End of season kickaround crowns Signori goal king
An entertaining and high scoring game goes Lazio's way and Signori's brace hails him top Serie A scorer for second year in a row
Also on this day: May 1, 1927, Lazio Novara 2-2. Novara slightly superior but Lazio battle hard and clinch draw. Player of the day: Richard Okely III
The season so far
Lazio had arrived 5th the previous year and the objective was to improve on that position.
Dino Zoff had been confirmed as manager but some interesting additions had been made to the squad. Lazio finally invested in a goalkeeper and brought in Luca Marchegiani from Torino. In defence a young full-back, Paolo Negro, arrived from Brescia. In midfield a relatively unknown Roberto Di Matteo came from Aarau while former Roma, Fabrizio Di Mauro arrived on loan from Fiorentina. In attack Lazio welcomed Pierluigi Casiraghi from Juventus. In the autumn Lazio had also added highly rated forward, Alen Boksic, from Marseille.
Making space for the new entries Lazio also sadly said farewell to -9 and promotion hero defender Angelo Gregucci (Torino) and to popular German striker Karl-Heinz Riedle (Borussia Dortmund). Also leaving were keeper Valerio Fiori (Cagliari) and midfielder Giovanni Stroppa (Foggia). In the autumn Thomas Doll left for Eintracht Frankfurt and Dario Marcolin went to Cagliari on loan.
Lazio had a positive season. They were in 4th position and had already qualified for the following year's UEFA Cup. The Biancocelesti had drawn the first derby 1-1 and triumphed in the second 1-0 (Signori). They also had other great wins: Napoli home and away, Inter away, Juventus 3-1 at home. They had however also fallen to unexpected defeats: Cremonese away, Cagliari and Foggia both 4-1 away and only two weeks before today's match a humiliating 6-1 away drubbing by Juventus.
But all in all it was a good season and Beppe Signori was top scorer in Serie A with 21 goals.
Sampdoria were having an excellent season. Under Swedish manager Sven-Goran Eriksson the Blucerchiati were in third place. They had won 18 (including Inter, Roma, Foggia 6-0 and Udinese 6-2), drawn 8 (including Lazio 1-1) and lost 7.
They had also won the Coppa Italia in April defeating Ancona in the double final; 0-0 and 6-1. They had therefore qualified for the following year's Cup Winners Cup.
"Il Doria" had some good players; Gianluca Pagliuca, Pietro Vierchowod, Chicco Evani, Vladimir Jugovic, Ruud Gullit, Attilio Lombardo, David Platt, Roberto Mancini to name just a few.
Today's match announced itself to be entertaining between two satisfied and talented teams.
The match: Sunday, May 1, 1994, Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
A warm, sunny spring day welcomed the players and the atmosphere was of an end of season kickaround.
Most of the pre-match talk had been of illustrious farewells. For Lazio, manager Dino Zoff was vacating the bench to make space for Zdenek Zeman, the legendary keeper was however staying on as President. For Sampdoria, Ruud Gullit was returning to Milan after only one but highly positive season with the Blucerchiati. He had played 40 games and scored 17 goals. The fans saw this as a betrayal but Ruud stated that he was going back "home".
Both teams were missing a key defender; Vierchowod for Samp and Roberto Cravero for Lazio. The home side were also without Roberto Mancini.
The game was immediately open and lively. Both teams were carefree and out to enjoy themselves. In the first fifteen minutes the hosts tested Marchegiani's reflexes with two long range shots. In the 21st minute Lazio went ahead. Casiraghi chested the ball forward and powered past two defenders and with crisp, angled left foot beat Pagliuca. Samp 0 Lazio 1.
The Biancocelesti's lead did not last long. In the 23rd minute a Michele Serena free kick was deflected off the wall by Luigi Corino and gave Marchegiani no chance. 1-1.
At this point the game started to look more like a friendly. Only Gullit, trying to transform the whistles into applause, went close with an acrobatic volley off a David Platt cross, but it just missed the target. Half time Sampdoria 1 Lazio 1.
