Lazio stage comeback in last fifteen minutes to conquer the Ferraris
Negro and Signori give Lazio deserved win
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished fourth and again qualified for the UEFA Cup. New owner Sergio Cragnotti however decided it was time for a change. Out went Dino Zoff's conservative style of play and in came "Zemanlandia" with new manager Zdenek Zeman, who had impressed at Foggia. Zoff was kept on as President.
The Bohemian brought Argentinian defender José Chamot with him and was reunited with winger Roberto Rambaudi (Atalanta). Lazio also added midfielder Giorgio Venturin (Torino) to their squad.
Leaving Lazio were defenders and fan favourite Luigi Corino (Brescia), Luca Luzardi (Napoli) plus well serving midfielder Claudio Sclosa (Cremonese-on loan).
In Serie A Lazio had so far played six games with 3 wins (Bari 1-0 away on debut, Torino 3-0 and Napoli 5-1 both at home), 2 draws (Parma 2-2 at home and Fiorentina 1-1 away with a 94th minute Cristiano Bergodi equaliser) and lost 1 (Milan 1-2 away with 90th minute Ruud Gullit winner). Lazio had 11 points and were in joint 3rd place with Juventus and Foggia.
In the UEFA Cup Lazio had knocked out Dinamo Minsk 4-1 on aggregate and then drawn the first leg 0-0 away to Swedish Trelleborg. The return game in Rome would be on November 1.
In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti had eliminated Modena 9-1 on aggregate and won the first home leg 3-2 against Piacenza. The return leg in Emilia would be on October 26.
Genoa had come in 11th the previous season, first under Claudio Maselli and then Franco Scoglio. The Rossoblu had lost 0-4 away to Lazio and drawn 1-1 at home. Top scorer was Czech Tomáš Skuhravý with 9 league goals.
This season the manager was still Scoglio. The main new players were defender Daniele Delli Carri (Torino), midfielders Antonio Manicone (Inter - on loan) and Dario Marcolin (Cagliari - on loan) while leaving were keeper Gianluca Berti (Ancona), defenders Roberto Lorenzini (Milan), Dan Petrescu (Sheffield Wednesday), midfielders Andrea Bianchi (Alessandria), Luca Cavallo (Perugia) and Lajos Détári (Neuchâtel Xamax).
So far, in the league the "Grifone" had won 2 (the last 2, Reggiana 3-1 at home and Brescia 2-1 away), drawn 2 (Fiorentina 1-1 and Napoli 3-3, both away) and lost 2 (Milan 0-1 away on debut and Roma 0-3 away). Genoa had 8 points and were joint 10th with Inter and Cagliari.
In Coppa Italia they had knocked out Cesena 3-0 on aggregate and won the first home leg against Roma 2-0 while the return game in Rome was in three days' time.
The pundits predicted a balanced game today. Genoa away was traditionally a difficult fixture for Lazio and the Rossoblu came from two consecutive wins.
The match: Sunday, October 23, 1994, Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
A grey, rainy day in the port city of Genova brought about 30,000 spectators to the old quarter of Marassi.
Genoa were without defender Nicola Caricola and Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura while Lazio had more or less the whole squad to choose from apart from the long term injured Paul Gascoigne.
Genoa played with a 4-5-1 which was to suffocate Lazio's midfield with only Tomáš Skuhravý up front. Zeman chose Gigi Casiraghi over Roberto Rambaudi in his usual 4-3-3.
The game was played at a good pace but in the first half there were not an abundance of chances. Most of Lazio’s initiatives were thanks to Alen Boksic who was by far the liveliest of the forward line.
Diego Fuser had a shot saved by 37-year-old Stefano Tacconi, Boksic hit a post and Beppe Signori had a freekick that shaved the crossbar. Genoa were all running, grit and aggressive defending in their half. The Rossoblu did however have a penalty appeal when José Antonio Chamot pushed Skuhravý but Braschi was not convinced. Halftime Genoa 0 Lazio 0.
Lazio as often happened away from home were finding it difficult to find the spaces needed to play their game.
