September 20, 2000: Lazio AC Sparta Praha 3-0, Champions League
Inzaghi leads another European masterclass
Simone Inzaghi scored twice as Lazio followed up their opening-day victory in Donetsk with another commanding Champions League win, defeating Sparta Prague 3–0 at the Olimpico.
Season 2000-01
The season so far
The previous season Lazio won their second scudetto in dramatic circumstances. In the final game of the season Juventus had a two-point lead over the Biancocelesti. While Lazio had finished their match at the Olimpico beating Reggina 3-0, between the first and second half of Perugia-Juventus there was a massive storm that water-logged the pitch. The second half started an hour later than it should have. Perugia scored with Alessandro Calori and Juve were unable to turn the game around. Lazio had won!!!
In the summer transfer window, President Sergio Cragnotti had decided that Lazio needed a strong centre-forward and a more reliable goalkeeper. In came Hernan Crespo (Parma), one of the best forwards in the world, and Angelo Peruzzi (Inter), one of the best goalkeepers. Other signings included forward Claudio Lopez (Valencia), midfielder Dino Baggio (Parma) and the return of Roberto Baronio from his loan at Reggina. Also bought were midfielders Stefano Fiore and Giuliano Giannichedda from Udinese but they were left to the Bianconeri on loan for an extra year. Leaving Lazio were Alen Boksic (Middlesbrough), Dario Marcolin (Sampdoria), Gianpiero Pinzi (Udinese), Marco Ballotta (Inter), Matias Almeyda and Sergio Conceicao to Parma as partial payment for Crespo.
The problem was that Lazio had been unable to sign a right-winger. Lazio had tried to get Boudewijn Zenden from Barcelona but had failed. This could be a problem at least until January with the winter transfer window. We would see.
The season was going to be a strange one since, due to the Olympic Games in Sydney, the Italian Federation decided to start the Campionato on October 1. However, Champions League would be played in September just the same so the Italian teams involved in the European competitions would play with few games in their legs. Not ideal.
The first game of the season was however the Supercoppa and Lazio beat Inter at the Olimpico 4-3.
The match: Wednesday, September 20, 2000, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio continued their impressive start to the 2000-01 Champions League with a convincing 3–0 victory over Sparta Prague at the Stadio Olimpico. Sven-Göran Eriksson's side produced another assured European performance, combining attacking quality with defensive solidity to record their second consecutive victory without conceding.
The champions were without their two injured Argentine forwards, Claudio López and Hernán Crespo, but Eriksson could still call upon virtually his entire title-winning side. The absence of López was compensated for by the inclusion of Simone Inzaghi alongside Marcelo Salas, while Juan Sebastián Verón, Pavel Nedvěd, Diego Simeone and Dejan Stanković formed a formidable midfield.
Lazio made the stronger start and almost opened the scoring after eight minutes when Stanković unleashed a powerful effort from distance that flew narrowly wide. Sparta's principal threat came on the counterattack, with Michal Hornak forcing a save from Luca Marchegiani midway through the first half.
The visitors' danger did little to unsettle Lazio, however. Thomas Postulka was soon forced into action, producing an excellent save to deny Inzaghi before keeping out another dangerous effort following an exchange between Nedvěd and Salas.
The pressure finally told in the 35th minute. Nedvěd picked out Inzaghi, who took advantage of space inside the area and fired a superb diagonal right-footed shot beyond Postulka. The goalkeeper might have done better, but the finish was emphatic and gave Lazio the lead.
The goal was also significant individually for Inzaghi. It was his 11th goal in European competition for Lazio, all in the Champions League, moving him level for European goals with the club's legendary goalscorer Giorgio Chinaglia.
Sparta almost equalised before half-time when Josef Obajdin found space, but Marchegiani produced another important intervention to preserve Lazio's advantage.
The second half followed the same pattern. Lazio controlled possession and territory while Sparta struggled to create sustained pressure. The decisive second goal arrived in the 57th minute. Verón curled a superb free-kick into the penalty area and Simeone got the faintest of touches—or, according to the contemporary account, possibly none at all—as the ball evaded Postulka and found the net.
With Lazio two goals ahead, Salas came close to adding a third shortly afterwards. The Chilean rounded Postulka following another perfectly weighted pass from Verón, but his shot struck the outside of the net.
Sparta still had moments of danger. Jiri Jarosik came particularly close with a header, only for Marchegiani to produce another fine save and maintain Lazio's clean sheet.
The final goal arrived in the 70th minute and once again featured the outstanding Verón. The Argentine midfielder slipped a perfectly weighted pass through to Inzaghi, who controlled before firing a powerful right-footed shot into the top corner. Postulka had no chance.
The second goal of the evening took Inzaghi to 12 European goals for Lazio, moving him beyond Chinaglia in the European scoring rankings.
The final stages were played out comfortably by the home side. Eriksson made his substitutions, introducing Attilio Lombardo, Roberto Sensini and Francesco Colonnese, while Lazio's defence remained unbreached.
After their 3–0 victory away to Shakhtar Donetsk in the opening round, Lazio had now scored six goals in two Champions League matches without conceding. It was another demonstration of the depth and quality of the reigning Italian champions, with Inzaghi providing the goals, Verón the creativity and Marchegiani the safety at the other end.
