Solid performance by incomplete Lazio
Lazio hold Germans to goalless draw in Liechtenstein despite absences and little training
The season so far
Lazio the previous year had won their historic second Scudetto. The Biancocelesti had also won the Coppa Italia to clinch the double. The manager was Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson. They had also played today's opposition twice in the Champions League group phase, both games ending in 1-1 draws.
The summer market seemed to have further strengthened the Romans. Arriving were keeper Angelo Peruzzi (Inter), midfielders Dino Baggio (Parma), Lucas Castromán (Vélez Sarsfield), Karel Poborský (Benfica) plus forwards Hernán Crespo (Parma) and Claudio Lopez (Valencia).
Some sacrifices were obviously necessary and leaving were keeper Marco Ballotta (Inter), defender Nestor Sensini, midfielders Matias Almeyda (Parma), Sergio Conceição (Parma) and forwards Alen Boksic (Middlesbrough) and Roberto Mancini (retiring). Some great players who would be missed.
The league would not start until October 1 but before that Lazio had the Supercoppa final against Inter on September 8.
This was only Lazio’s second friendly of the pre-season. Two days earlier the Biancocelesti had beaten amateurs Schwarzach 15-1 in Schruns (Austria).
Bayer Leverkusen had finished 2nd in the Bundesliga but could and should have won it. Going into the last game of the season the "Werkself " (The Factory Team) had a three-point advantage on Bayern Munich. All that was needed was a point, away to Unterhaching. The "Aspirins" were stunned 0-2 while their Bavarian rivals won 3-1 against Werder Bremen and lifted their 16th Bundesliga title, pipping Bayer on goal difference. An incredible ending to the season. "Die Aspirin" probably still remembered that day when on April 14, 2024, they lifted their first ever Deutsche Meisterschale, under manager Xavi Alonso.
Back to 2000, the Germans had brought in a few new players over the summer; goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler (Basel), a young Brazilian defender Marquinhos (Avai) plus two midfielders Andreas Neuendorf (Hertha Berlin) and Pascal Ojigwe (Cologne).
Leaving were midfielders Vratislav Greško (Inter), Stefan Beinlich (Hertha Berlin), Emerson (Roma) and Zoran Mamić (Bochum).
The manager was still Daum. The Germans were far nearer their first competitive game as their season would start on August 12.
Their star players included defenders Robert Kovač, Jens Nowotny, midfielders Zé Roberto, Michael Ballack, Bernd Schneider and forwards Ulf Kirsten and Oliver Neuville.
The match: Tuesday, July 25, 2000, Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz (Liechtenstein)
A rainy summer day gathered about 8,000 spectators in the small Liechtenstein capital.
The Germans were only two weeks from their league debut and put out a strong line-up.
Lazio had a very experimental team with only three or four first team players. Lazio were weakened and only had a week's training in their legs but they were Italian champions and wanted to put on a good performance.
It was a summer friendly but the game started at a decent pace. The Germans were obviously fitter and Angelo Peruzzi was the busier of the two keepers. He was called into action twice in the first fifteen minutes and showed why Lazio had invested in him. Two of his saves, on Ulf Kirsten and Jurica Vranjes, were a promising visiting card. Lazio responded with a Roberto Baronio freekick just wide and a Pavel Nedved shot off target. Leverkusen had more chances with Oliver Neuville and Niko Kovac but Peruzzi was unbeatable. Halftime Bayer Leverkusen 0 Lazio 0.
The “Aspirins" were on top but Lazio were authoritative and holding their own and had the "Cinghialone" (The Wild Boar) on top form in goal.
For the second half Lazio replaced Peruzzi with Luca Marchegiani while the Germans put on Andreas Neundorf for Carsten Ramelow.
The game was more balanced and in the 51st minute Lazio went close with a Beppe Pancaro header.
On the hour mark Eriksson took off striker Fabrizio Ravanelli and threw on Emanuele Berrettoni. The young Roman played more in midfield so now Lazio basically only had Simone Inzaghi up front
In the 65th minute the "Pillendreher" (The Pill Takers) almost scored with Jens Nowotny but Baronio cleared on the goal line, with Marchegiani beaten.
In the 67th minute Leverkusen changed more than half the team, seven substitutions in one.
The game became unexpectedly tense and nervous after a dirty foul by Robson Ponte in midfield led to a lot of pushing and shoving between Ponte and Paulo Rink on one side and Attilio Lombardo, Ciccio Colonnese and Nedved on the other.
