A Christian miracle in Florence
In a man less for most of the match, 1-0 down on the hour mark, and seemingly doomed, Lazio thank Bergodi for 94th minute equaliser
Also on this day: October 2, 1977: Lazio Juventus 3-0. Lazio demolish Juventus in an epic match thanks to a fantastic Giordano brace. Player of the day: Giuseppe Avagliano
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 4th under Dino Zoff (UEFA qualification). Lazio had won one derby, drawn the other, beaten Juventus 3-1 and had some good results but there was the feeling there was a need for a change.
Out went Zoff's conservative style of football and in came Zdenek Zeman's "Zemanlandia" from Foggia. This season Lazio would go for a more modern and entertaining approach.
A few new players arrived some directly linked to Zeman such as defender José Antonio Chamot (Foggia) and Roberto Rambaudi (Atalanta, but formerly Foggia) plus Giorgio Venturin (Torino).
Some old favourites left such as Gigi Corino (Brescia), Claudio Sclosa (Cremonese-on loan) and Thomas Doll left for good after a year-long loan period (Eintracht Frankfurt).
The season had started with the Coppa Italia and Lazio had passed the first round beating Modena 9-1 on aggregate. In the UEFA Cup Lazio had got the better of Dinamo Minsk 4-1 on aggregate.
In Serie A Lazio had won the first two (Bari 1-0 away and Torino 3-0 at home), drawn one (Parma 2-2 at home) and lost one but played very well (Milan 1-2, Gullit in 90th minute).
Fiorentina were newly promoted, having won Serie B under Claudio Ranieri.
This year future Sir Claudio stayed on. The "Viola" had some good players; keeper Francesco Toldo, defenders Márcio Santos (new), Stefano Pioli, midfielders Rui Costa and forwards Gabriel Batistuta and Francesco Baiano to name a few. In a Lazio connection they had former loanee Fabrizio Di Mauro (who had scored in a derby for Lazio).
So far, in Coppa Italia the Gigliati had beaten Udinese 4-2 on aggregate while in Serie A they had 7 points, the same as Lazio. Fiorentina had beaten Cagliari 2-1, Cremonese 3-1, drawn with Genoa 1-1 and lost 1-3 to Inter. Batistuta was already on 5 league goals.
The vicinity of the two towns and similar club history has always meant a strong rivalry between the two sides. Today was no different with Lazio and their fans not expecting a warm welcome in Florence.
The match: Sunday, October 2, 1994, Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
A rainy day meant a heavy, wet pitch. The Florentine stadium had no roof (and still doesn't) but a good crowd of 37,000 turned up for this classic.
Fiorentina played with Rui Costa behind Batistuta and Baiano while Lazio played Zeman's traditional 4-3-3.
In the first fifteen minutes Lazio took the initiative but Fiorentina were dangerous on the break. Rui Costa put Batistuta one-on-one with Luca Marchegiani but he pulled it wide, a huge miss.
In the 16th minute came a controversial and key moment. Chamot was dispossessed by Batistuta about 40 metres out and then attempted to tackle him from behind, he hit player and ball so probably a foul but then he was shown a red card for being last man and interrupting a goal scoring opportunity. It was clear however that Roberto Cravero had Batistuta potentially covered coming in from the left, the fact is Chamot was sent packing and Lazio down to ten men.
There was then a nasty incident as when "El Flaco" Chamot was about to enter the tunnel for his early shower he was hit on the head by a coin and needed three stitches on his bloody wound.
Lazio immediately replaced Rambaudi with a defender, bringing on Cristiano Bergodi.
Batistuta soon had another massive chance when he was set up by Baiano but his shot was similar to his previous effort.
Lazio did occasionally relieve the pressure and Aron Winter and Diego Fuser with their speed held their own in midfield. Alen Boksic teed up the Dutchman who raced forward and tried a central shot, Toldo parried and Beppe Signori got the rebound but Toldo got a glove on it.
Fiorentina then had a penalty appeal when Batistuta tried to go around Marchegiani but "Il Conte" clearly touched the ball. Half time Fiorentina 0 Lazio 0.
Lazio holding on mainly due to Batistuta's surprisingly bad aim but with ten men it would not be easy.
For the second half Lazio replaced Boksic, who had a fever, with Pierluigi Casiraghi while Fiorentina brought on a more attacking Anselmo "Spadino" Robbiati for Di Mauro.
