Prestigious win but against Atlético B
Lazio win but struggle against Colchonero reserves
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had come agonisingly close to winning the title. They were only overtaken by eventual champions Milan in the penultimate game of the season and in controversial circumstances. Lazio were held to a 1-1 draw in Florence with some extremely dubious refereeing decisions by Treossi, including the denial of a clear penalty on Marcelo Salas.
This season there had been some important changes to the squad. Three more Argentinians were signed; defender Nestor Sensini (Parma), midfielders Diego "El Cholo" Simeone (Inter) and Juan Sebastian Veron "La Brujita" (Parma). Another midfielder Dario Marcolin was back from a loan spell (Blackburn) and striker Simone Inzaghi was added (Piacenza). In the summer big Swedish forward Kennet Andersson had arrived from Bologna.
Lazio had also lost an important player in striker Christian Vieri who was sold to Inter for a then world record transfer fee of 90 billion Lire (approx 45 million Euros). Spanish midfielder Ivan de la Peña had gone to Olympique Marseille after a disappointing spell at Lazio and Roberto Baronio went to Reggina on loan.
Lazio had already been on a Swedish tour where they had won two (Elfsborg 4-1 and Helsingborgs 2-1) and drawn one (IFK Göteborg 1-1).
Lazio were not at full force yet as Roberto Mancini, Beppe Pancaro and Sinisa Mihajlovic were injured while Matias Almeyda, Marcelo Salas and Diego Simeone were not match fit yet.
Atlético Madrid had finished a disappointing 13th the previous season under managers Arrigo Sacchi (1-22), Carlos Sanchez (23-27) and Radomir Antić (28-38). They had reached the final of Copa del Rey but lost to 0-3 to Valencia (with all goals by future Lazio players, Claudio Lopez and Gaizka Mendieta) and the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup (knocking out Roma 4-2 in the quarters) but losing 2-5 on aggregate to eventual winners Parma. The squad included former Lazio, José Antonio Chamot (1994-98), Vladimir Jugovic (1997-98) and Giorgio Venturin (1994-95).
This season the manager was Claudio Ranieri but the "Colchoneros" arrived at this clash with Lazio missing most of their squad and manager who had all decided to stay in Spain.
The players not available included: keepers José Molina and Antonio Jiménez, defenders Chamot, Carlos Aguilera, Toni Muñoz, Carlos Gamarra, Juan Manuel Lopez, Santiago Denia, Joan Capdevila, midfielders Ruben Baraja, Juan Carlos Valerón, Roberto Fresnedoso, Óscar Mena and Santiago Solari plus forwards Kiko, Fernando Correa, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
The match: Saturday, July 31, 1999, Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
It was a warm evening in Amsterdam and about 20,000 spectators were present.
The Spaniards' choice to play the reserves was not taken well by the organisers who even threatened legal action against the Madrileños.
The game had to go ahead however and Lazio, despite several absences, fielded a strong line-up showing they had strength in depth.
Lazio started the game not fully concentrated, probably aware that the Rojiblanco reserves shouldn't be unbeatable.
In fact, Lazio took the lead after ten minutes with a Fernando Couto header. On a Sebastian Veron corner, Nestor Sensini flicked a header back to the Portuguese defender who scored. Atlético 0 Lazio 1.
Lazio's aloof approach was soon punished though. In the 16th minute Paolo Negro headed the ball back to keeper Luca Marchegiani unaware that José Juan Luque was lurking between them, the Spanish forward thanked and scored. Atlético 1 Lazio 1.
From then on, the "Indios" reserves were the better team. They moved well, with quick, sharp passes and used the wings effectively. Marchegiani was saved by the crossbar on a Javier Casquero header and Alessandro Nesta and Couto were constantly under pressure.
For Lazio Alen Boksic was lively but not helped by a lumbersome Kennet Anderson. The Biancocelesti's only shot was by Dejan Stankovic but it was blocked a little fortuitously by Manuel Rubio's body. Halftime Atlético 1 Lazio 1.
For the second half Lazio replaced a disappointing Andersson with Simone Inzaghi and midfielder Nestor Sensini with a more attacking minded Attilio Lombardo. The Spaniards made no changes, more than pleased with how things were going so far.
Lazio took back the lead early, helped by a fair dose of luck. In the 50th minute Pavel Nedved tried his luck from the long range and his shot, completely by chance, hit Lombardo and changed direction thus giving the keeper no chance. Atlético 1 Lazio 2.
Boksic continued to be Lazio's most active player but the team in general was slow and apathetic. In the 65th minute the Croat went off for Sergio Conceição.
The Portuguese's introduction enabled Nedved to play further forward, while Stankovic went into the middle, and Lazio started to play better. Inzaghi had two chances but the first was saved by Rubio and the second, where he had scored set up by Nedved, was disallowed for a dubious offside.
In the 81st minute came some bad news for Lazio as Conceição was forced off for a recurring muscular injury to his right thigh.
The Spaniard continued to hold their own but finally capitulated again in the 91st minute when Inzaghi scored Lazio’s third, again on a good cross by Nedved. Final score Atletico 1 Lazio 3.
Not a great performance by Lazio. They were heavy legged and slow but it was their third game in five days, with only two training sessions in between, a 200-kilometre bus trip and a flight from Sweden to Holland. The Amsterdam tournament however was well paid and also televised in Italy and unlike others at least they had turned up ...
