First Eagles battle goes Lazio’s way
A tough game in uncomfortable heat, but Lazio take two goal lead to Portugal
Also on this day: August 13, 2017, Juventus Lazio 2-3 Super Coppa. Dybala equalises in injury time but young boy Murgia sends Lazio to paradise. Lazio Hero of the day: Alessandro Murgia.
The season so far
The previous season had been a positive one for Lazio, despite being the first without Alessandro Nesta. The Biancocelesti, under Roberto Mancini, finished 4th and therefore qualified for the Champions League (preliminary round). They also reached two semi-finals: Coppa Italia (Roma 1-3) and UEFA Cup (eventual winners Porto 1-4 on aggregate). Top scorer was Claudio Lopez with 17 goals (15 in A).
This season more sacrifices were made due to the club's critical financial situation. Leaving were Scudetto heroes Luca Marchegiani (Chievo), defender Giuseppe Pancaro (Milan) and midfielder Diego Simeone (Atlético Madrid) plus midfielders Dino Baggio, (Blackburn-on loan), Lucas Castromán (Udinese-on loan) and forward Enrico Chiesa (Siena). It seemed Dejan Stankovic would also leave but ended up staying, for now.
Arriving were keeper Matteo Sereni (Brescia), defender Luciano Zauri (Atalanta), midfielders Demetrio Albertini (Milan) and Ousmane Dabo (Atalanta) and striker Roberto Muzzi (Udinese). Lazio also welcomed back Scudetto hero Sergio Conceição (free agent).
So not a lot to get excited about but this was the transition phase between Sergio Cragnotti's golden era and Claudio Lotito's austerity era. The President at the moment was Ugo Longo and together with Luca Baraldi a financial plan had been set up in which the players received the same salary but over a longer contractual period and swapped some money for shares in the club.
Transition yes but with the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League group stage. The obstacle was Benfica, the glorious club from Lisbon.
Benfica had finished 2nd the previous season, behind champions Porto. The manager was first Jesualdo Ferreira and then, Real Madrid legend, José Antonio Camacho and top goal scorer Simăo with 18 goals (all in the league).
This year Camacho had been confirmed. A limited budget meant that "As Águias" (Eagles, like Lazio) had so far only added midfielders Geovanni (on loan from Barcelona) and Alex (Moreirense) to the squad. Leaving were defender Joāo Manuel Pinto (Murcia) and midfielder Ljubinko Drulović (Partizan Belgrade).
So, a massive game tonight for the two clubs. Glory and money at stake.
The match: Wednesday, August 13, 2003, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A hot, sticky evening in Rome with temperatures still over 35 degrees. Almost 60,000 were in attendance despite it being the peak holiday season.
Lazio had no major absences while the visitors had a few squad members unavailable: midfielders Joāo Pereira and Tiago plus forward Nuno Gomes.
The Portuguese league was due to start four days later and Serie A on August 31, but the heat was a problem for both teams irrespective of fitness levels.
Benfica started better but only had two hopeful long-distance shots by Simăo and Petit which were comfortably blocked by Angelo Peruzzi.
In the 16th minute however, Lazio took the lead courtesy of a Portuguese defensive blunder. On a Beppe Favalli throw-in, into the area from the left, a communication breakdown between Fernando Aguiar and Argel allowed Bernardo Corradi to sneak in between them and the keeper and score from close range. Lazio 1 Benfica 0.
The visitors almost gifted another goal when the keeper José Moreira messed up coming out and lost the ball but no Laziali were quick enough to take advantage.
In the 24th minute Claudio Lopez beat the offside trap and surged forward down the left, cut into the area but too near the by-line and Moreira narrowed the angle well and saved into corner.
From now on Benfica took control, looking fitter and sharper than Lazio. First Aguiar threatened and then the Portuguese Eagles had their big chance in the 29th minute when "Tomo" Sokota, on a low cross from the left, got in front of Jaap Stam on the near post but Peruzzi dived low and saved his close range shot into corner. Half time Lazio 1 Benfica 0.
Lazio pleased with result so far as Benfica had grown into the game and looked physically superior to Lazio as far as fitness levels were concerned.
There were no changes for the second half. In the 54th minute Lazio scored again. Claudio Lopez picked up a short clearance and squared to an unmarked Stefano Fiore in the heart of the box and the Calabrese midfielder made no mistake with a crisp left foot. Lazio 2 Benfica 0.
At this point the visitors made two changes: Anders Andersson for Aguiar and Roger for talented but unproductive Zlatko Zahovic.
