All downhill in Maribor
A superb Mihajlovic freekick opens gates to comfortable 4-0 victory.
Also on this day: October 19, 2017: Nice-Lazio 1-3, Europa League. Two Sergej Milinkovic-Savic second half goals give Lazio important win on Côte d'Azur. Hero of the day: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had come agonizingly close to winning the title. They were only overtaken by eventual champions Milan in the penultimate game of the season and in controversial circumstances. Lazio were held to a 1-1 draw in Florence with some extremely dubious refereeing decisions by Fiorenzo Treossi, including the denial of a clear penalty on Marcelo Salas.
Lazio had however triumphed in Europe winning the last ever Cup Winners Cup in May (2-1 against Mallorca in Birmingham) and then, recently in August, beaten Manchester United 1-0 (Salas) to lift the UEFA Super Cup, in Monte Carlo.
This season there had been some important changes to the squad. Three more Argentinians were signed; defender Nestor Sensini (Parma), midfielders Diego "El Cholo" Simeone (Inter) and Juan Sebastian Veron "La Brujita" (Parma). Another midfielder Dario Marcolin was back from a loan spell (Blackburn) and strikers Simone Inzaghi (Piacenza) and big Swedish forward Kennet Andersson (Bologna) were added.
Lazio had lost an important player in striker Christian Vieri who was sold to Inter for a then world record transfer fee of 90 billion Lire (approx 45 million Euros). Spanish midfielder Ivan de la Peña had gone to Olympique Marseille after a disappointing spell at Lazio and Roberto Baronio went to Reggina on loan.
In the league Lazio had got off to a positive start. The Biancocelesti had won 4 (Cagliari 2-1 and Torino 3-0 at home, Parma 2-1 and Udinese 3-0 away) and drawn 2 (Bari 0-0 away and Milan 4-4 at home). They were currently top of the table.
Their Champions League campaign was also going well. The Biancocelesti had drawn 1-1 away to Bayer Leverkusen on their debut and then beaten Dynamo Kiev 2-1 and Maribor 4-0 at home.
This was the 4th game of the first group stage and Lazio went to Slovenia in an upbeat mood.
Maribor had won the Slovenian double the previous year. Under manager Bojan Prašnikar, the "Vijoličasti" (The Violets) had won the league title for the third time and the cup for the fourth.
This season Prašnikar was still in charge and the Slovenians had made history by reaching the group stage of the Champions League. They had eliminated Genk (5-1, 0-3) and Olympique Lyonnais (1-0, 2-0). So far in the group the "Štajerski ponos" (The Pride of Styria) had won 1 (Dynamo Kiev 1-0 away) and lost 2 (Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 at home and Lazio 0-4 away).
The Slovenians were on three points, so still in with a chance for qualification but had to win today to give themselves any realistic hope.
The match: Tuesday, October 1999, Stadion Ljudski Vrt, Maribor
A crowd of 10,000 turned up in the second largest Slovenian town. It is famous for skiing but tonight on the river Drava it was Champions League action.
Lazio opted for a heavy turnover compared to their most recent league game. Matias Almeyda was out and Marcelo Salas and Alen Boksic were on the bench while Luca Marchegiani, Juan Sebastian Veron, Paolo Negro and Roberto Mancini were unavailable. The Biancocelesti played with a bulky midfield and Simone Inzaghi up front.
The match was controlled by Lazio from the early stages. The game however was competitive despite Lazio's clear superiority. Alessandro Nesta had to wall a dangerous Balajic shot and Ballotta had to deal with some threatening crosses. In the 18th minute the Romans had a scare when Nesta turned his knee and was forced off, replaced by Fernando Couto. A worry for Lazio's season if it turned out to be serious.
In the 36th minute Lazio scored and the match was never the same again. A magnificent Sinisa Mihajlovic freekick curled around the wall and nestled in near the post at mid-height. Maribor 0 Lazio 1.
The game from then on was a formality and became a question of how many Lazio would score. Inzaghi went close only a minute later from a Mihajlovic cross, headed back towards goal by a defender, but his low shot was saved by Simeunovic with his foot. Lazio in total control at halftime Maribor 0 Lazio 1.
