November 11, 1990: Cagliari -Lazio 0-1
- Dag Jenkins
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
Smash and grab in Sardinia
An own goal and little else gives Lazio two points in Cagliari
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished a decent 9th in their second year back in Serie A. The highlights had been beating Milan 1-0 away and eventual champions Napoli 3-0 at home. Top scorer was Amarildo with 9 goals (8 in A, with Ruben Sosa).
This year manager Giuseppe Materazzi had been replaced by living legend Dino Zoff, who had perhaps a little unfairly been released by Juventus.
The summer market had brought a few novelties to the squad. In defence Lazio welcomed Roberto Bacci (Mantova) while in midfield Sergio Domini had been added (Cesena). It was in attack however that the main changes occurred; Armando Madonna was signed (Atalanta) and more excitingly, German striker Karl-Heinz Riedle was to wear the Lazio jersey (Werder Bremen).
The main sacrifice, for economic reasons, was local lad and derby hero Paolo Di Canio (Juventus). Forward Amarildo (Cesena) and three defenders, Paolo Beruatto (Mantova), Marco Monti (Atalanta) and Massimo Piscedda (Avellino) had also left.
Lazio's season had started in early September in Coppa Italia and brought a shock defeat to second tier Modena, 1-3 on aggregate.
In Serie A Lazio had started slowly with 2 draws (Torino 0-0 away on debut, and Parma 0-0, both at home) and 1 defeat (Lecce 0-1 away). Since then the Biancocelesti had finally won 1 (Bologna 3-1 at home) and drawn 3 (Milan and Bari both 1-1 at home and Juventus 0-0 away). Lazio were currently 8th on 7 points with Cesena, Pisa, and Napoli. It was time for an away win.
Cagliari were newly promoted. The Sardinians had finished 3rd in Serie B under manager Claudio Ranieri. The top scorer was Fabrizio Provitali with 12 league goals. The squad included past and future Lazio connections: Mario Ielpo and Luciano De Paola.
This season Ranieri was still on the bench. Arriving in Cagliari were: defender José Oscar Herrera (Figueres), midfielders Stefano Mobili (Ostia Mare), Mauro Nardini (Barletta), Gianfranco Matteoli (Inter), Maurizio Coppola (Campania Puteolana) plus forwards Daniel Fonseca (Nacional Montevideo) and Enzo Francescoli (Olympique Marseille). The two Uruguayans were considered particularly good signings but Matteoli was also an experienced, solid midfielder and was also Sardinian.
Leaving Casteddu were: midfielder Lucio Bernardini (Ascoli), Maurizio Giovanelli (retiring) plus forwards Francesco Pisicchio (Salernitana) and Fabrizio Provitali (Vicenza). Luciano De Paola would leave in November (Brescia).
Cagliari's season had started in September with the Coppa Italia but they had immediately been eliminated by Lecce 0-5 on aggregate.
In Serie A so far, the Rossoblu were struggling. They had won 1 (Napoli 2-1 away), drawn 1 and lost 5 (including last 3). Cagliari were currently joint bottom with Bologna on 3 points (3 from safety - Genoa, Bari and Roma on 6 points).
Lazio were slight favourites but Cagliari were desperate to get a first home win and some points.
The match: Sunday, November 11, 1990, Stadio Sant'Elia, Cagliari
A hazy day on the island with the occasional ray of sun brought just under 20,000 to the Sant' Elia stadium.
Cagliari had all the squad available while Lazio were without central defender Angelo Gregucci and midfielder Pedro Troglio.
Cagliari were on top in the first half and attacked constantly. Lazio's game plan was not helped by new signing Claudio Vertova limping off after only six minutes and being replaced by Roberto Bacci.
Cagliari's best period of pressure was halfway through the half when they had two clear chances, but on both occasions Daniel Fonseca fired over the crossbar.
In the 37th minute Massimiliano Cappioli had a decent effort but his shot was just wide.
Lazio defended and had their only shot at goal in the 42nd minute when Mario Ielpo fisted away a Claudio Sclosa effort.
Halftime 0-0 but the hosts were so far the better team.
For the second half, future "Sir" Ranieri took off experienced midfielder Gianfranco Matteoli and put on young forward Raffaele Paolino
The fresh legged youngster immediately caused Lazio problems but Valerio Fiori was reactive.
In the 61st minute Lazio surprisingly took the lead. Sergio Domini floated in a corner and Gianluca Festa, in an attempt to anticipate Karl-Heinz Riedle, headed the ball into his own net, 0-1.
The game changed completely. The Cagliaritani's heads dropped and they lost vigour.
In the 66th minute both sides made changes; for Cagliari midfielder Pasquale Domenico Rocco came on for downtrodden defender Festa while for Lazio, Franco Marchegiani replaced Sclosa.
Cagliari however had given all they had to give and Lazio were then completely in control until the end of the game. A good ball circulation allowed the Biancocelesti to avoid any risks until the final whistle. Final score Cagliari 0 Lazio 1.
A cynical win for the Romans. They could thank Cagliari's lack of a real centre-forward and then, once they had got the lucky breakthrough, Cagliari's low self-esteem prevented them from believing in a comeback.
