November 2, 1999: Dynamo Kyiv-Lazio 0-1, Champions League
A victory of pride
With qualification already secured, Eriksson rotated his team heavily in Kyiv — but Lazio still produced a composed performance to beat Dynamo and finish the group stage unbeaten
The season so far
In the previous season Lazio had gone agonisingly close to winning the scudetto. With eight games to the end of the season they were leading with five points over Fiorentina and seven over Milan. But a single point in the next three games reduced the cushion over Milan to just one point.
Lazio then won three consecutive games but so did Milan. In the penultimate match in Florence, the Biancocelesti were held to a draw and denied a clear penalty by a distracted referee. Milan won, overtook them, and maintained the lead in the last game.
In the summer transfer window, Lazio surprisingly sold their centre forward Christian Vieri to Inter in exchange for 90 billion lire (45 million euros) plus Diego Simeone. Other signings were Juan Sebastian Veron and Nestor Sensini from Parma, Simone Inzaghi from Piacenza and Kenneth Andersson from Bologna.
The 1999-00 season opened with the victory against the mighty Manchester United in Monte Carlo for the UEFA Super Cup with a Marcelo Salas goal. Another European triumph after having won the final Cup Winners Cup the previous year in Birmingham against Real Mallorca.
In Serie A Lazio were currently top with a one point lead over Juventus. The had won 5 and drawn 3.
In the Champions League Lazio were grouped with Bayer Leverkusen, Dynamo Kiev and NK Maribor. After drawing the first game with the Germans they had won three and drawn with Bayern Leverkusen securing first place. Today was the final match of the first group stage.
The match: Tuesday, November 2, 2000, Olimpijski Stadion, Kyiv
Lazio travelled to Kyiv with little at stake. Qualification for the second group stage had already been secured, while Dynamo Kyiv needed a victory to guarantee their own progress.
Sven-Goran Eriksson therefore took the opportunity to rotate his squad, leaving Luca Marchegiani, Sergio Conceição, Juan Sebastian Verón, Pavel Nedved, Marcelo Salas and Alen Boksic on the bench, while Matias Almeyda, Alessandro Nesta, Beppe Favalli, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Attilio Lombardo were unavailable. Yet what might have looked like a weakened Lazio side produced one of its most convincing European performances of the season.
Marco Ballotta replaced Marchegiani in goal, Guerino Gottardi and Beppe Pancaro started as the full-backs, and Paolo Negro and Fernando Couto formed the centre of defence. In midfield were Dejan Stankovic, Diego Simeone, Nestor Sensini and Dario Marcolin, while Roberto Mancini returned after a month out to partner Simone Inzaghi in attack.
The atmosphere inside the Olimpijski Stadium was extraordinary. Around 70,000 supporters had gathered hoping to see Dynamo secure qualification, but the visitors quickly made it clear that they had not travelled to Ukraine simply to fulfil a fixture.
Lazio started with confidence, pressing high and moving the ball intelligently. Dynamo struggled to impose their attacking game and were repeatedly frustrated by Eriksson's organised midfield. The home side's fluid 3-5-2 created movement but also left them without clear positions, while Lazio's zonal system remained compact and disciplined.
The decisive moment arrived after 17 minutes.
Gottardi sent a long cross into the area and Simone Inzaghi was unable to make contact. Marcolin and Dynamo defender Ramiz Mamedov challenged for the ball together, and the Ukrainian defender, off balance, turned it into his own net. Marcolin claimed the goal, arguing afterwards that although he had pushed Mamedov, he had also touched the ball. Officially, however, it was recorded as an own goal.
Dynamo reacted immediately. Serhij Rebrov forced Ballotta into a good save, while only a few minutes later Gottardi produced one of the moments of the match. Andriy Gusin's header appeared destined for the net, but the Lazio full-back recovered to clear the ball off the line.
That was effectively the extent of Dynamo's serious pressure. Lazio regained control and began to exploit the spaces left by the increasingly desperate hosts. Mancini was particularly lively, repeatedly using his technique to release Inzaghi, while Simeone and Sensini dominated the centre of the pitch.
Lazio could have doubled their advantage before half-time. Inzaghi chose to shoot when Mancini was better placed, while Simeone later attempted a delicate diagonal lob that narrowly failed to find the target.
The second half followed much the same pattern. Dynamo introduced Maksim Shatskikh at the interval in an attempt to give their attack more penetration, but Lazio continued to look the more dangerous side.
Four minutes after the restart, Sensini produced an excellent pass to send Simeone through, but the Argentine's finish was saved. Later, Simeone returned the favour, putting Inzaghi through in the area, only for the striker to shoot straight at Oleksandr Shovkovsky.
The missed opportunities meant that the final stages carried an element of danger. Lazio had been comfortable for long periods, but one Dynamo attack could have transformed the mood inside the stadium.