Who played for Atlético Madrid
Rubio, Cabanillas, Gaspar, Juanma, Ivo (64' Oscar), Lawal, Casquero (72' Falcon), Zamino (64' Cubillo), Luque (56' Pepe Domingo), Emilio (77' Raul Molina), Marcos
Substitutes: Luis, Cenci
Manager: Carlos Xavier on bench today
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Nesta (72' Gottardi), Couto, Favalli, Stankovic, Sensini (46' Lombardo), Veron, Nedved, Andersson (46' Inzaghi), Boksic (65' Conceição, 81' Pinzi)
Substitutes: Ballotta, Di Fiordo
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Temmink (Ned)
Goals: 10' Couto, 16' Luque, 50' Lombardo, 91' S. Inzaghi
What happened next
Lazio then beat Ajax 3-2 and won the tournament with 12 points ahead of Santos 9, Ajax 3 and Atletico Madrid 2.
Lazio went on to have an epic season. They won the European Super Cup 1-0 against Manchester United, in Monte Carlo on August 27, with a goal by Marcelo "El Matador" Salas.
The Biancocelesti then won the Scudetto on a dramatic last day of the season. Lazio had to wait an hour, after beating Reggina 3-0, for Juventus' game to finish in Perugia as it had been interrupted due to rain. The Bianconeri eventually fell to a shock 0-1 defeat and so Lazio finally won the league again, 26 years after the heroes of 1974.
A few days later Lazio won the Coppa Italia too, drawing the second leg 0-0 away to Inter (first leg 2-1).
In the Champions League they were defeated in the quarter finals, 3-5 by "high" flying Valencia.
It was however a triumphant season for Lazio, the best in their history.
In the next match Atlético Madrid drew 0-0 with Santos and then won 5-4 on penalties.
In Spain, Atlético Madrid finished 19th and were relegated for the first time in 66 years. The Rojiblancos tried changing managers, in March to Vladimir Antic, but to no avail. They were also runners up again in the Copa del Rey, this time losing to Espanyol 1-2. In the UEFA Cup they went out in the last 16 to Lens 4-6 on aggregate. Top scorer was Hasselbaink with 35 goals (24 in Liga).
It is also true that the club had huge problems due to their president, Jesus Gil, having serious judiciary issues. The "Indios" would not be back in La Liga until 2002-03.
Lazio 1999-2000
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 64 |
Coppa Italia | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
Champions League | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 26 |
UEFA Super Cup | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
Total | 57 | 32 | 18 | 7 | 109 |
Top five appearances
Players | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Super Cup |
Nedved | 47 | 28 | 6 | 12 | 1 |
Simeone | 47 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 1 |
Veron | 47 | 31 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
Mihajlovic | 46 | 26 | 7 | 12 | 1 |
Pancaro | 45 | 28 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Players | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Super Cup |
Inzaghi | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | - |
Salas | 17 | 12 | - | 4 | 1 |
Mihajlovic | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | - |
Veron | 10 | 8 | - | 2 | - |
Boksic | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
Let's talk about the Amsterdam Tournament
The tournament was first held in 1975 to celebrate the 700 years of the foundation of the city of Amsterdam (1275-1975).
It ran from 1975 to 1993 and from 1999 to 2009. The formula consisted of four teams, Ajax plus 3 others.
From 1999 onwards, rather than the classic two semi-finals, a new points system was introduced; 3 points for a win, 2 points for draw and penalty shoot-out win, 1 point for draw with penalty shoot-out defeat plus an additional point was awarded for each goal scored in the 90 minutes. Each team played two games.
If teams ended up on the same points, the following would decide the winner, 1) Most goals scored 2) Least goals conceded 3) Fastest goal scored.
Lazio made three appearances: in 1999 they won the cup beating Atletico Madrid and Ajax, in 2000 (two draws against Ajax and Barcelona) and in 2007 (losing to Arsenal and Atletico Madrid).
Winners
Year | Winner | Runner-up |
1975 | Molenbeek | Ajax |
1976 | Anderlecht | Ajax |
1977 | AZ | Ajax |
1978 | Ajax | Anderlecht |
1979 | AZ | Ajax |
1980 | Ajax | AZ |
1981 | Ipswich Town | Standard Liège |
1982 | AZ | Ajax |
1983 | Feyenoord | Roma |
1984 | Atlético Mineiro | Ajax |
1985 | Ajax | Atlético Mineiro |
1986 | Dymano Kyiv | Ajax |
1987 | Ajax | Torino |
1988 | Sampdoria | Flamengo |
1989 | Mechelen | Ajax |
1990 | Club Brugge | Ajax |
1991 | Ajax | PSV |
1992 | Ajax | Roma |
1999 | Lazio | Santos |
2000 | Barcelona | Ajax (Lazio 3rd) |
2001 | Ajax | Milan |
2002 | Ajax | Barcelona |
2003 | Ajax | Inter |
2004 | Ajax | River Plate |
2005 | Arsenal | Porto |
2006 | Manchester United | Inter |
2007 | Arsenal | Atlético Madrid (Lazio 4th) |
2008 | Arsenal | Inter |
2009 | Benfica | Ajax |
Sources
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