May 23, 1999: Lazio-Parma 2-1

Dag Jenkins
12 hours ago
11 min read

No happy ending

Lazio win but news from Perugia shatters title dream

The season so far

The previous season, under manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, Lazio had won silverware after 24 years, triumphing against Milan 3-2 on aggregate in the Coppa Italia. The Biancocelesti had lost the first leg in Milan 0-1 and had been 0-1 down in Rome too, but then scored three goals in ten minutes to win 3-1 and give some generations the new sweet taste of success. A Cup Winners Cup campaign awaited them.

Over the summer there had been some changes to the squad. Important players arrived: defenders Fernando Couto (Parma), Sinisa Mihajlovic (Sampdoria), midfielders Iván De La Peña (Barcelona), Dejan Stankovic (Red Star Belgrade), Sergio Conceição (Porto) plus strikers Marcelo Salas (River Plate) and Christian Vieri (Atlético Madrid).

Leaving were: keeper Fernando Orsi (retiring), defenders José Chamot (Atlético Madrid) and Alessandro Grandoni (Sampdoria), midfielders Diego Fuser (Parma) and Vladimir Jugovic (Atlético Madrid) plus striker Pierluigi Casiraghi (Chelsea) and, in October, Roberto Rambaudi (Genoa). So quite an upheaval to the squad.

The season had started triumphantly on August 29 when Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 in Turin to lift their first ever Italian Supercoppa.

In Serie A so far Lazio had played 33 games and were 2nd in the table one-point behind Milan. Lazio had got off to a sluggish start and in the first ten games won 3 (including Inter 5-3 away), drew 4 (including first 3) and lost 3. The Biancocelesti had then drawn a thrilling derby 3-3 and after that hit top gear. Lazio won 9 consecutive games (including Juventus 1-0 away) before a 0-0 away draw in Cagliari. Lazio had then continued with six more wins (including Inter 1-0 at home), two draws (including 0-0 draw with Milan at home with a Vieri goal controversially disallowed) but also two bad defeats (derby and Juventus) which cut their lead. Lazio then won the next three but then a week before today had been held to a controversial 1-1 draw in Florence (clear penalty denied on Salas). They were therefore overtaken by Milan at the penultimate hurdle. The table read Milan 67, Lazio 66.

The defence of their Coppa Italia had started well too. In September they had eliminated Cosenza 4-1 on aggregate and then beat Milan 4-2 on aggregate. On December 3 Lazio had defeated Inter 2-1 at home but then were well beaten 2-5 in the return leg on January 27.

Lazio however had won and lifted the last ever Cup Winners Cup. The Biancocelesti had eliminated Lausanne on away goals (1-1, 2-2), Partizan Belgrade 3-2, Greeks Panionios 7-0 and Lokomotiv Moscow on away goals (1-1 away, 0-0 at home) and qualified for the final. On May 19 at Villa Park in Birmingham the Biancocelesti had defeated Spaniards Mallorca 2-1 with goals by Vieri and Nedved. A huge satisfaction for Lazio.

Parma had finished 6th the previous season and qualified for the UEFA Cup under manager Carlo Ancelotti. Parma had drawn 1-1 at home with Lazio and won 2-1 in Rome. The top scorer in all competitions was Enrico Chiesa with 21 goals while only in Serie A it was Hernan Crespo with 12.

This season Parma had a new manager in Alberto Malesani. The main new signings were: defenders Luigi Sartor (Inter) and Paolo Vanoli (Verona), midfielders Diego Fuser (Lazio), Juan Sebastian Veron (Sampdoria), Alain Boghossian (Sampdoria) and Raffaele Longo (Napoli) plus forwards Abel Balbo (Roma) and Faustino Asprilla (Newcastle United but previously at Parma 1992-96).

