May 15 1997: Lazio-Napoli 3-2
- Dag Jenkins
- May 15
- 9 min read
Fuser blasts Lazio closer to Europe
Two cracking goals by the midfielder consolidate 4th place in an error strewn but exciting game
Season 1996-97
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 7 (including Reggiana 6-1 and most recently 4-1 at home against Perugia), drawn 3 (including recent derby 1-1) and lost 2. Lazio were currently in joint 4th place with Bologna on 47 points, in the UEFA Cup slots (before the change of manager Lazio had been joint 12th, with Udinese, and only had a five-point cushion on the drop zone). Things were now looking far better.
Lazio started their Coppa Italia campaign on August 28 and 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 today's opposition Napoli.
Napoli the previous season had finished 12th in Serie A under Vujadin Boskov. Napoli beat Lazio 1-0 at home but lost 0-1 in Rome. The top scorer was Arturo Di Napoli with 5 league goals (out of a mere 28).
This season the manager was initially Gigi Simoni but he had been replaced by Vincenzo Montefusco after the 28th fixture (W7, D13, L8). The main new signings were: defender Bertrand Crasson (Anderlecht), Mauro Milanese (Torino), midfielders Francesco Turrini (Piacenza), Beto (Botafogo) and Massimiliano Esposito (Lazio) plus forwards Nicola Caccia (Piacenza), Alfredo Aglietti (Reggina) and Caio (Inter - on loan).
Leaving were: defender Massimo Tarantino (Inter), midfielders Renato Buso (Lazio), Fausto Pari (Piacenza), Fausto Pizzi (Perugia) and Carmelo Imbriani (Pistoiese - on loan) plus forward Massimo Agostini (Cesena). In January Arturo Di Napoli also left (Inter).
Napoli were currently joint 12th, with Roma on 37 points. Since the change of managers they had won 1 (recent 1-0 at home against Roma) and lost 1. The Partenopei were not seriously risking relegation as the drop zone was seven points further down but were not safe yet with four games to go.
In the Coppa Italia the Azzurri were in the middle of a double-legged final. They had beaten Vicenza 1-0 at home and would play the return game away on May 29. To get to the final they had defeated Monza and Pescara both 1-0 away, Lazio 2-1 on aggregate and Inter on penalties (after two 1-1 draws).
Lazio were favourites today to continue their good work under Zoff but Napoli could not relax completely and were keen to avoid any end of season nasty surprises.
The match: Sunday, May 15, 1997, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
An unusual Thursday evening kickoff brought just over 40,000 fans to the Olimpico.
Lazio had Beppe Favalli missing while Napoli were without defender André Cruz and midfielder Francesco Turrini.
Napoli somewhat unexpectedly had control of the game in the opening twenty minutes or so. They tightly man marked all Lazio's danger men and used the flanks well with Massimiliano Esposito and Fabio Pecchia out wide. In the meantime Lazio seemed distracted and not really in the game yet.
This brought Napoli to take the lead in the 10th minute. Esposito floated in a free kick from the left and Roberto Ayala jumped up and headed home his first Serie A goal, 0-1. The Lazio defenders, in particular Alessandro Nesta and Alessandro Grandoni had been day dreaming.
Lazio despite trailing showed no sign of reacting and Napoli were not put under any particular pressure.
It was thus equally unexpected when the Biancocelesti equalised in the 24th minute. Ayala inadvertently heeled a Gigi Casiraghi attempt to chest the ball down and this put the former Juventus forward in front of Giuseppe Taglialatela whom he beat without any problems, 1-1.
The game which had been tight and cagey suddenly became more open and this suited Lazio fine.
It suited them tactically but they continued to make technical mistakes with Luca Marchegiani, José Antonio Chamot and uncharacteristically Nesta. The visitors did not take advantage but went close with Mauro Milanese who shaved the post.
In the 39th minute Lazio took the lead with a spectacular goal. Diego Fuser raced forward from inside his own half, exchanged passes with Beppe Signori and unleashed a brilliant low curling shot from 25 metres which beat Taglialatela, 2-1. Half time: Lazio 2 Napoli 1 but not totally deserved.