Eriksson responded by introducing 18-year-old Gian Piero Pinzi for Stankovic in the 64th minute. It was a significant moment for the young midfielder, who was making his first-team debut — and doing so in the Champions League, in front of 70,000 people in Kyiv. He immediately settled into the midfield without showing any sign of the occasion overwhelming him.
Dynamo continued to search for an equaliser, largely through the pace of Rebrov, but Lazio's defence remained composed. Negro and Couto won their aerial battles, Sensini and Simeone continued to close the spaces in midfield and Ballotta dealt confidently with whatever reached his goal.
The final whistle confirmed a deserved 1-0 victory and extended Lazio's unbeaten European run to 16 matches. More importantly, Eriksson had demonstrated that his squad was about far more than its star names. With several established players absent or rested, Gottardi, Marcolin, Ballotta and the young Pinzi all played their part in a performance that never looked like a second-string side.
There was also a curious twist to the evening. Bayer Leverkusen, who needed a victory over already eliminated Maribor to overtake Dynamo, could only draw 0-0. Dynamo therefore qualified for the next phase despite losing, while Lazio completed the first group stage unbeaten and with 14 points, the highest total in the group.
It was a victory that Lazio did not need, but one that said plenty about the mentality of Eriksson's team. The result mattered little to the qualification table, yet the performance mattered enormously: the reserves had been given an opportunity, and they had taken it.
Who played for Dynamo Kyiv
Shovkovski, Golovko, Vaschuk, Dmytrulin, Mamedov, Gusin, Fedorov (46' Shatskikh), Kaladze, Kosovsky, Rebrov, Bialkevich
Substitutes: Kernozenko, Gerasimenko, Vehlinski, Kormiltsev, Yezerski, Konovalov
Manager: Lobanovsky (Puzakh on the bench)
Who played for Lazio
Ballotta, Gottardi, Negro, Couto, Pancaro, Stankovic (64' Pinzi), Simeone, Sensini, Marcolin, S.Inzaghi, Mancini
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Durkin
Goal: 18' Mamedov (og)
What happened next
In the second group phase Lazio were paired with Chelsea, Olympique Marseille and Feyenoord.
After beating the French in the first game, qualification for the quarterfinal of Champions League was put in peril by only getting one point against the Dutch, after beating the French twice.
In the final game against Chelsea, after having drawn at home, Lazio had to win at Stamford Bridge to clinch the qualification in first place (the top two teams went through) as a bonus, so they could avoid having to play the quarter final against Barcelona, Manchester United or Bayern.
They managed to do so, coming from behind in a spectacular game.
In the quarterfinals Lazio played against Valencia. Everybody thought that it would be an easy match, but Lazio collapsed in Spain. Without Luca Marchegiani and Alessandro Nesta, Lazio went 2-0 down after 4 minutes, re-opened the game thanks to an Inzaghi goal half way through the first half, but Valencia netted another two goals and with ten minutes to the end were leading 4-1.
Salas scored in the dying minutes to give Lazio a chance of qualification but another defensive blunder with just a few seconds to go, gave Valencia a three-goal lead. Fans were hopeful Lazio could recover at the Olimpico, but the Biancocelesti only scored one goal with Veron and went out of the Champions League. A real pity.
In the Round of 16 of Coppa Italia Lazio eliminated Ravenna 5-2 on aggregate. The quarter finals were much more difficult as Lazio had to face Juventus. At the end of the first half in Turin the Biancocelesti were losing 3-0 and were virtually out of the competition. But in the second half first a penalty scored by Fabrizio Ravanelli and then a goal by Roberto Mancini with ten minutes to go re-opened the contest. In the return match at the Olimpico Lazio scored in the second half with Boksic. Alessandro Del Piero equalised but Diego Simeone put Lazio ahead in the 81st minute and the Biancocelesti were able to hold onto the precious victory.
Whereas on the one side there were two big clashes in the quarter finals (Lazio vs Juve and the Milanese derby), the other two games should have been more one-sided: Cagliari-Roma and Fiorentina-Venezia. But the islanders eliminated the Giallorossi and an away goal by Venezia gave them a historic semi-final against Lazio.
In the first leg, Lazio destroyed Venezia 5-0 with doubles from Mancini and Mihajlovic (with two penalties) plus a Ravanelli goal. Silver Fox had also missed a penalty. The return was just a formality and Lazio drew 2-2 with an Inzaghi double.
Inter brushed off Cagliari and so met Lazio in the final. The first leg was in Rome on April 12. Inter scored immediately with Clarence Seedorf but Lazio managed to equalise with Pavel Nedved at the end of the first half. In the beginning of the second, Simeone put Lazio ahead so Marcelo Lippi put Ronaldo on the pitch, his first game in five months. Five minutes later the Brazilian broke his patellar tendon. The scene was dramatic and very sad. The game basically ended there.
