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May 21, 1995: Lazio-Sampdoria 1-0

  • Writer: Dag Jenkins
    Dag Jenkins
  • May 21
  • 9 min read

Aron Winter's superb strike edges Samp


A brilliant goal ten minutes from time by fan favourite Dutchman gives Lazio three points



Also on this day:



The season so far


The previous season Lazio had finished 3rd and again qualified for the UEFA Cup. Owner Sergio Cragnotti, however, decided it was time for a change. Out went Dino Zoff's conservative style of play and in came "Zemanlandia" with new manager Zdenek Zeman, who had impressed at Foggia. Zoff was kept on as president, for his prestige and charisma.

 

The Bohemian brought Argentinian defender José Chamot with him and was reunited with winger Roberto Rambaudi (Atalanta). Lazio also added midfielder Giorgio Venturin (Torino) to their squad.

 

Leaving Lazio were defenders and fan favourite Luigi Corino (Brescia), Luca Luzardi (Napoli) plus well serving midfielder Claudio Sclosa (Cremonese-on loan).

 

In Serie A Lazio had so far played 31 games with 16 wins (including Torino 3-0, Napoli and Padova 5-1, Foggia 7-1, Fiorentina 8-2, Milan 4-0 at home, Inter 4-1 at home and 2-0 away, Juventus 3-0 away plus the return derby 2-0), 6 draws (including Fiorentina 1-1 away with a 94th minute Cristiano Bergodi equaliser) and lost 9 (including the derby). Lazio had 54 points and were in 4th place. Some great wins but also some bad defeats (e.g Cremonese, Padova, Bari).

 

In the UEFA Cup Lazio had knocked out Dinamo Minsk 4-1 on aggregate, then Swedish Trelleborg 1-0 and Turkish Trabzonspor 4-2. They then played Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals on February 28 and March 14. They won 1-0 at home but were defeated in Westphalia 2-0 with a late goal by Karl-Heinz Riedle and some controversial refereeing decisions.

 

In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti had eliminated Modena 9-1, then Piacenza 6-4 and Napoli 3-1, all on aggregate. In the semi-finals they played Juventus on March 8 and April 11 and were eliminated 1-3 on aggregate.

 

Sampdoria had finished 3rd the previous season and won the Coppa Italia under Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Blucerchiati had drawn 1-1 away to Lazio but lost 3-4 at home in the last game of the season. Top scorer was Ruud Gullit with 17 goals (15 in A).

 

This season the Swede was still in charge. The main new signings were goalkeeper Walter Zenga (Inter), defenders Riccardo Ferri (Inter), Sinisa Mihajlovic (Roma), midfielder Riccardo Maspero (Cremonese) and forward Claudio Bellucci (Fiorenzuola - back from loan).

 

Leaving were: goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca (Inter), defenders Giovanni Dall'Igna (Cremonese), midfielders Srečko Katanec (retiring), plus forward Nicola Amoruso (Fidelis Andria). Ruud Gullit had left too but had returned from Milan again in November.

 

In August they lost the Supercoppa final on penalties to Milan after a 1-1 draw.

 

In Serie A Sampdoria were currently joint 7th, on 46 points with Cagliari. The Blucerchiati had won 12 (including Lazio 3-1 and derby 3-2), drawn 10 and lost 9 (including derby 1-2).

 

In Coppa Italia Doria went out in the 3rd round, losing to Fiorentina 2-3 on aggregate.

 

In the Cup Winners Cup they lost in the semi-final to Arsenal on penalties. After two 3-2 home wins the Londoners won 3-2 in the penalty shootout.

 

A difficult game for Lazio against a good side full of talent. Lazio had more motivation however as they still had Europe to play for.

 

The match: Sunday, May 21, 1995, Stadio Olimpico, Rome


A rainy Roman day brought about 45,000 to the Olimpico.

 

Lazio were without defender Roberto Cravero and long-term injury Paul Gascoigne.

 

Sampdoria were missing defender Sinisa Mihajlovic and midfielder Alberico Evani.

 

Lazio immediately had a penalty appeal. In the 2nd minute Diego Fuser sent a through ball to Roberto Rambaudi who seemed to be tripped by Michele Serena but not according to Racalbuto.

 

Lazio continued to attack and in the 20th and 30th minutes Alen Boksic had two good chances but he first pulled a shot wide and then fired over the bar from scoring positions.

 

In between, Beppe Signori had also squandered an opportunity by heading over the bar from close range.

 

In the 40th minute Sampdoria had a potential chance but Attilio Lombardo could not get his head to an inviting Roberto Mancini cross.

