Cragnotti wanted to build a team that could compete at all levels. He had loads of money to spend on the summer transfers. Lots of new players including Aron Winter, Beppe Signori and Paul Gascoigne. Dino Zoff was confirmed as manager.
A new era was about to start. Lazio would be a club everyone would need to respect and fear. At least on paper.
Lazio’s first official games of the season were the two leg ties against Ascoli in the Round of 32 in Coppa Italia. It was the first time fans could see the new players and there was a lot of curiosity around the team and obviously Beppe Signori. Could he adapt to the new reality and be at least a decent substitute to the much loved Ruben Sosa?
Ascoli were in Serie B and the first leg on August 26 was played away. 4-0 for Lazio with goals from Roberto Bacci, Karl-Heinz Riedle, a Signori penalty and Diego Fuser. The return match on September 2 was basically a friendly and the Biancocelesti won 1-0 with a Signori goal.
But it was time for Serie A and the first game took place in Genoa at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium on September 6 against Sven Goran Eriksson’s Sampdoria. The final score of 3-3 with a Signori brace and an own goal was an excellent start.
On September 13 Lazio drew at home 2-2 with Fiorentina. 1-0 down after 9 minutes, the Biancocelesti equalised thanks to a Signori penalty and then went 2-1 up with Thomas Doll. After Roberto Cravero was sent off for a second yellow card, Gabriel Batistuta scored his second in the 67th minute and Fiorentina almost made it three towards the end.
Next game at Cagliari on September 20. Lazio fell behind again but managed to equalise thanks to Signori.
On September 26 Lazio faced Genoa at home. It was Paul Gascoigne’s first game in Serie A and there was great curiosity. But he was completely out of form after over a year’s absence and was substituted after 45 minutes. Angelo Gregucci gave Lazio the lead in the 58th minute but the ghosts of the previous year returned and Genoa equalised in the 80th. Last year Lazio had conceded 6 goals in the final ten minutes in the entire campionato. They could have changed the season round completely. One would have thought that new players would have eliminated old bad habits.
On October 4, Parma came to visit at the Olimpico. And Lazio finally blossomed. Well, almost. They did have moments of difficulty but in the end they scored 5 with a Signori hat trick (two on penalty) and a Fuser brace against two Osio goals for Parma. Beppe Signori certainly looked as if he was much better than Ruben Sosa!!!
During the week Lazio played the first leg of the Round of 16 of the Coppa Italia away at Cesena. The Biancocelesti drew but the good news was glimpses of class from Gascoigne who was finally getting into a decent form.
Next game was against the mighty AC Milan on October 18 and Lazio lost. But they definitely put in a good performance and scared the Rossoneri. Down 2-0 after 15 minutes (Ruud Gullit and Jean-Pierre Papin), they reduced the deficit a first time with Winter, but then a Marco Van Basten penalty (awarded for a foul that started outside the box) restored the double lead. In the second half Fuser made it 2-3 before another generous penalty gave Van Basten the chance for a brace which he did not miss. Game over? No, because Signori made it 3-4. With ten minutes to go Marco Simone re-established the two goal lead and Lazio was beaten for the first time this season.
On October 25 Atalanta came to the Olimpico and Lazio demolished them 3-0 with a Signori goal after just 1 minute followed by two goals in the second half from Winter and Fuser.
During the week the second leg of the Coppa Italia Round of 16 tie against Cesena. No problem for the Biancocelesti who won 3-1 (Riedle, Winter and Signori the scorers) and hit three posts!!!
After a goalless game at Udine on November 1, seven days later Lazio faced Torino at the Olimpico. After 35 minutes Doll was sent off for dissent, but Lazio managed to score with an unforgettable goal from the blond forward. Beppe Signori started a shoulder to shoulder running battle with Pasquale Bruno which ended with the new Biancoceleste hero putting Lazio in front. But the team lost. Aguillera scored the equaliser and an unlucky own goal from Gregucci gave the Granata victory.
This was followed by another away defeat, 2-1 against Zeman’s Foggia on November 22. At least Signori scored again.
Lazio were 10th on ten points. Next up the derby!!! Lazio fell behind in the beginning of the second half but a fantastic last second Gascoigne header allowed Lazio to equalise and make him immortal in the eyes of the Biancoceleste fans.