In the campionato the trio of teams (Lazio, Roma and Juve) led the Serie A for a few matches until Lazio sprinted off in the 14th. It did not last long. A loss on a frozen Venice evening on January 5 gave Juventus the lead again. Roma had fallen behind. Lazio regained the top of the table after beating Bologna in the Centenary game, but two goalless draws in the next two games gave Juve a three-point lead.
By the 26th game the deficit increased to nine points and it looked as if it was all over for the scudetto. But on March 25 Lazio won the derby and Juve lost at Milan. The Biancocelesti were at -6 but the next match was in Turin against Juventus. Thanks to a goal from Diego Simeone, the Juventus lead was reduced to three points. However, Florence looked as if it would be fatal again as Lazio drew 3-3 and Juventus won in Milan against Inter.
There were four games to go. Everybody thought it was all over but manager Sven Goran Eriksson tried to get the team to believe in the impossible. In the 32nd game of the season Lazio beat Venezia and Juventus lost at Verona.
Two games to go, two points difference.
Lazio beat Bologna away and Juventus were winning 1-0 against Parma. Towards the end of the match there was a corner for Parma. Mario Amoroso crossed and Fabio Cannavaro equalised but the referee inexplicably disallowed it.
This was the talking point in Italy for the entire week. Juve had already won a controversial scudetto a couple of years back when a clear penalty on Ronaldo was not given to Inter in Turin. So there was massive media pressure on the last two games of the season: Lazio-Reggina and Perugia-Juventus.
Perugia President Luciano Gaucci, ashamed of the lack of fighting spirit his team had shown against Milan in the last game of the previous season, stated that it would not be a walkover for Juventus.
Lazio fans hoped in a draw and then to go to a playoff. And this is what was happening at the end of the first half. Lazio were winning 2-0 and it was still goalless in Perugia. But a massive storm had erupted over the Umbrian capital and the pitch was waterlogged. Referee Pierluigi Collina tried a number of times to see if the ball would bounce on the waterlogged pitch, but no.
There was a problem. If the game had been abandoned they would have to start from scratch the next day. With what had happened in the previous match when Cannavaro’s goal was disallowed for no reason at all, the Italian referee felt that the repetition of the game would have been unfair. So he insisted.
When they were about to give up, the rain stopped. The pitch was not in ideal condition, but playable. The second half could recommence, an hour later than it should have. In the 50th minute Alessandro Calori scored for Perugia. Juve did not manage to equalise and Lazio won their second scudetto.
Still smelling of champagne and without any training whatsoever since the Sunday match, Lazio faced Inter for the second leg of the Coppa Italia final. There were chances for both sides, particularly for Inter in the dying seconds of the match, when Alvaro Recoba hit the woodwork, but the game was goalless and the Biancocelesti won the double.
An amazing season.
Lazio Jersey 1999-00
Images Sources: Football Kit Archive
This was the season of Lazio's centenary so the Biancocelesti had several different shirts.
Until January 9 the shirts were the same as the previous year with the same sponsor Cirio.
There were three for Serie A. The home shirt was light blue with a horizontal black band stretching across the chest and onto the sleeves. The band was interrupted in the middle for the Puma logo. The light blue collar also had a thin black line on it. The shorts were white with a black stripe down the sides and the socks light blue with a black horizontal stripe a third of the way down.
The away strip was the same design but yellow with a light blue band across the chest. The shorts were also yellow with a light blue stripe on the sides as were the socks.
The third shirt for Serie A was again the same design but black with a light blue band. The shorts were black with a light blue stripe and the socks also black with a light blue stripe.
Image Source: Centenary home (Soccertime), away (Maglie Calcio Vintage)
From January 9 and the Centenary celebrations against Bologna the Biancocelesti wore a special commemorative shirt.
It was white with a light blue band running from the collar and down the sleeves. The band was divided by a thin gold line. The collar was also white, light blue and gold. The Lazio eagle had the number 100 added to it on a golden base with written 1900-2000. The shorts were white with a light blue stripe down the sides. These shirts were very popular and sold 140,000 (40% in the UK and Latin America). They were worn by Lazio until January 20, 2001.
The away Centenary shirt was black with light blue from the collar down the sleeves. The collar was light blue, black and white. The shorts were black with a light blue stripe.
Images Sources: Football Kit Archive (home), Lazio Museum (away)
The Champions League home shirt was Lazio 1930s or Argentina style with thick light blue and white vertical stripes. The sponsor was Dal Monte.
The away Champions League shirt was the previous season's Serie A away shirt so yellow with a light blue interrupted band across the chest and down the arms. The sponsor was Dal Monte.
The Coppa Italia version was the same as the home centenary shirt but with Stream as the main sponsor.
There were also a number of goalkeeper jerseys.
Images Sources: Football Kit Archive
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