There were no changes during the break. In the 50th minute Lazio made it two. Giuseppe Favalli went down the left, cut inside and squared a ball back to Diego Simeone, "El Cholo" had two attempts at goal, his first was blocked by a defender and the second parried by the keeper but only as far as Inzaghi, lurking near goal, who slotted the ball in from a slight angle. Maribor 0 Lazio 2. It was becoming one of those games the losing side wanted over as soon as possible.
Lazio then had a Simeone goal disallowed for a foul on the keeper and Stankovic had a left-footed effort shave the post.
In the 61st minute the Slovenians made their first substitution, bringing on Filipovic for Bozgo.
Things however did not improve for the Violets. In the 63rd minute Lazio scored again. Pavel Nedved chipped a ball over the defence from left to right and Dejan Stankovic, inside the area, hammered a right-footed low shot across goal into the opposite corner. Maribor 0 Lazio 3.
With twenty minutes to go and the game done and dusted Lazio replaced Nedved with Guerino Gottardi. The Italo-Swiss took only a few minutes to leave his mark. In the 74th minute he raced past a defender on the right wing and put in a perfect medium height cross on which Inzaghi stretched forward and volleyed in. Maribor 0 Lazio 4.
Lazio then replaced an excellent Sergio Conceição with a more defensive Dario Marcolin and seemed content to slow things down. The Pride of Styria made two more substitutions, Pregelj for Simundza and Drahuska for Seslar but the game had said what it had to say.
The home side tried to get a consolation goal, almost helped by Marco Ballotta when he dropped a catch but it went out for a corner. Final score Maribor 0 Lazio 4.
An accomplished performance by Lazio who after the initial breakthrough had shown to be on a different level to the Slovenian champions. The Maribor coach, Bojan Prasnikar, at the end of the game claimed, "We had never seen such a good team here".
Lazio now needed one more point in two games to qualify for the next group stage. Next up were Bayer Leverkusen at home and Dynamo Kiev away. Lazio however had fingers crossed for "Capitan Nesta".
Who played for Maribor
Simeunovic, Vugdalic, Galic, Sarzeki, Zidan, Djuranovic, Seslar (84' Drahuska), Karic, Balajic, Bozgo (61' Filipovic), Simundza (78' Pregelj)
Substitutes: Gresak, Pekic, Filekovic, Znuderl
Manager: Prasnikar
Who played for Lazio
Ballotta, Pancaro, Nesta (18' F. Couto), Mihajlovic, Favalli, Conceição (75' Marcolin), Stankovic, Simeone, Sensini, Nedved (70' Gottardi), S. Inzaghi
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Hauge (Norway)
Goals: 36' Mihajlovic, 50' S. Inzaghi, 63' Stankovic, 74' S. Inzaghi
What happened next
Lazio drew 1-1 at home to Bayer Leverkusen and then beat Dynamo Kiev 1-0 away and qualified for the second group stage.
Luckily Nesta's knee injury turned out to be only a slight twist and nothing serious. He would however be out for three weeks.
The draw dealt them Chelsea, Olympique Marseille and Feyenoord. Lazio again qualified after 3 wins (O-L 2-0, 5-1 and Chelsea 2-1 away), 2 draws (Chelsea 0-0, Feyenoord 0-0 away) and 1 defeat (Feyenoord 1-2 at home).
In the quarter finals Valencia came out of the hat for Lazio. The game at the Mestalla was a nightmare and Lazio were beaten 2-5. "Los Murcielagos" (The Bats) were high as kites and outran the Romans. In the return leg Lazio dominated but only managed to win 1-0.
A good campaign for Lazio but considering the quality of the team it could have been even better. One unlucky factor was playing the game in Valencia without Roberto Mancini but especially Alessandro Nesta.
Apart from Champions League it was an epic season for Lazio who went on to win the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia. In Serie A Lazio won the league in an incredible fashion overtaking Juventus on the last day of the season (with the Bianconeri's final match at Perugia finishing an hour after Lazio's due to a waterlogged pitch).
