Lazio fight back after another shocking start
Lazio again concede early but come back from two goals down to draw at White Hart Lane.
The season so far
The summer was all about talk of Alessandro Nesta's possible departure. Lazio were in financial difficulty so would have to sell more of their stars. Nesta, possibly the world's best defender, was an obvious candidate, as was Hernan Crespo. So far however, in early August they were still both with Lazio.
The previous season they finished 6th (UEFA qualification) after a difficult year which had seen Alberto Zaccheroni take over from Dino Zoff after only 3 games. The Biancocelesti's run in the Champions League had been poor, going out in a group with PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray and Nantes.
Fortunately, Lazio had a new manager. The disappointing Alberto Zaccheroni had been replaced by former player and scudetto winner Roberto Mancini..
Mancini found quite a different squad from the one he had left as a player only two years earlier. No more Pavel Nedved, Juan Sebastian Veron, Marcelo Salas and Alen Boksic. From the previous season Lazio had also let go of: midfielders Ivan de la Peña (Espanyol), Gaizka Mendieta (Barcelona - loan) and Karel Poborský (Sparta Prague).
Joining Mancini’s Lazio so far was defender Massimo Oddo (Verona) while midfielder Roberto Baronio was back from his loan at Fiorentina. More signings were planned over the summer, especially in view of some possible sacrifices.
This today was Lazio's fourth and last friendly of their British tour. On July 30 Lazio had clinched a prestigious victory at Anfield by beating Liverpool 1-0, with a goal by César. They had then beaten Derby County 2-1 but on August 9 had lost 2-3 to Blackburn Rovers.
This was therefore their fourth game in twelve days and came only two days after the previous friendly at Ewood Park.
Tottenham had finished 9th the previous season under club legend Glen Hoddle. They had also reached the 6th round of the FA Cup and were losing finalists in the League Cup (Blackburn Rovers 1-2). Top scorer was Les Ferdinand with 15 goals in all competitions.
This season Hoddle was still manager. The main additions to the squad were: midfielders Jamie Redknapp (Liverpool), Milenko Ačimovic (Red Star Belgrade) and forward Robbie Keane (Leeds United). Leaving were: midfielder Oyvind Leonhardsen (Aston Villa), forwards Chris Armstrong (Bolton Wanderers) and Les Ferdinand (West Ham United).
The Lillywhites were only six days from their league debut, away to Everton.
Lazio and Tottenham are similar clubs as far as trophies are concerned.
Spurs have 2 leagues, 8 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 1 Cup Winners Cup and 2 UEFA Cups. A total of 17 (excluding Charity Shields)
Lazio have 2 leagues, 7 Italian Cups, 5 Supercups, 1 Cup Winners Cup and 1 European Supercup. A total of 16.
They also have the great Paul Gascoigne in common.
The match: Saturday, August 11, 2002, White Hart Lane, London
A 3 pm Sunday afternoon kick off saw a decent turn out. The game was preceded by both groups of fans chanting the name of their idol Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne.
Spurs were missing defender Ledley King, midfielders Darren Anderton, Gus Poyet and Simon Davies plus forward Robbie Keane.
Lazio were without first keeper Angelo Peruzzi, defenders Beppe Favalli, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Paolo Negro plus midfielder Lucas Castromán.
A few days earlier, at Blackburn, Lazio had conceded a goal inside the first minute. Today in North London they did slightly better and fell behind after two minutes. Rebrov skipped past several Lazio defenders and put a perfect cross onto the far post where Richards headed it in. Spurs 1 Lazio 0.
Lazio struggled to get into any rhythm and in the 19th minute the Lillywhites scored again. Redknapp picked up on a rare Alessandro Nesta imperfection and blasted a long-range effort past Luca Marchegiani. Spurs 2 Lazio 0.
Lazio improved gradually and in the 28th minute pulled a goal back through Claudio Lopez on a César assist. Halftime Spurs 2 Lazio 1.
Lazio made three changes at the break: Fernando Couto for Jaap Stam, Diego Simeone for César and Simone Inzaghi for Stefano Fiore. Lazio now played with three forwards and were a lot more positive.
Hernan Crespo first missed an open goal but then redeemed himself in the 57th minute when he headed in a Lopez cross. Spurs 2 Lazio 2.
Lazio were now in control with Nesta, Massimo Oddo and Beppe Pancaro having no problems keeping Rebrov and replacement Iversen at bay.
Lazio almost took the lead in the 74th minute but Friedel pulled off a brilliant save to deny Crespo his brace.
Several more substitutions followed and it was then Tottenham who went close to snatching the win in the 89th minute but Marchegiani saved well on a long range shot by Bunjevcevic. Final score Spurs 2 Lazio 2.
