Mission accomplished without any risks

Season 1997-98

UEFA Cup, Round of 16, Second Leg

Tuesday, December 9, 1997

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Lazio Rapid Vienna 1-0

Lazio easily control lame Austrians and win late on with a Venturin cracker

In the UEFA Cup Lazio had started in the round of 64 and comfortably won 6-1 on aggregate against Vitória Guimarāes. Then came the Russians Rotor who Lazio defeated 3-0. In the last 16, on November 25, Lazio had then won 2-0 in Vienna against Rapid with goals by Gigi Casiraghi and Roberto Mancini.

The match: Tuesday, December 9, 1997, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

A sparse crowd of about 15,000 turned up on a cold, humid evening. Lazio's recent negative league results and the qualification already more or less assured oriented people to hold onto their money.

Lazio were without Mancini, Beppe Favalli, Giovanni Lopez and Vladimir Jugovic while Beppe Signori after the game in Vienna had totally fallen out with Sven-Goran Eriksson and had left for Sampdoria.

Rapid Vienna compared to the home defeat were without defender Peter Schoettel and midfielder Oliver Freund replaced by Martin Hiden and Martin Braun.

Lazio immediately took control of the midfield. The Austrians had great difficulty in proposing anything remotely threatening. Even they possibly did not really believe they had it in them to overturn the two-goal deficit. Their only tactic was the long ball over the Lazio midfield to Samuel Ipoua and Christian Stumpf but Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Negro and José Antonio Chamot were dominant in the air.

Lazio were in no rush to attack but had the better chances anyway.

In the 14th minute Casiraghi scored but it was disallowed for a foul on the keeper. Krzysztof Ratajczyk then risked an own goal trying to anticipate Casiraghi, from an Alen Boksic cross. Pavel Nedved and Diego Fuser also had shots but Raimund Hedl was safe. Towards the end of the first half the visitors had a shot by Michael Wagner but it flew about ten metres over the bar.

The game reached halftime with not much having happened. Lazio by choice, Rapid for incapacity.

At the beginning of the second half the Viennese at least had a shot on target but it was a tame effort by Cameroon striker Ipoua.

Lazio lazily controlled and had a few more chances. Boksic mishit from an inviting position and Casiraghi had a couple of strikes go wide.

The game changer or boredom breaker proved to be Giorgio Venturin. The former Torino midfielder replaced fellow Piedmontese Fuser in the 82nd minute and turned out to be the match winner.

A few minutes later, in the 86th minute, Casiraghi flicked him the ball and Venturin did not think twice and blasted a low shot into the left-hand corner from about twenty metres out. Lazio 1 Rapid Vienna 0.

Lazio were practically already qualified but better to win matches for European prestige and for the fans.

An evening which would not be remembered as a classic, far from it, but the Austrians had proved to be so innocuous so the game soon became a formality.

Lazio through to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup.

Who played for Lazio

Marchegiani, Pancaro, Nesta, Negro, Chamot, Fuser (82' Venturin), Marcolin, Almeyda, Nedved, Casiraghi, Boksic