For the second half the hosts replaced an injured defender Gianluca Signorini with midfielder John Van't Schip and Mario Bortolazzi was placed as "libero".
In the first twenty minutes of the second half, maybe due to Genoa's new tactical layout or because Genoa simply could not sustain the first half rhythm, it seemed Lazio could score any minute.
Then the unexpected happened. In the 66th minute Luca Marchegiani came out of his area and tried to tackle Skuhravý but missed him and then Cristiano Bergodi was forced to pull down Gennaro Ruotolo before he could shoot at the empty goal. A right defensive mess up and Dario Marcolin hit a good spot kick to give Genoa the lead. Genoa 1 Lazio 0.
Not really deserved but this was exactly Genoa's game plan.
Lazio took a few minutes to get over the setback but then started pushing forward again. In the 74th minute the attack took on a more logical form when Rambaudi came on for a disappointing Casiraghi.
Boksic then incredibly hit the woodwork twice with one strike when his shot first hit the crossbar and then the post.
In the 78th minute came Lazio’s deserved equaliser. Rambaudi blasted a low cross in from the right, something more like a shot, which Paolo Negro got a foot too and directed it past Tacconi. Genoa 1 Lazio 1.
The game now finally opened up. Genoa had tasted victory and wanted it back while the three points had been Lazio’s aim all along.
Both sides had chances, Genoa with Ruotolo and Van't Schip but Marchegiani was safe and Lazio with Signori and Boksic where Tacconi was superb.
The winner came in the 88th minute. An intelligent Beppe Favalli low ball, from just over the half way line on the left, cut through the defence and found Signori cutting horizontally into the area from the left, he pushed the ball past Tacconi with his left foot and with his right slotted it past an outstretched defender and into the net. All at lightning speed and Genoa 1 Lazio 2.
Genoa were beaten, they threw on another forward Marco Nappi for defender Daniele Delli Carri but it was too late. Their game plan had ultimately failed. Full time Genoa 1 Lazio 2.
Genoa had managed to limit Lazio for 70 minutes but then Lazio's superior level had given them a deserved win.
Lazio were now on 14 points and still joint 3rd but now only with Juventus. Genoa were now joint 12th with Napoli and only two points from the drop zone.
Who played for Genoa
Tacconi, Torrente, Delli Carri (89' Nappi), Manicone, Galante, Signorini (46' Van't Schip), Ruotolo, Bortolazzi, Onorati, Skuhravy, Marcolin
Substitutes: Micillo, Francini, Padovano
Manager: Scoglio
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani, Negro, Favalli, Di Matteo, Bergodi, Chamot, Casiraghi (74' Rambaudi), Fuser, Boksic, Winter, Signori
Manager: Zeman
Referee: Braschi
Goals: 66' Marcolin (pen), 78' Negro, 88' Signori
What happened next
Lazio had a positive season. They finished in 2nd place in Serie A, albeit ten points behind champions Juventus. The Biancocelesti won 19 (including derby 2-0, Juventus 3-0 away, Inter 2-0 away, Milan 4-0, Fiorentina 8-2, Foggia 7-1, Padova 5-1, Genoa 4-0), drew 6 and lost 9 (including derby 0-3). So, some great and high scoring wins but not enough consistency yet to really challenge for the Scudetto.
In the Coppa Italia Lazio reached the semi-finals but were beaten by Juventus 1-3 on aggregate.
In the UEFA Cup they had a good run reaching the quarterfinals. Lazio eliminated Trelleborg 1-0 and Trabzonspor 4-2 but were then narrowly knocked out by Borussia Dortmund, 1-2 on aggregate (last minute winner by former Lazio Karl-Heinz Riedle).
All in all, a season to remember. Entertainment was guaranteed, especially at home, and Lazio were the best attack with 69 goals (51 at home but only 18 away...). Top Lazio scorer was Beppe Signori with 21 (17 in the league).
