May 9, 1999: Lazio -Bologna 2-0
- Dag Jenkins
- May 9
- 10 min read
Nervy win keeps Lazio top
A superb Almeyda goal and a late Vieri strike maintain one-point lead on Milan with two games to go
Also on this day:
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.
In Serie A Lazio had finished a deceiving 7th. In reality they had challenged for the Scudetto until early April but then lost 0-1 at home to Juventus and never recovered. In the last 6 games they got one point...
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 31 games and were top of the table with a one-point lead on 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 then 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 however now came from two wins. The table read Lazio 62, Milan 61, Fiorentina 54.
The defence of their Coppa Italia had ended in the quarter finals. In September they had eliminated Cosenza 4-1 on aggregate and then beat Milan 4-2 on aggregate but in December and January Lazio had been defeated by Inter 3-6 on aggregate.
In the Cup Winners Cup Lazio were through to the final to be played on May 19. 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). The final would be played at Villa Park in Birmingham against Spaniards Mallorca.
Bologna had finished 8th (Intertoto Cup) the previous season, under Renzo Ulivieri. The Rossoblu had lost 0-1 to Lazio in Rome but won at home 2-1. Top scorer was Roberto Baggio with 23 goals (22 in A).
This season the manager was Carlo Mazzone. The main new signings were: defenders Giovanni Bia (Udinese via Brescia), Nicola Boselli (Atalanta), Alessandro Rinaldi (Ravenna), midfielders Eriberto (Palmeiras), Klas Ingesson (Bari) plus forwards Giuseppe Signori (Sampdoria) and Igor Simutenkov (Reggiana). In January Bologna added defenders Stefano Bettarini (Fiorentina-on loan), Teddy Lučić (IFK Göteborg) and midfielder Giampiero Maini (Milan-on loan).
Leaving Bologna were: goalkeeper Giorgio Sterchele (Roma-end of loan), defenders Daniele Carnasciali (Venezia), Cristiano Pavone (Lecce), Stefano Torrisi (Atlético Madrid), midfielders Paolo Cristallini (Piacenza), Igor Šalimov (Napoli) and forward Roberto Baggio (Inter). In January they also sold defender Oscar Magoni (Napoli).
So far in Serie A Bologna were joint 8th with Inter on 43 points. Bologna had won 11 (including Juventus 3-0 and Inter 2-0 at home), drawn 10 (including Juventus 2-2 away) and lost 11 (including Lazio 0-1).
In Coppa Italia the Felsinei had reached the semifinals but were defeated by Fiorentina 2-4 on aggregate (a.e.t). Bologna had previously eliminated Reggina 4-1, Sampdoria 2-1 and Juventus 3-1, all on aggregate. The semifinal however would later bring its rewards.
In Europe, Bologna had won the Intertoto Cup and gained access to the UEFA Cup. They had beaten Național Bucharest, Sampdoria and Ruch Chorzów.
They had done well in the UEFA Cup reaching the semifinal where they were only eliminated on away goals by Olympique Marseille. To get there the Rossoblu had got the better of Sporting Lisbon 4-1, Slavia Prague 4-1, Betis Sevilla 4-2 and Olympique Lyonnais 3-2, all on aggregate. A good cup run.
Lazio were strong favourites today. A win at all costs game against opposition with not a lot to play for.
The match: Sunday, May 9, 1999, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A hot and sunny day saw about 60,000 spectators gather to push Lazio towards the Scudetto.
Lazio were without Pavel Nedved.
Bologna were missing defenders Giovanni Bia and Massimo Tarantino plus midfielders Carlo Nervo and Giampiero "Gimmy" Maini.
The game was preceded by Lazio legend Beppe Signori going under the Curva Nord to greet his old fans and receive a plaque to thank him for his superb years in Rome.
The game then started with Lazio seemingly tense on this big occasion. It was the visitors who had the first big chance when Klas Ingesson pounced on a loose ball in the area and hammered a left foot which was heading under the crossbar, but Luca Marchegiani pulled off an incredible and instinctive save and tipped it over the bar.
