Slip sliding away victory in snow
Lazio adapt well to difficult conditions, take the lead, weather the Ancona storm and then close game with two more late goals.
Also today: January 3, 1982, Lazio Verona 2-0. After a dire first half Vagheggi wins freekick for first goal, hits a crossbar and scores Lazio’s second. Player of the day: Claudio Vagheggi
The season so far
Lazio had finished 10th the previous season under manager Dino Zoff. The main change had been the club takeover by Sergio Cragnotti halfway through last season. The Roman entrepreneur, head of food conglomerate Cirio, had ambitious plans for Lazio.
This season the Italian legend Zoff had been kept on as manager but sadly top scorer Ruben Sosa (13 league goals) had gone to Inter. Upset as Lazio fans may have been to see the "principito" leave they were soon pacified by Cragnotti's summer signings.
They were many, interesting and in some cases exciting. Three promising young players arrived from Cremonese; defenders Mauro Bonomi and Giuseppe Favalli plus midfielder Dario Marcolin. In defence Lazio had also added experienced Roberto Cravero (Torino) plus Luca Luzardi (Brescia). The midfield had been strengthened with Diego Fuser (Milan) and accomplished Dutchman Aron Winter. The most exciting signing had definitely been English star Paul Gascoigne (Tottenham), considered one of the best players in the world at the time despite still recovering from a serious injury. In attack, especially in hindsight, the best buy was Giuseppe Signori (Foggia). Lazio were suddenly a team to be reckoned with.
The season had started with 4 consecutive draws. Lazio so far had won 4, drawn 6 and lost 3. There had been a last gasp derby draw with a Gascoigne header and just a week earlier Lazio had well beaten Inter at the Olimpico. Lazio were on 14 points and things seemed to be looking up.
Ancona had been promoted the previous season with a 3rd place finish in Serie B. This therefore was their first historic participation in the top league. Promotion manager Vincenzo Guerini had been confirmed. Top scorers Sandro Tovalieri and Mauro Bertarelli with 8 goals each had gone to Bari and Sampdoria.
Ancona's attack however now had three new strikers. Massimo Agostini, known as the "Condor", who had previously played for Roma, Parma and Milan (he would eventually end up with 59 Serie A goals). Lajos Détári, the Hungarian star, had arrived from Bologna having previously also played in Germany for a year with Eintracht Frankfurt (11 goals). He would eventually also win Player of the Year awards in three different leagues; Hungary, Greece and Switzerland. This season with Ancona he had already scored 8 goals in 13 games. The third new striker was Nicola Caccia from Modena. He would later play for Atalanta and Napoli amongst others and score 142 career goals.
Ancona had struggled so far this season at the highest level of Italian Calcio. They lost the first three (including a 7-1 drubbing by Fiorentina) but they had since also beaten Inter 3-1 and Brescia 5-1. After 13 games they had 3 wins, 2 draws and 8 defeats.
The match: Sunday, January 3, 1993, Stadio Del Conero, Ancona
The game was played on a freezing day with temperatures below zero. The pitch was covered in snow so they had to play with an orange ball. Nowadays the game would surely be postponed. Lazio were without Gascoigne and Karl-Heinz Riedle but still had by far the more technical players who had more to lose from the conditions.
They went ahead with the game as the ball could bounce (at least in some patches) but the quality was obviously affected. Ancona had a chance immediately but the "Condor" Agostini wasn't hungry and he pulled his shot wide. The game was inevitably scrappy but Lazio adapted reasonably well to the unexpected white grass.
The goal that broke the deadlock came on the half hour and was partly due to the conditions. A Diego Fuser freekick from about 27 metres out bounced in the snow just in front of Davide Micillo who fumbled the slippery ball and was beaten. The first half ended with the score Ancona 0 Lazio 1.
In the second half the snow had thawed a little and the pitch was more playable. The first 20 minutes were all Ancona's. They forced Lazio into their own half and area pushing hard for an equaliser. Ancona had a lot of pressure but no really incredible chances; lots of corners, a few Fernando Orsi saves and a shot by Marco Pecoraro into the side netting.
Lazio weathered the storm and after soaking up the Anconetani's attacks they started to threaten on the counterfoot. They had several chances and a Signori acrobatic volley disallowed for a very dubious offside. The goal eventually came six minutes from time. A fifty-fifty ball was won by Thomas Doll with a snow sliding tackle and the ball spun to Signori who, with quick thinking, brilliantly chipped the keeper from about 20 metres out. 2-0 to Lazio and considering the energy profused by Ancona, practically game over.
There was still time however for Lazio to get a third. With three minutes remaining Winter, easily man of the match, headed in a Signori corner. A bit harsh on Ancona but Lazio despite the conditions had held firm and made their superior quality count.
Lazio moved up into 3rd position while Ancona looked on to a long uphill struggle to stay in Serie A.
Who played for Ancona
Micillo, Mazzarano, Lorenzini (66' Vecchiola), Pecoraro, Glonek, Bruniera, Lupo (46' Caccia), Ermini, Agostini, Détári, Sogliano
Subtitutes: Nista, Fontana, Gadda
Manager: Guerini
Who played for Lazio
Orsi, Corino, Favalli, Marcolin, Luzardi, Cravero, Fuser, Doll (85' Sclosa), Stroppa (77' Bacci), Winter, Signori
Manager: Zoff
Referee: Chiesa
Goals: 29' Fuser, 84' Signori, 87' Winter
What happened next
Lazio had a good season and improved on the previous one finishing 5th (only many years later would top 4 finish give Champions league places). So after 15 years they were back in Europe qualifying for the UEFA Cup. This was welcomed by big celebrations on the last home game against Napoli (a highly entertaining 4-3 win).