In the Coppa Italia Lazio beat Inter over a two-legged final, 2-1 and 0-0. A historic double for the Eagles.
Maribor were eliminated from the group. The Slovenians then lost to Dynamo Kiev 1-2 at home and drew 0-0 away at Bayer Leverkusen.
The Violets however won their 4th Slovenian league title but were knocked out in the semi-final of the domestic cup.
Lazio 1999-2000
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 64 |
Coppa Italia | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
Champions League | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 26 |
UEFA Super Cup | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
Total | 57 | 32 | 18 | 7 | 109 |
Top five appearances (complete player statistics)
Players | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Super Cup |
47 | 28 | 6 | 12 | 1 | |
47 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 1 | |
47 | 31 | 4 | 11 | 1 | |
46 | 26 | 7 | 12 | 1 | |
Giuseppe Pancaro | 45 | 28 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers (complete player statistics)
Players | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Super Cup |
19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | - | |
Marcelo Salas | 17 | 12 | - | 4 | 1 |
Sinisa Mihajlovic | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | - |
Juan Sebastian Veron | 10 | 8 | - | 2 | - |
8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
Let's talk about Dejan Stanković
Dejan Stankovic was born in Belgrade, on September 11, 1978.
He comes from a footballing family as his father played for OFK while his mother played for Sloga.
His first club as a kid was Teleoptik (generally considered Partizan's reserve side) but in 1992 he joined Red Star Belgrade.
He made his debut for "Zvezda" (Star) in 1994. In his first season he played 7 league games and scored 1 goal. Red Star won the Yugoslavian double.
The following year he played more, 24 league games with 4 goals, 4 in the Yugoslav Cup with 1 goal and 2 games in the Uefa Cup. The "Crveno-beli" (The Red and Whites) won the domestic cup but finished 2nd in the league behind Partizan.
In 1996-97 he played 26 league games with 10 goals, 6 in the cup and 5 in the Cup Winners Cup with 2 goals (a brace against Kaiserslautern). Again "Zvezda" finished 2nd behind Partizan and won the Yugoslav Cup.
The 1997-98 season would be his last in Belgrade as a player. He played 28 league games with 15 goals, 7 in the cup and 3 in the Cup Winners Cup with 3 goals. Again, the Red and Whites finished 2nd, this time behind Obilić but with no cup glory.
In 1998 he joined Lazio in Serie A. He made a great debut, scoring against Piacenza in a 1-1 away draw. The manager was Sven-Goran Eriksson and Lazio finished 2nd going extremely close to the Scudetto. They did however win the Italian Supercoppa (2-1 Juventus) and lifted the last ever Cup Winners Cup (Majorca 2-1). Stankovic played 29 league games with 4 goals (Piacenza, Cagliari, Sampdoria, Piacenza), 5 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Cosenza), 7 in the CWC with 4 goals (Partizan, Panionios x2 and Panionios again) plus the Italian Supercoppa.
The following season Lazio won the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia. Stankovic made 16 league appearances with 3 goals (Lecce x2, Fiorentina), 4 in Coppa Italia, 11 in Champions League with 2 goals (Maribor, Olympique Marseille) plus the European Super Cup (won beating Manchester United 1-0). Lazio also won the Italian Supercoppa beating Inter 4-3.
In 2000-01 Eriksson was replaced by Dino Zoff in January and Lazio finished 3rd. Stankovic played 21 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Udinese) and 9 in Champions League (out in second group phase).
In 2001-02 Zoff started, but was soon replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni. Lazio finished 6th and Stankovic played 27 league games with 7 goals (Brescia, Perugia, Milan, Roma, Udinese, Verona x2), 4 in Coppa Italia and 5 in the Champions League with 1 goal (Galatasaray). It was a negative season for Lazio but Stankovic performed well.