The pattern was the same and in the 60th minute the Viola took the lead. Fiorentina had a freekick on the right, for a foul by Winter on Daniele Carnasciali, Baiano swung the cross in and Batistuta jumped between two defenders and headed powerfully onto the post, the ball came back to him and he beat Marchegiani with a low right foot. Fiorentina 1 Lazio 0. Nobody could say they had not seen it coming.
Fiorentina almost made it two several times. Beppe Favalli messed up a pass in midfield and it went straight to Sandro Cois who assisted Batistuta, the Argentine dribbled Cravero and was clean through but on his left foot and his low shot came off Marchegiani's heel and into corner. Batistuta was again denied when Marchegiani saved his low volley with his feet and on the rebound his cross was put in the back of the net by Robbiati but in offside. Some minutes later Batistuta 's central freekick was saved in two attempts by the Lazio keeper.
Fiorentina should really have been two or three up but strange things happen in football. In the 94th minute Beppe Signori was pulled down on the left wing about 35 metres out. He floated in the freekick and Cristiano Bergodi anticipated his marker, twisted his body and dived low to send a header into the bottom left hand corner. Fiorentina 1 Lazio 1. A Lazio miracle in Florence, thanks to San Luca and San Cristiano.
Fiorentina must have been kicking themselves to have let the win slip away against ten men and after so many chances. Lazio were over the moon and never was the expression "un punto d'oro" (a golden point) more apt.
Who played for Fiorentina
Toldo, Carnasciali, Luppi, Cois, Pioli, Malusci, Carbone, Di Mauro (46' Robbiati), Batistuta, Rui Costa (78' Tedesco), Baiano
Substitutes: Scalabrelli, Sottil, Flachi
Manager: Ranieri
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Favalli, Di Matteo, Cravero, Chamot, Rambaudi (19' Bergodi), Fuser, Boksic (46' Casiraghi), Winter, Signori
Manager: Zeman
Referee: Beschin
Goals: 60' Batistuta, 94' Bergodi
What happened next
Lazio had a positive season and came second behind champions Juventus. They never really challenged for the scudetto (10 points behind) but runners up was still a prestigious position (although only the league winners still qualified for champions league). Lazio had some good wins; a derby 2-0, Inter home and away 4-1 and 2-0, Milan 4-0, Napoli 5-1, Foggia 7-1, Fiorentina 8-2, Genoa 4-0, Juventus 3-0 away but also some unexpected falls, Sampdoria 1-3, Bari 1-2 at home, Torino, Parma and Padova 0-2. The Biancocelesti won 19, drew 6 and lost 7, finishing on 63 points. They had the best attack (Fiorentina second) and the best goal difference. Top scorer was Signori with 21 goals (17 in the league).
In the current UEFA Cup Lazio were somewhat unluckily knocked out by Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals. Lazio were first clearly penalised by Hungarian referee Vágner's controversial decisions and then punished by former Lazio Karl-Heinz Riedle's last minute winner, giving the Westphalians a 2-1 aggregate victory.
In the Coppa Italia Lazio reached the semi- finals but were beaten by Juventus (1-3 on aggregate)
All in all, a promising first year for Zeman and entertainment guaranteed for Lazio fans.
Fiorentina had a reasonable season and came 10th. They would have some more high scoring games, luckily some in their favour (Brescia 4-0, Napoli 4-0 and 5-2, Padova 4-1, Torino 6-3) while others not (Juventus 1-4, Lazio 2-8). They totalled 12 wins, 11 draws and 11 defeats, so 47 points. They had the third worse defence but had the satisfaction of "Batigol" Batistuta being top Serie A scorer with 26 goals.
In the Coppa Italia they reached the quarterfinals but were eliminated by Parma 1-4 on aggregate.
As mentioned Juventus became champions for the 23rd time while Brescia, Reggiana, Foggia and Genoa slumped down to Serie B. Foggia unfortunately have not been back since.