Leaving Parma were: defender Zé Maria (Perugia), midfielders Massimo Crippa (Torino), Simone Barone (Padova - on loan), Jesper Blomqvist (Manchester United) and Pietro Strada (Perugia) plus forward Adailton (Guarani - end of loan, then PSG on loan)

Parma were having an excellent season especially in the cups. They had won both the UEFA Cup beating Olympique Marseille 3-0 in Moscow and the Coppa Italia beating Fiorentina on away goals (1-1, 2-2).

In Serie A they were joint 3rd, on 55 points with Fiorentina. The Ducali could finish 3rd or 4th as Roma, Juventus and Udinese were on 51. They were therefore already guaranteed a Champions League 3rd round preliminary (3rd and 4th places in A). They had won 15 (including Milan 4-0, Inter 1-0 at home, Juventus 4-2 Inter 3-1 and Piacenza 6-3 away), drawn 10 and lost 9 (including Lazio 1-3).

Lazio were expected to win today but it would be in vain if Milan won at Perugia (already safe so with nothing to play for).

The match: Sunday, May 23, 1999, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

A sunny and hot day saw just under 75,000 fans pack the Olimpico hoping for a happy ending.

Lazio had no real absences.

Parma on the other hand were missing defender Antonio Benarrivo, midfielders Juan Sebastian Veron and Mario Stanic plus forwards Hernan Crespo and Abel Balbo.

In the starting lineup the Gialloblu had one former Lazio player (Diego Fuser) and four future (Nestor Sensini, Dino Baggio, Stefano Fiore and Enrico Chiesa).

Lazio predictably dominated possession and territory but the first to go close were Parma when Alessandro Nesta deflected a Paolo Vanoli cross towards his own goal but fortunately Luca Marchegiani was alert and saved.

In the 11th minute Milan took the lead in Perugia. Hopes were fading.

The Lazio keeper however got injured making the save and in the 26th minute was replaced by Marco Ballotta.

A minute later Lazio went in front. In the 27th minute Sinisa Mihajlovic floated in a freekick from the left, the ball reached Paolo Negro near the far post who shot but failed to hit it proprely, fortunately Marcelo Salas then made sure it went in, 1-0.

In the 31st minute Milan doubled the score in Perugia. Hopes were almost gone.

Lazio controlled the rest of the half without any particular problems as Parma were certainly not playing at full throttle. Nevertheless Enrico Chiesa had a dangerous free kick effort which skimmed the crossbar. The only player who seemed completely concentrated was Gianluigi Buffon who kept the score at a single goal denying Christian Vieri at least a couple of times. Halftime: Lazio 1 Parma 0.

Meanwhile in Perugia in the 34th minute the Umbrians had pulled one back with a Hidetoshi Nakata penalty. There was renewed hope.

Lazio via Roberto Mancini tried to convince the referee to restart the second half in the same moment as the Milan game but he was not having it so Lazio kicked off first.

The attention was mainly on Perugia but in the 54th minute the Lazio world was brusquely brought back to the here and now of the Olimpico. Somewhat out of the blue Parma equalised.

Paolo Vanoli was given space on the left and burst into the area, Ballotta came out and blocked him but the ball spun up and the Lombard defender was given a second chance which he hit low into the left corner, 1-1. The Olimpico was in shock.

In the 59th minute Lazio threw on Dejan Stankovic for Sergio Conceição.

Lazio began a siege on the Parma goal but Buffon seemed unbeatable. He denied Christian Vieri three times, Mihajlovic twice and then Pavel Nedved.

The Gialloblu were pinned back constantly and in the 64th minute replaced Luigi Sartor for Roberto Mussi.

There was no news from Perugia which was a bad sign but Lazio pushed forward so as not to have any regrets.

The Biancocelesti finally managed to get past Buffon in the 75th minute. Paolo Negro crossed low from the right and Salas scored from close range, 2-1.

The game practically ended here. A few more substitutions, one for Lazio and two for Parma but the contest was virtually over. All ears were on the radios awaiting a miracle from Perugia.

The miracle never came. The Grifoni had no intention of spoiling Milan's party and did not put up much of a fight. Fortunately the following year in more or less the same circumstances, but with Juventus, it would be a different story.

