Saint "Cholo" Simeone performs miracle in Turin and suddenly Lazio are believers
A Simeone second half header gives Lazio victory and cuts Juventus' lead to 3 points ... it's still possible
Also on this day: April 1, 1984, Catania-Lazio 1-1. Catania despite being doomed and backed by a particularly hostile crowd force Lazio to settle for a point. Player of the day: Mario Piga
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had come agonizingly close to winning the title. They were only overtaken by eventual champions Milan in the penultimate game of the season and in controversial circumstances. Lazio were held to a 1-1 draw in Florence with some extremely dubious refereeing decisions by Treossi, including the denial of a clear penalty on Marcelo Salas.
Lazio had however triumphed in Europe winning the last ever Cup Winners Cup in May (2-1 against Mallorca in Birmingham) and then beaten Manchester United 1-0 (Salas) to lift the Supercup in August, in Monte Carlo.
This season there had been some important changes to the squad. Three more Argentinians were signed: defender Nestor Sensini (Parma), midfielders Diego "El Cholo" Simeone (Inter) and Juan Sebastian Veron "La Brujita" (Parma). Another midfielder Dario Marcolin was back from a loan spell (Blackburn) and striker Simone Inzaghi was added (Piacenza). In the summer, big Swedish forward Kennet Andersson had arrived from Bologna, but after the winter market session was already back playing for today's opposition. To replace him Lazio had brought in experienced Fabrizio "Silver Fox" Ravanelli (Olympique Marseille).
Lazio had also lost an important player in striker Christian Vieri who was sold to Inter for a then world record transfer fee of 90 billion Lire (approx 45 million Euros). Spanish midfielder Ivan de la Peña had gone to Olympique Marseille after a disappointing spell at Lazio and Roberto Baronio went to Reggina on loan.
In Serie A this season Lazio were currently in 2nd place behind leaders Juventus. A week earlier Lazio had triumphed 2-1 in the Roman derby and reduced the gap to 6 points. They had won 15, drawn 8 and lost 4. The match this evening was a now or never chance to further reduce the deficit to 3 points. Anything other than a win would basically end the Biancocelesti's Scudetto hopes.
Lazio's historic debut in the Champions League had started in September with a 1-1 away draw at Bayer Leverkusen. The first group phase also included Dynamo Kiev (2-1, 1-0), Slovenian Maribor (4-0, 4-0) and Leverkusen (1-1, 1-1). The second phase group was made up of Olympique Marseille (2-0, 5-1), Feyenoord (1-2, 0-0) and Chelsea (0-0, 2-1). Lazio qualified and would play Valencia in the quarter finals.
In Coppa Italia Lazio were through to the final and they would play Inter over two legs in April and May. Lazio had eliminated Ravenna (1-1, 4-1), Juventus (2-3, 2-1) on away goals rule and Venezia (5-0, 2-2).
Today's opposition Juventus were favourites for the title. With manager Carlo Ancelotti and players such as Alessandro Del Piero, Zinedine Zidane, Edgar Davids, Ciro Ferrara, Antonio Conte, Filippo Inzaghi and Gianluca Zambrotta, just to name a few, they were a quality team. They were league leaders but a week before had fallen to a 2-0 away defeat against Milan thus reducing their advantage over second placed Lazio to six points. Lazio were an on form, exciting, ambitious team and Juventus knew they had to be at their best tonight. So far Juventus had won17, drawn 8 (including Lazio 0-0) and lost 2.
So the game tonight was a six pointer. A match point for Juventus and a last chance to hang in there for Lazio.
The match: Saturday, April 1, 2000, Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin
This match in Turin was considered the "mother of all matches" especially for Lazio. Juventus were accustomed to winning scudetti but for the Biancocelesti, who had gone so close the previous season, this was a historic chance.
The main line up doubt for Lazio in the build-up had been Veron, but the "Brujita" was deemed fit and took his place on the field. Lazio however were without goalkeeper Luca Marchegiani and captain Alessandro Nesta. Juventus had no injury worries and played with their usual starting XI.
There was a big crowd tonight, 55,000, on a chilly, humid evening.
Lazio started aggressively and immediately put Juventus on the back foot. The " Zebras" had two results out of three to go for so were understandably more cautious. Lazio attacked and showed more initiative but had no major chances, only corners and crosses. The first half chances fell to Filippo Inzaghi who however had touched the ball with his hand and Del Piero but Marco Ballotta was safe. Lazio then had a good opportunity with Paolo Negro but from a favourable position his shot was central.
The game was very physical but clean. In the 25th minute a Pavel Nedved shot went close to the post and then a minute later Del Piero had a seemingly easy close range header but put it over the bar. The last chance came again to Nedved but his powerful strike was deflected into corner by Mark Iuliano. Half time Juventus 0 Lazio 0.