In the 64th minute Fiore almost got his brace with a long-range effort. A minute later however, Simăo stunned the Olimpico. He picked up on a loose ball not cleared properly by Stam and from just inside the edge of the box hit a right footed shot which took a decisive deflection off Massimo Oddo and beat a faultless Peruzzi. Lazio 2 Benfica 1 and, considering away goals, now seemingly in favour of the visitors.
Roberto Mancini was well aware of the new unfavourable situation and in the 74th minute replaced defender Favalli with midfielder Fabio Liverani and playmaker Demetrio Albertini with a more offensive midfielder Sergio Conceição.
Both teams then had chances, Benfica with Sokota and Lazio with Conceição, both from outside the box.
Lazio were tiring but in the 80th minute came Sinisa Mihajlovic's masterpiece. On a free kick from about 35 metres out he curled a wonderful shot over the wall and into the top right-hand corner. Lazio 3 Benfica 1 and now the score line was looking healthier for the Romans.
The visiting Eagles tried throwing on Miklós Fehér for Geovanni in the 85th minute and the home Eagles responded in the 87th bringing on tackling maestro Giuliano Giannichedda for an exhausted Claudio Lopez.
Lazio resisted Benfica's last desperate assaults and clinched an important win and advantage ahead of the return leg.
A good win for Lazio who, despite being rustier, had taken advantage of the away side's mistakes and could now look with optimism to their trip to Porto (the da Luz in Lisbon was being modernised) in two weeks’ time. The promised land of Champions League was in touching distance.
Who played for Lazio
Peruzzi, Oddo, Stam, Mihajlovic, Favalli (74' Liverani), Fiore, Albertini (74' Conceição), Stankovic, Zauri, Corradi, C. Lopez (87' Giannichedda)
Manager: Mancini
Who played for Benfica
Moreira, Miguel, Argel, Rocha, Cristiano, Petit, Aguiar (55' Andersson), Geovanni (85' Fehér), Zahovic (55' Roger), Simăo, Sokota
Substitutes: Bossio, Armando, Alex, Hélder
Manager: Camacho
Referee: Fandel (Germany)
Goals: 16' Corradi, 54' Fiore, 65' Simăo, 80' Mihajlovic
What happened next
Lazio then won away too, 1-0 with a César goal and qualified for the Champions League.
They ended up in a group with Beşiktaş, Sparta Prague and Chelsea. After a good start, with a 2-0 win in Istanbul, Lazio faded and then lost 3 (Chelsea home and away and Sparta Prague away) and drew 2 (Beşiktaş and Sparta Prague at home) and were eliminated.
Things went better in Italy. Lazio finished 6th (UEFA Cup) but won the Coppa Italia. The Biancocelesti eliminated Modena 3-0, Parma 3-1, Milan 6-1, all on aggregate. In the double legged final they beat Juventus 2-0 at home and drew 2-2 away after being 0-2 down. A huge satisfaction for Lazio with a re-dimensioned squad (Dejan Stankovic had also left in January). It was Lazio's 4th Coppa Italia triumph.
Benfica added defender Luisao on August 22 but finished 2nd again behind Porto. "O Glorioso" (The Glorious One) then reached the 4th round of the UEFA Cup but were eliminated by Inter 3-4 on aggregate. They did find some glory in the Portuguese Cup (Taça de Portugal) defeating Porto 2-1 in extra-time. Top scorer was Simão with 15 goals (12 in the league).
Lazio 2003-04
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 52 |
Coppa Italia | 8 | 6 | 2 | - | 16 |
Champions League | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
Total | 50 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 76 |
Top Five Appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League |
Fiore | 47 | 32 | 7 | 8 |
Corradi | 46 | 32 | 6 | 8 |
Oddo | 44 | 31 | 7 | 6 |
Favalli | 43 | 29 | 6 | 8 |
Stam | 42 | 29 | 6 | 7 |
Top Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League |
Fiore | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
Corradi | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
Inzaghi | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
Cesar | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Let’s talk about Benfica
Lo Sport Lisboa e Benfica better known as Benfica are a multi-sports club from Lisbon.
They were founded in 1904 and their club colours are red and white, their symbol is the eagle while their motto is "E pluribus unum" (From many, one).
One of the main founders was Cosme Damiăo and he was also the first manager. In 1908 they merged with Grupo Sport Benfica whose main sport was cycling. Other sports were then gradually added over time.
Until 1927 Benfica played in regional tournaments as there was no national league. In 1927 a first national competition was organised and was more like today's Taça de Portugal cup competition. Benfica won it in 1930 and 1931.
In 1934 the league as we know it today was set up. Benfica won their first title in 1935 under Hungarian manager Lippo Hertzka. Several titles followed and their first double in 1942-43 under another Hungarian János Biri.