For now it was a sad ending for Lazio. The players were in tears and not even the parading of the Cup Winners Cup trophy could mitigate the huge disappointment. Lazio had been leaders for three months but were pipped to the post by Milan.

The 70,000 applauded anyway. The dream had been wonderful despite its conclusion.

Who played for Lazio

Marchegiani (26' Ballotta), Negro, Nesta, Mihajlovic, Favalli, S.Conceiçăo (59' Stankovic), Mancini (85' F.Couto), Almeyda, Nedved, Salas, Vieri

Substitutes: Lombardo, Pancaro, De La Peña, Gottardi

Manager: Eriksson

Who played for Parma

Buffon, Thuram, Sensini (77' Apolloni), Cannavaro, Sartor (64' Mussi), Fuser, D.Baggio, Boghossian, Vanoli, Fiore (83' De Angelis), Chiesa

Substitutes: Micillo, Nista, Tarana

Manager: Malesani

Referee: Bazzoli

Goals: 27' Salas, 54' Vanoli, 76' Salas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUVTRsJeerE

What happened next

Lazio therefore finished 2nd on 69 points after 20 wins, 9 draws and 5 defeats. The top scorer was Marcelo Salas with 24 goals (15 in A).

So a season with two trophies but disappointment for going so close to the biggest prize of all, the Scudetto. Fortunately it was only put off for another year.

Parma finished 4th on 55 points and qualified for the Champions League preliminaries. A good season for the Gialloblu with two trophies. The top scorer was Hernan Crespo with 28 goals (16 in A).

Parma then never made it into the Champions League group stage as they were defeated by Glasgow Rangers 1-2 on aggregate.

Of today's squad Juan Sebastian Veron and Nestor Sensini would join Lazio the following season while Enrico Chiesa, Dino Baggio and Stefano Fiore would follow a few years later.

With Milan champions for the 16th time it was Sampdoria, Vicenza, Empoli and Salernitana who went down to Serie B.

Let's talk about Marcelo Salas

José Marcelo Salas Melinao was born in Temuco, in Northern Chile, on December 24, 1974.

He started playing football with local team Santos Temuco FC in 1983. In 1991 he joined Universidad de Chile in the capital Santiago.

He made his debut for "La U" in 1993 and in two seasons played 126 games with 76 goals. It was with "Los Azules" he was first nicknamed "El Matador" for his cold blood in front of goal. Salas also started his famous matador celebration after scoring. He won two league titles in 1994 and 1995.

In 1996 he moved to Argentina and joined the Baires giants, River Plate. He stayed two seasons with "Los Millonarios", playing 68 games with 31 goals. The "Banda" won an Apertura in 1996 (Salas scored a double in the decisive game), a Clausura 1997, an Apertura 1997 (Salas scored title winning goal) and a South-American Super Cup (Salas scored 2 goals in the final versus São Paulo). In 1997 he was voted best South-American and Argentinian League player of the year.

At this point there was talk of Alex Ferguson and Manchester United being interested in him to replace Éric Cantona.

In 1998 he played an excellent World Cup in France, scoring 4 goals (2 Italy, Austria and Brazil).

Fortunately by this stage he had already been signed by Lazio (January '98 for the following season). He arrived in Rome and found a competitive team under Sven-Goran Eriksson who had just won the Coppa Italia and were now ready to go up a level. In fact they immediately won the Supercoppa defeating Juventus 2-1 away.

In his first year Lazio went extremely close to winning the Scudetto. They lost it in the last two matches in controversial circumstances but Salas had an excellent season. He played 43 games and scored 24 goals (15 in Serie A including Inter, Roma, Juventus). He struck up an excellent attacking partnership with Christian Vieri from January onwards when the Italian returned from injury.

Lazio lost out on the Scudetto but triumphed in Europe winning the last ever Cup Winners Cup. They defeated Mallorca 2-1 at Villa Park in Birmingham. Salas scored 4 goals in the tournament (Lausanne, Partizan Belgrade x2, Panionios).