For the second half the Azzurri made two changes: attacking midfielder Beto for French midfielder Alain Boghossian and forward Alfredo Aglietti for attacking midfielder Esposito. Their intentions were clear.
The game became even more end to end. Aglietti immediately missed a favourable chance and then Signori forced Taglialatela into a difficult save.
The chances kept coming; Signori volleyed over the bar, Casiraghi missed a sitter, Nicola Caccia fired high and Aglietti was denied by Luca Marchegiani.
In the 64th minute Lazio made their first change in a more or less role for role substitution: Renato Buso replacing Roberto Rambaudi.
Two minutes later Napoli equalised in a somewhat comical way. In the 66th minute Grandoni was absent but Beto completely missed the volley thus deceiving Marchegiani and the ball then bounced up allowing the Brazilian to head it in. 2-2. A lucky goal but they all count.
Napoli's hopes of taking away a point from Rome lasted another five minutes. In the 71st minute Fuser hit another cracking long range shot, this time into the top right-hand corner, to put Lazio back in front, 3-2.
In the 74th minute both sides made a substitution, for the hosts Igor Protti replaced Signori and for the visitors a more offensive midfielder Gennaro Scarlato replaced Roberto Bordin.
Napoli tried to get back in the game but Lazio decided to concentrate more in defence and managed to avoid unnecessary risks.
In the 90th minute Pavel Nedved went off and on came Guerino Gottardi but there was no late drama. Final score: Lazio 3 Napoli 2.
An exciting game although full of mistakes for the purists. Lazio had lacked concentration and determination for long periods but Napoli failed to take full advantage and were punished by two Fuser "Euro- Gol" (spectacular long distance strikes).
Lazio were now solitary 4th on 50 points (Bologna had lost 1-5 in Perugia). With three games to go Lazio were four points behind 3rd placed Inter, two ahead of 5th placed Udinese and three of 6th placed Bologna. It was Lazio's sixth consecutive home win and they were closing in on Europe.
Napoli's situation complicated itself slightly as they were now 13th on 37 points but their cushion on relegation had been cut to four points (Piacenza on 33). No alarm bells but they had to be careful.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Grandoni, Nesta, Chamot, Rambaudi (64' Buso), Fuser, Venturin, Nedved (90' Gottardi), Casiraghi, Signori (74' Protti)
Substitutes: Orsi, Fish, Marcolin, Piovanelli
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Napoli
Taglialatela, Baldini, Colonnese, Ayala, Milanese, Bordin (74' Scarlato), Boghossian (46' Beto), Longo, Pecchia, Caccia, Esposito (46' Aglietti)
Substitutes: Di Fusco, Policano, Crasson, Altomare
Manager: Montefusco
Referee: Farina
Goals: 10' Ayala, 24' Casiraghi, 39' Fuser, 66' Beto, 71' Fuser
What happened next
Lazio finished 4th and qualified for the UEFA Cup. In the next 3 games Lazio won 1 (Verona 4-1 at home) and drew 2 (Milan and Juventus both 2-2 away). Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 15 league goals.
A positive season in the end after a problematic start.
Napoli then won 1 (Vicenza 1-0 at home), drew 1 (Fiorentina 2-2 at home) and lost 1 (Inter 2-3 away), finishing 13th on 41 points (+4 on drop zone). The top scorer was Alfredo Aglietti with 9 goals (8 in A).
In the Coppa Italia final they lost the return game 0-3 in Vicenza (a.e.t) so missed the chance to win silverware.
The Serie A winners were Juventus for the 24th time. Serie B was the next stop for Cagliari (after playoff with Piacenza 1-3), Verona, Perugia and Reggiana (the latter have never been back since while Perugia have been missing for the last 20 years).
Let's talk about Diego Fuser
Diego Fuser was born in Venaria Reale (Torino) on November 11, 1968.
Fuser was formed in the Torino youth sector between 1983 and 1986. He then joined the first team and made his debut in the 1986-1987 season playing 3 games. The next year he increased to 16 games and he made his real breakthrough in 1988-89 making 30 appearances and scoring 4 goals.
At that point he moved away from home and signed for Milan. He only stayed one season playing 20 league games with 2 goals( plus another 12 games in other competitions) but winning a European Cup, European Supercup and Intercontinental Club Cup.
