Gazza's derby
A typical Rome derby of the period. It was tense and physical, with few scoring opportunities. It seemed to be heading in Roma's favour thanks to a defensive blunder before Paul Gascoigne rose to the heavens and headed Lazio into ecstasy.
Also on this day:
The season so far
Lazio's new President Sergio Cragnotti's first summer transfer market had been an ambitious one. In had come 3 promising young players from Cremonese: Giuseppe Favalli, Mauro Bonomi and Dario Marcolin plus the likes of defender Roberto Cravero, midfielders Diego Fuser and Aron Winter and forward Beppe Signori. The main talking point however was the arrival of Paul Gascoigne from Tottenham. One of the most exciting players of his generation, he arrived with great expectations, despite a recent serious injury. Lazio had lost fan favourite Ruben Sosa who had not renewed his contract and had let go Raffaele Sergio and Gabriele Pin.
The 1991-92 season had seen Lazio finish 10th and the current season had not got off to a great start: 4 consecutive draws were followed by wins against Parma and Atalanta but also defeats by Milan and in the two games preceding the derby, losses to Torino and Foggia. Lazio currently lay in mid-table with 9 points.
Roma's season had begun with a new manager: Vujadin Boskov (who had won the title with Sampdoria) had replaced Ottavio Bianchi. They had bought Sinisa Mihajlovic (later to become a Lazio legend) and Argentine Claudio Caniggia, but had also lost iconic German striker Rudi Voeller. The previous season Roma had finished 5th but this season saw them in mid-table with 8 points.
The match: Sunday, November 29, 1992, Rome, Stadio Olimpico
The derby, played in front of a full house (75,000), came after 4 consecutive 1-1 results and was not a classic. It was a nervy, sometimes dirty affair (Amedeo Carboni forced off early on), with provocative behaviour on both sides, but above all a desperate fear of losing. The real spectacle was as usual in the “curve” where the Lazio and Roma fans displayed their huge passion and colourful choreographies. Down on the field there was also passion but of a more negative type with tight man to man marking and constant fouls stopping and starting a mediocre event with goal scoring opportunities few and far between.
The second half however was awoken with a bang thanks to a massive defensive blunder by Lazio defenders Roberto Cravero and Angelo Gregucci, allowing Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini to slot the ball in unmarked. The goal should have galvanized Roma but instead seemed to relax the “Giallorossi” into thinking maybe they had done enough. Lazio's reaction was by no means venomous but a colossal chance for Thomas Doll who pulled it just wide and a thunderous shot by Diego Fuser which hit the crossbar and bounced up off the line (pre-goal line technology and possibly over) were warning signs for Roma. They themselves did waste a few potentially dangerous counter attacks but were ultimately punished for their passiveness in the dying minutes. A foul by Antonio Tempestilli on Fuser gave Lazio a freekick about 35 metres out and a high floating ball from Beppe Signori was met by Paul Gascoigne who out-jumped the Roma defenders and with a powerful header beat Giuseppe Zinetti. From agony to ecstasy.
Gazza, who had not really been in the game, became the hero of the hour in what will always be remembered as Gazza's derby. His run under the Curva Nord, arms outstretched, and his subsequent tears have gone down in Lazio history. Gazza was unconditionally loved at Lazio but that derby equaliser made him immortal.
In a pre-match interview Gazza in his unique Geordie-Italian dialect had said something about hoping the fans could “beava champeana” (bere champagne / drink champagne) … maybe it wasn't champagne but it was with great satisfaction that Lazio fans enjoyed their nerve steadying post-match beers.
Who played for Lazio
Fiori, Bonomi, Favalli, Bacci (69' Stroppa), Gregucci, Cravero (49' Bergodi), Fuser, Doll, Winter, Gascoigne, Signori.
