September 2, 1992: Lazio Ascoli 1-0, Coppa Italia
- Dag Jenkins
- 7 hours ago
- 7 min read
May the Signori show commence
Lazio complete 5-0 aggregate win with a first half winner by their new striker
The season so far
The 1991-92 season had seen Lazio finish 10th under Dino Zoff. The top scorer was Ruben Sosa with 15 goals (13 in A like Karl-Heinz Riedle).
During the season however Lazio had changed ownership and had been taken over by local entrepreneur Sergio Cragnotti.
Zoff had been kept on as manager but Cragnotti's first summer transfer market had been an ambitious one. In came three promising young players from Cremonese: Giuseppe Favalli, Mauro Bonomi and Dario Marcolin plus the likes of defender Roberto Cravero (Torino), midfielders Diego Fuser (Milan) and Aron Winter (Ajax) and forward Beppe Signori (Foggia)
The main talking point however was the arrival of Paul Gascoigne from Tottenham. One of the most exciting players of his generation, he came with great expectations, despite a serious injury that had kept him out of action for a season and delayed his Lazio adventure.
Lazio had lost fan favourite Ruben Sosa who had not renewed his contract and joined Inter. Leaving Lazio were also Raffaele Sergio (Torino) and long-serving Gabriele Pin (Parma).
Serie A would start on September 6 away at Sampdoria.
Today was the return leg of the Coppa Italia round of 32. In the first leg Lazio had trounced Ascoli 4-0 away. This game should be a mere formality.
Ascoli were in Serie B. The previous season they had been relegated from A with an 18th place finish. The manager was first Giancarlo De Sisti and then former Lazio keeper but Ascoli-born Massimo Cacciatori. The Bianconeri had lost 1-4 to Lazio at home but drawn 1-1 in Rome. The top scorers were; former Lazio, Pedro Troglio, Paolo Benetti, Filippo Maniero and Giovanni Spinelli, all with 4 league goals. The squad also included former Lazio Bruno Giordano and Massimo Piscedda as well as future Milan and European Champion with Germany, Oliver Bierhoff.
This season the manager was still Cacciatori. The main new signings were; goalkeeper Marco Bizzarri (Carrarese), defender Carlo Pascucci (Lucchese) and Francesco Zanoncelli (Padova), midfielder Giovanni Bosi (Modena) and forward Benito Carbone (Torino - on loan via Casertana) and Giovanni Spinelli who had left the previous autumn (Messina) but was now back
Leaving were; goalkeeper Roberto Bocchino (retiring), defenders Antonio Aloisi (Torino) and Massimo Piscedda (Monterotondo), midfielders Lucio Bernardini (Baracca Lugo) and Patrick Vervoort (Standard Liege) plus forwards Bruno Giordano (retiring) and Filippo Maniero (Padova).
Ascoli's Serie B campaign would start on September 6 at home against Modena.
This evening's game should be a mere formality.
The match: Wednesday, September 2, 1992, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A crowd of 20,000 showed up for this 20.30 kick off.
Lazio despite the comfortable four-goal cushion fielded a strong XI. The only missing players were midfielders Claudio Sclosa and Paul Gascoigne plus striker Karl-Heinz Riedle
Ascoli had two players suspended; defender Paolo Benetti and forward Oliver Bierhoff.
The game was more like a friendly but Lazio dominated from the start.
In the 7th minute Beppe Signori began his battle with Ascoli keeper Fabrizio Lorieri which would be the predominant feature of the game. The goalstopper made several good saves on the blonde striker.
In the 23rd minute Signori looked to have beaten the future Roma keeper but his free kick shaved the crossbar.
The goal came in the 27th minute. A good one-two by Thomas Doll and Maurizio Neri was finished off by Signori with a powerful cross goal strike, 1-0.
On the half hour a Lorieri save to deny Signori again was nothing short of miraculous. Halftime 1-0.
In the second half things slowed down even more.
Ascoli had more possession and territory than in the first half but rarely threatened. Lazio were content to build fitness and practice their defensive movements.
In the 71st minute Lazio made their one and only change, bringing on Dario Marcolin for Doll.
Shortly after Ascoli made two substitutions; in the 75th minute Fiorenzo D'Ainzara came on for Pietro Zaini and in the 80th Angelo Pierleoni replaced Giovanni Spinelli.
A game which predictably had nothing to say as far as the qualification was concerned. For Lazio another win, another Signori goal and no injuries.
Lazio would now play another Serie B club Cesena in the next round. The Romagnoli had surprisingly knocked out Serie A side Sampdoria on away goals.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Ascoli
Lorieri, Pascucci, Pergolizzi, Zanoncelli, Fusco, Bosi, Cavaliere, Troglio, Spinelli (80' Pierleoni), Zaini (75' D'Ainzara), Carbone
Substitutes: Bizzarri, Di Rocco, Cioffi
Manager: Cacciatori
Referee: Dinelli
Goal: 27' Signori
What happened next
Lazio had a good season and finished 5th. The Biancocelesti therefore qualified for Europe (UEFA Cup) after a fifteen year absence. Lazio had some good wins; Inter 3-1, Fiorentina 2-0 away, Udinese 4-0, Ancona 5-0, Napoli 4-3. They drew both derbies, the first was memorable with Paul Gascoigne equalising with a header under the Curva Nord a few minutes from time. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 32 goals (26 in A) while Diego Fuser got 11 (10 in A), Riedle 10 (8 in A) and Winter 8 (6 in A)
In Coppa Italia Lazio then beat Cesena 4-2 on aggregate but were then eliminated by Torino 4-5 on aggregate in the quarter finals.
