March 21, 1993: Atalanta-Lazio 2-2
- Dag Jenkins
- 4 hours ago
- 9 min read
Lazio take point in Bergamo
With an excellent performance by Gazza the Biancocelesti bring back a positive draw
Source Lazio Wiki
The season so far
Lazio had finished 10th the previous season under Dino Zoff.
The main change had been the club takeover by Sergio Cragnotti halfway through last season. The Roman entrepreneur, head of food conglomerate Cirio, had ambitious plans for Lazio.
This season the Italian legend Zoff had been kept on as manager but sadly top scorer Rubén Sosa (13 league goals) was sold to Inter.
Upset as Lazio fans may have been to see the "principito" leave, they were soon pacified by Cragnotti's summer signings.
They were many, interesting and in some cases exciting. Three promising young players arrived from Cremonese: defenders Mauro Bonomi and Giuseppe Favalli plus midfielder Dario Marcolin. In defence Lazio had also added experienced Roberto Cravero (Torino) plus Luca Luzardi (Brescia). The midfield had been strengthened with Diego Fuser (Milan) and accomplished Dutchman Aron Winter. The most exciting signing had definitely been English star Paul Gascoigne (Tottenham), considered one of the best players in the world at the time although he was still recovering from a serious injury. In attack, especially in hindsight, the best buy was Giuseppe Signori (Foggia). Lazio were suddenly a team to be reckoned with.
Leaving Lazio apart from Sosa were defenders Raffaele Sergio (Torino), Claudio Vertova (Lecco), midfielders Stefano Melchiori (Lecce) and with great sadness Gabriele Pin (Parma, after 225 games) plus forward Berardino Capocchiano (Bari). In the autumn defender Roberto Soldà (Monza) and midfielder Armando Madonna (SPAL) had also left.
The season had started with four consecutive draws (including Fiorentina 2-2). Since then Lazio had won 9 (including Atalanta 3-0) drawn 5 and lost 6. There had been a last gasp derby draw with a Gascoigne header, a 3-1 win against Inter at the Olimpico and a 2-0 win in Florence. Lazio were currently joint 4th, with today's opponents Atalanta, on 26 points.
In Coppa Italia, Lazio had reached the quarter-finals but been eliminated by Torino 4-5 on aggregate. Lazio had previously knocked out Ascoli 5-0 and Cesena 4-2 both on aggregate.
Atalanta had finished 10th the previous season under Bruno Giorgi. The Nerazzurri had drawn 1-1 away to Lazio and won 1-0 at home. The top scorers were Claudio Caniggia and Careca Bianchese with 9 goals (8 in A).
This season the manager was Marcello Lippi. The main new signings were goalkeeper Davide Pinato (Piacenza - back from loan), defenders Maurizio Codispoti (Foggia), Paolo Montero (Peñarol), Simone Pavan (up from youth team), midfielders Alemão (Napoli), Stefano De Agostini (Napoli), Oscar Magoni (Leffe) and Alessio Tacchinardi (up from youth team) plus forwards Maurizio Ganz (Brescia), Roberto Rambaudi (Foggia), Leonardo Rodriguez (Toulon) and Iván Valenciano (Atlético Junior - Colombia).
Leaving Bergamo were defenders Carlo Cornacchia (Napoli) and Stefano Sottili (Bologna), midfielders Riccardo Bracaloni (Chievo), Eligio Nicolini (Cremonese), Pierluigi Orlandini (Lecce) and Glenn Strömberg (retiring after 8 seasons in Bergamo and 219 league games) plus forwards Carlos Bianchese (Monterrey), Claudio Caniggia (Roma) and Lamberto Piovanelli (Verona).
As mentioned Atalanta were on the same points as Lazio in 4th position. The Bergamaschi had won 10, drawn 7 and lost 6.
In the Coppa Italia they had been surprisingly eliminated immediately by Venezia, not on the field (3-2 for the Dea aet), but for having played Rambaudi who was suspended.
A difficult game today for Lazio, in a traditionally hostile environment, against a solid team.
The match: Sunday, March 21, 1993, Stadio Mario Brumana, Bergamo
A pale sun and just over 20,000 spectators welcomed Lazio to the Brumana.
Lazio were missing midfielder Claudio Sclosa and forward Karl-Heinz Riedle (three-foreign player rule) while Atalanta had no absences.
After ten minutes of the tactical skirmishes the game came alive with the help of the referee. Lazio's Luca Luzardi appeared to get the ball on a challenge on Maurizio Ganz but not only did Rodomonti give a foul but also booked the defender. Ganz curled in the freekick which everyone watched as it came off the right post and then went to the opposite side where Sergio Porrini crossed it back low to Roberto Rambaudi who tapped it in from close range, 1-0. Lazio could blame the referee but also themselves for sloppy defending, failing to get back from the wall quickly enough.
