October 23 1996: Verona-Lazio 1-2 Coppa Italia
Dominate and administer
Lazio first run riot then restrain Verona's comeback attempt
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 3rd (UEFA) under manager Zdeněk Zeman. The highlights were beating Juventus 4-0, Sampdoria 6-3, Atalanta 5-1, Cagliari 4-0, Fiorentina 4-0 and especially Roma 1-0, all at home. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 26 goals (24 in A).
This year the Bohemian stayed on. The main new signings were: South-African defender Mark Fish (Orlando Pirates), midfielders Pavel Nedved (Sparta Prague) and Paul Okon (Club Bruges) plus forward Igor Protti (Bari), previous year's top Serie A scorer with Signori.
Leaving were defender Cristiano Bergodi (Padova), midfielders Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea), Aron Winter (Inter) plus forwards Alen Boksic (Juventus) and Marco Di Vaio (Bari - on loan).
The Serie A campaign had started very badly with two defeats (Bologna 0-1 away and Udinese 0-1 at home) but Lazio had since won 2 (Parma and Cagliari both 2-1 at home) and drawn 2 (Inter 1-1 and Fiorentina 0-0 away). Lazio were currently 11th on 8 points (with Fiorentina, Piacenza and Napoli)
In the UEFA Cup in the round of 64 the Biancocelesti got revenge on Lens 2-1 on aggregate (after 6-2 defeat in 1977). In the round of 32 they had beaten Tenerife 1-0 at home in the first leg on October 17. The return game in the Canary Islands would be on October 29.
Lazio had started their Coppa Italia campaign on August 28 and had won 1-0 away at Avellino. Today was Verona away in the 3rd round.
Verona were newly promoted. The Gialloblu had finished 2nd in Serie B under Attilio Perotti. The top scorer was Antonio De Vitis with 13 league goals. The squad included a few Lazio connections: Alessandro Manetti (youth academy then 1989-90 and 1991-92), Marco Di Vaio (youth academy then 1993-95) and now on loan from the Biancocelesti, Fabrizio Casazza (2003-05) and Marco Baroni (manager 2024-25).
This season the manager was Gigi Cagni. The main new players were: defenders Antonio Paganin (Atalanta) and Sebastiano Siviglia (Nocerina), midfielders Salvatore Giunta (Padova), Eugenio Corini (Piacenza), Pierluigi Orlandini (Inter), former Lazio Roberto Bacci (Torino - on loan), Jonathan Binotto (Cesena but on loan from Juventus), former Lazio Leonardo Colucci (Reggiana) and Vincenzo Italiano (Trapani) plus forward Filippo Maniero (Sampdoria). In January they would add midfielder Raffaele Ametrano (Juventus - on loan).
Leaving Verona were: defender Nicola Marangon (Venezia), midfielders Onofrio Barone (Lucchese - on loan), Gianluca De Angelis (Foggia - on loan), Damiano Tommasi (Roma) and Aladino Valoti (Piacenza) plus forwards Marco Di Vaio (Bari - on loan) and Fabrizio Cammarata (Torino - on loan but would be back from 1998 to 2000 and score two important goals for Lazio's history)
In Serie A the Gialloblu had won 1 (Roma 2-1 at home recently), drawn 2 (Cagliari at home and Reggiana away both 2-2) and lost 3 (first 3). Verona were 15th on 5 points. After a poor start they seemed to be improving.
To get to this 3rd round clash against Lazio they had beaten Bari (1-1 away and 3-0 at home in replay).
An unpredictable game today between two teams who had both started badly but now had found a series of positive results.
The match: Wednesday, October 23, 1996, Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona
Just under 10,000 spectators turned up for this Wednesday night cup game.
Lazio were without defender José Antonio Chamot and midfielders Paul Okon and Giorgio Venturin but fielded a strong side.
Verona were missing defender Sebastiano Siviglia.
Lazio dominated the first half hour or so. They were determined, aggressive and sharp.
They took the lead in the 8th minute. Roberto Rambaudi combined with Diego Fuser, cleverly dribbled past a defender and from close range beat Matteo Guardalben on the front post, 0-1.
Lazio were in complete control and doubled the score in the 23rd minute. Beppe Signori teed up Pavel Nedved who controlled the ball with his right foot and scored with his left, 0-2.
