February 19, 1995: Lazio Milan 4-0
- Dag Jenkins
- Feb 19
- 8 min read
Lazio thrash European champions
After a 17-year wait Lazio beat Milan at home and do it in style with clinical attacking duo Signori-Casiraghi.
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished fourth and again qualified for the UEFA Cup. New owner Sergio Cragnotti, however, decided it was time for a change. Out went Dino Zoff's conservative style of play and in came "Zemanlandia" with new manager Zdenek Zeman, who had impressed at Foggia. Zoff was kept on as president, for his prestige and charisma.
The Bohemian brought Argentinian defender José Chamot with him and was reunited with winger Roberto Rambaudi (Atalanta). Lazio also added midfielder Giorgio Venturin (Torino) to their squad.
Leaving Lazio were defenders and fan favourite Luigi Corino (Brescia), Luca Luzardi (Napoli) plus well serving midfielder Claudio Sclosa (Cremonese-on loan).
In Serie A Lazio had so far played 19 games with 9 wins (including Torino 3-0, Napoli and Padova 5-1, Foggia 7-1 at home and Inter 2-0 away), 4 draws (including Fiorentina 1-1 away with a 94th minute Bergodi equaliser) and lost 6 (including the derby and the last two games). Lazio had 31 points and were in joint 4th place with Sampdoria.
In the UEFA Cup Lazio had knocked out Dinamo Minsk 4-1 on aggregate, then Swedish Trelleborg 1-0 and Turkish Trabzonspor 4-2. They would now play Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals on February 28 and March 14.
In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti had eliminated Modena 9-1 on aggregate, then Piacenza 6-4 and Napoli 3-1. Next in the semi-final were Juventus on March 8 and April 11.
Milan were reigning champions. They had also won the Champions League thrashing Barcelona 4-0. The manager was Fabio Capello and top scorer was Daniele Massaro with 16 goals (11 in A).
This season Capello was still in charge. Over the summer the squad went pretty much untouched, arriving were midfielders Gianluca Sordo (Torino) and Giovanni Stroppa (Foggia) while leaving were midfielders Brian Laudrup (Rangers) and forward Jean-Pierre Papin.
In the autumn, forward Paolo Di Canio (Juventus) was added. Meanwhile Dutch legend Ruud Gullit had returned in August from his loan to Sampdoria but then returned to the Blucerchiati in November.
Milan had already won silverware in August when they beat Sampdoria on penalties in the Italian Supercoppa. They had also recently won the European Super Cup final beating Arsenal 2-0 on aggregate. In December however they had lost 0-2 to Vélez Sarsfield in the Intercontinental Cup final.
In Serie A the Rossoneri were struggling for their standards and were in joint 6th position with Fiorentina on 30 points. Leaders Juventus were 12 points away. The Rossoneri had won 7 (including Lazio 2-1), drawn 9 (including derby 1-1) and lost 3. They were however unbeaten since October 30.
In the Champions League they had got through the group phase with 3 wins (Salzburg home and away, AEK Athens at home) drawn 1 (AEK away) and lost 2 (Ajax home and away). Next up were Benfica in the knockout stage in March.
In the Coppa Italia Milan had been knocked out by city rivals Inter 2-4 on aggregate. The Rossoneri had previously got the better of Palermo on penalties (after two 1-1 draws).
A difficult game to predict today. Lazio were one point ahead in the table but came from two defeats and Milan were Italian and European Champions with players such as Maldini, Tassotti, Costacurta, Baresi, Desailly, Donadoni, Boban, Savićević and Massaro just to name a few.
The match: Sunday, February 19, 1995, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A pleasant, sunny February afternoon attracted a 50,000 crowd.
Lazio were missing Alen Boksic while Milan were without Dejan Savicevic, Zvonimir Boban and former Lazio Paolo Di Canio.
Milan started more brightly and forced a couple of scrambes in the Lazio area. The first big chance was for Marco Simone who was unmarked outside the area on the left but his lob was too weak and Luca Marchegiani blocked his shot in volley ball style just inside the vertex of the box.
Lazio however gradually grew into the game. They had a penalty appeal when, on a low Beppe Signori cross, Gigi Casiraghi was strangled by Costacurta but not for the referee Cesari.
In the 18th minute the scoreline changed and in an unpredictable way. The usually impeccable Franco Baresi, playing out of defence, miscalculated a pass and it was charged down by Casiraghi who then showed unsuspectable speed bursting forward for twenty metres between Baresi and Billy Costacurta and beating Rossi with a low right foot. Lazio 1 Milan 0. A rare Baresi mistake and impressive movement by Gigi "Tyson" Casiraghi.
Milan could have equalised almost immediately but two against Marchegiani, Simone squared the ball slightly behind Daniele Massaro and the chance was wasted. Then Simone had a dangerous diving header which went just wide. Halftime Lazio 1 Milan 0.
A balanced game but Lazio had taken their chance thanks to a rare sloppy piece of play by Baresi. There were no clear signs yet of what would happen in the second 45 minutes.
There were no changes after the break. The game continued to be of uncertain outcome until the 59th minute when Lazio scored again. A high Roberto Di Matteo ball over the Milan backline found Signori on the left side of the area, the ball came down and while everyone, including Rossi, expected a shot on the opposite post, Beppe-Gol volleyed a snooker like low shot past the keeper on the near post. A great goal and difficult to execute, Lazio 2 Milan 0.
Milan's reaction was feeble and produced nothing to note. Meanwhile just before the goal Milan had made their first change, Alessandro Melli for Simone. Then in the 65th minute Capello took off midfielder Stefano Eranio for former Lazio defender Mauro Tassotti.