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Roma
Zinetti, Bonacina, Carboni (8' Tempestilli), Aldair, Benedetti, Comi, Mihajlovic, Hassler, Carnevale (80' Salsano), Giannini, Rizzitelli
Substitutes: Firmani, Petruzzi, Muzzi
Manager: Boskov
Referee: Lucci
Goals: 48' Giannini, 86' Gascoigne
What happened next
Lazio's season improved after the salvaged derby and they qualified for Europe (UEFA Cup) after a 15-year absence. A fifth place finish was greeted with celebrations and European flags at the Olimpico. The cherry on the European cake was having Signori end up as top Serie A scorer with an impressive 26 goals.
Roma continued to have a mediocre season and after many years arrived behind Lazio and this was to mark the beginning of a long period of Lazio superiority. Roma ended up 10th, only 3 points above the relegation zone. Their season had further disappointment, losing the Coppa Italia final to Torino over 2 legs. At the end of the season Boskov would be sacked.
Let's talk about Aron Winter
Aron Winter was born in Paramaribo (Suriname), on March 1, 1967.
Winter started his career as an amateur in his home country Holland with SV Lelystad and at 19 was bought by Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam. He made his debut on April 6 against Utrecht. He played 187 games for Ajax scoring 44 times and winning 2 Dutch Cups ('87, '88), a league title ('91), a UEFA Cup Winners Cup ('87) and a UEFA Cup ('92).
In 1992 he joined Lazio for 5 billion lire (approx €2.5 million), in owner Cragnotti's attempt to build a competitive squad, both domestically and internationally. Winter, along with Karl Heinz Riedle, Doll and Gascoigne, added prestige to Lazio and definitely put them on the European map. Winter played 4 seasons for Lazio and totalled 155 games (123 in Serie A, 16 in Coppa Italia and 16 in the UEFA Cup) with 27 goals (21 in Serie A, 3 in Coppa Italia and 3 in UEFA Cup). He was an immensely popular player at Lazio. His name was chanted throughout his time at the Olimpico and all the stories of racism and anti-Semitism were vastly exaggerated by the media, all due to some isolated graffiti on a city wall.
It was with sadness that the “Laziali” saw him leave to Inter in 1996, where he went on to play for 3 seasons, but without ever reaching the heights of his Lazio days. At Inter he made 77 appearances with 1 goal (against Lazio ironically) before moving back to Ajax for 2 seasons in 1999 (51 appearances, 4 goals). He then played a season with Sparta Rotterdam (32 appearances ,1 goal) before returning to Ajax but without playing any competitive matches again.
After retiring he has had coaching experiences, especially as assistant for Ajax, but also as head coach at Toronto FC for a year. He was also Greece's assistant coach for 2 years (2019-21).
At International level Winter won 84 caps for Holland with 6 goals. He was part of the European Championship winning Dutch team of 1988 but made no appearances in the final stages. He played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, and was selected for the 1998 World Cup in France.
Aron Winter was an elegant, classy player who had both quality and quantity. He was a central midfielder with excellent athleticism, intelligence and vision. Apart from his technique, he had a strong personality and was a model professional. He usually played left-sided central midfield, a box-to-box player confirmed by his high goal scoring rate for Lazio. He was also versatile and was deployed as full back and even centre-back for Holland.
Aron Winter is remembered at Lazio as a model player, rarely involved in any controversies and as a solid, reliable but also high quality midfielder. His years at Lazio are identified with their gradual rise as a domestic force, which would later culminate in winning several trophies. Winter was part of that build up and he gave Lazio an International identity and respect.
On a personal level Winter was one of my favourites. Here was an established European star coming to my club, maybe things were finally changing… On the pitch he was hard-working but had class too and all without any of the Italian or South-American antics and theatrics. He was also a player of my generation. I was no longer the starry-eyed boy looking up to unreachable idols but admiring players of my age, of International level, representing my beloved team.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1992-93 | 36 (8) | 30 (6) | 6 (2) | - |
1993-94 | 39 (5) | 34 (4) | 1 | 4 (1) |
1994-95 | 43 (7) | 29 (5) | 6 (1) | 8 (1) |
1995-96 | 37 (7) | 30 (6) | 3 | 4 (1) |
Totals | 155 (27) | 123 (21) | 16 (3) | 16 (3) |
Sources
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