A few minutes later Thomas Doll set Beppe Signori up in the area but Fabrizio Ferron was quick off his line and dived low to save the local boy's poked effort.
Atalanta then had a similar chance but this time Cristiano Bergodi walled Carlo Perrone's strike in front of Nando Orsi.
Lazio threatened, especially with Paul Gascoigne. The Geordie first forced Ferron into a difficult save on a volley and then equalised. In the 29th minute Bergamo-born Signori crossed into the middle where Gascoigne smashed a header past Ferron, 1-1.
Gascoigne continued to play well but got little co-operation from his other midfield teammates Diego Fuser and Aron Winter.
The first half ended with a fair 1-1 score line.
In the early second half it was still Gazza who was Lazio's brightest light. He glided past an opponent and unleashed a powerful long range shot but Ferron fisted it behind for a corner.
In the 60th minute however it was the hosts who re-took the lead. Perrone swung in a freekick from near the left by-line, Orsi slapped away but only as far as the far post where Ganz kneed it up and blasted it under the roof of the net, 2-1.
Both sides then made substitutions; in the 62nd minute Alemão came on for Stefano De Agostini and in the 64th midfielder Giovanni Stroppa replaced defender Bergodi.
Lazio were now set up for all-out attack but risked on the counterattack. Perrone was clear on goal but hesitated and was beaten to the ball by Roberto Cravero.
In the 74th minute Lazio were awarded a penalty. Doll was pulled down by Roberto Bordin on the left limit of the area but Rodomonti had no doubts. Signori stepped up and, amid the boos and whistles of his fellow citizens, kept his cool, sending Ferron one way and the ball the other, 2-2. The Bergamaschi, already not convinced about the penalty decision, also then complained that Signori had taken the spot kick before the referee's whistle.
There was then another potential penalty on Doll, possibly clearer then the first, but the referee thought it would be too much and ignored it.
The game then slowed down as both sides tired and settled for a point. Final score Atalanta 2 Lazio 2.
A positive and hard-fought point for Lazio who had come from behind twice against solid and fast opponents.
A fair draw in the end as both teams had periods of superiority. Lazio had been slightly on top in the first half and Atalanta in the second. For Lazio, Gascoigne had stood out while, for Atalanta, Ganz had caused the Romans lots of problems at the back.
Lazio and Atalanta were now joint 3rd, on 27 points with Torino and Sampdoria. The table read: Milan 40, Inter, 31, Lazio 27, Atalanta 27, Sampdoria 27, Torino 27, Parma 26, Cagliari 26, Juventus 25. There were four UEFA slots available so it was going to be a tight battle.
Who played for Atalanta
Ferron, Porrini, Codispoti, Bordin, Bigliardi, Montero, Rambaudi, De Agostini (62' Alemão), Ganz, Perrone, Minaudo
Substitutes: Pinato, Valentini, Magoni, Valenciano
Manager: Lippi
Who played for Lazio
Orsi, Bergodi (64' Stroppa), Favalli, Bacci, Luzardi, Cravero, Fuser, Doll, Winter, Gascoigne, Signori
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Rodomonti
Goals: 11' Rambaudi, 29' Gascoigne, 60' Ganz, 74' Signori (pen)
What happened next
Lazio had a good season and improved on the previous one finishing 5th (only many years later would top four finish give Champions league places). So, after 15 years they were back in Europe qualifying for the UEFA Cup. This was welcomed by big celebrations on the last home game against Napoli (a highly entertaining 4-3 win). Lazio went into the UEFA Cup with Inter, Juventus and Cagliari.
In the next ten games the Biancocelesti won 4 (including Ancona 5-0 and Udinese 4-0 at home), drew 3 (including Roma 0-0) and lost 3. Lazio ended the season with 13 wins, 12 draws and 9 defeats.
Giuseppe Signori would win the first of his top Serie A scorer awards with 26 goals.
Atalanta finished 7th on 36 points. In the remaining fixtures they won 4, drew 1 and lost 5. The top scorer was Maurizio Ganz with 15 goals (14 in A).
The scudetto was won by Milan, managed by Fabio Capello, for their 13th title. Milan also played in the European Cup Final (later Champions League) losing 1-0 to Olympique Marseille in Munich.
The Coppa Italia was won by Torino who defeated Roma on away goals (3-0, 2-5).
Relegated were Ancona, Pescara, Fiorentina and Brescia (after a play-off with Udinese 1-3).
Let's talk about Roberto Rambaudi
Roberto Rambaudi was born in Moncalieri (Turin), on January 12, 1966.