A minute later, in the 66th minute, the game was practically over. Maldini desperately made a lunging tackle on Casiraghi sprinting towards goal from the right, the foul probably started outside the area but finished well inside and the referee went for a penalty for Lazio and a red card for Maldini. Signori took the spot kick, as usual with no run up and sent Rossi to the right and the ball down the middle. Lazio 3 Milan 0.
At this stage Milan knew they were beaten and virtually disappeared. Lazio also knew it was won and took off Diego Fuser and put on Giorgio Venturin. The chances for Lazio came fast and frequently, Roberto Rambaudi, Casiraghi and Paolo Negro all went close and then Aron Winter hit the post.
Lazio were queueing up and the fourth goal came in the 82nd minute. It was officially an own goal but the main merit was Signori's. After a one-two with Winter, who flicked the ball back from the left byline, Signori let off a left foot which took a light deflection off Baresi hit the crossbar, then the left post and bounced over the line. Lazio 4 Milan 0.
Lazio could even have made it five but Casiraghi's free diving header, from a Negro cross was too central and saved by Rossi.
Milan had one last chance to get a consolation goal but, following a corner, Demetrio Albertini cut inside and blasted a left foot wide. Final score Lazio 4 Milan 0.
This was the first time the Biancocelesti had beaten the Rossoneri at home for 17 years and it was a day to remember. The scoreline was perhaps a little excessive but to be fair Lazio were already leading by two goals when Maldini got his marching orders and from then on it could have been more like a tennis set result.
Lazio, like many times this season, proved they could beat the best but needed to find consistency. The Biancocelesti were now joint 3rd with city rivals Roma who had lost 0-1away at Genoa and three points clear of Fiorentina who were 6th (5 teams went into Europe).
Milan were 7th, two pointsfrom Europe but still had this year's Champions League campaign to look forward too.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Favalli, Di Matteo, Bergodi, Cravero (79' Nesta), Rambaudi, Fuser (67' Venturin), Casiraghi, Winter, Signori
Manager: Zeman
Who played for Milan
Rossi, Panucci, Maldini, Albertini, Costacurta, Baresi, Eranio (65' Tassotti), Desailly, Massaro, Donadoni, Simone (57' Melli)
Manager: Capello
Referee: Cesari
Goals: 18' Casiraghi, 59' Signori, 66' Signori (pen), 82' Baresi (og)
What happened next
Lazio finished 2nd, their best position since 1974. In the remaining games Lazio won 9 (including the derby 2-0, Fiorentina 8-2, Inter 4-1 at home and Juventus 3-0 away), drew 2 and lost 3. Top scorer was Signori with 21 goals (17 in A).
In the UEFA Cup Lazio were unlucky to be eliminated by Borussia Dortmund. The Biancocelesti won 1-0 at home but lost 0-2 in Westphalia to a penalty and a last-minute Karl-Heinz Riedle goal with several controversial refereeing decisions.
In Coppa Italia Lazio lost 1-3 on aggregate to eventual winners Juventus in the semi-final.
Milan finished 4th and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Milan then won 10, drew 0 and lost 4 (including derby 1-3). Top scorer was Marco Simone with 21 goals (17 in A).
Milan reached the final of Champions League by eliminating Benfica 2-0 and PSG 3-0. In the final in Vienna however they lost to Ajax again, 0-1.
Juventus won their 23rd title. Serie B was the next stop for Genoa, Foggia, Reggiana and Brescia.
Let talk about Vincenzo De Sio
Vincenzo De Sio was born in Salerno on July 10, 1972.
He was formed in Salernitana's youth academy.
In 1992 he joined Licata for the 1992-93 season and the Gialloblu finished 15th in C2. His teammates included Serie A manager Marco Giampaolo and former Lazio Antonio Maurizio Schillaci (1986-87).
In November 1993 he stayed in Sicily but joined Trapani in C2. The Granata were struggling and needed reinforcements. He played 25 games and scored 2 goals under manager Ignazio Arcoleo. The Trapanesi won promotion in 1st place and De Sio earned himself a call from Lazio.
In Rome the manager was Zdeněk Zeman and De Sio only played one game, nine minutes in a 5-1 win against Padova in November. Then endless presences on the bench in the league, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup but no more games. Lazio finished 2nd and De Sio left.
He returned to Trapani who were still in C1. He played 33 league games with 2 goals, 1 game in Coppa Italia and 1 in C Coppa Italia. The Granata finished 14th. One of his teammates was current Serie A manager Vincenzo Italiano.
In the summer of 1996 he moved to nearby Palermo in Serie B. The manager was first Ignazio Arcoleo and then Giampiero Vitali. The Rosanero were relegated in 19th place. De Sio played 10 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia. One of his teammates was former Lazio Giampaolo Saurini (1988-89).
The following year, 1997-98, he stayed in Palermo. The Aquile finished 14th and were relegated after the playoffs but then stayed up due to other clubs' misdemeanours. The manager was first Giorgio Rumignani (1-7) and then Arcoleo again. De Sio played 13 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia and 5 in C Coppa Italia.
The rest of his career took him to Casarano (relegated to D), Pontedera (relegated to D) and Terracina (13th in D) before retiring in 2001 at only 28.
De Sio was a midfielder. He had a decent career at third tier level but was not lucky when his big chance came at Lazio where he only made one appearance.
Lazio Career
Season | Serie A Appearances |
1994-95 | 1 |
Sources
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