May 11, 1997: Lazio-Perugia 4-1
- Dag Jenkins
- May 11
- 10 min read
The Eagles fly towards Europe
Lazio edge nearer a UEFA qualification with a 4-1 win and put Perugia in deep trouble
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 3rd (UEFA) under manager Zdeněk Zeman. The highlights were beating Juventus 4-0, Sampdoria 6-3, Atalanta 5-1, Cagliari 4-0, Fiorentina 4-0 and especially Roma 1-0, all at home. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 26 goals (24 in A).
This year the Bohemian stayed on. The main new signings were South African defender Mark Fish (Orlando Pirates), midfielders Pavel Nedved (Sparta Prague) and Paul Okon (Club Bruges) plus forward Igor Protti (Bari), previous year's top Serie A scorer with Signori.
Leaving were defender Cristiano Bergodi (Padova), midfielders Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea), Aron Winter (Inter) plus forwards Alen Boksic (Juventus) and Marco Di Vaio (Bari-on loan).
The Serie A campaign had started very badly with two defeats (Bologna 0-1 away and Udinese 0-1 at home). After that they were very inconsistent with 6 wins (including Milan 3-0), 5 draws (including the derby 0-0 and Inter 1-1 away) and 5 defeats. The last defeat to Bologna 1-2 at home on January 26 had cost Zeman his job and back came Dino Zoff.
Since Zoff's return the Biancocelesti had won 6, drawn 3 (including recent derby 1-1) and lost 2. Lazio were currently in joint 5th place with Bologna on 44 points, with 14 points on the relegation zone (before the change of manager Lazio had been joint 12th, with Udinese, and with only a five-point cushion on the drop zone) and in a UEFA Cup position. Things were looking better.
Lazio had also started their Coppa Italia campaign on August 28 and had won 1-0 away at Avellino. They then played Verona away on October 23 and won 2-1. Then came the quarter finals but in November Lazio lost 1-2 on aggregate to Napoli.
In the UEFA Cup, the Biancocelesti had played the first leg of the round of 64 away at Lens, winning 1-0. On September 24 they completed the revenge on the French side, nineteen years after the humiliating 0-6 defeat in extra-time in 1977, by drawing 1-1. In the round of 32 in October it was possibly the beginning of the end for Zeman. Lazio won 1-0 at home against Tenerife and were winning 1-0 away, then drawing 3-3 but managed to lose 3-5 and get eliminated. A very disappointing evening.
Perugia were newly promoted. The Umbri had finished 3rd in Serie B under three different managers: Walter Novellino, Diego Giannattasio and finally Giovanni Galeone. Top scorer was Marco Negri with 18 league goals.
This season the manager was initially Galeone, but he was replaced in December by Mauro Amenta and then from January Nevio Scala took over. For Serie A the Grifoni had brought in a few new players; keeper Alaxsandar Kocić (Vojvodina), defenders Alberto Di Chiara (Parma), Salvatore Matrecano (Udinese), Marcello Castellini (back from Parma), midfielders Michel Kreek (Padova), Antonio Manicone (Inter), Carmine Gautieri (Bari), Fausto Pizzi (Napoli) plus forward Milan Rapaić (Hajduk Spalato).
Leaving were: keeper Simone Braglia (Lucchese), defenders Gianluca Atzori (Reggina), Massimo Beghetto (Vicenza), Andrea Camplone (Ancona), midfielders Pasquale Rocco (Torino-on loan), Pasquale Suppa (Padova) plus forward Paolo Baldieri (Savoia) and Alberto Briaschi (Ancona).
The Umbri were struggling and were in 16th place on 28 points. The Biancorossi had won 7, drawn 7 and lost 15 (including Lazio 1-2). The safety area was two points higher up, Cagliari and Piacenza on 30. The Grifoni were desperate for points.
In the Coppa Italia the Grifoni had surprisingly gone out in the second round, in September-October, to C1 opponents Nocerina 1-2 on aggregate.
An interesting game today between two highly motivated teams. Lazio for Europe and Perugia to avoid the drop.
The match: Sunday, May 11, 1997, Stadio Olimpico
A hot and sunny May afternoon brought about 35,000 to the Olimpico.
Lazio were missing defender Beppe Favalli who was suspended while derby hero Igor Protti was on the bench. Alessandro Nesta was back in the starting line-up after almost two months.
Perugia were without defender Marco Materazzi.
Lazio took the lead almost immediately. In the 7th minute José Antonio Chamot cut in from the left and teed up Beppe Signori with a good through ball, the blonde striker raced into the left side of the area and blasted a left foot in on the near post. Lazio 1 Perugia 0.
Lazio then relaxed a little too much perhaps also due to the spring heat and Perugia had a couple of chances to equalise. Milan Rapaic and Michel Kreek forced Luca Marchegiani into making two good saves.