 

In the 43rd minute Moreno Mannini almost scored a spectacular own goal but his miskicked up and under was tipped over the bar by Walter Zenga.

 

Two minutes later the Blucerchiato number 10 tried an ambitious long-range lob but it went miles over the bar. Halftime Lazio 0 Sampdoria 0 but Lazio had missed several chances.

 

The visitors started the second half better. In the 46th minute they scored with Roman Claudio Bellucci but it was ruled offside.

 

In the 47th minute David Platt beat the offside trap but messed up his volley attempt in front of Luca Marchegiani after a clever chip into the area.

 

The visitors insisted and three minutes later Pietro Vierchowod's header went just wide from a Mannini cross.

 

Lazio stirred but in the 51st minute Boksic again misfired in front of goal following a defensive blunder.

 

At the other end Lombardo hit the side netting instead of crossing.

 

In the 57th minute the visitors brought on the great Ruud Gullit and took off Bellucci.

 

On the hour mark Lazio had a Signori volley which had the power but not the precision and flew towards the Curva Nord.

 

In the 68th minute Boksic dribbled past the whole defence but remembering his previous attempts did not shoot and lost the moment.

 

In the 69th minute Gigi Casiraghi replaced Beppe Signori.

 

For Sampdoria Lombardo confirmed his off day in shooting accuracy when he sliced his effort from the right side of the area.

 

Boksic had another chance but this time he was not at fault as Zenga rushed off his line and deflected the Croat's attempted chip from a difficult angle.

 

In the 74th minute Lazio made a second substitution when Mauro Bonomi came on for Beppe Favalli.

 

Gullit then powered his way into the area but when he reached the by-line near the goal he was faced by Marchegiani and the ball ricocheted out not far from the right post.

 

In the 81st minute Lazio scored. Rambaudi cut in sideways from the left along the white line of the area and, surrounded by defenders, when he approached the middle he tapped the ball back to Aron Winter who let off a superb strike with the outside of his right foot which turned and flew into the top right-hand corner. A wonderful goal and Lazio 1 Sampdoria 0.

 

A minute later Samp replaced Giovanni Invernizzi with dynamic little Fausto Salsano. They tried to equalise until the end especially with Gullit initiatives but Lazio held on and clinched an important win. Final score Lazio 1 Sampdoria 0.

 

All in all, a deserved win for Lazio who had Boksic not missed at least three clear chances could have scored more. The hero of the day was Winter and his name was chanted by the whole stadium at the final whistle.

 

Lazio were now joint 3rd with Milan on 57 points and only three points from 2nd placed Parma. Milan had lost 0-1 in Naples and Parma trounced 4-0 by now champions Juventus.

 

Sampdoria were now 9th on 46 points. They had been overtaken by Fiorentina who had defeated Torino 6-3 while Cagliari had pulled away by winning 2-1 away at Inter.

 

Who played for Lazio


Substitutes: Orsi, Bacci, Venturin

Manager: Zeman

 

Who played for Sampdoria


Zenga, Mannini, Serena, Invernizzi (82' Salsano), Vierchowod, Sacchetti, Lombardo, Jugovic, Platt, Mancini, Bellucci (57' Gullit)

Substitutes: Nuciari, Ferri, Maspero

Manager: Eriksson

 

Referee: Racalbuto


Goal: 81' Winter



What happened next


Lazio finished 2nd, their best position since 1974. They won their last two games (Foggia 1-0 away and Brescia 1-0 at home) and ended on 63 points. Top scorer was Signori with 21 goals (17 in A).

 

Sampdoria finished 8th, on 50 points. In their last two games they drew 2-2 at home with Inter and then won 2-1 in Bari. Top scorer was Roberto Mancini with 11 goals (9 in A like Gullit).

 

Juventus won their 23rd title. Serie B was the next stop for Genoa, Foggia, Reggiana and Brescia.


Let talk about Aron Winter


Source Lazio Wiki
Source Lazio Wiki

Aron Winter was born in Paramaribo (Suriname), on March 1, 1967.

 

Winter started his career as an amateur in his home country of Holland with SV Lelystad. At 19 he was bought by Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam. He made his debut on April 6 against Utrecht. He played 187 games for Ajax scoring 44 times and winning 2 Dutch Cups ('87, '88), a league title ('91), a UEFA Cup Winners Cup ('87) and a UEFA Cup ('92).

 

In 1992 he joined Lazio for 5 billion lire (approx €2.5 million), in owner Cragnotti's attempt to build a competitive squad, both domestically and internationally. Winter, along with Karl Heinz Riedle, Doll and Gascoigne, added prestige to Lazio and definitely put them on the European map. Winter played 4 seasons for Lazio.