Lazio were now up to 6th on 9 points with Parma. Cagliari were obviously still bottom with Bologna on 3 points but now four from safety (Atalanta on 7 points).
Who played for Cagliari
Ielpo, Festa (66' Rocco), Cornacchia, Pulga, Valentini, Firicano, Cappioli, Matteoli (46' Paolino), Fonseca, Francescoli, Nardini
Substitutes: Di Bitonto, Coppola, Herrera
Manager: Ranieri
Who played for Lazio
Fiori, Bergodi, Sergio, Pin, Vertova (6' Bacci), Soldà, Madonna, Sclosa (66' Marchegiani), Riedle, Domini, Sosa
Substitutes: Orsi, Bertoni, Saurini
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Luci
Goal: 61' Festa (og)
What happened next
It was a season of many draws, few wins and few defeats. Lazio drew both derbies 1-1 coming from behind and their best win of the season was defeating Juventus 1-0 in Rome with a Karl-Heinz Riedle winner. They finished 11th after 8 wins, 19 draws and 7 defeats. So, despite the change of managers Lazio could not rid themselves of their addiction to draws. Top scorer was Rubén Sosa with 12 goals (11 in A) while Riedle got 9 league goals.
Cagliari finished 14th on 29 points with Bari. They managed to survive by improving after today. In the next 26 games they won 5, drew 16 (including Juventus 2-2, Roma 0-0, Inter 1-1, Lazio 1-1 away and Milan 1-1 and Juventus 0-0 at home) and only lost 5. They still had problems scoring goals (29 in 34 games) and the top scorer was Fonseca with 8 league goals.
The 1990-91 Scudetto was won by Sampdoria for their first historic title. At the other end Bologna, Lecce, Pisa and Cesena slipped down to second tier football.
Let's talk about Enzo Francescoli
In the great opponents series, we will talk about the talented Uruguayan
Enzo Francescoli Uriarte was born in Montevideo, on November 12, 1961.
He came from a family of Italian origins and was brought up in the Capurro district of the capital. He supported Peñarol from childhood. He was however rejected by Peñarol after a trial as he was considered physically too weak.
His first professional team were Montevideo Wanderers where he played three seasons in the Uruguayan top flight. He played 74 games and scored 20 goals.
In 1983 he signed for River Plate in Argentina. He stayed three years playing 113 games and scoring 58 goals. His last year was particularly prolific as he scored 25 goals in 32 appearances and the Milionarios won the league title.
In 1986 he moved to Europe. He joined Racing Club de Paris in the French top flight. In Paris too he stayed three seasons, playing 93 games with 32 goals. The club however were not particularly competitive and finished 13, 7th and 17th.
In 1988-89 he played a season for Olympique Marseille. Les Olympiens won the league under Gérard Gili and Francescoli played 40 games with 11 goals. OM also reached the semi-final of the European Cup. The squad included: goalkeeper Jean Castaneda, defenders Manuel Amoros, Karlheinz Förster, midfielders Didier Deschamps, Jean Tigana, Abedi Pelé, Chris Waddle and forwards Éric Cantona and Jean-Pierre Papin.
In 1990 he moved to Serie A, considered the best league in the world at the time. He signed for newly promoted Cagliari and stayed three seasons. The Casteddu finished 14th, 13th and 6th (UEFA qualification). He played a total of 104 games with 19 goals. He then left Cagliari also due to some friction with the owner Massimo Cellino.
In 1991 he signed for Torino. The manager was Emiliano Mondonico and Toro finished 8th. Francescoli was hindered by some injuries but played a total of 34 games with 5 goals (including Lazio in 1-1 draw in Turin).
In Italy he scored some superb goals and delighted Cagliari with his skills. He is in the Rossoblu Hall of Fame and has been included in the Cagliari best 11 in history.
In 1994 he returned to Argentina and River Plate. He played another four seasons and 121 games with 67 goals. La Banda won the Apertura titles in 1994, 1996 and 1997 plus the Clausura in 1997. In 1996 they won the biggest prize of all, the Copa Libertadores and in 1997 the Supercopa Sudamericana.
He then retired at 36.
Since retiring he has worked as a sporting director. From 2013 he has been sporting director of River Plate.
At international level he won 75 caps for Uruguay with 19 goals. With La Celeste he won 3 Copa Américas, 1983, 1987 and 1995 (and tournament best player award) and was runner-up in 1989. He took part in two World Cups (1986, 1990), reaching the last 16 in the Mexican edition.
Francescoli is considered one of the best Uruguayan players in history. He was voted South American player of the year in 1984 and 1985, Argentinian player of the year in 1985 and 1986, was Argentine league top scorer in 1985, 1986 and 1996 and was player of the year in France in 1990. He is placed at number 80 in the best players of the 20th century and 24th South-American.
Francescoli or "El Principe" as he was called was an attacking midfielder but could also play as forward or even as a "falso nueve" centre-forward. He was an incredibly skillful player with sublime control and dribbling skills. An elegant and classy player who could score goals but especially set them up.
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