In 1949 Benfica were the last team the Grande Torino played as the Granata plane crashed on the Superga hill on the way back from a friendly in Lisbon (to celebrate the retirement of the great captain Francisco Ferreira).
In 1950 they won their first international trophy, winning the Latin Cup (beating Lazio in the semi-final). The manager was Ted Smith and the star players included Arsénio Duarte and Rogério Lantres de Carvalho.
In 1954-55 they played their first season in the new Estádio da Luz and won their second double, under Otto Glória. In the 1950's they won 3 league titles and 6 Portuguese Cups.
The 1960's were the glory years. The Encarnados (The Reds) won 8 league titles, 4 Portuguese Cups and 2 European Cups (1961, 1962). They went on a European record 48-match unbeaten run between December 1963 and February 1965 and only beaten recently by Bayer Leverkusen. Their success coincided with the emergence of their best player ever, "The Black Panther" Eusebio but also thanks to players such as Costa Perieira, Mário Joāo, Āngelo, Mario Coluna, Domiciano Cavém, José Águas. The managers were Hungarian Béla Guttmann (1959-62), Chilean Fernando Reira (1962-63), Romanian Elek Schwartz (1964-65), Guttmann again (1965-66), Riera again (1966- Nov 68), Brazilian Otto Gloria (1968- Feb 1970). In 1965 Eusebio won the prestigious Golden Ball award and the Golden Boot in 1968.
In the 1970's Benfica won another 6 league titles and 2 Portuguese Cups. In 1971-72 Benfica won their 6th double, under Englishman Jimmy Hagan. In 1973 Eusebio won his second Golden Boot but left in 1975 to play in the USA.
In the 1980's the Eagles won 5 league titles, 6 Portuguese Cups and 3 Supercups. They also reached 2 European Cup finals but lost both (PSV on penalties in 1988 and Milan 0-1 in 1990). The managers included Sven-Goran Eriksson (1982-84 and 1989-90.), Englishman John Mortimore (1985-87) and Toni (1988-89). In this period the da Luz stadium became the biggest in Europe with a capacity of 130,000.
In the 1990's Benfica only won 2 league titles and 2 Portuguese Cups. The managers included Eriksson (1990-92), Artur Jorge (1994- September 1996), Graeme Souness (Nov 1997- May 1999) and Jupp Heynckes (1999-Sept 2000).
The 2000's opened with their worst ever league finish, a 6th place. In this decade the "Glorioso" only won 2 league titles (2005 and 2010) under Giovanni Trapattoni and Jorge Jesus. Benfica also won 1 Portuguese Cup (2004) and a Supercup (2005). Other managers included: José Mourinho (for 3 months in 2000), José Antonio Camacho (Dec 2002-June 2004), Ronald Koeman (2005-06) and Fernando Santos (2006-Aug 2007).
The decade from 2010 brought 5 more league titles, 1 Portuguese Cup and 4 Supercups. The managers were Jorge Jesus (2009-15), Rui Vitória (2015-Jan 2019) and Bruno Lage (Jan 2019- June 2020).
More recently, in 2020 Jorge Jesus returned until December 2021, followed by Nélson Veríssimo briefly and then, from 2022 until present day, German Roger Schmidt. The Eagles last league triumph came in 2023 when they also won the Supercup. In 2024 they came behind city rivals Sporting Lisbon.
Their top 5 players with most appearances are Nené 578 (1968-86), Luisão 538 (2003-2018), Antonio Veloso 534 (1980-1995), Mario Coluna 528 (1954-1970) and Humberto Coelho 497 (1968-1975, 1977-1984). Other greats include Domiciano Cavém, Antonio Simões, Sheu Han, Espirito Santo, José Águas, Nené, Manuel Bento, Rui Costa, Angel Di Maria, Bernardo Silva and of course the greatest of all Eusebio (473 goals in 440 games…)
Benfica are most winning club in Portugal with 38 league titles, 26 Portuguese Cups, 8 Supercups, 7 League Cups (relatively recent competition) and 2 European Cups.
They make up "Os Trěs Grandes" of Portuguese football. They play the Lisbon derby against Sporting Lisbon and the Clássico against Porto.
In a Lazio connection it is Benfica who first had the idea to fly the Águia Vitoria inside the stadium before matches, just as Olympia does nowadays at Lazio
A curious fact to finish is that legend has it that on leaving in 1963 the manager Béla Guttmann left a curse declaring, "from now for 100 years no Portuguese team will win the European Cup twice and without me Benfica will never win one again". It is said that before the two finals of 1988 and 1990 Eusebio even went to pray on Guttmann's grave in an attempt to lift the curse, obviously to no avail...
Sources
Comments