Lazio come out winners from Belgrade
Despite falling behind a "Matador" brace then helps Lazio triumph in a hard-fought game
Also on this day: November 5, 1972: Lazio Ternana 2-1. A routine win despite late Wilson own goal and perfect preparation for derby despite Chinaglia injury scare. Lazio Hero of the day: Mario Frustalupi
The season so far
The previous season, under manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, Lazio had won silverware after 24 years, triumphing against Milan 3-2 on aggregate in the Coppa Italia. The Biancocelesti had lost the first leg in Milan 0-1 and had been 0-1 down in Rome too, but then scored three goals in ten minutes to win 3-1 and give some generations the new sweet taste of success. A Cup Winners Cup campaign awaited them.
Over the summer there had been some changes to the squad. Important players arrived: defenders Fernando Couto (Parma), Sinisa Mihajlovic (Sampdoria), midfielders Iván De La Peña (Barcelona), Dejan Stankovic (Red Star Belgrade), Sergio Conceição (Porto) plus strikers Marcelo Salas (River Plate) and Christian Vieri (Atlético Madrid).
Leaving were: keeper Fernando Orsi (retiring), defenders José Chamot (Atlético Madrid) and Alessandro Grandoni (Sampdoria), midfielders Diego Fuser (Parma) and Vladimir Jugovic (Atlético Madrid) plus striker Pierluigi Casiraghi (Chelsea) and, in October, Roberto Rambaudi (Genoa). So quite an upheaval to the squad.
The season had started triumphantly on August 29 when Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 in Turin to lift their first ever Italian Supercoppa.
In Serie A so far Lazio had played 7 games. The Biancocelesti had won 2 (including Inter 5-3 away), drawn 4 and lost 1 (the most recent, 0-1 away at Salernitana). Lazio were currently joint 6th with Bari and Inter, on 10 points, a disappointing start. Juventus were top on 16.
The defence of their Coppa Italia was going better. In September they had eliminated Cosenza 4-1 on aggregate and then won the first home leg against Milan 3-1. The return leg would be on November 11.
This evening however, was a European competition. The last ever Cup Winners Cup. In the round of 32 in September Lazio had eliminated Lausanne on away goals (1-1 in Rome, 2-2 in Switzerland). Then in the first leg of the last 16 Lazio had drawn 0-0 at home to Partizan Belgrade.
A difficult away trip today in a hostile and notoriously passionate stadium.
Partizan Belgrade had finished 3rd in the Yugoslav league but had won the domestic cup for the 8th time, defeating Obilić 2-0 on aggregate. The manager was Ljubiša Tumbaković who had been in charge since 1992.
The "Crno-beli" (Black and Whites) had already played a major European final. In 1966 they reached the European Cup final, beating Manchester United on the way, but then lost to Real Madrid 1-2.
Today Partizan were not as strong but, as they had shown in Rome, were a team to be respected and feared. They were a young (average age 23) and talented side.
The team formed by Yugoslav Partisans had so far knocked out Dinamo Batumi from Georgia 2-1 and Newcastle United on away goals. In Rome, two weeks earlier, Lazio had deserved more but the Slavs held their own and showed off an excellent goalkeeper Damjanac.
A difficult game today, also connected to geo-political events. The Kosovo Liberation Army had come out in open rebellion against Serbian rule and the Serb forces had answered by shelling villages and trying to force Kosovo Albanians to leave. So not exactly a peaceful part of the world to fly to at the moment.
The match: Thursday, November 5, 1998, Stadion Partizana, Belgrade
A predictable 40,000 full house in Belgrade. There were also some Red Star fans supporting Lazio and their old heroes Sinisa Mihajlovic and Dejan Stankovic.
Compared to the game in Rome the Serbs were without defender Milan Stojanoski while Lazio had Marcelo Salas back from injury.
The pitch was very heavy from previous rainfall. Not good news for Lazio who were more technical while the Serbs more physical.
The first chance of the game however was for the Romans. In the 10th minute Pavel Nedved set up Roberto Mancini but his shot hit the keeper and from the rebound Sergio Conceição's strike was headed off the line by Vuk Rašović.
