May 27, 2001: Inter-Lazio 1-1
- Dag Jenkins
- May 27
- 11 min read
Abdication time
Lazio throw away any residual chances of winning the Scudetto again as Dalmat equalises in dying minutes
Also on this day:
The season so far
Lazio the previous year had won their historic second Scudetto. The Biancocelesti had also won the Coppa Italia to clinch the double. They had then followed these up by winning the Italian Supercoppa in September beating Inter 4-3. The manager was Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The summer market seemed to have further strengthened the Romans. Arriving were keeper Angelo Peruzzi (Inter), midfielders Dino Baggio (Parma), Lucas Castromán (Vélez Sarsfield), Karel Poborský (Benfica) plus forwards Hernán Crespo (Parma) and Claudio Lopez (Valencia).
Some sacrifices were obviously necessary and leaving were keeper Marco Ballotta (Inter), defender Nestor Sensini, midfielders Matias Almeyda (Parma), Attilio Lombardo (Sampdoria), Sergio Conceição (Parma) and forwards Alen Boksic (Middlesbrough) and Roberto Mancini (retiring). Some great players who would be missed.
In Serie A things had not gone as hoped and Lazio were currently in 3rd position but well off leaders Roma. In early January Eriksson had resigned due to Lazio's difficulties and a 5th position but also as he had already agreed to become England national coach from June 2001 and thought it was the right thing to do. Dino Zoff took over and things had improved with 14 wins (including Juventus 4-1 at home), 2 draws (including derby 2-2 from 0-2 down) and 2 defeats. Lazio came into today's game following three consecutive wins and were unbeaten in the last seven. The table read Roma 70, Lazio 65, Juventus 64. Roma, who had been top of the table from game 5 and after game 13 had a 13-point advantage on Lazio and still 11 points after game 22, were now showing signs of slowing down (losing 1 and drawing 3 in the last 7), giving the chasers some hope.
Lazio's Champions League campaign had been disappointing. They had started the tournament well, in September, in the first group phase. The Biancocelesti had won 4 (Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 away and 5-1 at home, Sparta Prague 3-0 at home and 1-0 away), drawn 1 (Arsenal 1-1 at home) and lost 1 (Arsenal 0-2 away).
In the second group phase however, things had started badly with 3 defeats (Anderlecht 0-1 away, Leeds United 0-1 at home and Real Madrid 2-3 away, with a dubious last-minute penalty). They then held Real Madrid to a 2-2 home draw and beat Anderlecht 2-1 at home but it was too little too late and Lazio were out, then drawing the last game 3-3 away to Leeds United.
In Coppa Italia, Lazio had exited in the quarter finals losing 3-5 on aggregate to Udinese in December.
Inter had finished 4th the previous season (CL qualification) under Marcello Lippi. Both games against Lazio had ended in draws. The Nerazzurri were runners up in the Coppa Italia (Lazio 1-2 on aggregate). Top scorer was Christian Vieri with 18 goals (13 in A).
This season Lippi had started but been replaced after only one league game (a 1-2 away defeat at Reggina) by Marco Tardelli.
Inter had been busy on the transfer market. The main new arrivals were: keepers Sebastian Frey (Verona - back from loan) and Marco Ballotta (Lazio), defenders Fabio Macellari (Cagliari), Bruno Cirillo (Reggina), Matteo Ferrari (Bari - end of loan), Michele Serena (Parma), Vratislav Greško (Bayer Leverkusen), midfielders Francisco Farinós (Valencia), Andrea Pirlo (Reggina - back from loan but he then left in January to Brescia on loan), Cristian Brocchi (Verona), Vampeta (Corinthians but he had then left in January to PSG) plus forwards Robbie Keane (Coventry City but he had left in January to Leeds United on loan), Hakan Şükür (Galatasaray) and Anselmo Robbiati (Napoli but he had left in January to Perugia on loan). In January Inter had added midfielder Stéphane Dalmat (PSG) plus forwards Marco Ferrante (Torino - on loan) and Adriano (Flamengo).
Leaving were: keeper Angelo Peruzzi (Lazio), defenders Christian Panucci (Chelsea on loan, then Monaco on loan), Grigoris Georgatos (Olympiakos - on loan), Salvatore Fresi (Napoli - on loan), Francesco Colonnese (Lazio), midfielders Francesco Moriero (Napoli), Roberto Baggio (Brescia) plus forward Adrian Mutu (Verona). In January, Inter had also sold forward Ivan Zamorano (América - México).
A lot of comings and goings which had not really improved Inter's performances.
The Nerazzurri had started their season disastrously by getting knocked out of the Champions league by Helsingborg 0-1 on aggregate in the 3rd preliminary round.
In September they had lost Supercoppa final 3-4 to Lazio.
In Serie A they were currently 6th on 44 points. Inter had won 12, drawn 8 (including first derby 2-2) and lost 11 (including Lazio 0-2 and Milan 0-6) and still had hopes of UEFA Cup qualification as they had a one-point lead on Atalanta and two on Fiorentina and Bari.