Lazio then scored but it was disallowed. Sinisa Mihajlovic swung in a freekick from the left, Roberto Mancini headed onto the crossbar, the ball bounced back into play and Christian Vieri nodded in. The referee however claimed Mancini was offside but there were huge doubts on his decision.
The game was blocked, Lazio had stage fright and Bologna were almost too relaxed. Lazio only threatened when Attilio Lombardo stuck a foot out on a poor Sergio Conceição shot but the ball went just wide.
Just before the break Bologna were forced to replace an injured Michele Paramatti with former Roma, Massimiliano Cappioli. Halftime came with the score still 0-0 after a dull first 45 minutes.
The second half fortunately brought a Lazio goal early on. It came from an unlikely source, Matias Almeyda who scored his first ever in goal in Serie A. My brother Glyn however, walking up the steps to the Stadium had earlier strangely announced, "Oggi segna Almeyda" (Today Almeyda will score). He was right, in the 50th minute the Argentine picked up the ball about 25 metres out and placed a superb curling shot in the top left-hand corner. Lazio 1 Bologna 0.
The game went back to its slow rhythm which suited Lazio fine. Mihajlovic tried to score directly from a corner but not much else happened.
Then the substitutions started, for Lazio Ivan De La Peña replaced Lombardo in the 66th minute while for Bologna Jonathan Binotto and Igor Simutenkov came on for Eriberto and Signori in the 71st.
The Russian forward soon gave Lazio a huge scare. He beat Paolo Negro in the area and only had Marchegiani to beat from 5-6 metres but his shot towards the top corner came back off the right post.
Lazio then made two more substitutions, in the 79th minute Beppe Favalli came on for Negro and in the 82nd Paul Okon replaced Conceição.
Lazio were still tense although Bologna were not threatening. They were finally liberated from their fears in the 89th minute when they doubled the score. Mancini scooped the ball into the left side of the area where Vieri let off a powerful mid-height left foot which surprised Francesco Antonioli on the front post and went in. Lazio 2 Bologna 0 and full time.
A very important win for Lazio. The Biancocelesti had not played well and were negatively influenced by the enormity of the occasion and the realisation that their dream was so close. It was a fundamental win however as Milan had won too, 2-0 away at Juventus.
With two games to go Lazio were still top with that one-point advantage on the Rossoneri. Next up were Fiorentina v Lazio and Milan v Empoli while a few days after the Florence trip the Biancocelesti also had a European Cup Winners final to play.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro (79' Favalli), Nesta, Mihajlovic, Pancaro, S. Conceição (82' Okon), Stankovic, Almeyda, Lombardo (66' De La Peña), Mancini, Vieri
Manager: Eriksson
Who played for Bologna
Antonioli, Paramatti (44' Cappioli), Lucic, Paganin, Mangone, Bettarini, Eriberto (71' Binotto), Ingesson, Marocchi, Signori (71' Simutenkov), Andersson
Substitutes: Brunner, Sanchez, Kolyvanov
Manager: Mazzone
Referee: Boggi
Goals: 50' Almeyda, 89' Vieri
What happened next
Lazio went very close to winning the Scudetto but were agonisingly pipped to the post. In the next game they drew 1-1 in Florence, being denied a blatant penalty and were undeservedly overtaken by Milan. In the last match Lazio beat Parma 2-1 at the Olimpico but Milan cruised 2-0 away to a passive Perugia and won the title.
Lazio finished 2nd in Serie A but triumphed in Europe winning the last ever Cup Winners Cup. In the final Lazio beat Mallorca 2-1 at Villa Park in Birmingham with goals by Vieri and Nedved.
Top scorer was Marcelo Salas with 24 goals (15 in league) but Vieri had a good season too, when he finally returned from January, with 12 league goals.
Bologna finished 9th. In the last two games they drew 2-2 at home to Sampdoria and then lost 1-3 away to Inter.
They then got revenge against Inter. The Coppa Italia finalists, Fiorentina and Parma, had already qualified for the Champions League via Serie A so an extra UEFA place became available. It was battled out between the Coppa Italia semi-finalists, Bologna and Inter. In a double-legged tie the Rossoblu triumphed 4-2 on aggregate, winning both games and so qualified for Europe again.