In 1990 he moved to Fiorentina on loan. He played regularly making 32 appearances with 8 goals (plus 6 games and 1 goal in Coppa Italia).
He was then recalled by Milan but in the 1991-92 season only got 15 league games and 4 goals (plus 7 games in Coppa Italia). He did however, no small detail, win the scudetto.
In 1992 he was sold to Lazio for 7 billion Lire (approx 3.5 million Euros). In his first season in Rome under manager Zoff he played 33 league games and scored an impressive 10 goals (plus 5 games and a goal in Coppa Italia).
Over the following five years Fuser would play with continuity for Lazio with Zoff, Zeman and Sven-Goran Eriksson. Between 1992 and 1998 he played; 188 league games with 35 goals, 28 games in Coppa Italia with 3 goals and 26 games in Europe with 4 goals.
The peak of his Lazio career came on April 29 1998, when as captain he lifted Lazio's first trophy for 30 years, the Coppa Italia (defeating Milan 3-2 on aggregate).
The following season with the arrivals of Sinisa Mihajlovic, Ivan de la peña, Dejan Stankovic, Sèrgio Conçeicão, Marcelo Salas and Christian Vieri (those were the days) Fuser was sold to Parma.
In Emilia Fuser played for three seasons making 86 league appearances with 10 goals, plus another 13 Coppa Italia games and 20 in Europe. With the Gialloblu of Parma he won 3 trophies; the Coppa Italia (1998 -'99), the UEFA Cup (1998-'99) and the Italian Supercoppa (1999).
In the summer of 2001 Fuser did the unmentionable, especially as former Lazio captain, and signed for Roma. At the time he made himself extremely unpopular with Lazio fans but luckily his time on the 'other side of the Tiber' was not particularly memorable. He stayed two years but only played a total of 15 league games with 2 goals, 5 games in Coppa Italia and 5 in Champions League. He did not win any trophies and he left the Giallorossi without leaving much trace. It was a pity though that he had put a black mark on his Lazio career by joining the hated enemy team.
In 2003-2004 Fuser returned home to Torino in Serie B where he played 29 games with 2 goals. He did not manage to help them get promoted and they ended up 12th in mid-table.
Fuser at 36 then decided to continue playing but at a lower level. Between 2004 and 2012 he played for regional teams in and around Turin (Canelli, Saviglianese, Canelli again, Nicese and finally just 2 games for Colline Alfieri). He played another 135 amateur games and scored 41 goals. He finally retired from football on December 5 2012 at 44.
At International level Fuser earned 18 Under-21 caps (2 goals) and 35 full Italy caps (3 goals). He played in the 1996 European Championship and played a major role in Italy's qualification for Euro 2000, but then missed out on the finals due to injury.
Fuser was an attacking midfielder and played mainly on the right wing but also in the centre. He was a strong, physical player with good athleticism. He would often cover great distances with his bursts from midfield sometimes even going end to end. He had good technique, a precise cross and was dangerous on set pieces. One weakness was his heading, not his strong point, despite his 1.83 metre height.
He was well liked in his Lazio days. He had his own chant, a popular Japanese cartoon theme song by Actarus adapted to him. He did not maybe have the best footballing brain and would often make wrong choices between passing and shooting (and teams..) but he was hard-working, solid and reasonably skillful, so good to watch.
His faux pas of joining the enemy ranks will possibly be written out of the history books at some stage. What will remain are his 42 goals for Lazio and the image of Fuser lifting the Coppa Italia to the sky in 1998.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1992-93 | 38 (11) | 33 (10) | 5 (1) | - |
1993-94 | 31 (2) | 28 (2) | 1 | 2 |
1994-95 | 45 (7) | 32 (5) | 6 (1) | 7 (1) |
1995-96 | 39 (6) | 32 (6) | 4 | 3 |
1996-97 | 38 (6) | 31 (4) | 3 | 4 (2) |
1997-98 | 51 (10) | 32 (8) | 9 (1) | 10 (1) |
Total | 242 (42) | 188 (35) | 28 (3) | 26 (4) |
Sources
Comments