In the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup they had reached the quarters and last 16 respectively, losing to Parma 6-1 and Alavés 3-5 both on aggregate.
A difficult game for Lazio but if they wanted to retain their title a win was indispensable. Roma played Milan at home while Juventus had Perugia at home.
The match: Sunday, May 27, 2001. Stadio San Nicola, Bari
The game was played in the neutral venue of Bari in front of about 15,000 spectators. This was due to Inter being banned from playing at home due to recent crowd trouble in the derby which followed the incredible episode of a week earlier when a moped had been thrown from the Inter end!
Lazio were without defenders Beppe Favalli and Fernando Couto plus midfielder Pavel Nedved who was suspended.
Inter were missing keeper Sebastian Frey, defender Ivan Cordoba and midfielder Francisco Farinós plus obviously long-term injury Ronaldo.
In the first minute Inter had a scare when Christian Vieri appeared to turn his ankle but he was able to continue at least for now.
In the 9th minute Lazio hit the crossbar with a Diego Simeone header from a corner.
Lazio were on top and had a low drive by Claudio Lopez saved into corner by Marco Ballotta.
In the 22nd minute Vieri was forced off due to his earlier injury and replaced by Turkish striker Hakan Şukür.
A few minutes later Hernan Crespo, set up by Karel Poborsky, turned well in the area but his powerful left foot was just wide.
Lazio were queueing up to score. A Lopez header was cleared off the line, a Crespo strike was saved by Ballotta with his feet and then the Argentinian missed a sitter from close range after being teed up by Juan Sebastian Veron.
Inter occasionally went forward and in the 36th minute hit the crossbar with a thundering long range left footed shot by Vladimir Jugovic.
Then it was Lazio again but Crespo missed another golden opportunity, putting the ball wide from a favourable position. The "Valdanito" finally scored in the 42nd minute when, near the front post, he headed in from a Veron corner. Inter 0 Lazio 1.
Crespo almost immediately got another in a similar fashion when he headed a Sinisa Mihajlovic corner but this time Ballotta saved. Halftime, Lazio one-nil up but it should have been more.
Meanwhile the other matches were Roma 0 Milan 1 and Juventus 0 Perugia 0. The table currently read; Roma 70, Lazio 68, Juventus 65.
The second half started in a similar fashion, Lazio attacking but missing too many chances. In the first ten minutes Poborsky twice had the chance to possibly close the game, one was particularly inviting as he had only the keeper to beat but fired his shot just wide of the left post.
In the 53rd minute the Nerazzurri had replaced Gigi Di Biagio with Benoit Cauet.
All the missed chances were a psychological blow for Lazio who went off the boil. Inter had a low Stéphane Dalmat shot caught by Angelo Peruzzi. In the 59th minute Marcelo Salas came on for Claudio Lopez and for Inter Álvaro Recoba replaced Marco Ferrante in the 63rd.
In the 64th minute came the news that Vincenzo Montella had equalised in Rome against Milan. Ten minutes earlier David Trezeguet had already put Juventus in front against Perugia so things were changing for the worse for Lazio.
Lazio lost their aggression and fire and Inter started to believe they could take something from the game.
It was still Lazio however who had the best chances. Crespo again squandered a Veron assist when he mistimed a volley in front of goal and completely missed the ball and a few minutes later Simone hammered the ball over the bar from a good position, then a Mihajlovic freekick whistled past the right post.
In the 79th minute Dejan Stankovic came on for Poborsky. Lazio seemed in control but with only a one goal lead they could not relax.
In the 85th minute Alessandro Nesta slipped and gave Recoba an opportunity in front of Peruzzi but from an awkward angle on the left and he fired the ball over the bar.
Stankovic then had a good long range shot but it was just over the bar and Recoba imitated him a few minutes later.
In the 92nd minute Lazio’s world collapsed. Inter had a free kick five metres from the right vertex of the area, Recoba was on the ball but instead of shooting tapped the ball to his left horizontally to Dalmat who with his right foot drilled the ball into the top left-hand corner. A superb goal. Inter 1 Lazio 1.
A cruel ending for Lazio who could and should have put the game to bed long before those tense injury time minutes. They threw away the chance to put more pressure on Roma who had drawn and seemed to be getting more and more anxious.
The new table read; Roma 71, Juventus 67, Lazio 66. With two games to go only a miracle could allow Lazio to retain their title now.
