free kick that Marchegiani spilled, but no one arrived for the rebound. The scare jolted Lazio, who struggled under Cremonese’s energy until Gascoigne produced a moment of brilliance: weaving past four defenders and chipping onto the crossbar.

That spark reignited Lazio. In the 22nd minute Fuser fed Signori on the right, and the striker unleashed a stunning, unstoppable 30-metre strike. Cremonese threatened only through an almost comical near-own-goal by Negro, but in the 31st minute Signori struck again. Released by Gascoigne, he fired a sensational shot clocked at 106 km/h.

Maspero pulled one back in stoppage time with a deflected effort off Cristiano Bergodi, but it was too late. Lazio, lifted by Signori’s revival and Gascoigne’s flashes of brilliance, claimed a vital victory on a freezing Roman night.

Who played for Lazio

Marchegiani, Negro, Favalli, Di Matteo, Bonomi, Cravero (82’ Bergodi), Fuser, Winter, Casiraghi, Gascoigne, Signori (76’ Doll)