Next game at Pescara on December 8. Lazio managed to win thanks to a Luca Luzardi header in the final minutes which may or may not have crossed the line, but who cares!!! Two spectacular goals by Gazza and Signori had allowed the Biancoclesti to lead the game before Pescara equalised on both occasions. The final goal however gave Lazio two deserved points.
With this win Lazio were now ninth but just three points away from second placed Inter. And next up was the home game against the Nerazzurri on December 13. The Biancocelesti demolished Inter 3-1 with goals from Fuser, Winter and Signori.
Lazio closed 1992 in 5th place on 14 points together with Juventus, Sampdoria, Cagliari and Atalanta, one point behind Fiorentina, Torino and Inter. Milan was already racing ahead and had an 8-point lead.
The first game of 1993 was played at Ancona on January 3. The match was played on a freezing day with temperatures below zero. The pitch was covered in snow so they had to play with an orange ball. They went ahead with the game as the ball could bounce (at least in some patches) but the quality was obviously affected. Lazio managed to win despite the difficult environmental conditions with goals by the usual three: Fuser, Signori and not surprisingly, Winter. The Biancocelesti were now third together with Torino and Atalanta
On January 10 they had to face Brescia in Rome. A routine 2-0 victory with a brace by … guess who … yes … Signori again. Unfortunately, in the next game in Naples Lazio collapsed 3-1 with a pretty dismal performance. A bad day in the office for most of the players. But Signori scored yet again.
The last game of the first half of the season was against Juventus at home. A big match and Lazio came into it really hungry for a win. Juventus did very little but scored first with Roberto Baggio. The Biancocelesti had missed a penalty earlier on with Signori but towards the end of the first half managed to equalise with a Cravero header. Lazio attacked in the second half but it was an off day for Riedle who missed numerous chances. When Doll hit the crossbar it clearly meant it was not going to be Lazio’s day.
At the end of the first half of the season Milan were miles ahead on 31 points followed by Inter on 23. Surprise Atalanta were third on 20 followed by a group of teams on 19 points: Lazio, Juventus and Sampdoria. All in all, not bad. A UEFA Cup qualification was still a possibility.
During the week Lazio played against Torino for the quarter finals of the Coppa Italia. The first half was a Gazza show. The Englishman enchanted everybody and Lazio scored two (Maurizio Neri and Signori) and could have been at least 4-0 up but Torino managed to score towards the end of the first half and then equalise thanks to a Valerio Fiori howler two minutes from time. A lost opportunity for Zoff's boys.
Fiori had started as main goalkeeper but after Pescara he was put on the bench and replaced by old timer Nando Orsi. The Coppa Italia match had been his chance for redemption, but the mistake was costly. It was his last game for Lazio.
The first game of the second half of the season saw Sampdoria come to Rome. Lazio won 2-1, not without difficulty, thanks to Riedle in the first half and Giovanni Stroppa towards the end. The funniest thing about the match took place in the 12th minute. Gascoigne was fouled by Vladimir Jugovic, the referee gave Lazio a free kick, but Gazza wanted a yellow card. Bettin at this point took some chewing gum out of his pocket and gave it to Gazza!!! Third place consolidated.
In Florence the following Sunday Lazio took no pity on Fiorentina in great difficulty and won 2-0 with goals from Signori and Fuser. But in Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti Lazio were eliminated by Torino who won 3-2 (5-4 on aggregate). 3-0 down, they left it too late and Winter and Signori’s goals in the final minutes only increased the regrets.
Having committed suicide against Torino why not do it in Serie A too? That is what happened at home on St. Valentine’s day. Lazio went ahead with Fuser but Cagliari scored two goals and won the match. A missed opportunity and back to fourth place.
The next game was on Zoff’s 51st birthday and Lazio wanted to give him a special present, but it was also Genoa’s birthday and the Rossoblu were desperate for points. The Biancocelesti went under 2-0 but managed to win the game thanks to a Riedle brace and a Signori penalty.
After the defeat the Genoa manager Gigi Maifredi was sacked. A sweet revenge for Zoff who a few years earlier had been replaced at Juventus by Maifredi. Lazio back to third place.
On March 7 Lazio played at Parma and deservedly lost due to a far too defensive approach (Cravero the goal scorer for the Biancocelesti). As a consequence, they lost the third position overtaken by Torino and caught up in fourth by Juventus and Atalanta.
