Ave César
A second half goal by the returning Brazilian is enough for the three points
Also on this day:
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.
So far it had been a mixed bag in Serie A. Lazio had played 17 games, winning 9 (Lecce, Sampdoria, Chievo, Bologna and Udinese, Perugia, Juventus, Ancona, Inter), drawing 2 (Empoli, Modena) and losing 6 (Parma, Milan, Roma, Siena, Reggina, Brescia). Some big wins but also some unexpected defeats. Lazio were therefore on 29 points and were in 6th position.
In the Champions League Lazio had got through the preliminary round in August, defeating Benfica 4-1 on aggregate. Things had then started well in the group phase, with a 2-0 away win Istanbul against Beşiktaş, but then went downhill with a 2-2 home draw against Sparta Prague, two defeats against Chelsea, a home draw to Beşiktaş and finally a 0-1 away defeat to Sparta Prague. A poor campaign and an early exit.
In Coppa Italia Lazio had qualified for the semi-finals to be played in February against Milan. The Biancocelesti had eliminated Modena 3-0 and Parma 3-1, both on aggregate.
Lecce were newly promoted having finished 3rd in Serie B, under future Lazio manager Delio Rossi. Top scorer was Uruguayan Ernesto Chevantón with 18 goals (16 in B).
Delio Rossi stayed on this season. The Salentini had signed a few new players to compete in the top flight. Arriving were: keeper Vincenzo Sicignano (Parma just recently), defenders Jorge Bolaño (Parma-on loan recently), Sebastiano Siviglia (Parma-on loan via Atalanta), Marco Cassetti (Verona), midfielders Daniele Franceschini (Chievo-on loan recently), Nicola Marinello (Foggia) and Wilfried Dalmat (Grenoble).
Leaving Lecce were: keeper Marco Amelia (Parma recently in January), defenders Gianluca Colonnello (Pescara), midfielders Marco Donadel (Milan - end of loan and then Parma), Alessandro Budel (Genoa in January), Luigi Piangerelli (Fiorentina in January) plus forward Sebastjan Cimirotič (Olimpia Lubiana).
So, no major changes and Lecce were struggling in Serie A. The Giallorossi were third from bottom, in joint 15th place with Empoli, on 12 points and were five points adrift from the last survival spot (Modena and Reggina on 17). They had won 3, drawn 3 (including Juventus 1-1 at home) and lost 11 (including Lazio 1-4 on opener). Their last game however had been a 3-1 away win at Reggina.
Lazio were favourites but Lecce were desperate for points.
The match: Sunday, January 25, 2004, Stadio Via del Mare, Lecce
A cloudy day in beautiful baroque Lecce saw about 10,000 spectators in the stadium, from its name obviously on the way to the sea.
Lecce were one of the clubs with the youngest average age while Lazio had one of the highest. Would youth or experience prevail?
Lecce were without defender Giuseppe Abruzzese plus forwards Axel Konan and Mirko Vučiniç. Lazio had César back after five months but had defender Luciano Zauri and forward Simone Inzaghi unavailable.
The first half was not memorable but the few chances were for Lazio. Sinisa Mihajlovic had a free kick saved by Vincenzo Sicignano and then César had a free shot on goal following a ricochet from a Claudio Lopez effort but the Brazilian fired wide.
Lecce responded with a Valeri Bojinov header that went wide from a corner and little else.
A dull first half with Lazio on top and Lecce surprisingly subdued.
In the first minute of the second half the Giallorossi had their biggest chance so far. The Bulgarian striker Bojinov got the better of Mihajlovic on the left and crossed low but Uruguayan Ernesto Chevantón was a fraction too late to meet the inviting assist.
Lazio were still on top and Claudio Lopez blasted a low shot from just inside the area on the left but Sicignano pulled off a great save into corner.
In the 51st minute Lecce took off defender Erminio Rullo and put on 17-year-old debutant Andrea Esposito.
After Lecce had a Bojinov goal disallowed for a clear offside, it was Lazio who scored. In the 55th minute Claudio Lopez took advantage of an Alberto Stovini slip up to feed Bernardo Corradi on the right, he entered the area and squared a simple ball to César who had no problem scoring with his right foot. Lecce 0 Lazio 1.
In the 59th minute the Salentini were reduced to ten men. Cesare Bovo got a good header in which Angelo Peruzzi saved superbly, on the line or over the line was the question but it went unanswered as the referee blew up for a previous foul by Bojinov on Beppe Favalli. Marco Casetti was furious, got himself booked, insisted and earned himself an early shower for dissent.
In the 63rd minute Stefano Fiore hobbled off injured and was substituted by Fabio Liverani.
There followed a battle of freekicks. Chevanton for Lecce, blocked comfortably by Peruzzi and Mihajlovic for Lazio, far more dangerous and superbly tipped over the bar by Sicignano. Mihajlovic then tried his luck straight from a corner but Sicignano saved with some difficulty and then again on Corradi on the rebound.
Lecce then had a penalty appeal when César's outstretched arm hit Chevanton in the face while he was preparing to attempt an acrobatic bicycle kick. The referee judged it fortuitous and played on.
More substitutions followed: Guillermo Giacomazzi for Jorge Bolaño in the 77th minute and Wilfried Dalmat for Sebastiano Siviglia in the 80th for Lecce and Roberto Muzzi for Claudio Lopez for Lazio in the 81st.
Lecce tried a final forcing but with a man less had difficulty setting up any real chances apart from a series of long balls into the area. Lazio controlled well, broke up the hosts' rhythm by taking off match winner César and throwing on Demetrio Albertini in the 90th minute and saw out the game for the three points. Final score Lecce 0 Lazio 1.
