UEFA!!!!!!
Lazio qualifies for the UEFA Cup for the first time in 16 years
Also on this day: May 30, 1954, Sampdoria Lazio 0-0. Lazio close the season with a goalless draw and an 11th place. Player of the day: Luigi Fuin
The season so far
The arrival of Sergio Cragnotti meant lots of money for the summer transfers. Four players from the Italy Under-21 that had been doing so well arrived (Beppe Favalli, Dario Marcolin, Mauro Bonomi, all from Cremonese, plus Luca Luzardi), Aron Winter, Roberto Cravero and Beppe Signori who was to replace Ruben Sosa who had decided not to renew his contract and had left for Inter. Furthermore, finally Paul Gascoigne had recovered from his injury.
There was great optimism, but Lazio had started slowly with four consecutive draws with the first win coming in the fifth match thanks to a Signori hat trick. Yes, Signori, the guy who replaced Ruben Sosa. The Uruguayan had been one of the Lazio stars, but Signori was better, faster, younger and hungrier. And he scored loads of goals.
Lazio played well, Gascoigne, despite some ups and downs, gave a good contribution to the team and Signori. His goal in the dying moments of his first derby was legendary.
In Coppa Italia Lazio reached the quarterfinals but were knocked out by Torino.
The squad was young but at the end of the first half of the season Lazio were joint fourth with Juventus, in UEFA Cup qualification territory.
In the second half of the season the Biancocelesti continued to do well and a UEFA Cup qualification looked as if it was finally on the cards with five games to go to the end of the season. Two losses and a win later, the Biancocelesti had a two-point lead over seventh place. Next up was the final match at the Olimpico: Lazio-Napoli. A win would mean UEFA Cup qualification.
The match: Sunday, May 30, 1993, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
After 4 minutes Lazio were already 2-0 up. In the first minute, freekick for the Biancocelesti. Beppe Signori crossed inside the box and Karl-Heinz Riedle headed it in. Three minutes later Giovanni Stroppa crossed from the left, again the German scored with another header. All over? No, because Lazio started to let their guard down and Napoli reduced the deficit in the 11th minute. Gianfranco Zola did what he did best: splendid curling free kick. Nothing Nando Orsi could do.
The Biancocelesti went back to business and pressed Napoli for a third. After a blatant penalty ignored by the ref, in the 41st minute Riedle was again fouled in the box and this time Cardona awarded the penalty. Signori made it 3-1.
Second half downhill? No, because Giovanni Francini in the 47th minute made it 3-2. Four minutes later Beppe Favalli from the left sent a marvellous ball in the box and Aron Winter headed the ball home.
But the Biancoclesti were feeling suicidal. In the 61st minute Careca was fouled in the box and Zola reduced the deficit once more. Panic set in both on and off the field but they were able to win thanks to Francini being sent off in the 68th minute and Zola having to leave the pitch through injury, leaving Napoli in 9 men, in the 84th.
A long awaited for UEFA Cup qualification. Lazio had not played in Europe since losing 6-0 in extra time at Lens on November 2, 1977. A first feather in the cap for Sergio Cragnotti.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Zoff
Who played for Napoli
G.Galli, Ferrara, Francini, Crippa, Corradini, Nela, A.Carbone, Altomare, Careca, Zola, Policano (34' Fonseca, 45' G.Bresciani)
Substitutes: Sansonetti, Tarantino, De Rosa.
Manager: O.Bianchi
Referee: Cardona
Goals: 1' Riedle, 4' Riedle, 11 Zola, 41' Signori (pen), 47' Francini, 51' Winter, 61' Zola (pen)
What happened next
In the last game in Turin against Juventus the Biancocelesti lost, but the game only really counted for the hosts.
Lazio had a great potential, but only sporadically fulfilled it. The fans began to be impatient with Zoff’s football and the Biancocelesti's chronic lack of a game plan beyond leaving the decisions to the players.
Fortunately, Gascoigne, Thomas Doll, Winter, Signori and Riedle were of a high enough level to compensate.
Diego Fuser and Signori played the most matches (38) and Signori got the most goals (32). He was also the top Serie A goalscorer with 26 goals. The last time a Lazio player won this trophy was Bruno Giordano back in 1978.
Zoff was confirmed as manager for the next season.
Lazio 1992-93
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 65 |
Coppa Italia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
Total | 40 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 78 |
Top five appearances (complete player statistics)
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
38 | 33 | 5 | |
38 | 32 | 6 | |
36 | 32 | 4 | |
36 | 30 | 6 | |
35 | 31 | 4 |
Top five goal scorers (complete player statistics)
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Beppe Signori | 32 | 26 | 6 |
Diego Fuser | 11 | 10 | 1 |
10 | 8 | 2 | |
Aron Winter | 8 | 6 | 2 |
4 | 4 | - |
Let's talk about Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola was one of the greatest Italian players of the 1990s, nicknamed magic box.