The Serbs became increasingly aggressive and in the 17th minute went in front. Goran Trobok beat Giuseppe Favalli on the right and crossed low to Mladen Krstajic who with his right foot put the ball under the crossbar. Partizan 1 Lazio 0.
The stadium was on fire and the hosts, on the waves of youth and enthusiasm, continued to attack. They threatened again with a cross-cum-shot by Saša Ilic and Mateja Kezman who was just anticipated by Luca Marchegiani who dived low at his feet.
Lazio were in difficulty but weathered the storm and gradually had more time and space. In the 43rd minute Conceição went on a good run down the right wing and crossed, Salas chested it down but was pulled down by Branko Savić for a penalty. "El Matador" Salas drilled a powerful central shot to beat the keeper. Partizan 1 Lazio1. With an away goal it was suddenly Lazio in the driving seat at halftime.
A difficult first 45 minutes for Lazio who had suffered the locals' impetus and enthusiasm in the Partizana cauldron but had survived the worst and found the precious equaliser at the end albeit on a penalty.
In the second half the locals were less confident and Lazio seemed to have more control.
In the 50th minute the Serbs replaced Goran Obradovic with Dragan Stojsavljevic while in the 53rd the Biancocelesti brought on former Red Star Belgrade, Dejan Stankovic for Conceição.
Lazio had several dangerous counter attacks but Nedved was off target twice and Stankovic shaved the post from the edge of the box.
As Partizan rhythm went down a notch, Lazio raised their game and in the 66th minute took the lead. The experience and magic of Mancini teed up Stankovic with a back heel and the young Serb barged between the two central defenders and got a foot to the ball which came off the keeper and back to Stankovic who then had an open goal. Partizan 1 Lazio 2. The few Red Star fans present were overjoyed as were Lazio. Partizan now needed two unanswered goals to qualify.
The young home side were clearly affected by the setback and struggled to regroup. In the 68th minute they brought on Ivica Iliev for Vladimir Ivic.
In the 75th minute Lazio scored again. From a Sinisa Mihajlovic corner, Giorgio Venturin shot towards goal in a crowded area, the ball reached Salas who slowed the ball down and then chipped the keeper from close range. Partizan 1 Lazio 3.
The Chilean goal scorer was then taken off in the 81st minute and Croat Alen Boksic came on. Another unpopular player with the home crowd to add to Stankovic and Mihajlovic.
The tie seemed over but in the 85th minute Iliev scored with a perfect header from an excellent Stanisavljevic cross from the right. Partizan 2 Lazio 3.
Partizan attacked in the last minutes but still needed two more goals. An unlikely task at this point for the tiring Serbs. Both sides made one more substitution, Nenad Bjekovic in place of Mateja Kezman for the hosts and Roberto Baronio for Mancini in the Lazio XI.
Lazio saw out the last minutes and brought home a great win but more importantly were through to the quarterfinals.
It had not been easy, but no-one thought it would be. For at least twenty-five minutes in the first half the Biancocelesti seemed on the verge of collapsing but with experience, resilience, patience and ultimately their superior quality had come through victorious. A European night to remember for Lazio in the "White City".
Who played for Partizan Belgrade
Damjanac, Rašović, Savić, Krstajić, Gerasimovski, Trobok, Ilić (68' Iliev), Ivic, Tomić, Kežman (90' Bjeković), Obradović (50' Stanisavljevic)
Substitutes: Ljubanovic, Svetličić, Tešović, Duljaj, Sabo
Manager: Tumbaković
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Pancaro, F. Couto, Mihajlovic, Favalli, S. Conceição (53' Stankovic), Almeyda, Venturin, Nedved, Salas (81' Boksic), Mancini (89' Baronio)
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Stuchlik (Aus)
Goals: 17' Krstajić, 43' Salas, 66' Stankovic, 75' Salas, 85' Iliev
What happened next
Lazio went on to win the competition. In the quarter final Lazio defeated Greeks Panionios 7-0 and, in the semi-final, Lokomotiv Moscow on away goals. The final was at Villa Park in Birmingham and Lazio defeated Mallorca 2-1 with goals by Christian Vieri and Pavel Nedved to lift the last ever European Cup Winners Cup.
