May 14, 1995: Lazio Inter 4-1
- Lazio Stories
- 5 days ago
- 9 min read
After initial difficulties Lazio sweep Inter away
One zero down after five minutes Lazio gradually stir and their prolific attack comes to life giving Inter no chance
Also on this day:
The season so far
At the end of the 1993-94 season Sergio Cragnotti surprised everybody by giving the Lazio managerial job to Zdenek Zeman. The Czech coach had impressed the world with his incredible tactical organisation at Foggia. Two of his former players had been signed by Lazio during the summer: Roberto Rambaudi and Jose Chamot. They joined another former Foggia star Beppe Signori. Arriving were also Giorgio Venturin (Torino), Ivano Della Morte (Monza) and Daniele Adani (Modena). Leaving Lazio were Luigi Corino (Brescia), Luca Luzardi (Napoli), Dario Marcolin (Genoa on loan) and Claudio Sclosa (Cremonese, loan), all players that were considered unsuitable for Zeman’s style of play.
Dino Zoff, who had bored everybody to tears in recent years, was promoted to club President. In this way Cragnotti did not lose the charisma of the former World Champion, very important particularly for PR reasons.
In Coppa Italia, Lazio passed the first two rounds, with some difficulty in the second against Piacenza. In the quarterfinals they beat Napoli 3-1 on aggregate and faced Juventus in the semis. After losing the first leg at home 1-0, they were 1-0 down also in the second and in ten men, but they managed to equalise and almost made it to the final, but the woodwork denied the Biancocelesti and in the end a Roberto Baggio penalty handed the final to Juventus.
In the UEFA Cup, Lazio had some trouble scoring away from home. The Biancocelesti passed the first round comfortably but had to wait to the last dying seconds before getting the better of Trelleborgs FF from Sweden in the second round. In the third, against Trabzonspor, the first leg was in Turkey and Lazio managed to score their first two away goals and reached the quarterfinals winning the home leg too. The Biancocelesti were then paired with Borussia Dortmund of former player Karl-Heinz Riedle. The first leg saw Lazio win 1-0 thanks to an own goal. Dortmund won the return match 2-0 with a non-existent penalty at the beginning of the game and a Riedle goal two minutes from time. Lazio were unlucky with Signori out due to injury and a referee who had clear problems with his eyesight (incredible penalty not given to the Biancocelesti).
After the first half of the season Lazio were third, four points behind Parma and five from leaders Juventus. The second part of the season had started badly with two consecutive defeats and in the next eight games they had lost another three times. They had fallen to fifth place, six points behind Parma, second. In the last three matches the Biancocelesti had won the derby 2-0, drawn 0-0 at home with Cagliari and then beaten Juventus 3-0 away. The Bianconeri were closing in on the scudetto so it was a shock result and a little deceiving as the "Old Lady" had dominated for long periods before Lazio’s three late goals. It was, however, a great win for Lazio. The Biancocelesti were defending their European slot from today's rivals Inter who were three points behind.
Inter were in 6th place, on 48 points. The manager was Ottavio Bianchi who previously coached Roma and won a scudetto with Napoli. The Nerazzurri, after winning the derby 3-1, had mixed results in the last three matches, losing at Parma 0-3, drawing 0-0 at home to Cremonese and then winning 3-1 away in Naples. This today was possibly one of their last chances to get back in the European places for next season.
The "Biscione" (The Serpent) had some good players: keeper Gianluca Pagliuca, defender Beppe Bergomi, midfielders Nicola Berti and Alessandro Bianchi plus forwards Dennis Bergkamp, Marco Delvecchio and former Lazio, Rubén Sosa (1988-92). Another Lazio connection was former midfielder Francesco Dell'Anno (1983-86).
So, a big match at the Olimpico this afternoon.
The match: Sunday, May 14, 1995, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A crowd of 55,000 came out on a pleasant May day in Rome.
Lazio were without Paul Gascoigne but they were used to that this season. Defender Beppe Favalli was back after three months while Inter had to do without Dutch star Dennis Bergkamp.