Ascoli finished 6th in Serie B. The Bianconeri won 16, drew 14 and lost 8 but ended up two points short of promotion. The top scorer was Bierhoff with 20 league goals.
Ascoli have since been in Serie A for 2 seasons (2005-07), 20 in B and 10 in C. For the 2026-27 season they are back in Serie B.
Out of today's squad as mentioned Bierhoff would have a good career and score 102 goals in Serie A and is the only foreigner to have been both Serie A and B top goalscorer. Benito Carbone would play for some big clubs including Torino, Napoli, Inter, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, Derby County and Middlesbrough.
The Scudetto was won by Milan for the 13th time. There were four relegations and the unlucky ones were Pescara, Ancona, Fiorentina and Brescia.
Let's talk about Paolo Di Sarno
Paolo Di Sarno was born in Ivrea (Torino), on June 1, 1968.
He was a product of the Torino youth sector.
From 1986 to 1989 he was part of the first team squad but never made his debut.
In 1989 he joined Chieti in Serie C2 and played 29 league games under Antonio Giammarinaro. The Neroverdi finished 3rd.
In 1990-91 he was at Monopoli in C1. He played 29 league games under former Lazio player Giuseppe Papadopulo. The "Gabbiano" (Seagull) finished 12th.
In 1991 he joined Ternana in C1. The manager was former Lazio, Roberto Clagluna and the Rossoverdi finished 1st and promoted. Di Sarno played 34 league games.
In the summer of 1992 he joined Lazio in A. The manager was legend Dino Zoff and the main keepers Valerio Fiori and Fernando Orsi. Di Sarno appeared four times on the bench but never made his debut and left in the autumn.
He signed for Udinese in A. He played 30 league games, first under Adriano Fedele and then former Lazio Alberto Bigon. The Bianconeri finished 14th and avoided relegation in a playoff against Brescia. His teammates included Lazio connections; Lorenzo Marronaro (1980-81), Francesco Dell'Anno (1984-86), Nestor Sensini (1999-2000) and Antonio Manicone (assistant manager 2012-14) plus Lazio legend Alessandro Calori….
In 1993 he joined Lucchese in Serie B and stayed two seasons. He played 63 league games and the Panthers finished 10th and 16th. His manager was legendary former Lazio, Eugenio Fascetti for a season and a half and then Giampaolo Piaceri. He played alongside former Lazio, Luca Brunetti (1986-88) and Sergio Domini (1990-91).
In 1995-96 he played for Brescia in B. He made 35 league appearances and the Biancazzurri finished 16th, first under Mircea Lucescu (1-24) and then future Lazio Edy Reja (25-38). The squad included Lazio connections; Giampaolo Saurini (1988-89, 1990-91), Maurizio Neri (1991-93), Luca Luzardi (1992-94), Roberto Baronio (1996-97, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2005-06, 2006-08, 2009-10), Antonio and Emanuele Filippini (2004-05) plus a young Andrea Pirlo (later Inter, Milan and Juventus).
In 1996-97 he was with Pistoiese in C1. He played 14 league games mainly under Enrico Catuzzi and the Arancioni finished 16th (then safe via the playouts). One of his teammates was future Lazio manager Stefano Pioli (2014-16).
In 1997 he joined Brescello for a season in C1. He played 25 league games and the Gialloblu finished 9th under Giancarlo D'Astoli. One of his teammates was future Lazio player and then manager Simone Inzaghi.
In 1998-99 he was at Treviso in B. He only played 3 league games as the main keeper was Alessandro Cesaretti. The Biancocelesti finished 8th under Gianfranco Bellotto.
In 1999 he joined Biellese for one season and played 34 league games. The Lanieri were in C2 and finished 6th under former Torino player Patrizio Sala.
In 2000 he stayed in Piedmont but moved to Pro Vercelli in C2. He stayed two seasons, playing 49 league games and the Lions finished 4th and 7th. His manager was Maurizio Braghin. One of his teammates was former Lazio youth player Federico Peluso (later Atalanta, Juventus, Sassuolo and 3 Italy caps).
In 2002 he joined Pro Patria (Busto Arsizio-Lombardy) and stayed three seasons. The Tigrotti were in Serie C and finished 11th, 14th and 10th. He played 65 league games, under managers Carlo Muraro and Patrizio Sala again.
His last club was Ivrea (Piedmont) from 2005 to 2007. The Arancioni were in C2 and finished 3rd (promoted) and 17th (relegated after playout). His manager was Osvaldo Jaconi (the miracle of Castel di Sangro 1993-98) and he played 8 league games (the main keeper was Alessandro Caparco).
At 39 Di Sarno retired but stayed in football as a goalkeeper coach.
He went back to his roots and Torino. From 2007 to 2014 he coached the youth teams' keepers. From 2014 to 2023 he was with the first team goalstoppers (including Luca Castellazzi, Daniele Padelli, Joe Hart, Salvatore Sirigu, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and Etrit Berisha ). In 2024 he joined Salernitana for two years but from 2026 is back with Toro (Alberto Paleari and Franco Israel).
Di Sarno had a decent goalkeeping career. He did not make it at Lazio but he played in Serie A with Udinese and then many years in B and C with various clubs. He won a promotion to C1 with Ternana.
Sources
Comments