Once things had calmed down the Germans had wasted chances with Thomas Brdaric and Rink but Lazio then had the last opportunity to snatch the win when Simone Inzaghi shot straight into Pascal Zuberbuhler's arms from a favourable position. In the meantime, between the 75th and the 90th minutes Lazio had made four more substitutions, bringing on four youth players. Final score Bayer Leverkusen 0 Lazio 0.
The Romans were more pleased than the Westphalians with the result. Lazio had battled hard and despite missing many key players, including Alessandro Nesta, Beppe Favalli, Paolo Negro, Dejan Stankovic, Diego Simeone, Juan Sebastian Veron, Hernan Crespo, Claudio Lopez and Marcelo Salas, they had been disciplined, determined and as sharp as could be expected after the summer break.
The standout players had been Roberto Baronio and Angelo Peruzzi.
Who played for Bayer Leverkusen
Zuberbuhler (67' Matysek), Reeb, Nowotny (67' Hoffmann), Kovac (67' Ojigwe), Gresko (67' Brdaric), Ballack (67' Rink), Ramelow (46' Neundorf), Zivkovic, Vranjes, Neuville (67' Donovan), Kirsten (67' Ponte)
Manager: Daum
Who played for Lazio
Peruzzi (46' Marchegiani), Gottardi, Pancaro, Colonnese (84' Domizzi), Pesaresi (75' Santarelli), Lombardo, Nedved, Baronio, De la Peña (75' Luciani), Ravanelli (60' Berrettoni), S. Inzaghi (89' Ruggiu)
Substitutes: Varriale, Scotti
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Meier (Switzerland)
What happened next
Lazio's season started well when they won the Supercoppa beating Inter 4-3. Lazio however did not repeat the previous Serie A campaign and finished 3rd (CL qualification). In early January Eriksson resigned after poor results and having already agreed to become the England manager from June. Dino Zoff came in and things improved but Lazio ultimately fell short. Top scorer was Hernan Crespo with 28 goals (26 in A).
In the Champions League the Biancocelesti got through the first group phase against Shakhtar Donetsk (W2), Arsenal (D1, L1) and Sparta Prague (W2).
Lazio were not as successful in the second group phase and were eliminated, against Real Madrid (D1, L1), Leeds United (D1, L1) and Anderlecht (W1, L1).
In Coppa Italia went out in the quarter finals, losing to Udinese 3-5 on aggregate.
Bayer Leverkusen finished 4th in the Bundesliga. After eight games (W3, D3, L2) Daum was replaced by Rudi Völler for four games (W3, D1) and then Berti Vogts saw the season out (W11, D2, L9). The top scorer was Kirsten with 17 goals while in the league it was Neuville with 15.
In the Champions League they were eliminated in a group with Real Madrid (L2), Spartak Moscow (W1, L1) and Sporting Lisbon (W1, D1). They dropped down to the UEFA Cup where they were knocked out by AEK Athens 4-6 on aggregate.
In the DFB Pokal (German Cup) they went out to Freiburg 2-3 in the last 16.
Not a vintage season but the following year they would reach the Champions League final but that's another story.
Lazio 2000-01
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 65 |
Coppa Italia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
Champions League | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 22 |
Super Coppa | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
Total | 51 | 29 | 10 | 12 | 100 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Super Coppa |
Nedved | 46 | 31 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
Pancaro | 43 | 31 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
Simeone | 41 | 30 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
Crespo | 40 | 32 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Nesta | 39 | 29 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Super Coppa |
Crespo | 28 | 26 | - | 2 | - |
Nedved | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | - |
Salas | 8 | 7 | 1 | - | - |
Mihajlovic | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Inzaghi | 7 | 4 | - | 3 | - |
Lopez | 7 | - | - | 5 | 2 |
Let's talk about Emanuele Berrettoni
Emanuele Berrettoni was born in Rome on May 17, 1981.
He was formed in the Lazio academy and in 2000-01 was added to the first team squad.
He played in a few pre-season friendlies then made 1 league appearance, 2 in Coppa Italia and 1 in the Champions League. Lazio finished 3rd and won the Supercoppa. Halfway through the season Eriksson was replaced by Dino Zoff. With Hernan Crespo, Marcelo Salas, Claudio Lopez and Simome Inzaghi in the squad Berrettoni predictably had trouble getting much playing time.
He started the next season at Lazio too but after one league appearance he left.
