Claudio López Shines on Lazio Debut Against Volendam

Simon Basten
Aug 8, 2023
4 min read

Season 2000-01

Pre Season Friendly

Tuesday, August 8, 2000

Kras Stadion, Volendam

Volendam Lazio 0-0 (6-7 pens)

Claudio López makes an impressive debut as Lazio are held goalless by Volendam before prevailing 7-6 in a marathon penalty shootout.

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.

In the Netherlands Lazio had played the Amsterdam Cup drawing against Ajax and Barcelona. Today was their final game of their mini tour.

The match

Lazio's final pre-season friendly in the Netherlands ended without a goal, but the evening still offered an intriguing glimpse of what was to come. Held to a 0-0 draw by Volendam at the Kras Stadion, Sven-Göran Eriksson's side ultimately prevailed 7-6 in a penalty shootout, with Claudio López providing the main source of excitement on his debut in the Biancocelesti shirt.

The Argentine forward had arrived from Valencia during the summer and immediately offered Lazio supporters a taste of the qualities that had made him one of Europe's most dangerous attackers. Playing the first half alongside Marcelo Salas, López operated primarily from the right, where his acceleration, movement and powerful left foot repeatedly caused problems for the Dutch defence.

Eriksson fielded his strongest available side for the opening 45 minutes. Angelo Peruzzi returned in goal behind a defence of Paolo Negro, Alessandro Nesta, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Giuseppe Pancaro. Dejan Stankovic, Roberto Baronio and Pavel Nedved formed the midfield, with Ivan de la Peña positioned towards the left and López partnering Salas in attack.

It was López, however, who immediately attracted the attention.

The Argentine was involved from the opening exchanges, quickly finding space and firing a first attempt that lacked accuracy but demonstrated the speed with which he could release his shot. Soon afterwards, he cut in from the right and unleashed one of his trademark curling efforts with his left foot. The ball sailed over the crossbar, but the move drew an appreciative reaction from the crowd.

A few minutes later, López tried the same trick again, this time after being found by Nedved. His curling effort was much closer, skimming the far corner and prompting a collective gasp from the spectators.

The most promising combination of the evening, however, involved López and Mihajlovic.

With less than 20 minutes played, the ball reached the Lazio half before Mihajlovic looked up and sent a perfectly weighted long pass forward. López had timed his run from around the halfway line to avoid the offside trap and raced through on goal. The Volendam goalkeeper came quickly from his line, however, managing to knock the ball away from the Argentine before he could finish.

The move nevertheless offered a tantalising preview of a potential new weapon in Eriksson's Lazio. Mihajlovic's exceptional range of passing combined with López's pace appeared capable of producing a devastating counter-attacking partnership.

The two almost combined again before half-time. Mihajlovic delivered a precise corner from the left towards the opposite edge of the penalty area, where López met the ball on the volley with his left foot. His effort flew narrowly over the crossbar.

For all López's individual brilliance, however, Lazio were struggling to impose themselves on the match.

Volendam, a second-tier Dutch side, played with considerable aggression and intensity. Their pressing and willingness to double up on Lazio's players made life difficult for Eriksson's team, who often appeared weighed down by the heavy training workload of the previous days.

The Biancocelesti still created opportunities. Nedved had perhaps the clearest chance when he found himself alone in front of the goalkeeper but was unable to round him. Peruzzi was also required to make several important saves as Volendam occasionally threatened on the counter-attack.

The visitors were particularly dangerous when they could exploit the space left behind the Dutch defence, but their lack of sharpness in the final third meant that the match remained goalless.

López's performance was therefore the main positive from a first half in which Lazio had failed to find the net. The Argentine was undoubtedly guilty of occasionally trying to do too much himself, with Salas often left waiting for the ball, but his speed and directness offered Eriksson a new attacking dimension.

At half-time, the Lazio coach completely changed his team.

Luca Marchegiani replaced Peruzzi, while Fernando Couto, Francesco Colonnese and Giuseppe Favalli were among those introduced. Eriksson also gave opportunities to several younger players, with the second-half side including Andrea Luciani, Daniele Ruggiu and Emanuele Berrettoni.

The changes inevitably altered the character of the game. The intensity dropped and the match became less technically interesting, although Lazio continued to search for a breakthrough.

Fabrizio Ravanelli came close twice, once early in the second half and again towards the end. Guerino Gottardi appeared to have been brought down inside the penalty area, but the referee waved play on. Berrettoni did find the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

The goal that Lazio were looking for never arrived.

After 90 minutes, the two sides remained locked at 0-0, leaving the match to be decided by an unusual penalty shootout. Ten penalties were taken by each side, with Lazio eventually emerging victorious 7-6.

Marchegiani proved decisive, saving three of Volendam's attempts from the spot and ensuring that Lazio could at least leave the Netherlands with a victory of sorts. The players were presented with a cake as a trophy for winning the shootout, an amusing conclusion to an otherwise frustrating evening.

Who played for Volendam

Need, Kras, Ravensberger, Koning (57' Breinburg), Salden (86' Pascale), Van Ommeren, Boots, Bartele (76' Smit), Putter, Rose (66' Tuyp), Kokmeyer (66' Babangida) Manager: Wisman

Who played for Lazio

First half: Peruzzi, Negro, Nesta, Mihajlovic, Pancaro, Stankovic, Baronio, Nedved, De la Peña, Lopez, Salas