For Lazio, Europe was already beginning to look very promising.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Pancaro, Nesta, Couto, Favalli (79' Colonnese), Stankovic, Veron, Simeone, Nedved (79' Sensini), Salas, S.Inzaghi (73' Lombardo)
Manager: Eriksson
Who played for AC Sparta Praha
Postulka, Hornak, J.Novotny, Bolf, Grygera, Mynar (46' Labant), Svoboda (77' Kolousek), Jarosik, Rosicky, Kincl (82' Siegl), Obajdin
Substitutes: Blazek, P.Novotny, Papousek, Prohaszka
Manager: Hasek
Referee: Vassaras
Goals: 35' S.Inzaghi, 57' Simeone, 70' S.Inzaghi
What happened next
Lazio did not start too well and by the end of the year were fourth with 21 points, way off Roma who were leading the Serie A eight points ahead. There had been a lot of problems. This first issue was that Sven-Goran Eriksson had signed a contract with the English FA to manage England starting from the summer of 2001. This meant that it was going to be his last year with Lazio. This created a negative psychological situation in the team, uncertain of what would happen in the future. Secondly, Crespo got injured early on and he was taking his time in getting back into form. Thirdly, the team was badly missing a right-winger since Attilio Lombardo was past his prime and Dejan Stankovic was fulfilling the task rather reluctantly. Fourthly, Claudio Lopez, Lazio’s star summer signing, also got injured early on in the season and would be out for the rest of the year. There was still optimism but in the first game of the new year Lazio lost at home and Eriksson, realising that he might be the problem, resigned. The team was given to Dino Zoff who stepped down as President to become head coach. In January Lazio finally bought Karel Poborsky and Lucas Castroman to fill the void created by selling Conçeicao.
In the campionato once Zoff arrived things improved and Lazio with three games to go were second behind Roma but with a five-point gap. The Giallorossi were tiring but Lazio threw away a game against Inter where they had 100 chances to score their second goal but the Nerazzurri then equalised in injury time. If Lazio had won they would have only been three points behind.
Coming into the final game, Roma were top, Juventus two points behind and Lazio three. In the last game Roma had to face Parma who decided not to play and allowed the Giallorossi to win their third scudetto. At that point the Biancocelesti, who were winning at Lecce, threw in the towel and lost the game.
In the Champions League Lazio managed to go through to the second group phase but were eliminated by Real Madrid and Leeds United. In Coppa Italia, the Biancocelesti were beaten by Udinese in the quarterfinals.
Pavel Nedved was the player with most appearances (46) and Crespo the leading goal scorer (28). The Argentine was also the leading Serie A goal scorer with 26 goals.
Lazio Jersey 2000-01
Image Sources: Ita Sport (first), SS Lazio Museum (second, fourth and fifth), Football Kit Archive (the others). Goalkeeper shirts reproduced with AI.
The 2000–01 season began with Lazio still celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the previous campaign. The club had won its second Scudetto and third Coppa Italia, and the Centenary celebrations provided the inspiration for a special shirt that would become one of the most distinctive Lazio jerseys of the era.
The principal shirt was the Centenary jersey, produced by Puma in the traditional Lazio sky blue. It was worn into the new season carrying an unusual combination of honours: the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia coccarda were both displayed on the chest following the double triumph of 1999–00.
The positioning of the two symbols was itself the result of some last-minute ingenuity. The shirts had originally been manufactured before Lazio won the championship, with provision made for the Scudetto to be added in the centre of the shirt. Once the Coppa Italia had also been won, both symbols were placed together on the left side, covering the original Puma logo. The club subsequently had the shirts modified, with a new Puma logo applied centrally.
The Centenary shirt also acquired a special connection with the Jubilee celebrations in Rome. When Lazio made their Serie A debut at home against Perugia on 14 October 2000, the shirt carried a special Jubilee 2000 patch. Interestingly, this version had no Puma logo in its usual central position.
The Centenary design was used until January 2001. Its final appearance came on 14 January 2001, when Lazio defeated Udinese 4–3 in a remarkable match. By then, the shirt had become particularly symbolic, bearing both the Scudetto and Coppa Italia badge as a reminder of the club's historic 1999–00 double.
A new home shirt was introduced for the second half of the season, making its debut on 20 January 2001 against Inter. It retained Lazio's traditional sky blue but introduced prominent black inserts running from the collar down both sides of the shirt, giving the design a more modern appearance. The shade of blue was deliberately close to the famous colour used by Lazio in 1974, linking the contemporary shirt with one of the most celebrated periods in the club's history.
There were also several variations. In the league matches against Milan and Lazio–Parma, the shirt appeared with white cuffs, while short-sleeved versions were introduced later in the season, first appearing against Parma on 18 April 2001.
The European campaign produced an even wider range of designs. Lazio's Champions League home shirt had an “Argentina-style” appearance, while the away version was navy blue. For the opening two Champions League matches, against Shakhtar Donetsk and Sparta Prague, Lazio wore a particularly rare version known as the “filo d'oro” shirt, distinguished by its different fabric and shade of blue and, most notably, a gold trim around the collar.
The Arsenal away match on 27 September 2000 produced perhaps the strangest variation of all. Lazio wore a navy kit featuring names and numbers apparently supplied by Nike rather than Puma, with white lettering edged in silver identical to Arsenal's own system. The shirt also carried an unofficial Champions League patch on the left sleeve.
The goalkeeper shirts were a variation of the new home shirt: grey with black and white inserts, yellow with black and white inserts, black with white and yellow inserts as well as blue with white and grey.
The 2000–01 season therefore produced an unusually rich collection of Lazio shirts: the celebrated Centenary jersey, the special Jubilee version, the second-half sky-blue shirt with black detailing, several goalkeeper designs and a series of distinctive Champions League kits. Together, they reflected a club moving from the historic triumphs of 1999–00 into a new era while still proudly displaying the symbols of its centenary and its greatest season to date.
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