It had been a hard fought, balanced first 45 minutes but the score at the moment satisfied Juventus more than Lazio.
In the second half Juventus started to push forward more, going for their match point. After three minutes a Zidane shot was deflected into corner by Giuseppe Pancaro, then Davids forced Ballotta into a good save and Inzaghi had a lob go over the bar.
In the 65th minute came a game changer. Juventus defender Ferrara was forced to pull down Simone Inzaghi going towards goal and he received an inevitable second booking. The "Old Lady" had to play the last 25 minutes with 10 men.
Lazio wasted no time in exploiting the numerical advantage and the reshuffling of the Juventus defence. Veron put a perfect vertical chipped high pass into the area where "El Cholo" Simeone headed it past Edwin van der Sar. Crazy celebrations followed on the pitch and in the packed away fans sector. Juventus 0 Lazio 1.
Lazio one zero up against 10 men, but against Juventus nothing could be taken for granted and the game was far from over. Just after the half hour, Zidane threatened with a freekick but Ballotta was ready. Ten minutes after Lazio's goal both managers made changes; for Lazio Attilio Lombardo replaced Nedved (Dejan Stankovic had already come on for Sergio Conceição in the 56th minute) and Juventus put on striker Darko Kovacevic and Alessandro Birindelli for Conte and Gianluca Pessotto (Zambrotta had already replaced Alessio Tacchinardi in the 53rd minute).
With 10 men Juventus threw caution to the wind and attacked desperately. Lazio however did not pull back and gave as good as they got. It became a tense battle albeit without major goal scoring chances. There was time for Fabrizio Ravanelli to be whistled by his former fans when he replaced Simone Inzaghi with five minutes to go. Juventus' last chance came on a dangerous free kick by Del Piero but Ballotta saved well. After three endless minutes of injury time the final whistle blew. Juventus 0 Lazio 1.
Lazio had done it. The miracle of Turin had come off. They had taken their chance against a ten man Juventus and defended well. The Scudetto fight was definitely on, three points behind today's defeated opponents with six games to go. Juventus were still favourites but there was the feeling anything could happen now.
Who played for Juventus
Van der Sar, Ferrara, Montero, Iuliano, A.Conte (77' Kovacevic) Tacchinardi (53' Zambrotta), Davids, Pessotto (76' Birindelli), Zidane, Del Piero, F. Inzaghi
Substitutes: Rampulla, Tudor, Bachini, Oliseh
Manager: Ancelotti
Who played for Lazio
Ballotta, Negro, Couto, Mihajlovic, Pancaro, Conceição (56' Stankovic), Almeyda, Veron, Simeone, Nedved (77' Lombardo), S. Inzaghi (85' Ravanelli)
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Farina
Goals: 66' Simeone
What happened next
Two games later Lazio drew 3-3 in Florence against Fiorentina (90th minute Batistuta equaliser) while Juventus beat Inter 2-1 in Milan. The gap rose again to five points with only four games to go. Just like the previous season Lazio's title hopes seemed to have come to an end in Florence.
Then the unexpected happened. With three games remaining Juve lost 2-0 in Verona (a Fabrizio Cammarata brace - I can still see his name flashing up on the Olimpico scoreboard) and Lazio, beating Venezia 3-2 at home, were suddenly only two points behind.
The week later was full of controversy as Juventus beat Parma 1-0 at home but the visitors had a goal inexplicably disallowed. To this day not even the most ardent Juve fan can tell you why it was ruled out. Fabio Cannavaro had headed in from a corner but there was no offside, not even a hint of fouls, the ball had not gone out of play ... a mystery. Lazio meanwhile won 3-2 away at Bologna to maintain a sliver of hope.
Then came the drama to end all dramas. In the last match of the season Lazio were at home to Reggina and Juve away to Perugia (both teams were already safe). The most optimistic scenario was maybe forcing a playoff with Juventus if they drew in Perugia and then may the best team win. In Rome it was a gloriously sunny day but up the road in Umbria the weather was different.
At half time Lazio were cruising 2-0 while Juve were still 0-0. Then the heavens opened in Perugia and the pitch became so flooded the game had to be postponed for 75 minutes. Lazio meanwhile cruised to a 3-0 win and what followed was surreal. The players went back to the changing rooms while the game in Perugia restarted despite a waterlogged pitch. The 70,000 Lazio fans stayed in their seats, a few listening to their transistor radios and the others scrutinizing their reactions.
At first it was rumoured the game would be shown on the scoreboard but that never materialized. In the 49th minute came the first explosion of joy and thousands invaded the pitch when Calori scored for Perugia. The next 40 minutes were agony and became worse when suddenly the stadium tannoy started booming out the final minutes of the game. People reacted in different ways to the metallic echo of the commentary; some prayed, others blocked their ears, others held on to friends, family or even complete strangers meanwhile the transistor radio owners were no longer treated like Hollywood stars.