In 2002-03 his former teammate Roberto Mancini returned as manager. Lazio improved and finished 4th (CL qualification). Stankovic played 29 league games with 6 goals (Reggina, Roma, Empoli, Milan, Roma, Parma), 2 in Coppa Italia and 7 in the UEFA Cup (Lazio reached semi-finals, Porto 1-4)
The 2003-04 season would be his last in Rome. In January he joined Inter. He had played 15 league games with 2 goals (Empoli, Perugia), 4 in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Parma home and away) and 8 in the Champions League. For the record Lazio finished 6th (UC qualification) and won the Coppa Italia (Juventus 4-2 on aggregate).
At Inter he found Alberto Zaccheroni as manager and the Nerazzurri finished 4th. Stankovic played 14 league games with 4 goals (Milan, Brescia, Juventus, Bologna) and 2 games in Coppa Italia. He played alongside Christian Vieri and Matías Almeyda from his Lazio days.
In 2004-05 former Lazio teammate Roberto Mancini arrived as manager (with Fernando Orsi as assistant). The "Beneamata" finished 3rd, reached the quarterfinals of Champions League (Milan 0-5 on aggregate) but won the Coppa Italia (Roma 3-0 on aggregate). Stankovic played 31 league games with 3 goals (Chievo, Atalanta, Cagliari), 6 in Coppa Italia and 10 in CL with 3 goals (Basel, Anderlecht, Valencia). His teammates included Sinisa Mihajlovic, Juan Sebastian Veron and Beppe Favalli.
In 2005-06 Inter finished 3rd but were awarded the Scudetto due to Juventus and Milan's misdemeanours in the Calciopoli scandal. The Nerazzurri 'also' won the Italian Supercoppa beating Juventus 1-0 with a goal by Veron in extra-time and the Coppa Italia (Roma 4-2 on aggregate). In the Champions League the quarterfinals were fatal again (Villareal on away goals). Stankovic played 23 league games with 2 goals (Lecce home and away), 6 in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Lazio home and away) and 8 in CL with 2 goals (Ajax home and away). He played alongside former Lazio César.
In 2006-07 Mancini was still there but his assistant became Sinisa Mihajlovic. Inter won the league fair and square as well as the Italian Supercoppa (4-3 Roma, from 0-3 down) but lost the Coppa Italia final (4-7 on aggregate to Roma). In the Champions League they only reached the last 16 (Valencia on away goals). Stankovic played 34 league games with 6 goals (Chievo, Catania x2, Milan, Fiorentina, Empoli), 3 in Coppa Italia and 7 in CL. His teammates included Hernan Crespo.
In 2007-08 the Nerazzurri won the Scudetto again but lost the Supercoppa and Coppa Italia finals (both to Roma 0-1 and 1-2). In the Champions League they went out to Liverpool 0-3 on aggregate in the last 16. Stankovic played 21 league games with 1 goal (Udinese), 3 in Coppa Italia and 6 in CL. He played alongside former Lazio Luís Jimenez.
In 2008-09 José Mourinho's reign started. The "Special One" won the league and the Italian Supercoppa (Roma on penalties after 2-2, Stankovic missed his penalty) but again went out in the last 16 in the Champions League (Manchester United 0-2 on aggregate). In Coppa Italia they lost in the semis to Sampdoria 1-3 on aggregate. Stankovic played 31 league games with 5 goals (Roma, Chievo, Catania, Lecce, Milan), 1 in Coppa Italia, 5 in CL plus the Supercoppa.
The 2009-10 season was a vintage one for Inter. They won the so-called "triplete", the Scudetto, Coppa Italia (Roma 1-0) and Champions League (Bayern Munich 2-0). The one they did not win was the Italian Supercoppa as they surprisingly lost 1-2 to Lazio in Beijing. Stankovic played 29 league games with 3 goals (Milan, Udinese, Genoa), 1 in Coppa Italia, 12 in CL with 2 goals (Rubin, Dynamo Kiev) plus the Supercoppa. His teammates included former Lazio, Goran Pandev.
