Game 16, Serie A
Sunday, January 15, 1995
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio Foggia 7-1
After a balanced and goalless first half everything changes in the second with Foggia in ten men
So far in Serie A Lazio had played 15 matches. The Biancocelesti won 7, drew 4 and lost 4.
So far in Serie A the Foggia had won 5 (including Juventus 2-0 at home), drawn 6 (including Inter 0-0 at home and Roma 1-1 away) and lost 4. The Rossoneri were therefore on 21 points, in mid-table.
Today's game was expected to be entertaining, a clash between Zeman's past and present.
The match
A crowd of 45,000 turned up on a freezing, for Rome anyway, January afternoon. Many of the players wore gloves.
The first chance of the game was for the visitors. On a Massimiliano Cappellini freekick from the left, Paolo Mandelli got a header in but it was too central and caught low by Luca Marchegiani.
Lazio answered with Roberto Di Matteo winning a challenge in midfield and after a one-two with Alen Boksic he burst into the area but his right foot went just wide.
In the 29th minute Lazio were forced to make a change when Beppe Favalli went off injured and was replaced by a young Alessandro Nesta.
The game was balanced without many clear chances. On the half hour Gigi Di Biagio sent a high through ball over the Lazio defence to Mandelli but Marchegiani rushed off his line and out of the area, heading the ball to safety.
Marchegiani was quick off the mark again a few minutes later when a terrible ball by Diego Fuser in midfield was intercepted by Mandelli who raced undisturbed towards the area but again the "Count" raced out and kicked the ball away.
In the 38th minute came a major game changer. Boksic and Giordano Caini ran shoulder to shoulder down the right wing and seemed to be reciprocally pushing and shoving each other before they both collapsed near the corner flag, with the Croat slightly in front by then. The referee decided it was Caini to blame and he received his second yellow of the afternoon and was sent for an early shower. A bit harsh, but Foggia down to ten men for the next 52 minutes. Foggia immediately took off a forward, Cappellini and put on a defender, Giuseppe Di Bari. Half time Lazio 0 Foggia 0.
An evenly matched first half but the red card would theoretically change the cards on the table for the second half. Few however would have predicted just how much.
After three minutes of the second period Lazio had a central freekick at the edge of the box. Beppe Signori rolled the ball slightly to Fuser who took a crack, the Foggia keeper saved but it spun up in the air near the goal line and Boksic was there to nod it in. Lazio 1 Foggia 0.
In the 52nd minute Lazio made it two. Aron Winter to Fuser on the right, a precise high cross over Pasquale Padalino and Boksic headed in his second of the afternoon. Lazio 2 Foggia 0.
Foggia, to be fair, did not give up. They forced a couple of corners and scrambles in Lazio's area and then pulled a goal back. In the 61st minute Di Biagio found Pier Luigi Nicoli on the right side of the box, his attempt to square the ball was blocked but from the ground he tried again and found Mandelli whose first-time low strike beat Marchegiani. Lazio 2 Foggia 1.
Game on again despite numerical difference? Only for three minutes as in the 64th minute Lazio scored again. Fuser again surged down the right wing and put in an absolutely perfectly measured low cross into the middle which Signori only had to touch from close range to make it 3-1 against his former team.
At this point Foggia finally seemed to crumble psychologically and Lazio started to queue up to score. Boksic crossed from the left to Roberto Rambaudi inside the area but his shot hit a defender near the line with the keeper beaten. Then Nesta teed up Signori who tried to go around Mancini but the keeper managed to dive and get a foot to the ball. A few minutes later Signori was a bit selfish when he shot instead of passing to Gigi Casiraghi and his shot was walled by a defender. Casiraghi had replaced Rambaudi in the 77th minute.
In the last ten minutes the flood gates opened and Lazio scored four more goals.
In the 83rd minute a brilliant through ball by Roberto Cravero from inside his own half put Casiraghi clear, he went round the keeper and walked the ball in. Lazio 4 Foggia 1.
In the 85th minute Signori got his brace. Paolo Negro on the right wing chipped a precise cross into the middle where "Beppe-Gol" had no problem heading it in from close range. Lazio 5 Foggia 1.
In the 88th minute Boksic got his hat-trick. A clever one-two between Winter and Fuser sent the Italian down the right side of the area where he slotted a perfect low cross in to Boksic for a tap in. Lazio 6 Foggia 1.
There was still time for one more in the 90th minute and a deserved one for the scorer. Fuser ran into the area on the right, dribbled a defender and beat Mancini on the near post with a powerful strike. Lazio 7 Foggia 1 and final score.
A deceiving result really. The game had been a contest until Foggia were in eleven but then changed completely. The "Satanelli" had put up a fight for over an hour but then had collapsed allowing Lazio to bury them in goals. Credit to Lazio for scoring so many but the score line was somewhat flattering considering the first half and the debatable sending off.
Lazio fans were not complaining however after an entertaining and satisfying afternoon. Lazio up to third overtaking Roma who had lost 3-0 to Juventus, what more to ask for on a cold January afternoon?
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Favalli (29' Nesta), Di Matteo, Cravero, Chamot, Rambaudi (77' Casiraghi), Fuser, Boksic, Winter, Signori
Manager: Zeman
Who played for Foggia
F. Mancini, Padalino, Bucaro, Nicoli, Di Biagio, Caini, Bresciani, Bressan (80' Biagioni), Cappellini (41' Di Bari), De Vincenzo, Mandelli
Substitutes: Brunner, Sciacca, Parisi
Manager: Catuzzi
Referee: Beschin
Goals: 48' Boksic, 52' Boksic, 61' Mandelli, 64' Signori, 83' Casiraghi, 85' Signori, 88' Boksic, 90' Fuser
Red card: 38' Caini
Sources
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