Historic double for Lazio
Lazio secure a historic double by winning the Coppa Italia following a goalless draw against Inter.
The season so far
We have only just recently spoken of the Lazio scudetto of 2000, so this time we will be concentrating on the Coppa Italia campaign.
Lazio, like many of the big teams, started the Coppa Italia In the fourth round games and had to play against Reggiana, who had won their group in August. Lazio, with a few Primavera players in the starting eleven, plus more on the bench, had drawn the first leg away 1-1 (Alen Boksic the scorer for the Biancocelesti) and won the return match 4-1 at home thanks to a Sinisa Mihajlovic free kick double and goals by Simone Inzaghi and Boksic.
The quarter finals were much more difficult as Lazio had to face Juventus. At the end of the first half in Turin the Biancoclesti were losing 3-0 and were virtually out of the competition. But in the second half first a penalty scored by Fabrizio Ravanelli and then a goal by Roberto Mancini with ten minutes to go re-opened the contest. In the return match at the Olimpico Lazio scored in the second half with Boksic. Alessandro Del Piero equalised but Diego Simeone put Lazio ahead in the 81st minute and the Biancocelesti were able to hold onto the precious victory.
Whereas on the one side there were two big clashes in the quarter finals (Lazio vs Juve and the Milanese derby), the other two games should have been more one-sided: Cagliari-Roma and Fiorentina-Venezia. But the islanders eliminated the Giallorossi and an away goal by Venezia gave them an historic semi-final against Lazio.
In the first leg, Lazio destroyed Venezia 5-0 with doubles from Mancini and Mihajlovic (with two penalties) plus a Ravanelli goal. Silver Fox had also missed a penalty. The return was just a formality and Lazio drew 2-2 with an Inzaghi double.
Inter brushed off Cagliari and so met Lazio in the final. The first leg was in Rome on April 12. Inter scored immediately with Clarence Seedorf but Lazio managed to equalise with Pavel Nedved at the end of the first half. In the beginning of the second, Simeone put Lazio ahead so Marcelo Lippi put Ronaldo on the pitch, his first game in five months. Five minutes later the Brazilian broke his patellar tendon. The scene was dramatic and very sad. The game basically ended there.
The return would be played four days after the end of the campionato.
The match: Thursday May 18 2000, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan
Nobody knew what to expect from Lazio. They had just won the scudetto in incredible circumstances and still smelling of champagne now had a final to play. The Lazio players came onto the pitch with dyed hair, some blond, some with streaks of blue, others with the Italian colours. The Biancocelesti had not trained for a few days and Inter needed just one goal to win.
Inter started much better than Lazio. In the 8th minute Nestor Sensini to Juan Sebastian Veron who lost the ball, Gigi Di Biagio to Seedorf in the box on the left, ball to the centre to Roberto Baggio whose shot was weak and saved by Marco Ballotta. Seerdorf tried again in the 16th minute but his shot went wide. Three minutes later Simeone headed a Beppe Favalli cross but Angelo Peruzzi saved. With one minute to go to the end of the first half Inzaghi, in an attempt to anticipate Laurent Blanc, sent the ball towards his own goal but Ballotta saved.
In the second half Veron hit the woodwork in the 47th minute from a free kick. Peruzzi was miraculous on a Sensini header for a corner in the 74th. In the 81st minute Grigorios Georgatos crossed in the box from the left, Benoit Cauet managed to pass the ball to Alvaro Recoba who dribbled Alessandro Nesta and had only Ballotta to beat. His shot was brilliantly saved by the Lazio second goalkeeper. In injury time Seedorf sent a good ball into the box on the right, Recoba ran faster than Favalli and aimed for the far post. Ballotta was beaten but the ball hit the woodwork.
The match ended 0-0 and Lazio won their third Coppa Italia.
Who played for Inter
Peruzzi, M.Serena (67' Georgatos), Cordoba, Blanc, Domoraud, J.Zanetti, Di Biagio, Cauet, Seedorf, Baggio (61' Recoba), Zamorano (46' Vieri).
Substitutes: Ferron, Fresi, Simic, Jugovic.
Manager: Lippi.
Who played for Lazio
Ballotta, Pancaro (87’ Couto), Nesta, Negro, Favalli, Conceicao, Sensini, Veron, Simeone, Mancini (46’ Ravanelli), S. Inzaghi (46’ Salas).
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Paparesta
Lazio Coppa Italia 1999-00
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Coppa Italia | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
Appearances and goals
Player | Appearances | Goals |
Ballotta | 8 | - |
Gottardi | 7 | - |
Mancini | 7 | 3 |
Mihajlovic | 7 | 4 |
SImeone | 7 | 2 |
Inzaghi | 6 | 3 |
Lombardo | 6 | - |
Nedved | 6 | 1 |
Couto | 5 | - |
Marcolin | 5 | - |
Negro | 5 | - |
Pancaro | 5 | - |
Ravanelli | 5 | 2 |
Boksic | 4 | 3 |
Conceicao | 4 | - |
Stankovic | 4 | - |
Veron | 4 | - |
Nesta | 3 | - |
Pinzi | 3 | - |
Salas | 3 | - |
Almeyda | 2 | - |
Favalli | 2 | - |
Sensini | 2 | - |
Virgili | 1 | - |
Conti | 1 | - |
Pisano | 1 | - |
Let talk about Giuseppe Favalli
Giuseppe Favalli was born in Orzinuovi (Brescia) on January 8, 1972.