Lazio went very close to winning the Scudetto and finished 2nd in Serie A. Between early December and the end of March they won 13 and drew 2. They were top of the table until the penultimate game when they drew in Florence, being denied a blatant penalty and were undeservedly overtaken by Milan.
In Coppa Italia Lazio went out to Inter 4-6 on aggregate in the quarter finals.
Top scorer was Marcelo Salas with 24 (15 in league) but Vieri had a good season too, when he finally returned in January, with 12 league goals.
Partizan Belgrade then won the Yugoslav league for the 16th time. They failed to win the double as they lost to rivals Red Star 2-4 in the "večiti" (eternal) derby.
Lazio 1998-99
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 65 |
Coppa Italia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
Cup Winners Cup | 9 | 4 | 5 | - | 16 |
Super Coppa | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
Total | 50 | 29 | 15 | 6 | 95 |
Top Five Appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Cup Winners Cup | Super Coppa |
Marchegiani | 48 | 34 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
Mancini | 47 | 33 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
Conceição | 44 | 33 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
Mihajlovic | 44 | 30 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
Salas | 43 | 30 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
Top Five Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Cup Winners Cup |
Salas | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 |
Vieri | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
Mancini | 12 | 10 | 2 | - |
Mihajlovic | 9 | 8 | 1 | - |
Stankovic | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
Let's talk about Julio Velasco
Julio Velasco is considered one of the best volleyball coaches of all time but also has a Lazio connection.
He was born in La Plata, Argentina, on February 9, 1952. He has an interesting background. His father was Peruvian and his mother an Argentine of English origin, in fact she was an English teacher.
Julio joined the University of La Plata to study Philosophy but left his hometown after just six exams and moved to Buenos Aires. Velasco claimed he was more inconspicuous in the capital. These were the years of the military dictatorship and the "desaparecidos" and as president of the student committee and militant communist he had seen several of his companions, including his younger brother, literally disappear as was common at the time. He started to work in Baires, as a cleaner, estate agent, teacher but also as a volleyball coach. The latter, after graduating from the National Institution of Physical Education, then became his career. And what a career.
He started in 1979 at Ferro Carril Oeste in the capital where he won four consecutive league titles. In 1982 he was assistant coach for the Argentine national team who won bronze at their home World Championships.
In 1983 he came to Europe and coached Volley Club Jesi in Italy. The Marchigiani were in the second tier and narrowly missed promotion.
In 1985 he joined Panini Modena in the top tier and had his first real successes; four consecutive league titles, 3 Coppa Italias and a Cup Winners Cup plus reaching three consecutive European Cup finals.
In 1989 he became the Italian national team coach. He won an Olympic Silver, 2 World Championships, 3 European Championships and a silver, 5 World Leagues plus a Grand Champions Cup and a World Top Four.
In 1997-98 he was the Italian national female coach. He won the Mediterranean Games.
In 2001-03 he was Czech Republic coach and then returned to club volleyball; Piacenza, Modena and Monza.
In 2008-11 he was Spanish coach and then 2011-14 head coach of Iran. With Iran he won the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2013 and played a good World League in 2013 even defeating Italy. Iran became a respected volleyball nation.
In 2014 he became head coach of his homeland team Argentina. In 2014 he won the Pan American Games. He was in charge for four years before returning to Modena at club level for a season and won the Italian Supercoppa.
In June 2019 he was nominated technical director of the Italian volleyball youth sector. He held the job for four years in which the Italian youth teams won numerous medals in international competitions.
In 2024 he became head coach of the Italian Women's team again, 25 years after his first experience. He immediately won the Volleyball Nations League and then took part in the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning a first historic Olympic gold medal for Italian volleyball. He is staying on for Los Angeles 2028 too.
And Lazio? In 1998 at the peak of his success and popularity Velasco was called by ambitious Lazio president Sergio Cragnotti to take on the role of general director. Velasco accepted and signed a two-year contract. After the first year however, he asked to leave. In 2000 he was even very briefly under contract with Inter but only for a couple of months.
He described his experience with the Biancocelesti as a positive and interesting one but he realised he missed the technical and daily training with the players too much to be a director. For Lazio too it was a pleasure to have such a charismatic and cultured man of sport representing the club. A pity it did not last long.
So he went back to what he is best at, teaching volleyball and winning trophies.
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