May 25, 1997: Lazio-Verona 4-1
- Dag Jenkins
- May 25
- 7 min read
An easy final step into Europe
Lazio comfortably beat Verona and qualify for the UEFA Cup for the 5th year running
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 8 (including Reggiana 6-1), drawn 4 (including derby 1-1 and Milan 2-2 away) and lost 2. Lazio were currently in 4th place on 51 points, with 17 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 going a lot 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.
Verona were newly promoted after four years in Serie B. The Gialloblu came second under manager Attilio Perotti to win promotion. Top scorer was Antonio De Vitis with 13 league goals. There were three Lazio connections in the squad: Marco Di Vaio (1993-95), keeper Fabrizio Casazza (2003-05) and current manager Marco Baroni.
This season the manager was Gigi Cagni. The Scaligeri had signed a few new players for their new adventure in the top flight: defenders Antonio Paganin (Atalanta), future Lazio Sebastiano Siviglia (Nocerina), midfielders Salvatore Giunta (Padova), Eugenio Corini (Sampdoria via Piacenza), Pierluigi Orlandini (Inter), former Lazio Roberto Bacci (Torino - on loan), Jonatan Binotto (Juventus - on loan via Cesena), former Lazio Leonardo Colucci (Reggiana) plus forwards Filippo Maniero (Sampdoria). During the season they had added midfielder Raffaele Ametrano (Juventus - on loan).
Leaving were: defender Nicola Marangon (Venezia), midfielders Onofrio Barone (Lucchese), Gianluca De Angelis (Foggia), Damiano Tommasi (Roma), Aladino Valoti (Piacenza) plus forwards Fabrizio Cammarata (Torino - on loan, he would later return to Verona and score an important brace for Lazio's history…) and Marco Di Vaio (Bari on loan from Lazio).
Verona had struggled in Serie A and were already down. The Gialloblu were in 17th position, on 27 points. They were seven points from safety (Cagliari on 34) with two games to go so were relegated. They had won 6 (including Roma 2-1 and Milan 3-1 at home), drawn 9 (including Lazio 1-1) and lost 17.
In Coppa Italia Verona had got the better of Bari 4-1 on aggregate but then as mentioned lost 1-2 at home to Lazio.
A theoretically easy game for Lazio today. The Biancocelesti were flying towards a fifth consecutive UEFA qualification and Verona were already doomed. Anything but a home win would be a major surprise.
The match: Sunday, May 25, 1997, Stadio Olimpico
A sunny and hot day saw just under 40,000 turn up at the Olimpico.
Lazio were without defenders Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Negro, midfielder Diego Fuser and forward Gigi Casiraghi.
Verona were missing future Lazio manager, defender Marco Baroni and midfielder Salvatore Giunta while striker Antonio De Vitis was on the bench.
Lazio started aggressively and went in front almost immediately. A defensive mistake by Elvis Brajkovic allowed Roberto Rambaudi to have a shot which Matteo Guardalben did well to keep out but on the rebound Beppe Signori tapped in Lazio's lead, 1-0.
In the 21st minute former Lazio Roberto Bacci was forced off injured and replaced by a more attacking midfielder, Pierluigi Orlandini.
Two minutes later however it was Lazio who scored again. In the 23rd minute Signori found Beppe Favalli who crossed low to the front post where Igor Protti pounced and put Lazio 2-0 up.
The game already seemed over but it took an unexpected twist ten minutes later. Alessandro Grandoni was naively dispossessed by former Lazio youth player Alessandro Manetti and forced to pull him down. A clear penalty and possibly a red card but for the referee a spot kick was enough. Filippo Maniero kept his cool and beat Luca Marchegiani. Verona were back in it, 2-1.
The possibility of a Gialloblu comeback lasted two minutes. In the 35th minute, on a Pavel Nedved cross, defender Sebastiano Siviglia mistimed his jump and the ball reached Rambaudi who squared it across to Signori whose brilliant low volley gave the keeper no chance.
In the second half the game slowed down due to the heat and the visitors' inability to put up a fight.
In the 55th minute Verona replaced Leonardo Colucci with German-born Vincenzo Italiano.
Manetti then tried an outrageous lob from midfield which was not too far off target.
It was always Lazio however who went closer to scoring, with Protti in particular.