A fair result in the end. The Londoners had been better in the first half and the Romans in the second. Both teams however looked as if they still had work to do.
Tottenham did not look particularly sharp considering their league debut was less than a week away while Lazio would have to get rid of the vice of conceding goals in the first minutes if they wanted to have a successful season.
Who played for Tottenham
Keller, Carr, Perry (66' Gardner), Richards, Taricco, Redknapp (75' Blondel), Bunjevcevic, Acimovic (75' Bortolozzo), Etherington, Sheringham (66' Iversen), Rebrov
Manager: Hoddle
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Oddo, Nesta, Stam (46' Couto), Pancaro, Fiore (46' S. Inzaghi), Liverani (76' Giannichedda), Stankovic, César (46' Simeone), C. Lopez, Crespo
Manager: Mancini
Referee: D'Urso
Goals: 2' Richards, 19' Redknapp, 28' C.Lopez, 57' Crespo
What happened next
This would alas be Lazio's first Serie A season without home-grown and possibly best defender in the world Alessandro Nesta. Due to financial difficulties Lazio were forced to sell their captain to Milan on the closure of the transfer market. To make matters worse Milan and Juventus had secretly agreed to keep their bids low, so Lazio were also forced to sell Hernán Crespo to Inter.
After the game in North London Lazio had signed strikers Bernardo Corradi (Inter) and Enrico Chiesa (Fiorentina).
Despite the trauma of losing their captain Lazio had a good season. At one stage in December, they were even top of the table. They played excellent, entertaining football and finished 4th (Champions League preliminary qualification, then won against Benfica). The Biancocelesti also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup but were defeated by eventual winners Mourinho’s Porto 1-4 on aggregate and the semi-final of Coppa Italia. Top scorer was Claudio López with 17 goals (15 in league) while Corradi got 10 league goals.
Tottenham finished 10th in the Premier League. The Spurs were eliminated in the third round in both domestic cups. Top scorer in all competitions was Teddy Sheringham with 13, while only in the league it was Robbie Keane also with 13.
Lazio 2002-03
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 57 |
Coppa Italia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
UEFA Cup | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 18 |
Total | 52 | 24 | 20 | 8 | 82 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Lopez | 47 | 34 | 4 | 9 |
Fiore | 46 | 33 | 5 | 8 |
Stankovic | 38 | 29 | 2 | 7 |
Cesar | 36 | 26 | 1 | 9 |
Corradi | 36 | 32 | 4 | - |
Peruzzi | 36 | 30 | - | 6 |
Top Five Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Lopez | 17 | 15 | - | 2 |
Corradi | 10 | 10 | - | - |
Fiore | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
S. Inzaghi | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
Simeone | 7 | 7 | - | - |
Chiesa | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Let’s talk about Tottenham Hotspur
Hotspur Football Club was founded on September 5 1882. In April 1884 they were renamed Tottenham Hotspur.
They took part in the Southern Alliance League and in 1896 were included in Division One of the Southern League.
In 1900 they won the Southern League and in 1901 won the FA Cup (Sheffield United 3-1), the first non-National First Division club to do so.
In 1908 they turned professional and in 1908-09 were promoted to the national top flight.
In 1914-15 they were relegated but were promoted in 1919-20. They then won the FA Cup for the second time (Wolves 1-0) and the Charity Shield and finished 2nd in the league.
Things then went downhill and in 1929 Spurs were relegated again and only came up in 1933, then finishing 2nd but getting relegated once more in 1935.
Between playing in the Second Division and the interruption due to World War Two the Londoners only made their way back to Division 1 in 1950, winning the second flight.
The year later however, the Lillywhites won their first league title. The manager was Arthur Rowe and top scorer was Sonny Walters with 15 league goals. The squad also included greats such as Alf Ramsey, Harry Clarke, Ron Burgess, Tony Marchi (later to play in Italy), Les Medley, Bill Nicholson, Les Bennett, Len Duquemin and Eddie Bailey.
In 1951-52 Tottenham finished 2nd but won the Charity Shield. Spurs then struggled with 10th, 16th, 16th, 18th places until they were competitive again in the late 1950's with a 2nd place and two 3rd places.
In 1960-61 Tottenham won the league for the second time and the FA Cup, the famous double (beating Leicester City 2-0). The manager was former player Bill Nicholson and top scorer was Bobby Smith with 33 goals (28 in league). The squad also included legendary captain Danny Blanchflower, Ron Henry, Dave Mackay, John White, Les Allen, Terry Dyson and Welshmen Cliff Jones and Terry Medwin.
