Survivor Signori leads Lazio to positive debut
The striker, who was supposed to be sold, opens the score for an ultimately comfortable win
The season so far
It was Zdenek Zeman's second year in charge after the previous year's second place (although way behind champions Juventus). They had also reached the UEFA Cup quarter-final (unlucky exit to former Lazio Karl-Heinz Riedle's Borussia Dortmund) and the semi-final of the Italian Cup. So they were trying to build on a positive year.
The summer market had brought defenders Guerino Gottardi (Neuchatel Xamax) and Alessandro Grandoni (Ternana) plus midfielder Massimiliano Esposito (Reggiana).
The main changes were the players leaving. It was with great sadness that Lazio said goodbye to beloved Paul Gascoigne (Rangers for 11 million pounds) after 3 eventful years in Rome. Also leaving were defenders Roberto Cravero (Torino), Mauro Bonomi (Cagliari), Roberto Bacci (Torino) and midfielder Giorgio Venturin (Cagliari-loan).
Cragnotti had tried to sell Beppe Signori to Parma but the fans had literally taken to the streets in thousands in protest and "convinced" the owner to keep the striker.
So, all in all a more sober transfer market than Cragnotti's previous ones.
Piacenza were newly promoted. The previous season they had won Serie B under manager Luigi Cagni. Top scorer was local lad Filippo Inzaghi with 17 goals (15 in B).
This season Cagni was still in charge. The "Papaveri" (The Poppies) had been busy in the transfer market bringing in several new players: defenders Mirko Conte (Inter), midfielders Angelo Carbone (Milan), Eugenio Corini (Brescia), Eusebio Di Francesco (Lucchese) plus forwards Nicola Caccia (Ancona) and Massimo Cappellini (Foggia).
The main players leaving were: defender Andrea Di Cintio (Atlético Catania), midfielders Agostino Iacobelli (Ancona), Giuseppe Minaudo (Atalanta - end of loan), Giorgio Papais (Novara), Pasquale Suppa (Lucchese) plus forwards Antonio De Vitis (Verona) and Filippo Inzaghi (Parma).
So quite a lot of changes to the squad.
Few predicted anything other than a Lazio win today.
The match: Sunday, August 27, 1995, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A hot, late August afternoon saw about 45,000 spectators gather at the Olimpico for Lazio's league debut.
Lazio had a few surprises in the line-up, Marco Piovanelli and Massimiliano Esposito and no Aron Winter or Roberto Rambaudi, while the Emiliani fielded an entirely Italian XI, a rarity in modern football.
Lazio attacked constantly from the start but were well contained by the visitors. Lazio either messed up the last pass or were not clinical with their finishing.
In the 12th minute Mirko Conte was forced off injured and replaced by Stefano Maccoppi.
Lazio's pressure was finally rewarded in the 33rd minute. A lovely, low ball by Roberto Di Matteo cut through the Biancorossi's defence and found Beppe Signori who went round the keeper and scored with his weak foot. Lazio 1 Piacenza 0.
A few minutes later, on a Gottardi cross from the right, Diego Fuser already tried for the potential goal of the season but his scissor kick volley took a deflection and went just over the bar. Half time Lazio 1 Piacenza 0.
For the second half the Bohemian coach decided to put Aron Winter on for Piovanelli.
Lazio doubled their lead almost immediately. In the 47th minute after a good team move involving Esposito, Alen Boksic and Di Matteo, saw Signori cross from the left and Esposito, who had started the move, volleyed, the ball took a deflection and spun up and into the left-hand corner. He had hit it well but the defenders touch had possibly been decisive, Lazio 2 Piacenza 0.
On the hour the Poppies put on a striker, Massimiliano Cappellini, for a midfielder, Angelo Carbone.
It was Lazio however who continued on the front foot and Signori fired just over the bar after a neat combination with Esposito. The blond striker went off a few minutes later replaced by Gigi Casiraghi and two minutes later Piacenza responded by throwing on Daniele Moretti for Eugenio Corini.
In the 75th minute Esposito got his brace for a dream debut. The Neapolitan was teed up by Di Matteo inside the area on the right and beat Massimo Taibi with a precise, low right foot on the near post. Lazio 3 Piacenza 0.