He grew up with the Cremonese youth sector and made his debut with the Grigiorossi on April 16, 1989 in Cremonese -Sambenedettese in Serie B. "Le Tigri" (The Tigers) were promoted and the following year. Favalli made his Serie A debut and played 28 league games. Cremonese were then relegated but won promotion again the next year so he played another season in the top flight. In this 1991-92 campaign he also scored his first Serie A goal (Verona). The Cremonesi were relegated again but Favalli would stay in Serie A. He played a total of 102 games for "I Violini" with 3 goals (2 in Serie B and 1 in A).
In the summer of 1992 he joined Lazio. He came with another two promising Italy U21 Cremonese players, Mauro Bonomi and Dario Marcolin.
Favalli had some difficulties adapting to a bigger club and was timid at first in his approach to games. Dino Zoff stood by him, he gradually improved and in his first year he played 32 league games and scored 1 goal (Pescara).
He would stay for 12 seasons. He played under Zoff, Zeman, Sven Goran Eriksson, Zoff again, Alberto Zaccheorini and Roberto Mancini. His time in Rome was full of satisfactions as Lazio gradually rose to being one of the best teams in Europe. Favalli won a Scudetto (2000), 3 Coppa Italia (1998, 2000, 2004), a European Cup Winners Cup (1999), 2 Italian Super Cups (1998, 2000) and 1 European Super Cup (1999).
On a personal level Favalli played 401 matches for the Biancocelesti and scored 6 goals (4 in A, 1 in Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk and 1 in Coppa UEFA against Dinamo Minsk). He is second in Lazio history for number of appearances behing Stefan Radu. He was also captain for 3 years (1997-98, 2002-04).
In 2004, with Lazio in a deep financial crisis, Favalli moved to Inter with Mancini. He stayed two seasons playing 68 games for the Nerazzurri. In his first year they came third and won the Coppa Italia (beating Roma). In his second they won the Scudetto (taken away from Juve due to Calciopoli), the Coppa Italia (beating Roma again) and the Italian Supercoppa.
In 2006 he changed Milanese allegiances and went to Milan. He would stay four successful seasons winning a Champions League (2007 Liverpool 2-1), 1 UEFA Super Cup (2007 Sevilla 3-1) and 1 World Cup for clubs (2007 Boca Juniors 4-2). He played under Carlo Ancelotti for three years and one under Leonardo. Favalli made 99 appearances for the "Diavolo" (80 in A, 7 in Coppa Italia and 12 in Europe).
At 38 after winning everything there was to win he retired.
At international level he won 8 Italian caps, 24 U21 caps with 2 goals and won the European Championship in Spain' 92, 6 Olympics caps and 9 games for Italy U18's with 1 goal.
Favalli was a left full-back although he could also play in the middle. He was 1.81 for 73 kilos. He was an extremely intelligent player tactically, possessed good technical skills and was athletic. He was a defender but gave a good contribution up front serving assists and crosses with his precise left foot. He was a hard but clean player.
At Lazio, after the initial scepticism, he became a legend. He gradually won over the fans with his reliable, solid performances. He was known as "Il Professore" for his calm character and his above average culture. His tactical acumen was greatly appreciated by his various managers at the club and he was first choice for all of them despite their diverging tactical approaches. Favalli was a model professional and well liked at Lazio for his modest, reserved character. The feeling was mutual, when he left for Inter he gave Lazio plenty of warning and paid for a whole page in the most popular local sports paper to thank all the fans, colleagues and staff for his fantastic 12 Roman years.
Favalli was captain for three seasons and won 8 trophies in Rome, including an elusive Scudetto, definitely legendary material.
On a final curious note, Favall's uncle Erminio played for Juventus in the 60's (winning a Scudetto) and Palermo amongst other teams in the 70's. Favalli's own son Alessandro is also a professional footballer and currently plays for Siena.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Cup Winners Cup | UEFA Cup | Super Coppa |
1992-93 | 36 (1) | 32 (1) | 4 | - | - | - | - |
1993-94 | 25 (1) | 23 (1) | - | - | - | 2 | - |
1994-95 | 32 (1) | 22 | 5 | - | - | 5 (1) | - |
1995-96 | 32 (1) | 26 (1) | 3 | - | - | 3 | - |
1996-97 | 31 | 26 | 3 | - | - | 2 | - |
1997-98 | 41 | 24 | 8 | - | - | 9 | - |
1998-99 | 34 | 25 | 4 | - | 5 | - | - |
199-00 | 25 | 18 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - |
2000-01 | 37 (1) | 27 | 6 | 6 (1) | - | - | 1 |
2001-02 | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - |
2002-03 | 35 (1) | 26 (1) | 3 | - | - | 6 | - |
2003-04 | 43 | 29 | 6 | 8 | - | - | - |
Total | 401 (6) | 298 (4) | 45 | 25 (1) | 5 | 27 (1) | 1 |
Sources
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