Riedle prophet in own land
Two goals by Teutonic striker Riedle give Lazio victory in Germany
The season so far
Lazio's new President Sergio Cragnotti's first summer transfer market had been an ambitious one. In had come 3 promising young players from Cremonese: Giuseppe Favalli, Mauro Bonomi and Dario Marcolin plus the likes of defender Roberto Cravero, midfielders Diego Fuser and Aron Winter and forward Beppe Signori. The main talking point ,however, was the arrival of Paul Gascoigne from Tottenham. One of the most exciting players of his generation, he arrived with great expectations, despite a recent serious injury. Lazio had lost fan favourite Ruben Sosa, who had not renewed his contract and had let go of Raffaele Sergio and Gabriele Pin.
Lazio had been in Germany for a while with first some minor training games and then a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen where they had been defeated 2-1.
Today in nearby Gelsenkirchen was the second real test of the pre-season preparation.
Schalke 04 had finished 11th the previous season in the Bundesliga. They were coached first by Aleksandar Ristic (until April 25) and then Klaus Fischer (former German international who played in 2 World Cups). Top scorer was Ingo Anderbrügge with 7 goals.
This year the manager was Udo Lattek. He was former Bayern Munich (8 title and European Cup '74), Borussia Mönchengladbach (2 titles) and Barcelona (Cup Winners Cup) among others. Shalke's most famous player was perhaps goalkeeper Jens Lehmann (future Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal among others).
The match : Sunday, August 9, 1992, Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen
The climatic conditions were not exactly what Lazio had hoped for in Northern Germany, 37 degrees centigrade and a high level of humidity… A 16,000 crowd turned up on this sticky evening.
After only seven minutes Claudio Sclosa was forced off with a twisted ankle and was replaced by Dario Marcolin. The Germans started strongly and their two forwards Bent Christensen (had scored against Roma in UEFA semi-final for Brøndby in '91) and Radmilo Mihajlovic put Lazio’s defence under pressure. An Angelo Gregucci mistake in the 28th minute allowed Mihajlovic an easy goal to put "Die Knapen" (The Miners) ahead. Schalke 1 Lazio 0.
Lazio equalised a few minutes before the break. Aron Winter received the ball about 25 metres out and seeing Beppe Signori and Karl-Heinz Riedle marked, decided to try his luck. A superb strike gave Jens Lehmann no chance, 42 minutes gone and 1-1.
For the second half the Germans made three changes; Uwe Scherr, Aleksander Borodjuk and Peter Sendscheid for Steffen Freund, Antoine Hey and Mihajlovic. Lazio made two; Mauro Bonomi for a struggling Gregucci and Maurizio Neri for Winter, who had a light injury.
"Die Königsblauen" (The Royal Blues) came out flying after the break. They had three one-on-ones with Valerio Fiori but somehow managed not to score. After an initial ten-minute onslaught, the hosts, possibly due to the heat, started to flag.
In the 56th minute Lazio went in front. Maurizio Neri who had impressed since coming on teed up Riedle who beat his compatriot Lehmann, Schalke 1 Lazio 2.
In the 67th minute Danish striker Bent Christensen also went off and Lazio took control of the game. In the 85th minute Giovanni Stroppa, who had replaced German Thomas Doll, struck the crossbar. A minute later Lazio closed the game again with the Neri-Riedle partnership, the Italian providing another assist for the German's brace. Schalke 1 Lazio 3.
A good win for Lazio against a decent Bundesliga team. Dino Zoff was satisfied and as a former goalkeeper he pointed out the difficulty of playing with the new back pass rule. This was the first season in which the keepers would have to play the ball with their feet when receiving intentional passes from teammates (with the exception of headers).
Who played for Schalke 04
Lehmann, Luginger, Spanring, Eigenrauch, Güttler, Freund (46' Scherr), Anderbrügge, Hey (46' Borodjuk), Mihajlovic (46' Sendscheid), Buskens, Christensen (67' Schlipper)
Substitutes: Gehrke, Müller, Linke, Leifeld, Prus
Manager: Lattek
Who played for Lazio
Fiori, Corino, Favalli (85' Madonna), Sclosa (7' Marcolin), Gregucci (46' Bonomi), Cravero, Fuser (71' Bacci), Doll (74' Stroppa), Riedle, Winter (46' Neri), Signori
Substitutes: Orsi
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Witke
Goals: 28' Anderbrügge, 42' Winter, 56' Riedle, 86' Riedle
What happened next
Lazio had a good season and finished 5th (UEFA qualification). The Biancocelesti won 13, drew 12 and lost 9. The drew both derbies, the first with an 85th minute Gascoigne equaliser. In the Coppa Italia Lazio reached the quarter final but lost 4-5 on aggregate to Torino. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 32 goals (26 in league). Lazio were back in Europe after a 16-year absence.
Schalke 04 finished 10th in the Bundesliga. Lattek was replaced by Helmut Schulte after 17 games (curiously after an away draw to Bayern Munich). Top scorer was Ingo Anderbrügge with 10 league goals. He would go on to become a club legend playing 316 league games with 82 goals for the Miners and winning the UEFA Cup in 1997 (beating Inter on penalties).
Lazio 1992-93
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 51 |
Coppa Italia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
Total | 40 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 78 |
Top Five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Fuser | 38 | 33 | 5 |
Signori | 38 | 32 | 6 |
Favalli | 36 | 32 | 4 |
Winter | 36 | 30 | 6 |
Bacci | 35 | 31 | 4 |
Top Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Signori | 32 | 26 | 6 |
Fuser | 11 | 10 | 1 |
Riedle | 10 | 8 | 2 |
Winter | 8 | 6 | 2 |
Gascoigne | 4 | 4 | - |
Let's talk about Maurizio Neri
Maurizio Neri was born in Rimini, on March 21, 1965.