For the second half Sampdoria lost defender Moreno Mannini due to injury and he was replaced by Giovanni Dall'Igna. The best form of defence however is attack and in the 54th minute "Il Doria" were back in the lead. A Serena close range header was parried by Marchegiani but "Popeye" Lombardo was there for the tap-in. 2-1 to Samp.
Again the equilibrium was soon restored. A Diego Fuser long range shot in the 59th minute came off Dall'Igna and wrong footed Pagliuca for Lazio's equaliser, 2-2.
At this stage most people thought that was probably it, a point each, four goals, both teams had shown they were interested. They had not taken into account Signori's goal hunt to become top Serie A scorer.
In the 64th minute he scored a classic goal from his repertoire. A counterattack saw the ball arrive to Beppe-gol who with his surgically precise and powerful left foot beat Pagliuca with a low shot in the corner. Samp 2 Lazio 3.
Fun and games yes but to lose the last match in front of your fans no. Samp fought back and equalised four minutes later. In the 68th minute a superb move by Lombardo saw him dribble through four defenders and put in a low cross which Mauro Bertarelli finished off, 3-3.
Everyone satisfied? All except one. In the 70th minute Signori scored again, this time the winner. A Casiraghi shot was saved by Pagliuca but the ball spun over to the far post where Signori pounced and poked the ball in. Sampdoria 3 Lazio 4. This was also the final score.
A highly entertaining game which would probably would have end in a draw were it not for Signori's insatiable hunger to add to his goal tally.
The only person slightly concerned might have been Italy manager Arrigo Sacchi who saw his two goalkeepers for USA '94 concede seven goals.
Who played for Sampdoria
Pagliuca, Mannini (46' Dall'Igna), Serena, Gullit, Rossi, Sacchetti, Lombardo, Jugovic, Platt, Bertarelli (76' N. Amoruso), Evani
Substitutes: Nuciari, Bucchioni, Bellucci
Manager: Eriksson
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Corino (57' Luzardi), Negro, Bacci, Bonomi, Favalli, Fuser, Boksic, Casiraghi, Winter (76' Di Mauro), Signori
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Treossi
Goals: 21' Casiraghi, 23' Corino (o.g), 54' Lombardo, 59' Dall' Igna (o.g), 64' Signori, 68' Bertarelli, 70' Signori
What happened next
Not much as it was the last game of the season … Lazio came 4th on the same points as Sampdoria. They won 17, drew 10 and lost 7. Beppe Signori was Serie A goal king with 23 goals.
Sampdoria came 3rd on goal difference (they had the most prolific attack in Serie A with 64 goals) after 18 wins, 8 draws and 8 defeats. Their top scorer was Gullit with 17 (15 in the league). Gullit himself, despite all the fuss over him leaving, would be back in November for another season with Sampdoria before flying off to Chelsea in the summer of 1995.
The Scudetto was won by Milan for the 14th time. There were 4 relegations in that period and the unfortunate slots were taken by Lecce, Atalanta, Udinese and Piacenza.
Lazio 1993-94
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 55 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | - |
UEFA Cup | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | 5 |
Total | 40 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 60 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Marchegiani | 40 | 34 | 2 | 4 |
Winter | 40 | 34 | 2 | 4 |
Di Matteo | 35 | 29 | 2 | 4 |
Bacci | 33 | 29 | - | 4 |
Cravero | 32 | 29 | 1 | 2 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | UEFA Cup |
Signori | 23 | 23 | - |
Cravero | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Winter | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Casiraghi | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Di Matteo | 4 | 4 | - |
Boksic | 4 | 4 | - |
Let's talk about Mauro Bonomi
Mauro Bonomi was born in Cremona, on August 23, 1972.
He started playing football in his hometown club Cremonese. His debut came on September 1, 1991 against Genoa. He went on to play 49 times for the Grigiorossi.
In 1992 he was signed by Lazio along with two other promising Cremonese players, fellow defender Giuseppe Favalli and midfielder Dario Marcolin.