 

In 1992-93 the manager was Dino Zoff and the Biancocelesti finished 5th, qualifying for the UEFA Cup after 15 years. Winter played 30 league games with 6 goals (Milan, Atalanta, Inter, Ancona, Torino, Napoli) and 6 games in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Cesena, Torino).

 

In 1993-94 Lazio finished 4th (UEFA again). Winter played 34 league games with 4 goals (Udinese, Lecce, Udinese, Lecce), 2 games in Coppa Italia and 4 in the UEFA Cup with 1 goal (Boavista). He won his first derby, after three draws.

 

In 1994-95 Zdenek Zeman arrived as manager. Lazio finished 2nd (UEFA) but way off champions Juventus. Winter played 29 league games with 5 goals (Napoli x2, Padova, Inter, Sampdoria), 6 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Napoli) and 8 in the UEFA Cup in which Lazio reached the quarter finals (Borussia Dortmund 1-2). In the league Lazio had some great wins including Napoli 5-1, Padova 5-1, Foggia 7-1, Milan 4-0, Fiorentina 8-2, Genoa 4-0, Inter 4-1 all at home plus Inter 2-0, Roma 2-0 and Juventus 3-0 all away.

 

The 1995-96 would be his last in Rome. Lazio finished 3rd (UEFA) and Winter played 30 league games with 6 goals (Bari, Cremonese, Sampdoria, Atalanta x2, Fiorentina), 3 games in Coppa Italia and 4 in the UEFA Cup with 1 goal (Olympique Lyonnais). In Serie A Lazio had some memorable victories including Juventus 4-0, Sampdoria 6-3, Atalanta 5-1, Cagliari 4-0, Roma 1-0, Fiorentina 4-0 all at home and Atalanta 3-1 away.

 

In total Winter played 155 games for Lazio (123 in Serie A, 16 in Coppa Italia and 16 in the UEFA Cup) with 27 goals (21 in Serie A, 3 in Coppa Italia and 3 in UEFA Cup). He was an immensely popular player at Lazio. His name was chanted throughout his time at the Olimpico and all the stories of racism and anti-Semitism were vastly exaggerated by the media, all due to some isolated graffiti on a city wall.

 

It was with great sadness that the “Laziali” saw him leave to Inter in 1996, where he went on to play for 3 seasons, but without ever reaching the heights of his Lazio days. At Inter he made 77 appearances with 1 goal (against Lazio ironically) before moving back to Ajax for 2 seasons in 1999 (51 appearances, 4 goals). He then played a season with Sparta Rotterdam (32 appearances, 1 goal) before returning to Ajax but without playing any competitive matches again.

 

After retiring he has had coaching experiences, especially as assistant for Ajax, but also as head coach at Toronto FC for a year. He was also Greece's assistant coach for 2 years (2019-21). In September 2022 he became Suriname national coach, a return to his roots. He took over from Stanley Menzo who then returned in 2024.

 

At International level Winter won 84 caps for Holland with 6 goals. He was part of the European Championship winning Dutch team of 1988 but made no appearances in the final stages. He played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, and was selected for the 1998 World Cup in France.

 

Aron Winter was an elegant, classy player who had both quality and quantity. He was a central midfielder with excellent athleticism, intelligence and vision. Apart from his technique, he had a strong personality and was a model professional. He usually played left-sided central midfield; a box-to-box player confirmed by his high goal scoring rate for Lazio. He was also versatile and was deployed as full back and even centre-back for Holland.

 

Aron Winter is remembered at Lazio as a model player, rarely involved in any controversies and as a solid, reliable but also high-quality midfielder. His years at Lazio are identified with their gradual rise as a domestic force, which would later culminate in winning several trophies. Winter was part of that build up and he gave Lazio an international identity and respect.

 

On a personal level Winter was one of my favourites. Here was an established European star coming to my club, maybe things were finally changing. On the pitch he was hard-working but had class too and all without any of the Italian or South-American antics and theatrics. He was also a player of my generation. I was no longer the starry-eyed boy looking up to unreachable idols but admiring players of my age, of international level, representing my beloved team.


Lazio Career

Season

Total games (goals)

Serie A

Coppa Italia

UEFA Cup

1992-93

36 (8)

30 (6)

6 (2)

-

1993-94

39 (5)

34 (4)

2

4 (1)

1994-95

43 (6)

29 (5)

6 (1)

8

1995-96

37 (7)

30 (6)

3

4 (1)

Totals

156 (26)

123 (21)

17 (3)

16 (2)

Sources




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