After an interminable wait and 5 minutes of injury time at 18.04 of the 14th May 2000 Lazio were declared to be champions of Italy for the second time in their history. Twenty-six years after Tommaso Maestrelli, Giorgio Chinaglia and Co, Lazio were "Campioni d'Italia"!! Absolute mayhem broke out in the stadium and in the streets of Rome. A well deserved title albeit won in unique and unexpected circumstances. The celebrations were unforgettable and went on for weeks.
A few days later, still smelling of champagne and sporting celebratory blonde and tricolour hairstyles, Lazio also won the Coppa Italia. Having beaten Inter 2-1 in the first leg of the final in Rome, a 0-0 draw in Milan proved enough to win a historic double. A season to remember and tell future generations about.
In the Champions League Lazio reached the quarter final but were knocked out by Valencia (5-3 on aggregate).
Lazio's top scorer in the league was Marcelo Salas with 12 goals while Simone Inzaghi got 19 in all competitions.
Lazio 1999-2000
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 64 |
Coppa Italia | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
Champions League | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 26 |
UEFA Super Cup | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
Total | 57 | 32 | 18 | 7 | 109 |
Top five appearances
Players | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Super Cup |
Nedved | 47 | 28 | 6 | 12 | 1 |
Simeone | 47 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 1 |
Veron | 47 | 31 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
Mihajlovic | 46 | 26 | 7 | 12 | 1 |
Pancaro | 45 | 28 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Players | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Super Cup |
Inzaghi | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | - |
Salas | 17 | 12 | - | 4 | 1 |
Mihajlovic | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | - |
Veron | 10 | 8 | - | 2 | - |
Boksic | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
Let's talk about Diego Pablo Simeone
Diego Pablo Simeone Gonzalez was born on April 28, 1970, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is nicknamed "El Cholo" (from Atztec Xoloitzcuintli meaning mixed race).
He started his career with Velez Sarsfield and made his debut in 1987 at 17. He played 76 games over three seasons and scored 14 goals for "El Fortin" (The Fort).
In 1990 he was brought to Europe by Romeo Anconetani's Pisa in the Italian Serie A. The Tuscans were not new to discovering young talents and over the years bought several promising players (Dunga, Wim Kieft, Klaus Berggren, José Chamot, Henrik Larsen to name a few). He stayed two seasons in Pisa, the first in Serie A and the second in Serie B. He played a total of 62 games and scored 6 goals. His 4 strikes in Serie A came against Lecce, Juventus, Genoa and Juventus again. This habit of scoring against the "Zebra's" would later prove crucial to Lazio's history.
In 1992 he moved to Sevilla in the Spanish Liga. He stayed two seasons playing 64 games with 12 goals.
In 1994 he remained in Spain but moved to Atletico Madrid. It was a successful period for the " Colchoneros" (The Mattress Makers) and they won the Liga-Copa del Rey double in 1996. Simeone played 123 games with 28 goals over three seasons, in this that would be his first spell with "Atleti".
In 1997 he returned to Italy and Serie A, joining Inter. He played two seasons appearing 57 games in the league (7 goals), 10 in Coppa Italia,18 in Europe (9 in UCL and 9 in CU). He won the UEFA Cup in 1998, beating Lazio 3-0 in Paris.
In 1999 he joined Lazio. He teamed up with Matias Almeyda, Nedved, Stankovic, Conceição and Veron to form a formidable midfield under Sven-Goran Eriksson. In his first year he played 28 league games with 5 goals (Juventus, Piacenza, Venezia, Bologna and Reggina), 7 in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Juventus, Inter), 11 in the Champions League and 1 in the Italian Supercoppa. He played a major role in Lazio winning their historic second scudetto. He scored decisive goals especially the winner away to Juventus and his charisma and determination helped Lazio never give up even when all seemed lost. Lazio also won the Coppa Italia (Simeone scored important goals both in the semi-final and in the first leg of the final) and the European Super Cup (1-0 against Manchester United in Monte Carlo). They also had a good run in Champions League reaching the quarter finals (Valencia 3-5 on aggregate).
In his second year he played 30 league games with 2 goals (Perugia, Vicenza), 2 in Coppa Italia, 8 in Champions League with 1 goal (Sparta Prague) and 1 game in the Italian Supercoppa. It was not as triumphant a season for Lazio and Eriksson resigned in February, after a series of negative results and it came out he had agreed to become the England manager from the following season. Lazio had a good team though coming third and also winning the Italian Supercoppa (Inter 4-3).