The game started with a bang and, after a Beppe Signori scissor kick over the bar, in the 5th minute the visitors were already in front. Luca Marchegiani had already dived at Delvecchio's feet to avert the first threat. Then from the subsequent corner Inter scored. The corner came in high from Bianchi, Berti jumped up for the header between Cristiano Bergodi and Paolo Negro and the ball bounced away from the goal but came back off Negro and the Interista blasted a scissor kick into the top left corner. It was slightly lucky in the build-up but Berti took it well. Lazio 0 Inter 1.
Inter were on a high and Lazio were taking time to get going. Dutchman Wim Jonk had a crack from outside but it flew over the bar.
Lazio finally stirred and Diego Fuser raced down the right wing and squared to Alen Boksic who hit it first time but way off target. Signs of life at least from the Biancocelesti.
Inter then wasted a big chance with Marco Delvecchio, the future Roma striker cut inside José Antonio Chamot from the left but once in the area the ball was on his wrong foot and, from a favourable position, he placed a weak, low effort into Marchegiani's arms.
Inter insisted and a good one-two move, started off with a back heel to Massimo Orlando on the right, was finished off by Pierluigi Orlandini but just wide.
After having been subdued for so long Lazio came to life. First Roberto Rambaudi tried his luck with a left foot but Gianluca Pagliuca was safe. Then it all clicked. A sublime low, cutting through ball by Rambaudi found Signori unmarked in front of Pagliuca, he went around him but was pulled down. No doubt about it, penalty. The Inter keeper however was not sent off as expected but got away with a yellow card. Signori then scored the spot kick sending Pagliuca the wrong way. Lazio 1 Inter 1.
Lazio were suddenly on fire and took the lead a few minutes later. In the 38th minute Rambaudi was again the assist man with another surgical through ball this time to Negro who ran onto it and scored with a low right foot, beating Pagliuca coming off his line. Lazio 2 Inter 1. In three minutes, the home side had turned the game around. Halftime came with Lazio ahead.
Inter had started well but as soon as Lazio came alive they were in great difficulty.
Just after the break, in the 48th minute former Lazio idol Rubén Sosa came on for Bianchi.
Lazio started where they had finished off. Boksic teed up Signori on the left side of the area but his low finish lacked the usual power and was saved by Pagliuca with his feet.
In the 51st minute Inter made their second substitution and Mirko Conte replaced Orlando. Boksic then had a go but his low left footed strike was too central.
Inter reappeared up front but it was an isolated event. Orlandini went for an ambitious lob from about 35 metres out, it was a good effort but "Il Conte" stepped back and tipped it over the bar.
In the 72nd minute Lazio made it three. Aron Winter protected a ball well on the left side of the area and served Boksic who powered towards the by-line and beautifully chipped the ball across goal where Rambaudi let it bounce and then hammered a low shot into the net. Lazio 3 Inter 1.
Lazio were rampant, in complete control and in the 75th minute almost scored three times on the same move. First Signori forced Paglica into a low save after a classy one-two with Boksic, the rebound reached Aron Winter on the left who blasted a low left foot saved by Pagliuca with his feet on the near post and finally the ball was cleared out to Fuser at the edge of the box who fired a powerful high effort which the busy Pagliuca palmed over the bar. It was a bombing by Lazio.
In the 78th minute Inter were reduced to ten men when Massimo Paganin was forced off injured on a stretcher.
Inter tried to get back into the game. Sosa had a crack from outside the area but Marchegiani caught it comfortably. Then in the 90th minute Orlandini tried another chipped lob and this time it hit the bar.
In the meantime Lazio had replaced Boksic with Gigi Casiraghi in the 86th and Fuser with Giorgio Venturin in the 87th.
In the 93rd minute Lazio ended on a high. Roberto Di Matteo found Signori on the right side of the area and he floated a cross onto the other side where Winter nodded in a close-range header into the top left corner, giving the hapless Pagliuca no chance. Lazio 4 Inter 1.
An excellent victory for Lazio. They had needed a while to carburate but once they did there was no stopping them. Their attack confirmed, on a good day, to be explosive. They had now scored 66 goals so far this season.