Lazio could then have scored another three times but Signori was off target.
Towards the end of the half Verona threatened a few times with set pieces and an Eugenio Corino freekick shaved the post.
Right on the bell the Gialloblu pulled one back with a cracking long range shot by Pierluigi Orlandini, 1-2.
For the second half Lazio replaced Igor Protti with Gigi Casiraghi.
Verona now clearly believed in a comeback and attacked more but Lazio were still the more dangerous. Casiraghi in particular went close twice, first his left foot skimmed the top of the crossbar and then he was denied by an excellent Guardalben save.
Verona tried to inject fresh energy by replacing three players between the 56th and 64th minutes but Lazio stood firm.
Lazio themselves took off Diego Fuser for a more conservative Roberto Baronio in the 66th minute and in the 81st threw on Guerino Gottardi for Beppe Favalli.
A deserved win for Lazio who could have scored four or five in the first half and then absorbed Verona's second half attacks with calm authority.
Lazio would now play Napoli first away and then at home in the quarter finals in November.
Who played for Verona
Guardalben, Fattori, Caverzan, Baroni, Vanoli, Orlandini, Ficcadenti, Corini (61' Bacci), L.Colucci, De Vitis (56' Maniero), Zanini (64' Manetti)
Manager: Cagni
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Fish, Nesta, Favalli (81' Gottardi), Fuser (66' Baronio), Marcolin, Nedved, Rambaudi, Protti (46' Casiraghi), Signori
Substitutes: Orsi, Franceschini, Grandoni, Piovanelli
Manager: Zeman
Referee: Collina
Goals: 8' Rambaudi, 23' Nedved, 45' Orlandini
What happened next
In the Coppa Italia Lazio then lost to Napoli 1-2 on aggregate (0-1 away and 1-1 at home).
In Serie A the Biancocelesti finished 4th on 55 points.
They lost the next two but then picked up a bit. Nevertheless they never found much consistency and despite some good wins (including Milan 3-0), on January 26 after a 1-2 home defeat to Bologna, Zeman was sacked and Dino Zoff returned. Lazio were in joint 12th position with Udinese on 23 points.
With Zoff results got better. Over the next 16 games the Biancocelesti won 9 (including Reggiana 6-1 and Verona 4-1), drew 5 (including derby with 91st minute equaliser in ten men, Milan and Juventus, both 2-2 away) and lost 2. They went unbeaten in the last 10 games and finished 4th, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. A good result considering how things had gone. The top scorer was Signori with 15 league goals.
In the UEFA Cup, Lazio crashed out to Tenerife. They led three times in the Canary Islands but ended up losing 3-5. This was probably the beginning of the end for Zeman.
Verona finished 17th with 27 points and relegated. In the next 28 games they won 5 (including Milan 3-1 at home), drew 7 (including Lazio 1-1 at home) and lost 16 (including Lazio 1-4 away). The top scorer was Maniero with 12 league goals.
Out of today's Verona squad Sebastian Siviglia would one day play for Lazio (2004-10) and five would become Serie A managers: Ficcadenti (Reggina, Cesena, Cagliari), Eugenio Corini (Chievo, Brescia, Palermo), Marco Baroni (Siena, Benevento, Frosinone, Lecce, Verona, Lazio, Torino), Paolo Vanoli (Torino, Fiorentina) and Vincenzo Italiano (Spezia, Fiorentina, Bologna, Besiktas).
The Scudetto was won by Juventus for the 24th time. Verona went down to Serie B with Cagliari, Perugia and Reggiana. The Coppa Italia winners were Vicenza while the UEFA Cup was lifted by Schalke 04.
Let's talk about Alessandro Manetti
Alessandro Manetti was born in Rome, on June 14, 1972.
His first local club was San Basilio and he was then formed in the Lazio academy. In the Primavera (U19s) he made up a midfield with Oberdan Biagioni and Gigi Di Biagio.
As a youngster he was selected and invited to Michel Platini's academy in Brittany. He was elected 2nd best player out of the 500 participating. "Roi Michel" himself predicted great things for the young Roman midfielder.