A minute later Esposito went off to deserved applause and was replaced by Roberto Rambaudi.
In the 79th minute the Biancocelesti made it four. Boksic charged into the area and was challenged by the keeper who dived low at Boksic's feet to get the ball, the Croat pushed it past him and then went down. Did he go into Taibi on purpose and fall, did Taibi touch the ball and then clip him as the replays indicated? Who knows, but in Italy nine times out of ten the referees gave these penalties, as did Borriello today. Casiraghi scored but had to take it again and placed it to the left of Taibi who went the other way. Lazio 4 Piacenza 0.
The away side's defender and captain Settimio Lucci for one was not pleased and protested animatedly with the referee.
With five minutes to go Piacenza too were awarded a penalty. It was a generous one to say the least, maybe a form of compensation. Nicola Caccia went past Gottardi but then stumbled and collapsed just inside the area. Caccia himself took it and placed it perfectly in the top left-hand corner. Lazio 4 Piacenza 1.
Lucci then continued in his disagreements with the referee and was sent off. Final score Lazio 4 Piacenza 1.
A good debut for Lazio. After some initial difficulties the quality of their attacking football had swept Piacenza away.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Gottardi, Negro, Chamot, Favalli, Fuser, Di Matteo, Piovanelli (46' Winter), M.Esposito (76' Rambaudi), Boksic, Signori (63' Casiraghi)
Manager: Zeman
Who played for Piacenza
Taibi, Polonia, Lucci, Rossini, Conte (12' Maccoppi), Turrini, Corini (65' Moretti), Carbone (60' Cappellini), Di Francesco, Caccia, Piovani
Substitutes: Simoni, Brioschi
Manager: Cagni
Referee: Borriello
Goals: 33' Signori, 47' M.Esposito, 75' M.Esposito, 79' Casiraghi (pen), 86' Caccia (pen)
Red card: 87' Lucci
What happened next
Lazio finished 3rd. They went unbeaten until November 5, beating Juventus 4-0 on the way but then lost three out of four. They then picked up with big wins against Sampdoria 6-3 and Atalanta 5-1. In the return fixtures the highlight was defeating Roma with a Signori goal. In total Lazio won 17, drew 8 and lost 9. Lazio's blond striker Signori was top scorer again with 26 goals (24 in A).
A decent season with a UEFA Cup qualification and above city rivals Roma.
In this year's competition the Biancocelesti went out to Olympique Lyonnais in the round of 32 losing 1-4 on aggregate.
In Coppa Italia Lazio went out to Inter 0-1 in the quarter finals.
Piacenza survived, finishing 14th. The Biancorossi won 9 (including Roma 1-0, Lazio 2-1 and Inter 1-0, at home), drew 10 (including 0-0 away to Napoli and Inter) and lost 15. Top scorer was Nicola Caccia with 15 league goals.
The Scudetto was won by Fabio Capello's Milan while the four bidding farewell were Padova, Cremonese, Torino and Bari.
Lazio 1995-96
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 66 |
Coppa Italia | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
UEFA Cup | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
Total | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 77 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Fuser | 39 | 32 | 4 | 3 |
Negro | 39 | 31 | 4 | 4 |
Di Matteo | 38 | 31 | 3 | 4 |
Signori | 38 | 31 | 4 | 3 |
Chamot | 37 | 32 | 4 | 1 |
Winter | 37 | 30 | 3 | 4 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Signori | 26 | 24 | 1 | 1 |
Casiraghi | 18 | 14 | - | 4 |
Winter | 7 | 6 | - | 1 |
Fuser | 6 | 6 | - | - |
Boksic | 4 | 4 | - | - |
Let's talk about Massimiliano Esposito
Massimiliano Esposito, known as Max, was born in Naples on May 27, 1972.
He started his career in 1990 with Catanzaro in C2. He stayed three seasons playing 61 league games with 8 goals.
In 1993 he signed for Reggiana in Serie A. The Granata were newly promoted and managed to survive, helped by Esposito's 5 goals (including the winner away to champions Milan), under manager Pippo Marchioro. The following year things did not go as well and Reggiana were relegated. In his time in Reggio Emilia, he played alongside Lazio legend Angelo Gregucci and stars such as Paulo Futre and Cláudio Taffarel. In total Esposito played 59 league games with 9 goals.