In the 38th minute Nevio Scala made a tactical substitution. He had seen midfielder Kreek in difficulty in containing Lazio on the right, so he put on a defender Martino Traversa.
The substitution seemed a bit too conservative and in fact Perugia rarely threatened again.
Lazio did, with a Roberto Rambaudi bicycle kick just over the bar.
Just before halftime Lazio doubled their lead. From a corner Gigi Casiraghi headed forwards to Rambaudi who with his back to the goal headed over and past Luca Bucci. Halftime Lazio 2 Perugia 0.
Any chances of a Perugia comeback were blown away in the first six minutes of the second half. After three minutes Casiraghi scored with a powerful header and in the 51st minute the Brianzolo striker got his brace when he tapped in a perfect low Paolo Negro cross from the right. Lazio 4 Perugia 0.
The game was virtually already over. In the 56th minute both sides made a change. For Lazio, Guerino Gottardi came on for Rambaudi and for the visitors Norwegian Petter Rudi replaced Roberto Goretti.
The heat and the scoreline slowed the game down. Lazio were cruising and Perugia demoralised. In the 65th minute Lazio brought on Igor Protti for Signori and a minute later the Umbri took off Rapaic and threw on Fausto Pizzi.
In the 72nd minute things got even worse for the Grifoni. Carmine Gautieri fouled Pavel Nedved from behind and was given his marching orders.
Ten minutes from time Lazio made their final substitution bringing on Roberto Baronio for Nedved.
Lazio four nil up and with an extra man then got a bit too distracted and in the 86th minute allowed Perugia to pull a goal back when Pizzi scored from an easy position.
Lazio then had no difficulty switching on again and Casiraghi almost got his hat-trick before the referee blew for full-time. Lazio 4 Perugia 1.
A deserved win for Lazio who scored early, risked a little but then scored three goals in seven minutes between the last minute of the first half and the sixth of the second. The game from then on had little to say.
Lazio were now joint 4th with Bologna on 47 points, they had overtaken Sampdoria who had lost 1-2 at home to Inter. Lazio still had a two-point cushion on 7th place (top 6 into UEFA) but now on Udinese.
Perugia's situation was now desperate. The Grifoni were now 5 points from safety as Piacenza had beaten Atalanta 3-1 at home. Perugia were 17th on 28 points. The table read: Reggio Audace (Reggiana) 19, Verona 26, Perugia 28, Cagliari 30, Piacenza 33. With four relegations and only four games to go Perugia would need a minor miracle to stay up.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Nesta, Grandoni, Chamot, Rambaudi (56' Gottardi), Fuser, Venturin, Nedved (80' Baronio), Casiraghi, Signori (65' Protti)
Substitutes: Orsi, Fish, Buso, Piovanelli
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Perugia
Bucci, Castellini, Di Cara, Mijalkovic, Di Chiara, Gautieri, Goretti (56' Rudi), Giunti, Kreek (38' Traversa), Rapaic (66' Pizzi), Negri
Substitutes: Spagnulo, Manicone, Matrecano, Cottini
Manager: Scala
Referee: Bettin
Goals: 7' Signori, 45' Rambaudi, 48' Casiraghi, 51' Casiraghi, 86' Pizzi
Red Card: 72' Gautieri (P)
What happened next
Lazio finished 4th and qualified for the UEFA Cup. In the next 4 games Lazio won 2 (Napoli 3-2 and Verona 4-1 at home) and drew 2 (Milan and Juventus both 2-2 away). Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 15 league goals.
Perugia ended up relegated despite winning 3 out of the last 4 games (including Bologna 5-1 and Roma 2-0 at home). They finished joint 14th with Cagliari and Piacenza but had a less favourable record in the direct matches so the other two went to a playoff and Perugia went straight down. Top scorer was Marco Negri with 15 league goals.
Juventus won their 24th Scudetto while Perugia were accompanied down to Serie B by Verona, Reggiana and Cagliari who lost the playoff 1-3 to Piacenza.
Let's talk about Pierluigi Casiraghi (known as 'Gigi')
Pierluigi Casiraghi was born in Monza (Lombardy), on March 4, 1969.
He grew up in his hometown club's youth sector and in 1985-86 joined the first team squad. His debut came against Fiorentina in a cup game on 21 August, when he came on for the last 20 minutes. His league debut in Serie B was on October 20, 1985, against Arezzo. His first goal came against Pescara on June 1, 1986. He played 14 times that season but Monza had a poor year and were relegated to C1.
In his second season he played more, 25 appearances with 6 goals, plus a brace against Sampdoria in the cup.
The 1987-88 season saw Casiraghi flourish and he scored 12 times as the Brianzoli got promoted back to Serie B.
The following season he paired up with Maurizio Ganz (later to play for Inter and Milan) and with 9 goals helped Monza survive in Serie B. In total at Monza he played 113 games, with 33 goals.