In 1989-90 he was added to the first team squad under Beppe Materazzi. He played one game in Coppa Italia, against Bologna on August 30, 1989. He however never made his league debut. Lazio finished 9th.
In 1990-91 he was loaned out to Mantova in Serie C1. He played 28 games with 1 goal but the Biancorossi finished 18th and relegated. He had three different managers: Enrico Catuzzi (1-6), Ambrogio Pelagalli (7-15) and Sergio Carpanesi (16-34). His teammates included Lazio connections: Paolo Beruatto (1987-90) and Massimiliano Nardecchia (1989-90).
In 1991-92 Manetti was back at Lazio but never played under Dino Zoff. The Biancocelesti finished 11th.
In 1992 he joined Acireale in C1. He played 26 league games with 1 goal. The Granata finished 2nd, lost the playoff but got promoted anyway due to Perugia's wrongdoings. The manager was former Lazio player (1969-72) and future manager (2005) Giuseppe Papadopulo. One of his teammates was future manager Walter Mazzarri (Sampdoria, Napoli, Inter, Watford, Torino amongst others).
In 1993 Manetti signed for Verona and stayed five and a half seasons. The Scaligeri were in Serie B and finished 12th, 10th, 2nd (promoted), 17th in A (relegated), 7th and 1st in B (promoted). He played 171 league games with 8 goals. His managers included Bortolo Mutti (two seasons), Attilio Perotti (first promotion year), Gigi Cagni, Sergio Maddè and Cesare Prandelli (second promotion). The squads included Lazio connections Roberto Bacci (1990-95), Marco Di Vaio (1993-95), Leonardo Colucci (1994-95), Massimiliano Esposito (1995-96), Marco Piovanelli (1995-97), Fabrizio Casazza (2003-05), Sebastiano Siviglia (2004-10) and Marco Baroni (manager 2024-25). They also had non-Lazio players such as Gianluca Pessotto, Filippo Inzaghi, Damiano Tommasi, Paolo Vanoli, Eugenio Corini and Vincenzo Italiano.
In January 1999 he joined Genoa in Serie B. He stayed three seasons and played 94 league games with 5 goals. The Rossoblu finished 6th, and 12th twice. His managers included Delio Rossi, Bruno Bolch, Guido Carboni, Alfredo Magni, Claudio Onofri, Franco Scoglio and Edy Reja. He played alongside Lazio connections: Giovanni Stroppa (1991-93), Stefano Lombardi (1998-99), Christian Manfredini (2002-03, 2004-11), Massimo Mutarelli (2006-08) and Abdoulay Konko (2011-16).
In 2002 he moved to Venezia in Serie B and stayed two seasons. He played 63 league games and the Arancioneroverdi finished 13th and 20th (survived via playouts). His managers were Gianfranco Bellotto the first year and then former Lazio player Angelo Gregucci. He also played alongside Lazio connections Giorgio Frezzolini (1993) and Fabio Firmani (2005-09, 2009-11),
In 2004 he joined Padova in C1. He played 18 league games under Renzo Ulivieri and the Patavini finished 6th.
In 2005 he signed for Alessandria and stayed two seasons. He only played 18 league games as he suffered a serious knee injury. The Grigi were in Serie D and finished 8th and 6th. The managers were: Enrico Nicolini, Mauro Della Bianchina, Felice Tufano and Romeo Azzali. One of his teammates was former Lazio, Ivano Della Morte (1994, 1995).
His last club were Derthona (Tortona-Alessandria) in 2007-08. The Leoncelli were in Serie D and finished 11th. He played 12 league games with 1 goal.
He retired at 36.
In his youth while at Lazio he played 4 games for Italy U18s.
After retiring he has had a few coaching experiences at amateur level with Borgorosso Arenzano in Serie D and Liguria youth XIs.
Alessandro Manetti was a midfielder. He was diminutive at 1.67 but extremely versatile. He could play as left or right winger or behind the forwards and later on even as playmaker. He was a skillful left-footer who also took freekicks and penalties. He was groomed by Lazio but only played one game for his childhood club. He then managed to have a long career and played 27 games in A and 301 in B. The place where he most left a mark was Verona.
Lazio Career
Seasons | Coppa Italia Appearances |
1989-90 | 1 |
Sources
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