Coppa Italia Final, First Leg
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio Juventus 2-0
Despite a missed penalty by Cesar, two goals by Stefano Fiore put Lazio in a good position in double legged cup final
To get to this final Lazio had knocked out Modena (2-0, 1-0), Parma (2-0, 1-1) and Milan (2-1, 4-0). A good unbeaten run ending with the destruction of Milan at the Olimpico.
Juventus had eliminated Siena (2-1, 2-1), Perugia (2-1, 1-0) and Inter (2-2, 2-2 and then penalties).
The match: Wednesday, March 17, 2004, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A 65,000 crowd, worthy of a cup final, welcomed the two contenders to the Olimpico.
Juventus were on top in the early stages. With an extra man in midfield they controlled the tempo and had a big chance after only five minutes. A low cross by Mauro Camoranesi from the right found Marco Di Vaio but his close-range shot was miraculously saved by Matteo Matteo Sereni. Another former Lazio player, Pavel Nedved, then had a dangerous long range shot go just wide. Juventus continued to have the upper hand and Di Vaio had another chance but was again denied by Sereni.
Lazio had difficulty in creating scoring opportunities. Roberto Muzzi and Cesar were unable to find space on the wings and Bernardo Corradi was isolated up front. Lazio's only shot came from the Senese centre-forward but it was easily blocked by Antonio Chimenti. In the last minute of the first half Lazio did score straight from a Massimo Oddo cross but it was disallowed as Corradi was deemed to have pushed the keeper. All square after 45 minutes, Lazio 0 Juve 0 but the Bianconeri playing better.
For the second half Lazio manager Roberto Mancini decided to replace Muzzi with Simone Inzaghi. It was immediately clear that something had changed, Lazio were far more dangerous and Juventus were suddenly on the back foot.
In the 52nd minute Inzaghi put Fabio Liverani through in the area and he was pulled down trying to get past Chimenti. Penalty to Lazio, Cesar took it but his too central, low, weak shot was blocked and caught by Chimenti. This missed opportunity however did not deter Lazio who continued pushing forward. Lazio had another penalty appeal in the 57th minute for a challenge by Igor Tudor on Inzaghi but Collina did not agree and instead booked the striker.
In the 59th minute Lazio broke the deadlock. A long Giuliano Giannichedda cross from midfield was headed into the box by Fernando Couto and Stefano Fiore, with a clever snooker like left-footed low volley, beat Chimenti. Lazio 1 Juve 0.
Lazio at this point were dominant. The confident Juventus of the first half disappeared and Lazio had several more chances. A Fiore shot was blocked by a defender and a Cesar effort, heading towards the top hand corner, was well saved by Chimenti.
In the 80th minute came a possibly final deciding moment. From a corner for Lazio the ball was cleared by Lilian Thuram but it fell to Fiore, only a couple of metres from goal, who with an acrobatic scissor kick scored. Lazio 2 Juventus 0.
Juventus and especially Tudor then lost their heads and the big Croat was sent off for a reckless foul in the 82nd minute. Lazio went close to getting a third in particular with Jaap Stam whose header was brilliantly parried by Chimenti.
The final score was however a satisfactory 2-0, so a two goal lead to take up to Turin without any away goals conceded. The Coppa Italia format was a strange one meaning the return match would not be for another two months, May 12 at the Delle Alpi stadium, Torino.
Who played for Lazio
Sereni, Oddo, Stam, Couto, Favalli, Fiore, Giannichedda, Liverani (81' Dabo), Cesar (89' Zauri), Corradi, Muzzi (46' S.Inzaghi)
Substitutes: Peruzzi, Colonnese, Mihajlovic, Albertini
Manager: Mancini
Who played for Juventus
Chimenti, Thuram, Tudor, Legrottaglie, Pessotto, Camoranesi (84' Bartolucci), Tacchinardi, Conte (74' Maresca), Appiah, Nedved, Di Vaio (76' Palladino)
Substitutes: Buffon, Boudianski, Urbano, Chiumiento
Manager: Lippi
Referee: Collina
Goals: 59' Fiore, 80' Fiore
Sources
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