The week after the 'big chill' game in Ancona Lazio beat Brescia 2-0, they would later again draw the return derby (0-0) and thrash Ancona 5-0 in Rome. Lazio ended the season with 13 wins, 12 draws and 9 defeats.
Giuseppe Signori would win the first of his top Serie A scorer awards with 26 goals.
Ancona would not survive finishing 17th (out of 18). A week later they lost 4-3 at Pescara and eventually ended up last but bottom with 6 wins, 7 draws, 21 defeats and the worst goal difference in the league with minus 34.
Their star striker would be Agostini who rediscovered his vulture qualities and scored 12 league goals while Hungarian Detari only added one more to his tally.
Ancona went down to Serie B and would not return to serie A until 2003 (and again only for a year). Also relegated were Pescara, Fiorentina and Brescia (after a play off with Udinese 1-3).
The scudetto was won by Milan, managed by Fabio Capello, for their 13th title. Milan also played in the European Cup Final (later Champions League) losing 1-0 to Olympique Marseille in Munich.
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 Diego Fuser
Diego Fuser was born in Venaria Reale (Torino) on November 11, 1968.
Fuser was formed in the Torino youth sector between 1983 and 1986. He then joined the first team and made his debut in the 1986-1987 season playing 3 games. The next year he increased to 16 games and he made his real breakthrough in 1988-89 making 30 appearances and scoring 4 goals.
At that point he moved away from home and signed for Milan. He only stayed one season playing 20 league games with 2 goals (plus another 12 games in other competitions) but winning a European Cup, European Supercup and Intercontinental Club Cup.
In 1990 he moved to Fiorentina on loan. He played regularly making 32 appearances with 8 goals (plus 6 games and 1 goal in Coppa Italia).
He was then recalled by Milan but in the 1991-92 season only got 15 league games and 4 goals (plus 7 games in Coppa Italia). He did however, no small detail, win the scudetto.
In 1992 he was sold to Lazio for 7 billion Lire (approx 3.5 million Euros). In his first season in Rome under manager Zoff he played 33 league games and scored an impressive 10 goals (plus 5 games and a goal in Coppa Italia).
Over the following five years Fuser would play with continuity for Lazio with Dino Zoff, Zdenek Zeman and Sven-Goran Eriksson. Between 1992 and 1998 he played: 188 league games with 35 goals, 28 games in Coppa Italia with 3 goals and 26 games in the UEFA Cup with 4 goals.
The peak of his Lazio career came on April 29 1998, when as captain he lifted Lazio's first trophy for 30 years, the Coppa Italia (defeating Milan 3-2 on aggregate).
The following season with the arrivals of Sinisa Mihajlovic, Ivan de la Peña, Dejan Stankovic, Sèrgio Conçeicão, Marcelo Salas and Christian Vieri (those were the days), Fuser was sold to Parma.
In Emilia Fuser played for three seasons making 86 league appearances with 10 goals, plus another 13 Coppa Italia games and 20 in Europe. With the Gialloblu of Parma he won 3 trophies; the Coppa Italia ('98 -'99), the UEFA Cup ('98-'99) and the Italian Supercoppa ('99).
In the summer of 2001 Fuser did the unmentionable, especially as former Lazio captain, and signed for Roma. At the time he made himself extremely unpopular with Lazio fans but luckily his time on the “other side of the Tiber” was not particularly memorable. He stayed two years but only played a total of 15 league games with 2 goals, 5 games in Coppa Italia , 5 in Champions League and one Super Coppa final (which Roma won in 2001). He left the Giallorossi without leaving much of a trace. It was a pity though that he had put a black mark on his Lazio career by joining the hated enemy team.
In 2003-2004 Fuser returned home to Torino in Serie B where he played 29 games with 2 goals. He did not manage to help them get promoted and they ended up 12th in mid-table.
Fuser at 36 then decided to continue playing but at a lower level. Between 2004 and 2012 he played for regional teams in and around Turin (Canelli, Saviglianese, Canelli again, Nicese and finally just 2 games for Colline Alfieri). He played another 135 amateur games and scored 41 goals. He finally retired from football on December 5 2012 at 44.
At International level Fuser earned 18 Under-21 caps (2 goals) and 35 full Italy caps (3 goals). He played in the 1996 European Championship and played a major role in Italy's qualification for Euro 2000, but then missing out on the finals due to injury.
Fuser was an attacking midfielder and played mainly on the right wing but also in the centre. He was a strong, physical player with good athleticism. He would often cover great distances with his bursts from midfield sometimes even going end to end. He had good technique, a precise cross and was dangerous on set pieces. One weakness was his heading, not his strong point, despite his 1.83 metre height.
He was well liked in his Lazio days. He had his own chant, a popular Japanese cartoon theme song by Actarus adapted to him. He did not maybe have the best footballing brain and would often make wrong choices between passing and shooting (and teams...) but he was hard-working, solid and reasonably skillful, so good to watch.
His faux pas of joining the enemy ranks will possibly be written out of the history books at some stage. What will remain are his 42 goals for Lazio and the image of Fuser lifting the Coppa Italia to the sky in 1998.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1992-93 | 38 (11) | 33 (10) | 5 (1) | - |
1993-94 | 31 (2) | 28 (2) | 1 | 2 |
1994-95 | 45 (7) | 32 (5) | 6 (1) | 7 (1) |
1995-96 | 39 (6) | 32 (6) | 4 | 3 |
1996-97 | 38 (6) | 31 (4) | 3 | 4 (2) |
1997-98 | 51 (10) | 32 (8) | 9 (1) | 10 (1) |
Total | 242 (42) | 188 (35) | 28 (3) | 26 (4) |
Sources
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