May 10, 2003: Bologna Lazio 0-2
- Simon Basten
- May 10
- 7 min read
Almost Champions League
Lazio win at Bologna and Champions League qualification is just around the corner
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season had not been a positive one. Lazio had started under Dino Zoff but after three games changed manager and President Sergio Cragnotti chose Alberto Zaccheroni. The new coach, however, never managed to set the sail straight. Struggling to find a minimum of game organisation, the team just did not have the continuity necessary to reach the top positions. In the end they did manage a UEFA Cup qualification thanks to a win in the last game against Inter which shattered the Neroazzurri’s hopes of winning the scudetto.
For this season there was the return of Roberto Mancini, this time as manager. There were high hopes among the Lazio fans, but Cragnotti was having considerable financial difficulties and someone had to be sold. The first player who everybody had their eyes on was obviously Alessandro Nesta. Cragnotti hoped that Milan, Inter and Juventus would battle to the end to get the greatest defender of all time and that the price would be really high. Instead there was a secret pact between them to get the player for a much lower price than his real value. All three clubs waited until the very last moments of the transfer window to force Lazio to accept a low price. Milan won and Cragnotti was forced to agree to a mere €31 million. At this point a second player had to go and that was Hernan Crespo who was sold to Inter for €36 million and Bernardo Corradi.
Other signings had been Massimo Oddo and Christian Manfredini from Chievo, Enrico Chiesa on a free transfer, and Juan Pablo Sorin, on loan from Cruzeiro. Leaving Lazio were Ivan de La Peña to Espanyol and Gaizka Mendieta on loan to Barcelona plus Karel Poborsky who had decided not to renew his contract.
Mancini had to reinvent the team and he did a really good job. Corradi took Crespo’s place and became a fundamental player on the chessboard, opening up gaps for Claudio Lopez. They struggled at home, but this was compensated by a good number of away wins. The season looked promising. At one point, Lazio were top of the table after recovering from a 0-2 deficit and winning 3-2 at Piacenza. But in the next match against Inter they only managed to draw 3-3 after being 3-0 up after the first half. Not to worry, Mancini’s boys then managed to win in Turin against Juventus. At the end of the first part of the season Lazio were joint second with Inter and just three points behind Juve.
But in the next 5 games the Biancocelesti had only managed four draws and any hopes of battling for the scudetto had faded. But there was a Champions League qualification to go for and the Biancocelesti, with three games to the end of the season, were 4th with a three-point lead over Chievo Verona, fifth.
In the Coppa Italia Lazio had been eliminated by Roma in the semifinals and in the UEFA Cup too the exit had been just around the corner from the final as they were eliminated by Porto 4-1 on aggregate in the semis.
A win today would be extremely important.
The match: Saturday, May 10, 2003, Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Bologna
Roberto Mancini had to change the line-up immediately since Sinisa Mihajlovic got injured during the warm-up. He also decided he wanted speed rather than power, so Bernardo Corradi found space on the bench.
Bologna tried to control the game offensively, so Lazio responded by controlling it defensively. However, the Rossoblu lacked motivation and a centre forward since Julio Cruz was out injured, and Beppe Signori was their only forward. All the hosts could muster was a Signori shot from 20 meters that Angelo Peruzzi parried into corner. The Biancocelesti had the speed and the power to do better offensively but always made a mistake on the last pass. This until the 45th minute when Michele Paramatti decided to show all his affection for Simone Inzaghi hugging him in the box. Penalty for the Biancocelesti that Inzaghi had no difficulty in scoring.
Bologna in the second half had a chance with the former Lazio idol. Free kick, big Signori whack, but the ball hit the edge of the post. The Biancocelesti made it two in the 59th minute. Claudio López on the counterattack, Bologna all in the Lazio box and it was a three against one since Cesar and Beppe Favalli followed the Argentinian. Lopez arrived in the penalty area, ball into the middle for Favalli, 2-0.
There was still a half hour to play but the game ended here. Dejan Stankovic had a chance later in the match, but his lob was deflected.
Great win for Lazio, Champions League qualification was within touching distance.