The following week was the big game against Milan. Lazio went under 2-0, much against the run of play, but goals from Gascoigne and a last minute header from Cristiano Bergodi gave Lazio a well deserved point.
Then Biancocelesti then went to Bergamo to play against Atalanta. A difficult match as Lazio were losing twice but managed to equalise thanks to Gascoigne and a Signori penalty. The Atalanta supporters greeted Signori, a local boy, with venomous hate, as if he was a traitor playing for Lazio. He was very disappointed at the end of the game. The table now read Milan 40, Inter 31, Lazio, Torino, Sampdoria and Atalanta 27.
On March 28 the Biancocelesti demolished Udinese 4-0 (Signori double plus Doll and Riedle). With this win Lazio took solitary third place, four points behind Inter second and light years away from Milan. This solitary third place did not last long due to a draw in the next game against Torino. Lazio had gone ahead with Winter but the Granata equalised four minutes from the end. Another draw at the Olimpico in game 27 of the campionato, again taking an early lead with Riedle and again allowing the opponents to equalise. This time it was Zeman’s Foggia that managed to draw. Next up, the derby!!!!
Derbies can certainly be boring but the one played on April 18 was certainly among the worst. Lazio did nothing to win the match, more worried about losing. Roma did even less and as a consequence the goalless draw was inevitable. The good news was that Lazio thanks to this point were able to go back into third place in the company of Juventus and Parma.
After three consecutive draws it was time for a win and a win it was, against Pescara, but it was by no means easy. Beppe Favalli opened the score in the first half but Pescara equalised with an Allegri penalty. The Biancoazzurri visitors went close to scoring a winner but a 90th minute penalty scored by Signori kept the Biancocelesti in third place.
A UEFA Cup qualification looked as if it was finally on the cards with five games to the end of the season. But disaster struck in the next game at San Siro against Inter where Lazio lost 2-0 and collapsed to fifth place.
On Sunday May 16 the Biancocelesti faced Ancona, second from bottom. Lazio steamrolled over one of the teams certain to go down to Serie B thanks to goals from Cravero and Fuser in the first half, Riedle and a Signori brace in the second. Biancocelesti back up to fourth in the company of Juventus. Three games to go, three point lead over seventh place.
The next game should have seen the clinching of a UEFA Cup place for the following year but instead Lazio collapsed 2-0 at Brescia. Two games to the end of the season, two point lead over seventh place. Next up was the final match at the Olimpico: Lazio-Napoli. A win would mean UEFA Cup qualification.
The Biancoclesti went 2-0 up early with Riedle, but Napoli reduced the deficit with Gianfranco Zola. Two more goals from Lazio with a Signori penalty and Winter but then also two goals from Napoli. Panic set into the entire Lazio camp, but they were able to hold on to win.
A long awaited UEFA Cup qualification. Lazio had not played in Europe since losing 6-0 in extra time at Lens on November 2, 1977. A first feather in the cap for Sergio Cragnotti.
The final game against Juventus at Turin was fairly pointless from Lazio’s point of view and the Biancocelesti lost 4-1 despite scoring first with Fuser.
Cragnotti was very pleased and confirmed Dino Zoff as manager. It had not been easy despite loads of money invested in the team. Zoff was at times a little overcautious and Lazio had paid the price. But what counted was the end result plus the emergence of a new goal scoring machine. Beppe Signori scored 26 goals in 32 appearances in Serie A. An amazing result. He was fast, powerful, the new fan idol.
Most appearances all season: Diego Fuser & Beppe Signori, 38
Most appearances Serie A: Fuser, 33
Top goal scorer overall: Signori, 32
Top goal scorer Serie A: Signori, 26
Most assists overall: Signori, 11
Most assists Serie A: Signori, 8
Most substituted player overall: Paul Gascoigne, 14
Most substituted player Serie A: Gascoigne, 10
Most sub ins overall: Giovanni Stroppa, 20
Most sub ins Serie A: Stroppa, 15
Most booked player overall: Gigi Corino, 12
Most booked player Serie A: Corino & Roberto Bacci, 10
Most sending offs overall: Roberto Cravero, Luca Luzardi & Thomas Doll, 2
Most sending offs Serie A: Cravero & Luzardi, 2
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