He made his debut for the Biancocelesti on August 26, 1992, in a 4-0 win against Ascoli.
In his first year in Rome he played under Dino Zoff and made 10 league appearances (plus 3 in Coppa Italia). He was unlucky breaking his leg in November at Pescara, in the game Paul Gascoigne scored his unforgettable goal, swerving his way through the whole defence.
Bonomi's second year was his best and he played 22 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia and 1 in the UEFA Cup, again under Zoff. Things changed when Zdenek Zeman arrived in 1994-95 but he was also penalised by injury and the emergence of young outstanding talent Alessandro Nesta who paired up well with Paolo Negro. In his last season in Rome he only played 6 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.
Bonomi played three seasons for Lazio and made 38 league appearances. Lazio achieved a 5th, 4th and 2nd place in his time in Rome.
In 1995 he signed for Cagliari where he played 12 league games first under Giovanni Trapattoni and then Bruno Giorgi. The islanders had a decent season finishing 10th. In 1996 he went to Cesena in Serie B, where he played more regularly, 34 league games.
In 1997 he joined Bologna but played only one game before moving to Torino in Serie B.
At Torino he finally found some continuity and over the next four years played 103 league games with 3 goals. In 1998 "Toro" were promoted to Serie A under Emiliano Mondonico and he played 33 league games with 3 goals (Chievo, Reggiana, Napoli) plus 3 games in Coppa Italia. The following year however they were immediately relegated again. In his last year with the "Granata" he helped them back up with 13 league games.
In 2001 he joined Napoli in Serie B. The "Partenopei" arrived 5th under Luigi De Canio. Bonomi was a regular with 35 league appearances and 2 goals (Genoa, Cosenza).
The following year Napoli changed managers twice, Franco Colomba to Franco Scoglio and back to the first Franco. They had an awful season coming 16th. Bonomi played 32 league games with 1 goal (Genoa) and 3 in Coppa Italia.
In 2003-04 only a slight improvement for the "Azzurri", a 14th place, first under former Lazio Andrea Agostinelli and then another Lazio connection Gigi Simoni. Bonomi played 30 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia. Napoli though went bankrupt and were relegated to C1. The club however was bought by film producer Aurelio De Laurentis, so better things were on the way.
In 2004-05 however Bonomi did not follow Napoli down to C1. He joined newly promoted Catanzaro in Serie B. The Calabresi were then relegated with a last place finish but then kept their B status due to other clubs misdemeanors. Bonomi played 18 league games for the Red and Yellow Eagles.
The following year he kept the same colours but went down a league to Ravenna in C1. He played 20 league games for the Lions as they came 13th.
Bonomi then retired at 34.
At International level he won 8 Italy U18 caps. He played 12 times for the U21's and won a European Championship in 1992 in Spain. He also made 5 appearances for the Italy Olympic team in Barcelona 1992.
The fact that 1992 was his last national experience probably has a reason. He was one of the most promising defenders of his generation until his injury, in November 1992. After that he recovered, had a decent career but never reached the heights many had predicted.
At Lazio when he arrived from Cremonese with Favalli and Marcolin he was the one people were most excited about. As it turned out the others would have more illustrious careers, also winning the Scudetto with Lazio.
Bonomi was a tenacious defender. At 1.83 for 80 kilos he was also quick. This asset was affected by his injury but he remained a solid defender. He could play either full-back or centre-back. He was best at man-to-man marking which met his physical and aggressive style of play. He was "un lottatore", a fighter. At Lazio he did not fulfil his potential but will always be connected to a period where Lazio could beat off competition and buy three promising talents at the drop of a hat.
Bonomi since retiring has left football and he now runs a restaurant in a popular sea resort frequented by many footballers, Milano Marittima (Ravenna).
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1992-93 | 13 | 10 | 3 | - |
1993-94 | 24 | 22 | 1 | 1 |
1994-95 | 7 | 6 | 1 | - |
Total | 44 | 38 | 5 | 1 |
Source