In 2010-11 Rafa Benitez arrived as manager but only lasted 17 games before being replaced by Leonardo. Inter finished 2nd behind Juventus but won the Coppa Italia (Palermo 3-1), the Italian Supercoppa (Roma 3-1) and the Club World Cup (TP Mazembe 3-0). They lost the European Super Cup (Atlético Madrid 0-2) and went out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League (Schalke 3-7 on aggregate). Stankovic played 26 league games with 5 goals (Parma x3, Bologna, Udinese), 3 in Coppa Italia with1 goal (Roma), 7 in CL with 2 goals (Tottenham, Schalke 04) plus another 4 games between Supercups and World Club Cup with 1 goal (Seongnam - South Korea).
In 2011-12 Inter had three different managers: Gian Piero Gasperini (1-4), Claudio Ranieri (5-29) and Andrea Stramaccioni (30-38). Inter had a poor season finishing 6th (EL) and lost the Italian Supercoppa final (Milan 1-2). Stankovic played 19 league games, 5 in CL plus the Supercoppa.
The 2012-13 season would be his last and he only played 3 league games due to Achilles tendon problems. Inter finished 9th under Stramaccioni. In his last year the squad included former Lazio Gaby Mudingayi, Tommaso Rocchi and Juan Pablo Carrizo. He played a total of 326 games for Inter with 42 goals.
At almost 35 Stankovic retired.
He also won 39 caps for Yugoslavia with 9 goals, 22 for Serbia & Montenegro with 4 goals and 42 for Serbia with 3 goals. He played in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 for Yugoslavia, in the 2006 World Cup for Serbia and Montenegro and in the 2010 World Cup for Serbia. He is the only player to have played at three world cups for three different nations.
After retiring he was assistant to Stramaccioni at Udinese in 2014-15, and then worked briefly as club manager for Inter and as a UEFA consultant. He then coached Red Star Belgrade from December 2019 and stayed until August 2022. He won three consecutive league titles with Zvezda and two domestic cups.
In October 2022 he returned to Italy and joined struggling Sampdoria. The Blucerchiati were bottom of the table and winless. Stankovic was not able to save the sinking ship and "Il Doria" were relegated to Serie B after only 3 wins. He is now manager of Ferencváros in Hungary. He was recently back in Italy with his new club, earning a 2-2 draw against Fiorentina in the Conference League.
Stankovic was a superb player, solid and versatile. He is 1.81 and 75 kilos. He was a central midfielder but could also play externally or behind the strikers. He was a player who could do everything, attack and defend. He had a cracking shot, good aerial abilities, positioning and timing. He was every manager's ideal player, skilful, a good tackler, hardworking and could also score goals.
In his club career he won 1 Yugoslav league title and 3 cups, 6 Scudetti, 5 Coppa Italia's, 6 Italian Supercoppa's, 1 Champions League, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 1 European Super Cup and 1 Club World Cup.
At Lazio Stankovic was part of the glory years. He arrived young but soon became an accomplished midfielder. He played in formidable midfields alongside Veron, Simeone, Almeyda, Conceição, Sensini to name a few. He played 208 games for Lazio and scored 34 goals. He won a Scudetto, a Coppa Italia, two Italian Supercoppa's, a Cup Winners Cup and a European Supercup. Six trophies in six years. The name Stankovic at Lazio reminds the fans of success, especially in his first years.
He has three sons and they are all carrying on the family tradition of playing professional football. One, Aleksander, is a midfielder in the Inter squad while another, Filip, is a goalkeeper with Sampdoria. It will be difficult however to emulate Dejan's career.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Cup Winners Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Super Cup | Super Coppa |
1998-99 | 42 (9) | 29 (4) | 5 (1) | - | 7 (4) | - | - | 1 |
1999-00 | 32 (5) | 16 (3) | 4 | 11 (2) | - | - | 1 | - |
2000-01 | 33 (2) | 21 | 2 (1) | 9 | - | - | - | 1 (1) |
2001-02 | 36 (8) | 27 (7) | 4 | 5 (1) | - | - | - | - |
2002-03 | 38 (6) | 29 (6) | 2 | - | - | 7 | - | - |
2003-Jan 04 | 27 (4) | 15 (2) | 4 (2) | 8 | - | - | - | - |
Total | 208 (34) | 137 (22) | 21 (4) | 33 (3) | 7 (4) | 7 | 1 | 2 (1) |
Sources
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