With Milan champions for the 16th time, it was Sampdoria, Vicenza, Empoli and Salernitana who went down to Serie B.
Let's talk about Matías Almeyda
Matías Jesús Almeyda was born on December 21, 1973 in Azul near Buenos Aires. He started playing football in the River plate youth teams and debuted for "Los Millonarios" in 1991-92. He played for River for five years winning the Apertura three times (1993, 1995 and 1996) and the Copa Libertadores in 1996.
In 1996 Almeyda signed for Sevilla in Spain. It was not a good year for the Rojiblancos and at the end of the season they were relegated. Almeyda played 30 games in Andalusia.
In 1997 he was signed by Lazio. In his first year he did not play much, just 28 games, but in his second he became a regular, impressing everyone. A strong, powerful, tireless player, he blocked the opposition and regained possession, allowing the start of counter attacks. He was the perfect midfield companion for Juan Sebastian Veron.
With Lazio he won a Scudetto, a Cup Winners Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, the Coppa Italia twice and the Supercoppa twice. In 1999 he was awarded the Guerin D’Oro as best midfield player of Serie A. He played a total of 93 games for Lazio with 2 goals. One an amazing long 35 metre range shot beating Gianluigi Buffon in Parma and the other a long distance strike against Bologna at home.
His goal against Parma is probably among the best in Lazio's history.
In 2000 he was sold to Parma along with Sergio Conceição in the Hernan Crespo deal. A huge mistake by President Sergio Cragnotti. He stayed for two years in Emilia Romagna winning another Coppa Italia in 2001-2002. He played 50 games for the Gialloblù.
In 2002 he signed for Inter and stayed a couple of years. His stay in Milan was marred by injuries and he played 47 games with one goal (Newcastle United in CL).
In 2004 he signed for Brescia but in November, after 5 appearances, moved back to Argentina to play for Quilmes. After four months, at only 31 years of age, he decided to retire.
In two years of inactivity he concentrated on his farm, played in a Showball tour around the world with Diego Maradona and participated in the Indoor Football World Cup in Spain.
He then came out of retirement in 2007 to play for Lyn Oslo in the Norwegian Eliteserien. He appeared in a couple of games and played regularly only in the reserves team and in the domestic cup before retiring again.
In February 2009 he reappeared and signed for Argentine fourth tier side Fénix. In August however he went back to River Plate, staying for another two years and playing 64 games. In 2011 "La Banda" were relegated and he quit for the third time, this time definitely.
Almedya won 40 caps for Argentina with one goal (Brazil) and participated in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. He also played in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta winning a silver medal (Argentina were beaten by Nigeria).
After he retired Almeyda became a manager and was head coach for River Plate for 18 months winning the Primera B Nacional and earning promotion to the top tier in 2011-12. He was sacked in November 2012. He then took charge of Banfield taking the team to promotion. In 2015 he was nominated manager at Guadalajara. In Mexico he won the Liga Clausura in 2017, the Copa MX apertura in 2015 and Clausura in 2017, the Supercopa MX in 2016 and the CONCACAF Champions League in 2018.
He left Mexico in 2018 and joined San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS. In his first year he just missed the playoffs but reached them in his second, then eliminated by Sporting Kansas City. He left the US in April 2022.
He then became head coach of AEK Athens in 2022 and won both the Greek Super League as well as the Greek Cup, the first time AEK had won the double since 1978. In January 2023 he renewed his contract until 2028. In 2023-24 the "Kitrinomavri" (Yellow and Blacks) finished 2nd.
During his career Almeyda suffered from depression and alcoholism particularly when he was at Inter. But he came out of it and has also had a successful manager career. As a footballer his highlight was his stay at Lazio. He always talks about his experience in Rome as the best and most prestigious of his career. The fans have never forgotten him.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Cup Winners Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Super Cup |
1997-98 | 28 | 19 | 2 | - | - | 7 | - |
1998-99 | 35 (1) | 25 (1) | 4 | - | 6 | - | - |
1999-00 | 30 (1) | 19 (1) | 2 | 8 | - | - | 1 |
Total | 93 (2) | 63 (2) | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
Sources
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