In September 2001 he joined Perugia in Serie A. The manager was Serse Cosmi and Perugia finished 8th. Berrettoni played 5 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia.
The following season he played more, 17 league games, 3 in Coppa Italia and 1 in the Intertoto Cup with 1 goal (Stuttgart). Perugia finished a positive 9th.
In 2003-04 he started with Perugia but in January left after 8 league games, 4 in Coppa Italia and 8 in Europe (5 in Intertoto and 3 in UEFA) with 1 goal (Wolfsburg). Perugia reached the last 32 of the UEFA Cup but were relegated from Serie A.
Berrettoni however had left for Catania on loan. The Etnei were in Serie B and the manager was Stefano Colantuono. The Rossoblu finished 9th and Berrettoni played 16 league games with 3 goals (Napoli x2, Fiorentina). His teammates included Lazio connections; Emanuele Concetti (1998-2000, 2001-2003), Guglielmo Stendardo (2005-2008, 2009-2012) and Fabio Firmani (2005-09, 2009-11).
In August 2004 Berrettoni was loaned to Crotone in Serie B. He only made 3 appearances (1 in B and 2 in Coppa Italia) with 2 goals before leaving.
In September 2004 he joined Napoli on loan (still from Perugia). The Azzurri were in Serie C1. The manager was first Gian Piero Ventura (1-19) and then, future Lazio, Edy Reja (20-34). They finished 3rd and then lost the playoff to Avellino. Berrettoni played 13 league games but in January left.
In January 2005 he was loaned to SPAL in Serie C1. In Ferrara he played 15 league games under Massimiliano Allegri and the Estensi finished 9th.
In 2005 -06 he joined Grosseto on a definite deal. The Maremmani were in C1 and the manager was Allegri again but he was then replaced by Corrado Benedetti. Berrettoni left too, in January, after 11 league games. Grosseto eventually finished 4th.
In January 2006 he joined Bassano Virtus (Bassano del Grappa) where he stayed three and a half seasons, finally some stability. The Giallorossi were in Serie C2 and finished 12th, 5th, 2nd and 4th. Berrettoni played 118 league games (including playoffs) with 47 goals plus 8 games in the domestic cups with 2 goals.
In 2009 he joined Hellas Verona who were in Lega Pro Prima Divisione (3rd tier). He stayed three seasons. The Scaligeri finished 3rd (lost in playoffs), 5th (promoted in playoffs) and 4th in Serie B (lost in playoffs). Berrettoni played 69 league games (including playoffs) with 10 goals and 9 in the domestic cups with 5 goals. His managers included Giuseppe Vavassori, Giuseppe Giannini briefly and Andrea Mandorlini (for promotion and Serie B).
In 2012 Berrettoni returned to Bassano Virtus for another two seasons in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione (4th tier). The Basàn finished 4th, under Massimo Rastelli and 1st (promoted), under Mario Petrone. Berrettoni played 66 league games (including playoffs) with 20 goals plus 3 games in domestic cups with 7 goals.
In 2014 he joined Ascoli in Lega Pro 1. Under manager Mario Petrone the "Picchio" (The Woodpecker) finished 2nd but were promoted due to first placed Teramo's punishment for corruption charges. Berrettoni played 28 league games with 6 goals plus 2 games in the domestic cups with 1 goal.
The following year he stayed on in Serie B but only until January. After 4 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia he left.
He joined Pordenone in Lega Pro 1 and stayed three and a half seasons. The Neroverdi from the north-east finished 2nd (lost playoffs), 3rd (lost playoffs), 9th and 1st (promoted to B). The managers were Bruno Tedino for two seasons, Leonardo Colucci and then Fabio Rossitto in the third and finally Attilio Tesser in the promotion year. Berrettoni played 93 league games (including playoffs) with 18 goals plus 2 games in the domestic cups.
At this point at 38 he retired.
After retiring he became sporting director of Pordenone, a role he held until the end of the 2021-22 season.
Berrettoni was a forward but usually played more as a number 10. He could however, thanks to his good technique, play in any forward or midfield position. He played a total of 532 professional games with 123 goals. He also played 6 games for Italy U20's with 1 goal.
At Lazio he was a promising youth player but these were the Cragnotti years, full of foreign stars. He was therefore forced to go and play elsewhere and at lower levels but he got his satisfactions, including four promotions.
Lazio Career
Season | Toal games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League |
2000-01 | 3 | - | 2 | 1 |
2001-02 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
Total | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Sources
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