He started his football with nearby Bellaria and then in 1983-84 he spent a year in Fiorentina's youth sector before returning to Bellaria.
In 1984-85 he played 29 games with 24 goals at regional level.
In 1985 he joined Fano in C1. He stayed two seasons playing 58 games with 6 goals.
In 1987 he moved to Reggiana in C1 and played 34 games with 6 goals.
In 1988 he moved up a league and played for Ancona in Serie B. He only played until November (7 games and 2 goals) as he then joined Napoli in Serie A.
In Napoli he was coached by Ottavio Bianchi and played alongside Careca and Maradona. The "Partenopei" finished 2nd, reached the final of Coppa Italia (lost to 1-4 on aggregate to Sampdoria) but won the UEFA Cup beating Stuttgart 5-4 on aggregate. Neri played 11 league games with 2 goals (Como, Lazio), 6 in Coppa 6 with 1 goal (Ascoli) and 1 in the UEFA Cup.
He started the following season with Napoli under Alberto Bigon and played 3 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia but then in November joined Pisa in Serie B. Pity because Napoli went on to win the Scudetto.
At Pisa he was coached by Luca Giannini and won promotion to Serie A. Neri played 31 league games and scored 4 goals (Brescia, Pescara x2, Cagliari).
The following season in Serie A Pisa signed Diego Simeone and José Antonio Chamot but it was not enough to keep them up. The Nerazzurri were relegated in 16th place after 8 wins (including Roma 2-0 away), 6 draws (including Lazio 0-0 away) and 20 defeats (including Lazio 0-1). Neri played 33 league games with 4 goals (Bologna, Parma, Cesena, Juventus). At Pisa he also played alongside future Lazio hero Alessandro Calori.
In 1991 Neri signed for Lazio. Lazio were coached by Dino Zoff and finished 10th and drew both derbies. Neri played 16 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia.
The following year Zoff stayed on but Neri played less, only 2 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Torino). Lazio had a better season and finished 5th, qualifying for the UEFA Cup and Europe after 16 years.
In 1993 he was sold to Brescia in Serie B. The manager was Adelio Moro while the Technical Director was Mircea Lucescu. The " Rondinelle" (Little Swallows) won promotion and Neri played 37 league games with 10 goals (Acireale x2, Monza, Ravenna, F.Andria, Cesena, Ascoli, Pisa x2,Venezia). Brescia won the Anglo-Italian Cup.
In 1994-95 Brescia were relegated and Neri played 31 league games with 4 goals (Bari, Torino, Parma, Cremonese) and 2 games in Coppa Italia. In the squad was a young Andrea Pirlo.
In 1995-96 Brescia struggled and finished 16th in Serie B under Mircea Lucescu and then future Lazio Edy Reja. Neri played 38 league games and scored an impressive 14 goals (Pescara, Venezia, Foggia x2, Genoa, Perugia, Lucchese, Genoa x2, Ancona, Reggina, Cosenza, Perugia, Cesena). He played alongside the Filippini twins and Roberto Baronio.
In 1996-97 Reja stayed on and Brescia won the league and promotion. Neri played 33 league games with 12 goals (Cosenza, Castel di Sangro x2, Padova, Bari x2, Palermo, Pescara, Cesena, Foggia, Reggina, Venezia). He was top Brescia goal scorer.
Back in Serie A they were coached by Giuseppe Materazzi (1-10), Paolo Ferrario (11-31), the duo Egidio Salvi-Adriano Bacconi (32-34) but were relegated again. Neri played 30 league matches with 7 goals (Atalanta, Vicenza x2, Bari, Sampdoria, Napoli, Parma) and 1 game in Coppa Italia.
In 1998 he left Brescia after five years and joined Reggiana in Serie B. He played 24 league games with 4 goals (Lecce x2, Monza, Treviso, plus one in Coppa Italia vs Padova) under four different managers including Angelo Gregucci for the last 7 games. The "Granata" finished 17th and were relegated. In Reggio Emilia he played with Igor Protti.
In 1999 he moved home to Rimini in Serie C2. He stayed two seasons, playing 69 league games with 26 goals and losing two playoffs for promotion.
In 2002 he joined Gubbio in C2 but never played for Umbri and instead in October moved to Forli in C2. He played 13 games for the "Galletti" (The Cockerels), with 1 goal. The Biancorossi finished 10th.
In 2003 he joined Mirandolese at regional level and the year after amateurs Terme Monticelli, before retiring at 40.
He went straight into managing at Terme Monticelli and stayed three years. He then went back to Bellaria for a year, before two years at Real Rimini.
In 2011 he joined Parma youth sector for four years. In 2015 he moved to Sassuolo youth sector, between 2017-2022 he was in charge of the "Primavera" (U19's) and he is currently in charge of the U-16's.
Maurizio Neri was a forward but also played on the wing. He is 1.82 and 77 kilos. He had a good club career especially with Brescia. He played 126 games in Serie A with 17 goals (and 46 in Serie B). He won promotions with Pisa and Brescia and a UEFA Cup with Napoli. He also has the enviable chance to tell his grandchildren he played with the great Diego Armando Maradona. .
At Lazio he was not a great success. He played his fair share of games in his first year but the strikers were Karl -Heinz Riedle and Rubén Sosa plus there were attacking midfielders such as Thomas Doll and Giovanni Stroppa. In his second year Paul Gascoigne arrived and goal machine Beppe Signori so Neri inevitably got very little playing time.
Lazio career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
1991-92 | 19 | 16 | 3 |
1992-93 | 5 (1) | 2 | 3 (1) |
Total | 24 (1) | 18 | 6 (1) |
Sources
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