Negro to the rescue
An injury time goal by the full-back gives Lazio three points
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 3rd (UEFA) under manager Zdeněk Zeman. The highlights were beating Juventus 4-0, Sampdoria 6-3, Atalanta 5-1, Cagliari 4-0, Fiorentina 4-0 and especially Roma 1-0, all at home. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 26 goals (24 in A).
This year the Bohemian stayed on. The main new signings were South African defender Mark Fish (Orlando Pirates), midfielders Pavel Nedved (Sparta Prague) and Paul Okon (Club Bruges) plus forward Igor Protti (Bari), previous year's top Serie A scorer with Signori.
Leaving were defender Cristiano Bergodi (Padova), midfielders Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea), Aron Winter (Inter) plus forwards Alen Boksic (Juventus) and Marco Di Vaio (Bari-on loan).
The Serie A campaign had started very badly with two defeats (Bologna 0-1 away and Udinese 0-1 at home). After that they were very inconsistent with 6 wins (including Milan 3-0), 5 draws (including the derby 0-0 and Inter 1-1 away) and 5 defeats. The last defeat to Bologna 1-2 at home on January 26 had cost Zeman his job and back came Dino Zoff. Since Zoff's return the Biancocelesti had won 1 (first game 3-2 away to Udinese), drawn 1 (Inter 2-2 at home) and lost 1 (Parma 0-2 away a week ago). Lazio were currently in joint 12th place with Udinese on 27 points, with 5 points on the relegation zone (before the change of manager Lazio had also been joint 12th and also with a 5-point cushion on the drop zone).
Lazio had started their Coppa Italia campaign on August 28 and had won 1-0 away at Avellino. They then played Verona away on October 23 and won 2-1. Then came the quarter finals but Lazio lost 1-2 on aggregate to Napoli.
In the UEFA Cup, the Biancocelesti had played the first leg of the round of 64 away at Lens, winning 1-0. On September 24 they completed the revenge on the French side, nineteen years after the humiliating 0-6 defeat in extra-time in 1977, by drawing 1-1. In the round of 32 it was possibly the beginning of the end for Zeman. Lazio won 1-0 at home against Tenerife and were winning 1-0 away and then drawing 3-3 but managed to lose 3-5 and get eliminated. A very disappointing evening.
Fiorentina came from a good season. The Viola had finished 4th under Claudio Ranieri and won the Coppa Italia, defeating Atalanta 3-0 on aggregate. In the league the Florentines had beaten Lazio 2-0 at home but lost 0-4 in Rome. Top scorer was Gabriel Batistuta with 27 goals (17 in A).
This season the Roman born manager had stayed on. The main new players arriving in Florence were: defenders Aldo Firicano (Cagliari), Vittorio Pusceddu (Cagliari) and Giulio Falcone (Torino) plus forward Luís Oliveira (Cagliari). Then in the winter session midfielder Andrej Kančel'skis (Everton) had been added.
Leaving Florence were: defenders Alberto Malusci (Olympique Marseille), Andrea Sottil (Atalanta), midfielder Cristiano Zanetti (Venezia - on loan) and forward Francesco Flachi (Bari - on loan)
The new season started well for Fiorentina as they won the Italian Supercoppa beating Milan 2-1 at the Meazza.
In Serie A however, they were not doing as well this year and were currently in joint 10th place with Milan on 28 points. The Gigliati had won 6, drawn 10 (including Lazio 0-0) and lost 5. In the previous match they had drawn 1-1 at home with Juventus.
In Coppa Italia they had beaten Cosenza 3-1 away in August but then been eliminated by Bologna in October, losing 1-3 away.
In the Cup Winners Cup, they had got through two rounds, beating Romanians Gloria Bistița 2-1 and Sparta Prague 3-2, both on aggregate. They would now play Benfica at home on March 6 and the return game would be in Lisbon on March 20.
A balanced match was expected today between two teams who had not lived up to expectations so far and were separated by only one point in the table.
The match: Saturday, March 1, 1997, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A mild day with sun and clouds saw a crowd of about 35,000 at the Olimpico.
Lazio had a few absences; midfielders Paul Okon, Roberto Baronio, Giorgio Venturin and Dario Marcolin (at last minute due to flu) plus forward Gigi Casiraghi. Diego Fuser was playing but he too had some light flu symptoms and Beppe Signori was not fully fit either.
Fiorentina on the other hand had the whole squad to choose from apart from suspended defender Daniele Carnasciali.
In the first half Lazio attacked more but the chances were few and far between. Francesco Toldo had to save from efforts by Pavel Nedved (twice), Igor Protti and Beppe Signori but did not have to pull off any spectacular saves.
For Fiorentina Gabriel Batistuta had two free kicks but Luca Marchegiani was safe.
The first half ended 0-0 and, so far, it was clear why these teams were both struggling in Serie A.
Early in the second half Fiorentina seemed more energetic. First Manuel Rui Costa put Batistuta through on goal but Bati-gol was having an off day and messed up his ball control. Then Anselmo Robbiati inside the area had his shirt pulled by José Chamot but sportingly continued the move and so lost the moment and Marchegiani came out and blocked.
The Viola however soon faded and were unable to threaten again. In the 60th minute Lazio replaced a tired Sergio Buso with Roberto Rambaudi and in the 67th a groggy Diego Fuser with Guerino Gottardi.
Meanwhile in the 66th minute Ranieri had taken off a subdued Rui Costa and put on Emiliano Bigica.
Then came Lazio's huge goal scoring chance. Signori, only about two metres from goal, hammered a shot onto the post. It looked easier to score than miss but this time Beppe-gol missed. He had hit it so hard however that it then almost reached the corner flag.