In the 73rd minute the Scaligeri took off Maniero and put on Nicola Zanini.
In the 74th minute Rambaudi made it four. After being directly involved in two goals the Piedmontese got one of his own. He ran into the area on the right and placed a low, crisp drive past the keeper and in near the far post, 4-1.
The game was over. Lazio made three substitutions; Marco Piovanelli for Dario Marcolin, Fernando Orsi for Marchegiani and Roberto Baronio for Nedved but the game had nothing more to say. Final score Lazio 4 Verona 1.
A routine and straight forward win for Lazio who maintained 4th place with two points on 5th Sampdoria and three on 6th Udinese.
There was no traditional pitch invasion. Instead owner Sergio Cragnotti took centre stage and spoke to the fans from the centre of the field. Meanwhile the players had done the round of the athletics track to thank and say goodbye to the Biancoceleste faithful.
It was Lazio's 7th consecutive home win and they were in Europe for the 5th year running. A clear objective at the beginning of the season but which only a few months earlier had seemed impossible.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani (83' Orsi), Gottardi, Grandoni, Chamot, Favalli, Rambaudi, Venturin, Marcolin (77' Piovanelli), Nedved (83' Baronio), Protti, Signori
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Verona
Guardalben, Siviglia, Fattori, Brajkovic, Vanoli, Bacci (21' Orlandini), Ametrano, Corini, L. Colucci (55' Italiano), Manetti, Maniero (73' Zanini)
Substitutes: Landucci, Ferrarese, Spinale, De Vitis
Manager: Cagni
Referee: Nicchi
Goals: 4' Signori, 23' Protti, 33' Maniero, 35' Signori, 74' Rambaudi
What happened next
Lazio finished 4th on 55 points. A good result considering where they had been in late January before Zoff took over. In the last game they then drew 2-2 away to Juventus after being 0-2 down. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 15 league goals.
Zoff then returned to his role as president. Sven-Goran Eriksson was on his way…
Verona finished 17th on 27 points. In the last game they lost 1-2 at home against Parma. Top scorer was Filippo Maniero with 12 league goals. Verona would then return to Serie A for the 1999-2000 season.
Juventus won their 24th Scudetto while Verona were accompanied down to Serie B by Perugia, Reggiana and Cagliari (who lost the playoff 1-3 to Piacenza).
Let's talk about Mauro Di Lello
Mauro Di Lello was born in Rome on March 12, 1978.
At 12 he joined Lazio's youth academy and then joined the first team squad in 1996. The manager was first Zdeněk Zeman and then, from late January, Dino Zoff. Di Lello continued playing for the Primavera (U19s) but made a couple of appearances on the bench for the main squad. Lazio finished 4th (UEFA Cup).
In 1997-98 Sven-Goran Eriksson arrived as manager and Lazio finished 7th but won the Coppa Italia (Milan 3-2 on aggregate) and were runners-up in the UEFA Cup (Inter 0-3). Di Lello again went between the youth side and the first team and made 3 appearances on the bench.
In 1998 he joined Pistoiese on loan in Serie C1. He only stayed until January when he moved to Fano Calcio in C1, again on loan.
In 1999-200 he joined Giorgione in C2 and the Rossostellati were relegated. One of his three managers was Ernesto Apuzzo (Lazio 1974-76 and 1977-78).
After a pause, in 2002 Di Lello left Italy and moved to Malta. He played two seasons for Pietà Hotspurs in the Maltese top flight, playing 39 league games with 1 goal.
In 2004-05 he was back in Italy with Nocerina in Serie C2. The Rossoneri were relegated after going through four different managers.
Di Lello then returned to Malta and joined Maltese Champions Sliema Wanderers. He stayed two seasons, playing 36 league games with 2 goals. The Wanderers finished 2nd twice and played one round in the UEFA Cup (Rapid Bucharest 0-6 on aggregate).
Di Lello's last club was Birkirkara in the Maltese Premier League. He played 6 league games and The Stripes finished 3rd.
He then retired at 31 but stayed in Malta. He worked as head of the technical area at Valletta F.C and is currently a consultant with the Malta Football Association.
Di Lello was a defender. At 1.83 and 81 kilos he was a strong player. He was a prospect for Lazio in the mid to late 90's but never made it at any decent level.
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