Lazio 1994-95
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 69 |
Coppa Italia | 8 | 6 | - | 2 | 19 |
UEFA Cup | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
Total | 50 | 30 | 8 | 12 | 98 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Marchegiani | 48 | 33 | 7 | 8 |
Negro | 48 | 32 | 8 | 8 |
Casiraghi | 47 | 34 | 6 | 7 |
Rambaudi | 46 | 32 | 7 | 7 |
Fuser | 45 | 32 | 6 | 7 |
Top Five Goal Scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Signori | 21 | 17 | 4 | - |
Casiraghi | 15 | 12 | 3 | - |
Boksic | 11 | 9 | - | 2 |
Negro | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Fuser | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Let talk about Cristiano Bergodi
Cristiano Bergodi was born in Bracciano (Rome), on October 14, 1964.
He is from a family of ardent Lazio fans and at 11 he entered the Lazio youth sector. He then joined Casalotti for a year at 14 and then at 15 joined the Pescara youth team set up.
He then made his professional debut for the "Delfini" (The Dolphins) in 1984 in Serie B. He stayed five seasons with a 7th, 17th (avoided relegation to C as Palermo went bust), 1st in B, 14th in Serie A and finally 16th in A with relegation. His managers were Enrico Catuzzi for two years and Giovanni Galeone for three years. Bergodi played 97 league games and 11 in Coppa Italia. He played in squads with Lazio connections Claudio Vagheggi, Franco Marchegiani, Antonio Elia Acerbis plus future Atalanta manager Gianpiero Gasperini.
In 1989 he came home to Lazio. The Biancocelesti were coached by Giuseppe Materazzi and finished 9th, their best result being an away win against Milan (it would not happen in the league for another 30 years...), Inter 2-1 and especially eventual champions, Maradona's Napoli 3-0. Bergodi played 32 league games with 1 goal (Cremonese) and 2 in Coppa Italia.
The following year Dino Zoff arrived as manager and Lazio finished 11th. The Biancocelesti drew both derbies and beat Juventus but did not improve as much as one had hoped. Bergodi played 33 league games and two in Coppa Italia.
In the 1991-92 season Lazio finished 10th but it would see the arrival of ambitious Roman entrepreneur Sergio Cragnotti as owner. Lazio again drew both derbies. Bergodi played 26 league games with 1 goal (Ascoli) and 3 in Coppa Italia.
The 1992-93 finally saw a more competitive Lazio with the arrival of Paul Gascoigne, Aron Winter, Beppe Signori, Beppe Favalli and Roberto Cravero amongst others. Lazio finished 5th and qualified for the UEFA Cup. They again drew both derbies but one with an epic dying minutes Gascoigne equaliser. Bergodi played 16 league games with 1 goal (86th minute equaliser against Milan) and 1 in Coppa Italia.
The 1993-94 season would be Zoff's last for now. Lazio did one better and finished 4th. Their best result was beating Juventus 3-1at home and Inter 2-1 away plus they won a derby after five years (1-0 Signori). Bergodi played 14 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia and 3 in the UEFA Cup.
In I994-95 Zdenek Zeman took over and Lazio's style of play changed drastically. Lazio finished 2nd, albeit ten points behind champions Juventus. The Biancocelesti had some great victories; a derby 2-0, Inter home and away 4-1 and 2-0, Milan 4-0, Napoli 5-1, Foggia 7-1, Fiorentina 8-2, Genoa 4-0, Juventus 3-0. They also reached the UEFA Cup quarter finals (Borussia Dortmund 1-2 on aggregate) and the Coppa Italia semi-finals (Juventus 1-3 on aggressive). Bergodi played 24 league games with 1 goal (94th minute equaliser in Florence), 5 in Coppa Italia and 3 in the UEFA Cup. He was a protagonist in Lazio's derby win as, apart from his defending, he set up the second goal by Casiraghi with a bicycle kick assist.
In 1995-96 Lazio had another solid season finishing 3rd. Standout results were a 4-0 thrashing of Juventus, Sampdoria 6-3, Atalanta 5-1, Cagliari and Fiorentina 4-0. Lazio drew the first derby and won the second 1-0. Bergodi's playing time was limited by the emergence of world-class centre back Alessandro Nesta. Bergodi played 15 league games, 3 in Coppa Italia and 3 in the UEFA Cup.
At this point Bergodi left Lazio and joined Padova (his mother's birthplace) in Serie B. He stayed three seasons; 11th, 19th (relegated) and 14th in C1 (relegated after playoffs). Bergodi played 43 league games with 1 goal for the Biancoscudati.
In 1999 he went for a foreign experience, it was not Saudi time yet so he went to Malta and joined Sliema Wanderers in the Premier League Malti. The Blues finished 2nd but won their 18th Maltese Cup (he would later become a bit of a cup specialist). Bergodi played 18 league games with 1 goal.
