Season 2003-04
Coppa Italia, Final, Second Leg
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Stadio delle Alpi, Turin
Juventus Lazio 2-2
Juventus cancel Lazio’s two goal lead inside 47 minutes but the Biancocelesti fight back and clinch trophy.
On May 12 Lazio and thousands of travelling fans went up to the Delle Alpi stadium in Turin to defend their two-goal lead and try to put their hands on the Coppa Italia.
A gloriously sunny May day had welcomed Lazio fans to Turin and the "Città della Mole" was at its beautiful best. Hopefully the same would be said about Lazio for tonight's 9 o'clock kick-off.
Lazio had more or less the same line-up as the first leg with the exception of Sinisa Mihajlovic coming in for Fernando Couto. Matteo Sereni kept his place in goal as he was officially the cup keeper.
Juventus had some big guns back: Ciro Ferrara was back in defence, Gianluca Zambrotta in midfield, David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero up front.
A 40,000 crowd applauded the players onto the pitch, the Lazio away sector was sold out and bursting at the seams.
The early stages of the game saw "La Vecchia Signora" (The Old Lady) attack but Lazio did not run any real risks. Until the 20th minute, from an Alessandro Birindelli cross, Trezeguet anticipated Mihajlovic and headed Juventus into the lead. 1-0 on the night to Juve but still 1-2 on aggregate. It was a hard fought first half but Lazio were never really dangerous up front and Bernardo Corradi was kept quiet by a so far infallible Lillian Thuram.
The second half started with a bang. After only two minutes Juventus doubled their lead. A Stephen Appiah long ball was headed on by Pavel Nedved to Trezeguet, the Frenchman clearly pushed the ball forward with his arm before clashing with keeper Sereni, the ball then fell to Del Piero for an open goal. The Laziali protests came to nothing (this was of course pre-VAR) so it was all level, 2-0 on the night and 2-2 on aggregate. Things were not looking good, Lazio had dissipated their advantage and now had another 40 minutes of the cup final to play away from home.
At this stage however just when Juventus were expected to push for a third it was Lazio who suddenly reacted and went on the attack. Corradi started to find some space and chances. In the 61st minute Inzaghi replaced a subdued Roberto Muzzi and the Biancocelesti, as in the first leg, became livelier. Lazio were permanently in the opposition's half and forced a series of corners.
From one of these endless corners came the decisive moment of the entire final. Mihajlovic took a high corner from the left and it reached a crowded area where Corradi towered above the defenders and with an impressively powerful header made it 2-1. I've been to many a Lazio match, both home and away, but what followed in the packed away section was a delirious mayhem of unseen proportions. It was a fundamental goal, Juventus now needed another two goals to prevent the cup leaving for Rome.
Juventus went for all-out attack and threw more strikers on, first Marco Di Vaio for a midfielder Enzo Maresca and then Fabrizio Miccoli for Del Piero. Lazio by now were full of enthusiasm and defended well while the clock ticked away. They had space on the break too so it was by no means one-way traffic.
The light blue and white ribbon could finally be attached to the trophy in the 83rd minute. A high cross into the Juve area was cleared but only as far as Stefano Fiore who with a low and angled left-footed shot beat Antonio Chimenti. 2-4 on aggregate and with the hosts now needing three unanswered goals. An almost impossible feat.
So final score Juventus 2 Lazio 2 and wild celebrations on the pitch and in the Lazio fans' end.
A fantastic and in many ways unexpected triumph for Lazio. Despite the end of the Sergio Cragnotti era and in the middle of a financial crisis they still managed to bring home their 4th Coppa Italia victory.
A few days later the cup was paraded around an ecstatic Olimpico where on the last game of the season Lazio defeated Modena 2-1.
Who played for Juventus
Chimenti, Ferrara, Thuram, Legrottaglie, Birindelli, Zambrotta, Maresca (75' Di Vaio), Pessotto (46' Appiah), Nedved, Trezeguet, Del Piero (78' Miccoli)
Substitutes: Buffon, Iuliano, Boudianski, Chiumiento
Manager: Lippi
Who played for Lazio
Sereni, Oddo, Stam, Mihajlovic, Favalli, Fiore, Giannichedda, Liverani (75' Albertini), Cesar, Muzzi (61' S. Inzaghi), Corradi (87' Negro)
Manager: Mancini
Referee: Paparesta
Goals: 20' Trezeguet, 46' Del Piero, 69' Corradi, 83' Fiore
Source