The table looked healthier too with the Biancocelesti up to solitary 4th place on 54 points. Lazio had overtaken Roma on 52, as they had been defeated 1-0 by Milan. A satisfying Sunday for Lazio.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Favalli, Di Matteo, Bergodi, Chamot, Rambaudi, Fuser (87' Venturin), Boksic (86' Casiraghi), Winter, Signori
Manager: Zeman
Who played for Inter
Pagliuca, Bergomi, M. Pagani, Orlando (51' M. Conte), Festa, Bia, Bianchi (48' Ruben Sosa), Jonk, Delvecchio, Berti, Orlandini
Substitutes: Mondini, A.Paganin, Fontolan
Manager: O. Bianchi
Referee: Treossi
Goals: 5' Berti, 35' Signori (pen), 38' Negro, 72' Rambaudi, 93' Winter
What happened next
Lazio’s main ambition was a place in Europe in some way or form and to play well. They managed to keep a high standard of play – a couple of 5-1s (against Napoli and Padova), a 7-1 win at home against Foggia, 8-2 win against Fiorentina, a 3-0 away win against Juventus and the 2-0 win over that other team from Rome – despite an occasional pause (losing the other derby for example). The team scored lots of goals, not surprising when one has Alen Boksic, Pierluigi Casiraghi and Beppe Signori in the squad. One could see that the Biancocelesti had enormous potential and they did reach second place behind Juventus but if it were not for the occasional defensive blackouts, they could perhaps even have done better.
Luca Marchegiani and Paolo Negro were the players with most appearances in the season (48, Casiraghi was the one with most matches in Serie A) and Signori the highest scorer (17 in Serie A and 21 in total).
Sadly, this was the last season at Lazio for Paul Gascoigne. He came back after the terrible injury of 1994 and played 4 matches. But Zeman’s type of game was too limiting for him so he was sold to Rangers during the summer.
Let’s talk about Beppe Bergomi
Beppe Bergomi was one of the best defenders of his generation. In twenty years of activity he won a scudetto (1988-89), a Coppa Italia (1981-82), Supercoppa (1989) and three UEFA Cups (1990-91, 1993-94 and 1997-98) all with Inter. Plus a World Cup, the legendary Italy win of 1982.
Giuseppe Bergomi was born in Milan on December 22, 1963. He began his career in the Settalese youth team then moved to Inter in 1977. He debuted in the first team in a Coppa Italia match against Juventus on January 30, 1980, when he was just 16. A year later came his first Serie A match at Como. He went on to make 757 appearances and 28 goals with the Nerazzurri in 20 years and was captain from 1992 to 1999. He is the player with most games in the UEFA Cup/Europa League (96) and second for total appearances in the Coppa Italia (119) behind Roberto Mancini.
He played 7 games for Italy’s Under 21s and was called up by Enzo Bearzot for the World Cup in Spain in 1982. The Azzurri had struggled in the First Group phase and had qualified for the second group phase in second place with three points. They were then paired with Argentina, the holders, and Brazil, the hot favourites. Both the Azzurri and Brazil beat Argentina and faced each other in one of the most exciting games of all time, the legendary Italy Brazil 3-2 which was played in Barcelona in Espanyol's small Sarrià stadium. Italy scored early with Paolo Rossi, but Socrates equalised shortly after. Rossi scored again, but after half an hour Fulvio Collovati got injured. Bearzot told Bergomi to get ready and he went in. Brazil equalised again in the second half with Paulo Roberto Falcao but Rossi made it three and Italy qualified for the semis where they beat Poland 2-0 with a Rossi brace. Bergomi played in the semi-final and also the final against West Germany which Italy won thanks to Rossi, Marco Tardelli and Alessandro Altobelli. Bergomi was the second youngest to win a World Cup, behind Pelé.
In total Bergomi played 81 games for Italy with six goals. He was in the squad also for the 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups, with a third place at Italy 90.
Once he stopped playing he became a manager for youth teams but has made a career in punditry and is one of the main second voices for Sky Italia.
Nicknamed Zio (Uncle), he was a ruthless man marker, very similar to his Italy teammate Claudio Gentile. A great defender, one of the best Italy has ever had.
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