Born on July 5, 1966, in Oliena near Nuoro in Sardinia, he started playing football for Corrasi in his hometown. In 1984 he signed for Nuorese where he played a couple of years in the 4th and 5th tiers. In 1986 he moved to Sassari to play for Torres in C2 reaching promotion to C1 in his first year. He was always a protagonist and the club almost made it to Serie B in 1988-89, missing out by just three points.
In 1989 he moved to Naples, and immediately befriended Diego Armando Maradona and Careca. In his first year he won the Scudetto and made 26 appearances in all competitions with three goals. When Maradona left, he took his place and played another three seasons in Naples.
In 1993 he signed for Parma. Napoli were forced to sell him for economic reasons. In Emilia he stayed for three seasons, winning a UEFA Super Cup in 1993 and a UEFA Cup in 1994-95. The next season he found less space since he faced competition from Hristo Stoichkov. In the following year he was forced to play as left winger since new manager Carlo Ancelotti preferred Hernan Crespo and Enrico Chiesa up front.
In 1996 he signed for Chelsea, joining Luca Vialli. He stayed in London for 7 years with 312 appearances and 80 goals. He won a Cup Winners Cup in 1997-98, two FA Cups in 1997 and 2000, a League Cup in 1997-98 and a Charity Shield in 2000. Zola became a legend at the Club and is still hugely popular today.
In 2003-04 he left London and went back to Sardinia to join Cagliari in Serie B. He contributed to taking them back up to Serie A in his first year and keeping their top flight status in his second. At the end of the 2004-05 season, he retired.
Despite a great career, at international level he was not as lucky due to the dualism with Roberto Baggio. He debuted for Italy against Norway in a Euro 1992 qualifying match on November 13, 1991. He was part of the 1994 World Cup squad in the US, but he only played 12 minutes in the Round of 16 against Nigeria as he was controversially sent off and then given a two-match suspension. In Euro 1986 he missed a decisive penalty which would have taken Italy beyond the group stage. He scored the goal in Italy’s win at Wembley against England for the 1998 World Cup Qualifiers (only the second time the Azzurri had won in England) but did not make the final squad as Roberto Baggio was preferred. In total he made 35 appearances for Italy with 10 goals.
Once he stopped playing, he went into management and started as assistant to Pierluigi Casiraghi for Italy Under 21's in 2006. On September 11 2008 he became manager at West Ham. His predecessor, Alan Curbishley, had resigned following the sale of Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney without his permission. After a shaky start, the Hammers managed to reach 9th place by the end of the season. He stayed the following year too but West Ham struggled and arrived 17th, avoiding relegation by five points. Two days after the end of the season he was sacked and replaced by Avram Grant, one of the worst decisions in the club’s history. As a matter of fact, the Hammers were relegated the following year.
In February 22, 2012, Lazio manager Edy Reja resigned due to contrasts with President Claudio Lotito and sporting director Igli Tare. The team were about to leave for Madrid to play the Europa League tie with Atletico. Reja decided to follow the team even if he was still adamant that he was going to leave. Many managers were considered to take his place, including Bruno Giordano, but in the end the decision was to choose Zola. All was agreed between the parties, all Lotito needed to do was to have one last talk with Reja to close the relationship. But then Reja changed his mind and stayed, so no Zola.
In July he signed for Watford in the Championship. He managed to reach the playoffs but Watford lost in the final against Norwich City. He was confirmed also for the next year but after five consecutive defeats he resigned in December.
On Christmas Eve 2014 he became the new Cagliari manager in place of Zdenek Zeman, but was sacked after 11 games. In August he became manager of Al-Arabi in Qatar taking the team to 8th place. He was sacked at the end of the season. On December 14 2016 he was chosen as manager for Birmingham replacing Gary Rowett. In 24 games under Zola, they won just twice and he resigned in April.
On July 18 2018, Zola became assistant to new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri. Under the former Lazio head coach, the Blues won the Europa League. When Sarri was replaced by Frank Lampard, Zola left too.
After this experience he did a bit of punditry on Italian and British TV channels, then on February 9 2023, he became vice president of the Italian Professional Football League (the new Serie C).
Gianfranco Zola was an exciting and flamboyant player who delighted all the clubs where he played. He did not have much luck with the national team as he was unlucky to have played in the same role as Roberto Baggio, but for many Zola was a much better player. And he was very, very close to being Lazio manager.
Sources
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