The 1960's were Spurs' glory years. They won two more FA Cups (1962, 1967), a European Cup Winners Cup (Atlético Madrid 5-1, 1963) and three Charity Shields (1962, 1963, 1968). In the 1960's the main star was striker Jimmy Greaves who scored 220 league goals and a total of 266 between 1961 and 1970. Other stars included keeper Pat Jennings, Joe Kinnear, Cyril Knowles, Alan Mullery, Mike England and Alan Gilzean. There was also however a tragedy when 27-year old star player John White was killed by a lightning bolt while playing golf in Middlesex on July 21 1964.
The 1970's started well with two League Cups (1971, 1973), a UEFA Cup (Wolves 3-2 on aggregate, 1972) and a 3rd place in the league in 1971 but then deteriorated. After 8th, 11th, 19th and 9th places, in 1977 Tottenham were relegated but won immediate promotion with the arrival of two Argentines, Ossie Ardiles and Ricardo Villa.
The 1980's started well too. With the two Argentines and the likes of Steve Perryman, Glenn Hoddle, Garth Crooks, Spurs won two consecutive FA Cups (Man City 3-2 in 1981 and QPR 1-0 in 1982) under manager Keith Burkinshaw. In 1984 they won a second UEFA Cup (Anderlecht on penalties), with players such as Steve Archibald and Gary Stevens. They never challenged for the title but finished 3rd twice, in 1987 and 1990, helped by the arrival in 1988 of Paul Gascoigne who teamed up with Gary Lineker, under manager Terry Venables.
The 1990's again started well as Tottenham won the FA Cup in 1991, under Venables. It was in the victorious 2-1 final against Nottingham Forest that Paul Gascoigne, who had already signed for Lazio, broke his leg. In 1992 Spurs won the Charity Shield but then finished 8th, 15th, 7th, 8th,10th, 14th, 11th and 10th in the league. In 1999 however, they won their 3rd League Cup (Leicester City 1-0), under manager George Graham. This remains their most recent silverware. In this period the club owner was Alan Sugar (1991-2001).
In 2001 Daniel Levy took over the ownership of the club (he is still there today). The 2000's saw little glory apart from another League Cup in 2008 (Chelsea 2-1) under manager Juande Ramos. In the league they finished 12th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 9th, 5th, 5th, 11th, 8th and 4th.
Since 2010 Spurs have been more competitive despite not winning any silverware. They have finished 2nd (2017), 3rd (2016, 2018), 4th (2012, 2019, 2022) and 5th (2011, 2013, 2015). In 2019 they reached the final of the Champions League, under Mauricio Pochettino, but lost 0-2 to Liverpool and have also been runners up twice in the League Cup (Chelsea 0-2 in 2015 and Manchester City 0-1 in 2021). So, it is 16 years since Tottenham won a trophy.
Tottenham this year finished 5th in the Premier League, under manager Ange Postecoglou. They missed out on a Champions League qualification by two points but qualified for the Europa League where they could play Lazio again.
Tottenham have had an up and down history but are considered one of the big six of English football and are the 5th most successful club.
Until 2019 they played their games at White Hart Lane built in 1889 but then moved to the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Their symbol is a fighting Cockerel and the club colours are white and dark blue. Their main rivals are fellow North Londoners, Arsenal but also, albeit to a lesser degree, Chelsea and West Ham United.
The fan base has a Jewish connection as the club was founded in the Jewish areas of London, Tottenham and Haringey. In the 1930's up to a third of their fans were thought to be Jewish, as were Tottenham's first three chairmen. This led to some racist abuse especially in the 1960's and 70's. In response Tottenham fans started calling themselves "Yids" and "Yids Army". Nowadays Tottenham have no more Jewish fans than other clubs but the association has stuck.
Tottenham's main song from 1960-61 is "Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur" and the official song is by Chas and Dave. Another popular song is "Glory Glory Hallelujah".
Famous Tottenham fans include philosopher A. J. Ayer, singers Phil Collins and Adele and actor Tom Holland.
Tottenham's player with the most appearances is Steve Perryman with 854 while top goal scorer is Harry Kane with 280 ahead of Greaves 268 and Bobby Smith 208.
Tottenham greats from the modern era who have not been mentioned include: Martin Chivers, Keith Osgood, Peter Taylor, Gary Mabbutt, Clive Allen, Paul Allen, Erik Thorstvedt, Jürgen Klinsmann, David Ginola, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Christian Eriksen up to current players Son Heung -min and Ben Davies.
On a personal note my grandfather, who played for Cardiff City and Bristol City in the 1930's, is alleged to have got a call from Tottenham (so family legend has it) but turned them down following his father's advice who told him there was more money and stability in the family milk business…. different times.
Sources
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