Rambaudi was formed in the Torino youth sector but never played a game for them.
In 1985 he joined Omegna (C2) for a year playing 29 games with 4 goals. The Piemontesi were relegated and Rambaudi moved on.
Between 1986 and 1988 he played for Pavia (promotion to C1 then relegated back to C2) making 61 appearances and scoring 18 times.
In 1988 he joined Perugia (C1) where he played for one season playing 28 games and scoring 8 goals.
In 1989 came the move that would change the course of his career: he moved South to Foggia (Serie B) where he would play under Czech coach Zdenek Zeman. The Bohemian played an aggressive and entertaining style of football and Rambaudi became one of his key players.
In 1989-90 Foggia finished 8th but Rambaudi impressed, getting 37 games and scoring 7 goals.
The following year the Satanelli won promotion to Serie A winning the league by a wide margin. The attacking trio of Baiano-Signori and Rambaudi was already making a name for itself. Rambaudi again played 37 games but with 15 goals.
Back in Serie A, Foggia continued to entertain with their performances and finished 9th. Rambaudi played 33 times and scored 9 goals.
In 1992 the "Tridente delle Meraviglie "(The Trident of Marvels) was disbanded; Baiano left for Fiorentina, Signori for Lazio and Rambaudi joined Atalanta. His time at Foggia and "Zemanlandia" have gone down in the football history books and the attacking trio Rambaudi was part of, one of the most prolific and spectacular ever.
In Bergamo Rambaudi stayed two seasons playing 57 games with 8 goals. In 1994 at the end of his second year Atalanta were relegated to Serie B and Rambaudi got a call from a manager, but not just any manager, from Zdenek Zeman.
Zeman had been appointed by Sergio Cragnotti's Lazio and with Signori already there he requested the club to sign Rambaudi.
With his old mentor Zeman and reunited with his former attacking buddy Signori (they are also close friends) Rambaudi again flourished forming excellent attacking line-ups with Signori, Boksic and Casiraghi. He became much more of an assist man than a goal scorer, much to Signori's delight. Rambaudi was a perfect pawn in Zeman's frenetic but schematic tactics and his performances even earned him a call up to Arrigo Sacchi's national squad (Sacchi had a similar style of play to Zeman).
Rambaudi stayed at Lazio for four seasons. The first three with Zeman, when he played regularly and the last with Eriksson when he started to get less playing time. With Lazio he played 109 games in Serie A with 13 goals (and probably too many assists to count). He won a Coppa Italia (1998 defeating Milan) and a Supercoppa Italiana (1998 defeating Juventus).
In October 1998, still not fitting in with Eriksson's plans, Rambaudi joined Genoa in Serie B but only played 7 games.
In the 1999-2000 season, which also would be his last, he played 13 games for Treviso in Serie B.
He then retired after 460 professional matches (199 in Serie A, 94 in Serie B, 57 in C1, 61 in C2, 33 in Coppa Italia, 15 in UEFA Cup, 1 in the Mitropa Cup.
At International level Rambaudi won two Italy caps (Estonia and Croatia both in 1996).
After retirement has been involved in coaching and punditry. He worked for a year in the Lazio youth sector and then has had various experiences in the lower divisions including Latina, Viterbese, Astrea, the Luiss University team, Atletico Lodigiani and Flaminia. So far, he has not had much luck as a manager and has had more success as a TV pundit working for Dahlia TV, Mediaset Premium and Rai Sport.
Rambaudi was a good club player. He was an attacking right winger and was known as "Rambo" (for obvious reasons). Despite his nickname he was not a particularly physical player but he had a lot of running in him. He was tireless up and down his right wing, sometimes affecting his decisional lucidity. He was perfect for Zeman's style of play and it's not surprising his best years were with Foggia and the first three with Lazio. Rambaudi was hardworking, methodical and schematic just like the Bohemian coach. High pressing, constant movements, frenetic low one-two passes to get the ball into an assist or crossing position (always preferably on the ground) suited "Rambo's" characteristics perfectly.
Rambaudi had good years at Lazio and was involved in some of the highest scoring and spectacular wins in their history. He was part of the build up to the real glory years but his period at Lazio and the entertaining football displayed are remembered fondly.
Lazio Career
Season | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1994-95 | 46 (5) | 32 (4) | 7 | 7 (1) |
1995-96 | 35 (3) | 28 (1) | 4 (1) | 3 (1) |
1996-97 | 36 (5) | 28 (4) | 4 (1) | 4 |
1997-98 | 26 (4) | 21 (4) | 4 | 1 |
Total | 143 (17) | 109 (13) | 19 (2) | 15 (2) |
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