The following year Lazio won the Scudetto. Salas played 28 league games with 12 goals (including Milan x2), 3 in Coppa Italia, 10 in the Champions League with 4 goals (Dinamo Kiev, Maribor x2, Valencia) and the European Super Cup with the winning goal against Manchester United.

In 2000-01 with the arrival of Hernan Crespo and Claudio Lopez he played slightly less. He made 21 league appearances with 7 goals (including Juventus, Inter), 2 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal and 9 games in Champions League. Lazio had a difficult start and Eriksson was replaced by Dino Zoff after 13 games (the Swede had signed for England from the following summer causing uncertainty). The Biancocelesti improved and went close to another title but ultimately fell short and finished 3rd. They did however win another Supercoppa beating Inter 4-3 in Rome.

Sadly the immensely popular "Matador" was then sold to the "Old Lady" Juventus. The Bianconeri were coached by Marcello Lippi and won the Scudetto but Salas suffered a serious injury in October which kept him out for the rest of the season. He played 7 league games with 1 goal (Chievo), 1 game in the Coppa Italia and 4 in the Champions League. Before his injury he famously blasted a last minute penalty over the bar in the derby against Torino with the score on 3-3 (after Juve had been 3-0 up)

The following year he still did not feature regularly. Juventus had David Trezeguet and Alex Del Piero up front and even Marcelo Zalayeta played more than the Chilean. Salas made 11 league appearances with 1 goal (Udinese), 4 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal and 4 in the Champions League with 1 goal (Dinamo Kiev). Juventus won the league again and were runners-up in the Champions League (Milan on penalties).

In 2003 he returned to Argentina and River Plate. He stayed two seasons and played 48 games with 14 goals. In 2004 "El más grande de Argentina" won the Clausura title.

In 2005 he went back to his homeland and his first big club, Universidad de León. He stayed another four seasons with 74 appearances and 36 goals for "El Bulla".

At 38 he retired after playing his last match on November 23 against Cobreloa and scored 2 goals in a 3-2 win.

At international level he won 70 caps with 37 goals. He is the third all time goal scorer for "La Roja". He played in a World Cup in 1998 and two Copa Americas in 1995 and 1999 (reaching the semi final lost to Uruguay on penalties).

Marcelo Salas is a legend in Chile and at River Plate in Argentina. He is considered Chile's best ever striker. At River Plate he is considered the greatest ever non-Argentine player alongside Uruguayan Enzo Francescoli. He has two other nicknames, "El Fenómeno" and "El Shileno"

Salas was not a giant centre-forward at 1.74 but was strong and tenacious. He was very skillful with a surgical left foot and superb aerial ability with great elevation. He was a prolific striker throughout his career but could also play for his attacking partners.

At Lazio he was and still is adored. He is considered one of their best foreign players ever. Some of his goals are legendary, such as Juventus away (1998) and Milan at home (1999) but he scored many, a total of 34.

The chant "Matador Matador che ce famo con Ronaldo noi c'avemo er Matador" (What do we need Ronaldo for when we've got the Matador) was by far the most popular chant in those glory years.

In Rome with Lazio he won a Scudetto, a Coppa Italia, Italian Superoppa twice, a European Cup Winners Cup and a European Super Cup, all in three years and the trophies could have been more.

Despite his relatively short spell at Lazio he is one of the most popular players in their 126 year history. He returned to the Olimpico in April 2025 and was greeted like a long lost hero. ¡Viva el Matador!

Lazio Career

Season	Total games (goals)	Serie A	Coppa Italia	Champions League	Cup Winners Cup	UEFA Super Cup	Super Coppa
1998-99	43 (24)	30 (15)	6 (5)	-	6 (4)	-	1
1999-00	42 (17)	28 (12)	3	10 (4)	-	1 (1)	-
2000-01	32 (8)	21 (7)	2 (1)	9	-	-	-
Total	117 (49)	79 (34)	11 (6)	19 (4)	6 (4)	1 (1)	1