In the 68th minute the Tuscans replaced "Spadino" Robbiati with Luís Oliveira. Only five minutes later however the Viola were reduced to ten men when Lorenzo Amoruso was shown a red card for a second booking, this time for a foul on Gottardi.
Lazio had no more arrows on the bench but strangely Fiorentina made no further substitutions either.
Lazio obviously took control at this point and attacked constantly. Their efforts seemed to be in vain and some fans were already leaving to beat the traffic when the goal finally came.
In 91st minute after the umpteenth scramble in the visitors' area Signori, on the left side of the area put the ball into the middle where Andrej Kanchelskis blundered and sent the ball back towards the far post where Paolo Negro pounced and scored from close range. Lazio 1 Fiorentina 0.
The fourth official had signalled three minutes of injury time but after Negro's goal the game was over.
An important and satisfying win for Lazio, despite their absences and some players not at their best.
It had not been a great game but Lazio had just about deserved the win for effort and perseverance while Fiorentina had been poor.
Lazio were now joint 9th with Napoli on 30 points (only two from last UEFA slot) while Fiorentina were down to joint 12th with Udinese on 28 points (five from B zone).
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Nesta, Chamot, Favalli, Buso (60' Rambaudi), Fuser (67' Gottardi), Piovanelli, Nedved, Protti, Signori
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Fiorentina
Toldo, Falcone, Amoruso, Padalino, Serena, Kanchelskis, Schwarz, Cois, Rui Costa (66' Bigica), Robbiati (68' Oliveira), Batistuta
Substitutes: Mareggini, Firicano, Pusceddu, Piacentini, Baiano
Manager: Ranieri
Referee: Borriello
Goal: 91' Negro
Red Card: 73' Amoruso
What happened next
Lazio finished the season well and came in 4th, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In the last 12 games the Biancocelesti won 7 (including Reggina 6-1 at home), drew 4 (including derby 1-1 with 91st minute equaliser, Milan and Juventus both 2-2 away) and lost 1. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 15 goals (all in A). A positive end and Sven-Goran Eriksson was on his way…
Fiorentina finished 9th. They went on to win 4 (including Roma 2-1 at home), draw 5 and lose 3. Top scorer was Batistuta with 16 goals (12 in A).
In the Cup Winners Cup, they eliminated Benfica 4-1 but, in the semi-final, they were defeated by Barcelona 1-3 on aggregate.
The Serie A winners were Juventus for the 24th time. Serie B was next stop for Cagliari, Perugia, Verona and Reggiana (the latter have never been back since, while Perugia have been missing for the last 20 years).
Let's talk about Daniele Federici
Daniele Federici was born in Rome on February 11, 1977.
He grew up in the Lazio youth sector and went through all the various age groups. In 1994-95 he took part in the pre-season training with the first squad but then continued with the Primavera (U19s). In 1994-95 Lazio Primavera were Italian Champions, under manager Domenico Caso (Alessandro Nesta and Marco Di Vaio were also in the squad)
In 1996-97 he was an unused sub in four league games. He took part in two friendly games, Lazio vs Standard Liege 5-1 on March 25, 1997 and again Standard Liege vs Lazio 1-1 on April 29, 1997.
In October 1997 he was sold to Castel di Sangro in Serie B. He played 7 league games. The manager was first Osvaldo Iaconi and then Franco Selvaggi (World Cup winner in 1982) but the Giallorossi were relegated. His teammates included former Lazio, Domenico Cristiano (1993-95) and Carlo Cudicini (1996-97).
The following season Federici joined Frosinone in Serie C2. He played 33 games and was top scorer with 9 goals. The Ciocari were relegated under Claudio Pucchio.
Federici then returned to Castel di Sangro. The Sangrini were in Serie C1 and finished 10th. The manager was first Fabrizio Castori (1-16) and then Corrado Benedetti. Federici played 13 league games with 2 goals. One of Federici's teammates was a young Vincenzo Iaquinta (later Udinese, Juventus and 40 caps for Italy).
In 2000-01 Federici joined Savoia (Torre Annunziata-Naples) in Serie C1. The Torresi finished 6th under Massimo Morgia and Federici played 18 league games with 3 goals.
In 2001-02 he was at Sora (Frosinone) in C1. He played 26 games with 2 goals.
In 2002-03 he returned to Castel di Sangro again. In C2 he played 17 league games with 2 goals but then left in January and joined Poggibonsi in C2 where he played 13 games with 2 goals.
From 2003 to January 2005, he was at Sassuolo in C2. He played 49 league games with 11 goals. In his full season he was top scorer with 8 goals. One of his coaches was Lazio legend Cristiano Bergodi.
From January 2005 to January 2006, he was at Monza. The Brianzoli won promotion to C1 under Antonio Sala and then finished 3rd. Federici played 32 league games and scored 6 goals. One of his teammates was former Lazio, Marco Piovanelli (1995-97).
From January 2006 to June 2007, he was with Sanremese in C2. He played 41 league games with 8 goals.
In 2007-08 he spent a season with Torres 1903 (Sassari, Sardinia) in C2, 33 league games and 7 goals. The Rossoblù finished 13th but were demoted for financial irregularities.
In 2008-09 he played for F.C Canavese (San Giusto Canavese -Torino) in C2, 27 league games and 4 goals. The Blu-Granata finished 8th
In 2009-10 he was back in the Lazio region playing for Isola Liri (Frosinone) in C2, 22 league games and 3 goals.
He then spent two seasons with Viterbese in Serie D, 38 league games and 23 goals.
His last experience was with Fidene, near Rome, in Serie D, 17 league games and 10 goals.
Federici was a forward. He had a brief chance at Lazio but then spent his career mainly in the 3rd and 4th tiers.
He played 386 games with 93 goals but none in A or B.
Sources
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