Who played for Bologna
Pagliuca, Zaccardo, Paramatti, Castellini, Vanoli, Nervo (59' Frara), Olive, Amoroso, Bellucci (76' Meghni), Signori, Locatelli (63' Della Rocca)
Substitutes: Coppola, Terzi, Smit, L. Colucci
Manager: Guidolin
Who played for Lazio
Peruzzi, Oddo, Couto, Stam, Favalli, Castroman (87’ Giannichedda), Liverani, Stankovic, Cesar (73’ Simeone), S. Inzaghi (63’ Corradi), C. Lopez
Substitutes: Marchegiani, Pancaro, Fiore, Chiesa
Manager: Mancini
Referee: Paparesta
Goals: 45’ Inzaghi (pen), 59’ Favalli
What happened next
Lazio managed to secure a Champions League place but lost out on a direct qualification for the Champions League by just one point. They would have a playoff in August to reach the group stage of the major European competition. A good result, but it could have been better.
There had been a change in the Presidency in early 2003. Some of Cragnotti’s companies went bust and the banks did not lend a hand. Lazio were also dragged into the crisis and the Presidency passed over to Ugo Longo who was a member of the Board of Directors. With the help of Luca Baraldi, the new ownership avoided bankruptcy. Just about.
Let’s talk about: Claudio López
Claudio Lopez was born in Rio Tercero, Argentina, on July 17, 1974.
He started his footballing career with Estudiantes but debuted professionally with Racing Club where he played 116 games with 25 goals in four years as a left-winger. In 1996 he moved to Europe and signed for Valencia. It was a marvellous team full of interesting players. In 1999 they won the Copa del Rey and the SuperCopa and in 2000 played in the final of the Champions League losing to Real Madrid.
Lazio that year had encountered the speed of Claudio Lopez in an infamous night in Valencia in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Without their star defender Alessandro Nesta, Claudio López went through the Lazio defence like a hot blade through butter. The Biancocelesti lost 5-2 and in the return match could not go beyond a 1-0. To think that when Valencia were drawn everybody was happy!!!
Claudio López was phenomenal in that match, scoring two goals. He immediately became a target for President Sergio Cragnotti and the club signed him in the summer of 2000 after having won the double, scudetto and Coppa Italia.
His first game for the Biancocelesti was the Supercoppa against Inter. He was devastating, delighting fans with his speed and making them dream of a bright future thanks to a good partnership with centre forward Hernán Crespo. After winning the Supercoppa however, Claudio Lopez suffered a bad injury against Brescia on November 1 and missed most of the season. He returned in 2001 scoring his first goal in Serie A on August 26 in the home game against Piacenza. When he came back, he was still a great player but not as devastating as what we had seen in the game against Inter and previously with Valencia. He did well, and sometimes one did see the old magic, but it was another Lazio. Under Roberto Mancini the team reached a Champions League qualification in 2002-03 and won the Coppa Italia in 2004.
But things were changing. Lazio were deeply in debt, Cragnotti was forced to resign and sell the club, then bought by Claudio Lotito. The first thing Lotito needed to do was to cut costs, so a number of players had to leave. Some, like Stefano Fiori and Bernardo Corradi, were sold to cover previous debts. Claudio López as a consequence was sold to América in Mexico. He stayed there three years winning a championship as well as the CONCACAF Champions League. In 2007 he returned to Racing Club in Argentina. His contract ended in December so in March 2008 he announced that he had signed for Kansas City Wizards in the MLS. Two years later he joined Colorado Rapids. On May 19, 2011, he announced that he was retiring, but he still wanted to work in football. As such he became sports director for his last team Colorado.
Claudio López won 54 caps for Argentina with 10 goals. He participated in the 1998 World Cup scoring a goal in the quarterfinal defeat against The Netherlands. He also played in the 2002 World Cup where Argentina were eliminated in the group stage.
Claudio López played regularly and scored plenty of goals for Lazio. He was an incredibly fast left-winger, very talented, who knew how to play. He had one major flaw: he did everything with his left foot, the right one was used only for walking. I also think that he never really came back quite as good as before the 2000 injury. But the player who did come back was still top class.
Lazio Career
Season | Toal games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Cup | Super Coppa |
2000-01 | 23 (7) | 16 | - | 6 (5) | - | 1 (2) |
2001-02 | 38 (12) | 29 (10) | 1 | 8 (2) | - | - |
2002-03 | 47 (17) | 34 (15) | 4 | - | 9 (2) | - |
2003-04 | 36 (4) | 27 (4) | 5 | 4 | - | - |
Total | 144 (40) | 106 (29) | 10 | 18 (7) | 9 (2) | 1 (2) |
Sources
Comments