In 1989 came Casiraghi's jump into the big time. He was bought by Juventus for 6.4 million Lire (approx 12 million Euros). His debut arrived against Bologna on August 27. That year he played 23 times with 6 goals, under manager Dino Zoff. He was also a protagonist in Juventus' two Cup triumphs. He scored consistently in the Coppa Italia and got a goal in the UEFA Cup Final against Fiorentina.
His second season in Turin saw the arrival of new manager Luigi Maifredi and by Juventus standards the season was a disaster, but Casiraghi continued to perform well.
Things improved in the 1991-92 season with the return of historic and successful manager Giovanni Trapattoni. The zebra's finished in 2nd place and Casiraghi got 7 goals.
The 1992-1993 season started with more competition up front for Casiraghi. Gianluca Vialli (Sampdoria) and Fabrizio Ravanelli (Reggiana) were signed and added to Roberto Baggio and German Andreas Moeller this meant limited playing time for Casiraghi. He played a total of 25 games in all competitions with 5 goals. He was already in the Italy squad so in order to play more regularly and keep his place he decided it was time for a change. At Juventus he played 147 times and scored 36 goals.
At this point of his career Lazio stepped in. He signed for the Romans on 6 August 1993, initially on loan with a subsequent fee of 10 million Lire (approx 5 million Euros). He was reunited with manager Zoff and paired up with Signori, who he helped win the Italian Golden Boot. Casiraghi played 31 games and got 5 goals in the various competitions.
The following season 1994-95 new manager Czech Zdenek Zeman was chosen. He was well known for his attacking philosophy and tactics and in fact the trio of Signori, Boksic and Casiraghi made up a formidable scoring machine. Casiraghi himself got 15 goals in 47 games, including 4 against Fiorentina and a memorable acrobatic beauty against Roma in the derby.
The next season, 1995-96, was even more prolific for Casiraghi with 18 goals in 35 games.
In the 1996-97 season Zeman was sacked and back came Dino Zoff. Casiraghi played 31 times with 11 goals.
In the 1997-98 season, with the advent of new manager, Swedish Sven-Goran Eriksson, and forward Robert Mancini from Sampdoria, Casiraghi played less. He did however score in the derby (3-1) and helped Lazio to the UEFA Cup Final with 4 goals (the final was then lost against Inter in Paris). He played a total of 188 games for Lazio with 56 goals. He scored many memorable goals and won the Coppa Italia in 1998.
At 29 years of age, he went for an experience abroad. In the summer of 1998, he joined Chelsea for 5.5 million pounds. In London he teamed up with compatriots Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli and from his Lazio days, Roberto Di Matteo. In his first season Chelsea won the European Super Cup against the mighty Real Madrid. Casiraghi however was not involved as on November 8 disaster had struck. In a game against West-Ham United he badly fractured his leg. Despite several operations he would never play again and at 31 he was finally released by Chelsea and retired. He only played 15 times for the Blues and scored once.
At International level he played 44 times for Italy, scoring 13 goals. He was part of the Italian squad that won a runners-up medal in the USA World Cup in 1994 (defeated by Brazil on penalties).
Since retiring he has gone into coaching, and between 2006 and 2010 was in charge of the Italy Under 21s (3rd place in Euro 2009 in Sweden). He also managed the Italian Olympic team in Beijing 2008. He has had experiences abroad at Al-Arabi (Qatar) in 2015-16 and at Birmingham City (England) as deputy manager to Gianfranco Zola in 2016-17.
He has since opened a Padel sports centre in Milan.
Before his premature retirement Casiraghi had an excellent career at Juventus and Lazio. He won 2 Italian Cups (Juventus and Lazio), an FA Cup (Chelsea), 2 UEFA Cups (Juventus) and a UEFA Supercup (Chelsea). He also earned a World Cup runners-up medal.
Casiraghi was 1.82 metres tall, but he was strong, very strong. At Lazio he was nicknamed Gigi “Tyson” Casiraghi for his sheer physical power. He was a classic centre-forward and a good team player, not being a selfish goal grabber. He was not overly technical but made up for it in strength and acrobatic skills. He was a generous player and opened up space for his teammates. At Lazio, Signori in particular thrived from Casiraghi's partnership. He was a favourite at Lazio for his altruism, hard work and unsurprisingly for his goals.
In Rome he will always be remembered for his derby goals, in association with the goal machine Lazio were in those years and linked to their emergence as a trophy winning team.
To end on a curious fact, in 2023 his daughter Chiara married former Lazio player Joaquin Correa.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1993-94 | 31 (5) | 26 (4) | 2 | 3 (1) |
1994-95 | 47 (15) | 34 (12) | 6 (3) | 7 |
1995-96 | 35 (18) | 28 (14) | 3 | 4 (4) |
1996-97 | 31 (11) | 24 (8) | 4 (2) | 3 (1) |
1997-98 | 44 (7) | 28 (3) | 6 | 10 (4) |
Total | 188 (56) | 140 (41) | 21 (5) | 27 (10) |
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