At almost 36 he then retired and reappeared as a manager in 2002.
His first job was with Imolese in serie C when he took over from Salvatore Bianchetti and kept the Rossoblu up through the playouts. His next job was with Sassuolo in 2003 in C2, replacing Gianni Balugani. The Sasôl avoided relegation via the playouts.
In 2004 he came back to Lazio as assistant manager to Domenico Caso with new owner Claudio Lotito. It was a difficult season with a myriad of new players, some of dubious quality, and the duo were replaced by Giuseppe Papadopulo after 16 matches.
He was then assistant to former Lazio Angelo Gregucci at Lecce in Serie B but the experience only lasted five games. The Salentini were eventually relegated.
In 2005 he started his first Romanian spell when he joined National Bucharest in Division A (2nd tier) in November for a season, finishing 7th and runners up in the Romanian Cup. From October 2006 he was at CFR Cluj finishing 3rd (UEFA qualification). In July 2007 to October he had a stint at Rapid Bucharest, winning the Romanian Super Cup defeating FCU Poli Timişoara 2-0. From January until June 2009 he was with Politehnica and from June until September with Steaua Bucharest.
In 2010 he returned to Italy and was manager of Modena in Serie B. The "Canarini" (The Canaries) finished 10th but the following season he was sacked in November.
He immediately went back to Pescara taking over from former Lazio teammate Giovanni Stroppa. Bergodi was then replaced himself in March and the Adriatici were eventually relegated to Serie B. In his five months in Abruzzo he coached former Lazio Luciano Zauri and Giuseppe Sculli.
In September 2013-14 he had a period at Brescia in Serie B. He was manager from the 8th fixture to the 27th. The"Leonessa" (The Lioness) came 11th.
In April 2015 he returned to Romania for the second time. From April he spent the last few months of the league season with Rapid Bucharest but the "Feroviari" (The Railway Men) were relegated.
He was then coach at Târgu Mureş in L1 (top flight) between September and December. The team was doing well but due to financial problems at the club, he resigned. He then returned to Modena in Serie B (taking over from Hernan Crespo) from March but was unable to avoid relegation to Lega Pro.
After a break in November 2018 he was back in Romania for the third time joining Voluntari in L1. His first season was positive but he was sacked in January of his second, after a string of bad results.
He stayed in Romania and in May 2020 took over at CSU Craiova in L1. He had a good impact with 6 wins and a draw with the "Leii din Bănie (The Lions of Bănie). His second season was going well with 8 wins and 2 losses but he left in November.
In October 2021 he reappeared, still in Romania in Transylvania, with Sepsi in L1. The club from Sfântu Gheorge qualified for Europe and won the Romanian Cup defeating Voluntari 2-1. He stayed on the following season and finished 6th but won the Supercupa României (The Romanian Super Cup) defeating CFR Cluj 2-1.
In 2023-2004, so in the current season, he is back with Rapid Bucharest in L1 for his third spell with the Cherry and Whites.
Cristiano Bergodi was a defender, he could play in all the defensive roles. He is 1.88 and 82 kilos, so strong physically. He was a solid man to man marker but with Galeone and Zeman played in their zonal 4-3-3 formations. He was a hardworking player, a strong tackler and good in the air.
At Lazio he fulfilled his childhood dream of playing for his club. He wore his heart on his sleeve and in derbies especially was a fan in a Lazio jersey. His verbal and physical battles with Roma's Giuseppe Giannini are epic. He played 185 games for the Biancocelesti with 4 goals, the late equalisers against Fiorentina and Milan are memorable. He did not win any trophies for Lazio but won three derbies and was a fan favourite. He played with Alessandro Nesta, Paul Gascoigne, Beppe Signori and other greats, any Lazio fan's dream.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1989-90 | 34 (1) | 32 (1) | 2 | - |
1990-91 | 34 | 33 | 1 | - |
1991-92 | 29 (1) | 26 (1) | 3 | - |
1992-93 | 17 (1) | 16 (1) | 1 | - |
1993-94 | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 |
1994-95 | 32 (1) | 24 (1) | 5 | 3 |
1995-96 | 21 | 15 | 3 | 3 |
Total | 185 (4) | 160 (4) | 16 | 9 |
Sources
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