In 1995 he joined Lazio. The Biancocelesti had Zeman as a manager and came from a second place. They finished 3rd and Esposito played 17 league games with 3 goals (Piacenza x2, Atalanta), 2 games in Coppa Italia and 1 in the UEFA Cup.
The following year he left and moved south to Naples. The manager was first former Lazio Gigi Simoni (1-28) and then Vincenzo Montefusco (29-34) and Napoli finished 12th. Esposito played 22 with 2 goals (Cagliari, Fiorentina) and 5 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Monza). Napoli reached the cup final but lost 1-4 on aggregate to Vicenza.
In 1997-98 he spent a season at Verona on loan. The Scaligeri were in Serie B and finished 6th, first under Luigi Cagni and then Sergio Maddė. Esposito played 27 league games. His teammates included Lazio connections Leonardo Colucci (1994-95) and Sebastiano Siviglia (2004-10).
Esposito then returned to Napoli who were now in Serie B. The manager was Renzo Ulivieri (1-35) and then Vincenzo Fusco (36-38). Esposito played 20 league games with 3 goals and 2 games in Coppa Italia. The squad included Lazio connections, Raffaele Sergio (1989-92), Giovanni Lopez (1997-98) and Emanuele Pesaresi (2000-01).
In 1999-2000 he played for Perugia in Serie A. The manager was Carlo Mazzone and the Grifoni finished 10th. They did Lazio a huge favour by beating Juventus on the last game of the season and thus handing Lazio the Scudetto. Esposito played 27 league games with 1 goal (Reggina), including 90 minutes of that famous waterlogged game on May 14.
In 2000 he joined Brescia in Serie A and stayed a season and a half. In the first the Rondinelle finished 8th under Carlo Mazzone. Esposito played 19 league games with 1 goal and 5 games in Coppa Italia. The squad included Lazio connections Simone Del Nero (2007-12), the Filippini brothers (2004-05), Igli Tare (2003-05) plus the greats Andrea Pirlo and Robero Baggio.
The following year he left in January after 15 league games. Brescia eventually finished 13th.
He joined Chievo where he found manager Luigi Del Neri and the Clivensi finished an excellent 5th and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Esposito played 9 league games. The squad included Lazio connections, Dario Franceschini (1995-97), Fabio Firmani (2005-09, 2009-11), Bernardo Corradi (2002-04), Christian Manfredini (2002-03, 2004 -11).
In 2002 Esposito joined Ternana for two and a half seasons. The Umbri finished 7th, 7th and 9th in Serie B. Esposito played 39 league games with 4 goals.
In January 2005 he joined Venezia in Serie B. The "Leoni Alati" (Winged Lions) were relegated and went bankrupt. Esposito played 17 league games with 3 goals.
In 2005 he joined Triestina for two seasons. The Giuliani were in Serie B and finished 13th and 17th. Esposito played 17 league games with 2 goals.
He then spent five more years at amateur level with Abano, Saccolongo, Boara Pisani and Janus Selvazzano.
He then retired and became a coach although he had already collaborated with Padova in 2009-10 and been player-manager at Janus Selvazzano. In 2015 to 2018 he coached in Sacra Famiglia youth sector, 2018-19 Padova U13's, 2019 assistant manager at Padova and 2019-20 back with Padova youth sector.
Esposito also had a career as a beach soccer player. In 2008-09 he played for Lignano Sabbiadoro (winning a Coppa Italia) and between 2008 and 2015 played for the Italian national team, with 48 games and 32 goals, winning a World Cup silver medal in 2008. He was also national coach between 2010 and 2015.
Esposito was an attacking midfielder. He had a good career, playing 172 games in Serie A with 16 goals and 121 games in Serie B with 12 goals.
At Lazio he only stayed one season and was not a regular. Lazio had Diego Fuser, Roberto Rambaudi, Aron Winter, Giuseppe Signori, Gigi Casiraghi and Alen Boksic in the squad but Esposito still made 17 league appearances with 3 goals and contributed to a positive 3rd place.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1995-96 | 20 (3) | 17 (3) | 2 | 1 |
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