Not a pretty game but it had improved in the second half. Lazio had more control and chances as well as scoring the decisive goal. Not a vintage performance by Lazio but an important away win.
Lazio moved up to joint 4th with Inter and Parma on 32 points. Lecce were in trouble in 16th place on 12 points but still five points from safety (now only Reggina on 17).
Who played for Lecce
Sicignano, Siviglia (80' Dalmat), Bovo, Stovini, Rullo (51' A. Esposito), Cassetti, Ledesma, Bolano (77' Giacomazzi), Tonetto, Chevantón, Bojinov
Substitutes: Poleksic, Silvestri, Billy, Pellè
Manager: Rossi
Who played for Lazio
Peruzzi, Oddo, Stam, Mihajlovic, Favalli, Fiore (63' Liverani), Giannichedda, Stankovic, César (90' Albertini), C. Lopez (81' Muzzi), Corradi
Manager: Mancini
Referee: Dondarini
Goal: 55' César
Red Card: 59' Cassetti (Lecce)
What happened next
Lazio ended up in 6th place (UEFA qualification). In the remaining 14 games the Biancocelesti won 6, drew 6 (including derby 1-1) and lost 4. Top scorer was Stefano Fiore with 16 but in Serie A it was Bernardo Corradi with 10.
In Coppa Italia however, it was a different story. In the semi-final against Milan in February Lazio dominated 6-1 on aggregate, in the return game in Rome Lazio put on a magnificent display and thrashed the Rossoneri 4-0.
The final was against Juventus. In the first leg at home Lazio got a comforting 2-0 win, so took a decent lead up to Turin. Under the Mole however, the Bianconeri scored after three minutes with Trezeguet and doubled straight after halftime with Del Piero. All square with 44 minutes to go, things were not looking good. Then a towering header by Corradi with twenty minutes to go and a Fiore low strike from the edge of the box, with seven minutes to play, definitely put the light blue and white ribbons on the cup. An immense satisfaction for Lazio who, in the middle of a financial crisis, still managed to lift silverware.
Lecce improved and finished 10th. In the remaining 16 games the Giallorossi won 7 (including Juventus 4-3 away and Inter 2-1 at home), drew 5 (including Milan 1-1 at home) and lost 3. Top scorer was Ernesto Chevantón with 22 goals (19 in A).
Let’s talk about Ugo Longo
Ugo Longo was born in Caltanissetta, in Sicily, on January 1, 1941. His father Carmelo was the mayor of the town, whose name derives from the Arabic for "Qal'at an-nisā", the women's castle, from 1952 to 1956.
In 1959 Ugo Longo moved to Rome and started to work as a lawyer. He was involved with several important cases such as: the Calcio scommesse (betting scandal in Italian football in 1980), the Borghese coup (an attempted right wing coup d’état in 1970), the SISDE scandal (illegal funds to the secret services) and the "Mani pulite" cases (the vast investigation into illegal payoffs between politicians and the entrepreneurial world in the early 1990's).
In 1996 he started to work for CONI (Italian Olympic Committee) in the anti-doping setup. He was first deputy and then in 1997 became head. He later resigned claiming the organisation lacked the funding to tackle the doping problem efficiently.
His contact with sport was also due to the fact that he was Sergio Cragnotti and his family's lawyer. Sergio Cragnotti became Lazio president in 1992. Longo was therefore obviously involved with Lazio too. In 1998 he oversaw Lazio's entrance onto the stock market as a joint-stock company.
In 1999 Longo became a member of Lazio's board of directors.
By 2002 Cragnotti was in serious financial difficulty. The Roman entrepreneur and his Cirio group were forced to leave Lazio.
In January 2003 Ugo Longo was nominated "pro tempore" 33rd president of Lazio’s history. The club had huge debts and even had problems paying the players wages. Lazio became a public company and Longo promoted a capital increase of 120 million Euros. Meanwhile the "Lazionista" project took shape. This involved small shareholders putting money into the club. It is calculated that at least 5,000 Lazio families dipped into their savings to help out their club. The money raised allowed Lazio to be able to play the 2003-2004 Serie A. Most of the players had also done their part by diluting their wages over a longer contractual period. Some players such as Alessandro Nesta, who had been forced to leave Lazio for financial reasons, waved off some of their overdue wages.
On the pitch things went surprisingly well under Roberto Mancini and Lazio finished 4th, qualifying for the Champions League. They also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia.
In January 2004 Lazio made another capital increase and the small shareholders of Lazionista contributed again. Meanwhile on the field Lazio, still led by Mancini, managed to win silverware by defeating Juventus and triumphing in the Coppa Italia.
On July 20, 2004 Claudio Lotito took over as president of Lazio and Longo stepped down. Another chapter in Lazio's history began
Longo had done a good job at Lazio in times of extremely serious financial difficulties. He was a very popular character at Lazio. He was always positive, approachable and willing to give his time to the Lazio local media. However bad the situation was, he reassured the Lazio fans, always with a smile on his face, that things would turn out alright.
He kept the Lazio world together with a sense of unity in uncertain times. Initiatives such as "Maglia Day", on October 5 2004 at Lazio-Chievo, a celebration of Lazio's shirts throughout their history, was an example of the attempt to keep the sense of belonging strong.
He however stayed in the Lazio world as a lawyer. He was particularly active in 2006 when the Calciopoli scandal broke out. He was extremely respected in his profession.
Ugo Longo died on March 14, 2009 after a long illness. His coffin was covered by a Lazio flag.
Sources
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