Who played for Inter
Ballotta, Cirillo, Blanc, Ferrari, Zanetti, Di Biagio (53' Cauet), Jugovic, Dalmat, Serena, Ferrante (63' Recoba), Vieri (22' Hakan Sukur),
Substitutes: Varaldi, Simic, Macellari, Seedorf
Manager: Tardelli
Who played for Lazio
Peruzzi, Negro, Nesta, Mihajlovic, Pancaro, Poborsky (79' Stankovic), Veron, D.Baggio, Simeone, C. Lopez (58' Salas), Crespo
Substitutes: Marchegiani, Pesaresi, Colonnese, Ravanelli
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Collina
Goals: 42' Crespo, 90+2 Dalmat
What happened next
Lazio finished 3rd. They then beat Fiorentina 3-0 and went into the last game three points behind Roma (2-2 in Naples) and one Juventus (3-0 at Vicenza), so still had a very slender chance. Parma's soft approach against Roma soon killed off any hopes and Lazio, hearing the news from the Olimpico, basically gave up and eventually lost in Lecce after being in front. With 3rd place they qualified for the Champions League. Top scorer was Crespo with 28 goals (top scorer of Serie A with 26).
Inter finished 5th and qualified for the UEFA Cup. The Nerazzurri then won the last two games, Bari 2-1 away and Bologna 2-1 at home. Top scorer was Christian Vieri with 19 (18 in A).
Roma won their third Scudetto. A week later as mentioned they drew 2-2 in Naples but despite slowing down they managed to get over the line two points ahead of Juventus. On June 17 Roma were proclaimed champions with a home win against Parma.
A difficult summer for Lazio fans, as the previous had been for the Romanisti. The only consolation was that it was the shortest reign in history (June 17- August 26...). A pity as after the early problems Lazio had shown they were possibly still the best team in Italy.
With the Giallorossi Champions the other verdicts were Bari, Napoli, Vicenza and Reggina (after a playoff with Verona) down to the "purgatory" of Serie B.
Let's talk about Marco Tardelli
Marco Tardelli was born in Careggine (Lucca), on September 24, 1954. He was the fourth child of a working-class family
His first club was local team San Martino di Pisa while he still worked as a waiter to get by. He had trials with Bologna, Fiorentina and Milan but was considered too small physically.
He joined Pisa in 1972. The Nerazzurri were in Serie C and he stayed two seasons, playing 41 league games with 4 goals. The Tuscans finished 13th and 6th.
In 1974-75 he spent a season with Como in Serie B. The Lariani won promotion under Giuseppe Marchioro and Tardelli played 36 league games with 2 goals and 4 games in Coppa Italia. Tardelli had a good season and earned a call from Juventus.
He joined Juventus, immediately broke into the first team and stayed ten successful seasons. He won the Scudetto 5 times, the Coppa Italia twice, a European Cup, a Cup Winners Cup, a UEFA Cup and a UEFA Super Cup. He played 379 games and scored 52 goals. His managers were Carlo Parola for one season and then Giovanni Trapattoni for nine.
At 31 he left the Bianconeri and joined rivals Inter. He stayed two seasons with 6th and 3rd places. He played 71 games with 8 goals. His managers were Ilario Castagner (1-10) and Mario Corso (11-30) in the first year and then Giovanni Trapattoni in the second.
He then played one last season in Switzerland with San Gallo. He played 33 games with one goal and the Espen finished 5th.
At almost 34 he then retired but went straight into coaching. He was head coach of Italy U16s from 1988-90 and assistant coach of Italy U21s from 1990 to 1993.
In 1993 he went into club coaching. He started at Como in C1 and won promotion but the following year the Lariani were relegated.
In 1995-96 he was in charge at Cesena in Serie B, finishing 10th. He was then sacked in October of the following season.
He then went back to work for the Federation and in 1997 won the Mediterranean Games with the U23s and in 2000 won the European Championships with the U21s. In 2000 he was in charge of the Olympic team at Sydney 2000.
In 2000 he was called up by Inter in October to replace Marcello Lippi. The Nerazzurri finished 5th.
In December 2002 he became Bari manager in Serie B and finished 11th. The following year he was replaced in November after 2 league wins, 4 draws and 7 defeats.
In 2004 he had a brief experience as Egypt head coach.
In March 2005 he took over at Arezzo in Serie B but only lasted 5 games (W2, D1, L3).
From 2008 to 2013 he was assistant manager to Giovanni Trapattoni for Ireland. The Boys in Green failed to qualify for any major tournament, not helped by a Thierry Henry goal scored with his hand in the 2010 World Cup playoff with France.
He has since worked as a pundit on Italian television.
Tardelli was a midfielder. He started as left full-back at Como but was then transformed into a modern box to box midfielder. He could defend well and was a hard tackler but could also attack and score goals. He was nicknamed "Schizzo" (spurt) for his dynamic style of play. He is considered one of the best midfielders of his generation.
Tardelli also had a fantastic international career. He won 81 caps for Italy and scored 6 goals. He participated in two World Cups and one European Championship. In 1982 in Spain he and Italy won the biggest prize of all in football, the World Cup. Tardelli scored against Argentina in the second round and then got the second goal in Italy's 3-1 triumph over Germany in the final. His subsequent reaction, a wild and passionate celebration, has become the iconic image of that victory, even more so than Dino Zoff lifting the actual cup.
Tardelli is an Italian hero.
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