March 5, 2003: Wisła Kraków-Lazio 1-2

Dag Jenkins
4 hours ago
8 min read

Epic victory

Lazio fall behind early on shocking pitch but fight back to win and qualify

The season so far

This was Lazio's first season without homegrown and possibly best defender in the world Alessandro Nesta. Due to financial difficulties Lazio had been forced to sell their captain to Milan. To make matters worse Milan and Juventus had secretly agreed to keep their bids low, so Lazio were also forced to sell Hernán Crespo to Inter.

Fortunately, Lazio had a new manager. The disappointing Alberto Zaccheroni had been replaced by former player and scudetto winner Roberto Mancini.

Mancini found quite a different squad from the one he had left as a player only two years earlier. No more Pavel Nedved, Juan Sebastian Veron, Marcelo Salas, Alen Boksic and obviously Nesta.

From the previous season Lazio had also let go of midfielders Ivan de la Peña (Espanyol), Gaizka Mendieta (Barcelona - loan) and Karel Poborský (Sparta Prague).

Joining Mancini’s Lazio were defender Massimo Oddo (Verona), forwards Enrico Chiesa (Fiorentina) and Bernardo Corradi (Inter). In the winter session midfielder Nikola Lazetić was also added (Como-via Chievo on loan).

The season had started well for Lazio. They had played 23 games, won 10 (7 away), drawn 11 (including the derby and most recently at Perugia both 2-2) and lost 2. Lazio had 41 points and were in a healthy 4th place (the last Champions League position).

In Coppa Italia Lazio entered the tournament in December against Empoli winning 4-1, then eliminated Bari 2-1 and had played the first leg of the semi-final tie against Roma losing 1-2 at "home". The return game would not be until April 16.

In today's UEFA Cup they had got through the first three rounds (Skoda Xanthi 4-0, Red Star Belgrade 2-1, Sturm Graz 3-2 on aggregate). In the first leg of the 3rd round Lazio had drawn 3-3 at home to Polish club Wisla Kraków. This evening's game had originally been scheduled for February 27 but had been postponed due to an icy pitch.

Wisla Kraków formed in 1906 and obviously from Krakow in Poland, had finished 2nd in the Polish league. "Biala gwiazda" (White Star) had won their 3rd Polish Cup. They had won seven league titles in their history, the last in 2001. At the moment they were top of their domestic league.

To get to this stage the Poles had eliminated Primorje (Slovenia) 8-1, Parma 5-3 and Schalke 04 5-2. Two big scalps to prove they were no pushovers. In fact, the first leg in Rome had ended 3-3.

A difficult trip for Lazio who needed to win considering the three away goals conceded at the Olimpico.

The match: Wednesday, March 5, 2003, CTS Stadium, Kraków

A freezing night in Krakow with a pitch in terrible conditions attracted about 15,000 spectators.

The hosts fielded the same eleven as in Rome two weeks earlier.

Lazio had several injuries: goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi, defenders Sinisa Mihajlovic and Dino Baggio plus forward Bernardo Corradi but otherwise, despite the upcoming derby, played the best team available.

The pitch was awful, soft and muddy and judging by the smell also mixed with other natural ingredients, possibly cow manure.

Lazio got off to the worst possible start and fell behind after four minutes. Nigerian Kalu Uche played through Marcin Kuzba centrally and the Polish forward hit a low cross goal strike that beat Luca Marchegiani, 1-0.

Lazio immediately had the chance to equalise but Stefano Fiore wasted it.

The Poles then almost doubled their lead but Paolo Negro cleared Uche's shot off the goal line.

In the 15th minute, considering the playing field, a not totally unexpected event occurred as the referee Dougal was forced off with a twisted ankle and replaced by compatriot Clark.

Lazio gradually gained territory and a Claudio Lopez effort went just wide. In the 21st minute the Biancocelesti equalised as Fernando Couto headed in from an Enrico Chiesa corner, 1-1.

The game now became end to end despite the potato field. Marchegiani saved on Ulche while Angelo Hugues albeit a little clumsily saved twice on Lopez and then Argentine Mauro Cantoro denied Couto scoring with another header. In added time Diego Simeone appealed for a penalty but the referee probably thought it was the terrain. Halftime Wisla Krakow 1 Lazio 1.

A hard fought first 45 minutes with the Cracovians still qualified at this point.

The second half started with a bang too as, from a Kamil Kosovski freekick, Uche hit the crossbar with a header.

In the 55th minute Lazio scored a crucial goal. On a short defensive clearance Chiesa volleyed past Hugues, 1-2.

Lazio were now in control and the Poles faded. The substitutions started in the 65th minute, one each, with Miroslaw Szymkowiak for Pawel Strąk and Nikola Lazetić for César.

The game remained a physical battle but Lazio managed to limit the risks.

The hosts tried changing forwards; in the 72nd minute Daniel Dubicki for Kuzba and in the 79th Grzegorz Pater for Zurawski. Meanwhile in the 77th minute Lazio buttoned up bringing on holding midfielder Giuliano Gianichedda for Chiesa.

The "Biala gwiazda" continued to fight looking for the all-important equaliser but their energies gradually deserted them. The awful pitch had taken a lot out of both sides and now the diminished strength and lucidity played in favour of the defending side.