In 2001-02, under Dino Zoff and then Alberto Zaccheroni, Simeone played less due to injury with only 8 league games and 1 goal (ironically against former club Inter, contributing to the Nerazzurri's May 5th fiasco) plus another 5 games in the Champions League. Lazio finished 6th, qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
In 2002-03 Lazio were in financial difficulty but had a good season. Under manager Roberto Mancini they came 4th, qualifying for the Champions League, and reaching the semi final of the UEFA Cup. Simeone played 24 League games with 7 goals (Chievo, Torino, Como, Chievo, Piacenza, Torino, Empoli), 4 in Coppa Italia and 7 in the UEFA Cup. This was to be his last season at Lazio.
In 2003 he returned to Atletico Madrid for a second stint. He stayed one and a half seasons playing 36 league games (2 goals), 5 in Copa del Rey and 6 in the Intertoto Cup.
In January 2005 he returned to Argentina and joined Racing Club de Avellaneda. He played one and a half seasons playing 37 league games and scoring 3 goals.
At 36 "El Cholo" called it a day and retired after an excellent career.
At International level he played 106 games for the "Albiceleste" and scored 11 goals (Saudi Arabia, Paraguay, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Slovakia, Chile, Poland, Venezuela, Perú, Ecuador). He is the sixth most capped Argentine. He played in three world cups (USA '94, France '98 and Japan-South Korea 2002). He won the Copa America in Chile 1991 and Ecuador 1993. He won the Confederations Cup in 1993 and earned a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
After retiring Simeone became a manager, taking over at Racing Club on February 6, 2006. In a Lazio connection he chose Matias Almeyda as his assistant. He then moved to Estudiantes where he won the Apertura 2006 for "Los Pincharratas" (The Rat Stabbers), after a 23 year long wait. He left Estudiantes in January 2007. In January 2008 he became manager of River Plate and won the Clausura title after five years. In the following Apertura, after a series of poor results, he resigned on November 8, 2008. He then spent a year at San Lorenzo de Almagro (Pope Francis' team).
On January 19 he returned to Italy and took charge of struggling Catania in Serie A. He managed to lead the "Etnei" to safety, winning the derby against Palermo 4-0 and in the penultimate match beating Roma in the last minute, denying the "Giallorossi" a Champions League preliminary slot. Catania finished 13th with a record number of points.
He then returned to Racing Club obtaining a good second place but resigning after only six months due to disagreements with the club owners.
And so started his third Atletico Madrid adventure but this time as manager. Simeone is still there so it is safe to say he has been successful. He has won 2 Ligas (2014 and 2021), 1 Copa del Rey (2013), 1 Spanish Supercup (2014), 2 UEFA Europa Leagues (2012 and 2018), 2 UEFA Super Cups (2012 and 2018). He and Atletico Madrid have come agonizingly close to winning the Champions League (In 2014 losing to Real Madrid who equalised in injury time and then won 4-1 and in 2016 losing on penalties to Bayern Munich). Simeone has been voted Manager of the Year three times in Spain (2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16) and Manager of the Decade in 2020 by IFFHS.
A great playing career followed by an equally good managerial one. The term "Cholismo" has been coined for Simeone's team's style of play and attitude. This philosophy is based on defensive solidity, a rapidity in both transitions, detailed tactical organisation, pragmatism, aggression and a fierce desire to win. The latter two will come as no surprise to those who saw him as a player. At the heart of Cholismo is the quote "Effort is non-negotiable" and his teams are incredibly hard working, each player sacrificing himself for the greater good of the team. His system at its best seems almost unbreakable. It has served him well so far.
As a player Simeone was a solid, tenacious, hard-working midfielder, a complete two-way player, who could defend and attack. He was dynamic, mobile and able in both winning possession and starting attacking moves. He was usually used as a central midfielder in a box to box role. He was good in the air and had well timed runs into the opponent's area accounting for his high scoring rate. He definitely possessed leadership qualities. He was a perfect mix of strength, stamina, technique and "garra" (fighting spirit). He once described his style as "holding a knife between his teeth".
For all these reasons at Lazio he was revered and still is. He is considered one of the mainstays of the 2000 Scudetto. His 4 goals in the last 4 games kept Lazio fighting when some would have given up. His "grinta" (grit) combined with his technical skills made him a fan favourite. His personalized chant was one of the most popular in his Roman days. In fact the fans still sing his name out, in memory of the glory days, but also in the hope/ dream that Simeone can one day return as manager. Whether he does or not will be irrelevant to his player status at Lazio; absolute legend.
Lazio career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Cup | UEFA Super Cup | Super Coppa |
1999-00 | 33 (8) | 28 (5) | 7 (2) | 11 | - | 1 | - |
2000-01 | 41 (3) | 30 (2) | 2 | 8 (1) | - | - | 1 |
2001-02 | 13 (1) | 8 (1) | - | 5 | - | - | - |
2002-03 | 35 (7) | 24 (7) | 4 | - | 7 | - | - |
Total | 136 (18) | 90 (15) | 13 (2) | 24 (1) | 7 | 1 | 1 |
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