In the 90th minute, partly to let the clock tick away and partly to try and hold onto the ball, Lazio brought on Fabio Liverani for Dejan Stankovic.

After four minutes of additional time the replacement referee blew up. Lazio celebrated what seemed like an epic feat. The injuries, the cold, the pitch, the nightmare start had all been brushed aside and the Biancocelesti marched on to the UEFA quarter-finals.

Who played for Wisła Kraków

Hugues, Baszczyński, Głowacki, Jop, Stolarczyk, Uche, Strąk (65' Szymkowiak), Cantoro, Kosowski, Kuzba (72' Dubicki), Żurawski (79' Pater)

Substitutes: Piekutowski, Paszulewicz, Moskal, Frankowski

Manager: Kasperczak

Who played for Lazio

Marchegiani, Stam, Negro, F.Couto, Favalli, Fiore, Simeone, Stankovic (90' Liverani), César (65' Lazetic), C.Lopez, Chiesa (77' Giannichedda)

Substitutes: Concetti, Colonnese, Oddo, Inzaghi

Manager: Mancini

Referee: Dougal (then from 15th minute Clark)

Goals: 4' Kuzba, 21 F. Couto, 55' Chiesa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRqiztrXFaE

What happened next

Lazio then eliminated Beşiktaş 3-1 (2-1, 1-0) and reached the semi-finals where they were undone by eventual winners Porto 1-4 on aggregate (1-4, 0-0). A good European campaign however. Porto would then win the Champions League the following year.

Lazio did well in Serie A too, finishing 4th and qualifying for a Champions League playoff (then won 4-1 vs Benfica in August). In the remaining games Lazio won 5, drew 4 (including derby 2-2, Inter 1-1 away and Juventus 0-0 at home) and lost 2. The top scorer was Claudio Lopez with 17 goals (15 in A).

In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti lost the return leg 0-1 to Roma and were eliminated. Roma then lost to Milan 3-6 on aggregate in the final (1-4, 2-2).

Wisla Kraków went on to win their 8th league title and their 4th Polish Cup, therefore the double. They have since won five more league titles (last in 2011) and one more domestic cup (2024) but are now currently in the 2nd tier of Polish football.

Let’s talk about: Enrico Chiesa

Enrico Chiesa was born in Genoa on December 29, 1970.

He started playing football in the youth teams of Pontedecima and at the age of 16 he moved to Sampdoria. He debuted in Serie A on April 16 1989 against Roma. In 1990 he was sent to Teramo in Serie C2 on loan and for the next season he was at Chieti in Serie C1. He returned to the Doria side of Genoa in 1992 and played the whole season in Serie A. Two more years on loan followed: first at Modena in Serie B where he did very well scoring 14 goals, and the next year at Cremona where again he scored 14 goals. In 1995 he was back with Sampdoria and scored 22 goals in 27 appearances alongside Roberto Mancini.

At this point he became one of the most sought after players in the “mercato” of 1996. Parma won and he moved to Emilia Romagna and partnered with Hernan Crespo. He spent three years with the Gialloblu, 120 appearances and 55 goals, winning a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Cup in 1998-99.

In 1999 he signed for Fiorentina. Since the Viola had Gabriel Batistuta as centre-forward he was placed on the wing, a position he did not particularly like. This, plus a number of injuries meant that his goal tally was only 12 in 39 appearances. But with Batistuta sold to Roma, during the following season he returned to being the goal scoring machine that he was and scored 27 goals in all competitions. In the 2001-02 season after a promising start he suffered a bad knee injury in September and was out for the rest of the season. Fiorentina were relegated and then went bust and he was a free agent.

In 2002 he signed for Lazio. It was a difficult year for him, coming back from such a severe injury, so he could not perform as well as he did in previous years. In a 2014 interview he said “I’d like to make a premise. I have experienced many beautiful moments during my career and I am happy with what I have done, but perhaps arriving at Lazio after a serious injury is one of the biggest regrets I have. I was especially sorry for the fans, who probably expected from me what I had shown at Sampdoria, Parma and Fiorentina. I tried to give everything I could. We were a very strong team, so strong that at the end of the season we reached the Champions League and only went out in the semi-finals of both the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia”.

At Lazio, Chiesa made 29 appearances with 7 goals.

In 2003 he signed for Siena. He stayed in Tuscany for 5 years and in the first three he reached double figures as far as goals were concerned. In the last two years though he played less and less. In 2008 he signed for Figline in the fourth tier and helped them get promoted to the former Serie C1. At the end of the 2010 season he retired.

Chiesa has 17 caps for Italy with 7 goals. He played in Euro 1996 and the 1998 World Cup.

After retirement he became a manager. He started with the Sampdoria Under 17s in 2012 and in the next year he was promoted head coach of the Primavera where he stayed for two years. Since 2017 he is technical manager of the FIGC's Federal Territorial Center in Florence.

Enrico Chiesa is father of Federico Chiesa who currently plays for Liverpool.

Chiesa was an excellent goal scoring machine. Unfortunately, he arrived at Lazio late in his career and took time to get back to form after a year of inactivity due to injury. A pity.