Genoa were relegated. They changed managers to Giuseppe Marchioro and then Claudio Maselli, in November Nappi and Padovano left and in December Tacconi retired. The Grifone finished 15th, after 10 wins (including Inter 2-1, Roma 1-0, Sampdoria 2-1) draws and 14 defeats (including first derby 2-3 and Lazio 0-4). They were then forced to go to a playoff with Padova in Florence. The game ended 1-1 but Genoa lost the penalty shootout. The "Vecchio Balordo" (The Old Fool) was down. It would be another 12 years before the Rossoblu were back in Serie A (they even spent 2005-06 in C).
In Coppa Italia, Genoa then collapsed 0-3 away to Roma and so went out of the cup. Top scorer was Tomáš Skuhravý with 14 goals (12 in A).
So, as mentioned, Juventus won their 23rd title while Genoa, Reggiana, Foggia and Brescia sank down to Serie B.
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 Beppe Signori
There is no doubt that Beppe Signori was the 1990's Lazio hero. He is one of the top goal scorers of all time, an exciting player who had power in his shot, speed and football intelligence.
Born in Alzano Lombardo on February 17, 1968, he began playing football in the youth teams of Inter and turned professional in 1984 at just 16 when he started playing for Leffe in Serie D and then in Serie C2. In 1986 he signed for Piacenza in C1 but did not play much and the following year went to Trento where he played 40 games. Back at Piacenza in 1988-89 he debuted in Serie B.
This is where his life changed. Foggia manager Zdenek Zeman had already seen him play at Trento and when he signed for Foggia in 1989, he asked President Pasquale Casilio to sign Signori. Beppe often mentions his first meeting with the Czech. “When I first saw him, he waved and said Hi Bomber. But I was a number 10, not a goal scorer”. Zeman had the magnificent ability to read a football player. He could already tell that Signori was going to be a goal scorer even if Signori had never even contemplated the idea.
In that team, Signori would start playing with his right-wing counterpart, Roberto Rambaudi and also meet two former Lazio players, Francesco Fonte and Mauro Meluso. The team struggled at first but in the second half of the season they flew. Beppe-gol scored 14 goals.
In the second year Foggia destroyed all opposition and returned to Serie A after 13 years. The forward trio Rambaudi-Baiano-Signori created havoc in Serie B (the trio would score 15, 22 and 11 goals respectively), as they did in Serie A the following year (10-18-11) when Foggia just missed out on an incredible UEFA Cup qualification. At this point Casilio put most of the squad up for sale. It was time to cash in.
In 1992 Lazio had an ownership changeover. The new owner of the club Sergio Cragnotti had ambition and money so he invested in a number of players. In came four protagonists of Italy’s Under-21 national team – Mauro Bonomi, Dario Marcolin and Beppe Favalli from Cremonese plus Luca Luzardi from Brescia – as well as more experienced players such as Roberto Cravero from Torino, Diego Fuser from Milan and Aron Winter from Ajax. Cragnotti needed a star player and that was Paul Gascoigne who had been signed by the previous Lazio owner, Gianmarco Calleri, but due to a bad injury in his last game for Tottenham, had been out for a year.
Cragnotti had been unable to convince Ruben Sosa to stay with Lazio. The Uruguayan signed for Inter and Lazio needed a replacement. In came Beppe Signori.
His first goal for Lazio came on his debut. On August 26, 1992, Lazio played at Ascoli in Coppa Italia and won 4-0. He scored Lazio’s third goal, on a penalty with his classic way of taking them, that is with no run up. Nobody had ever seen a player shoot a penalty with no run up before. He also scored in the return match and then in the first game in Serie A he scored two, in the second he scored again, as he did in his third, in his fifth he scored a hat trick, scored one in the sixth, the seventh … Beppe Signori scored time and time again, 32 that season, 26 in 32 games in Serie A and 6 out of 6 in Coppa Italia. What a player, unstoppable. A new Arne Selmosson.
His third goal against Inter in December 1992 is a classic. He received the ball in Lazio’s half, ran towards the centre of the pitch followed by Beppe Bergomi, once he was 40 metres from the goal, he turned left again, ran past Nicola Berti, got in the penalty box on the left and with a precise left foot shot beat the goalkeeper. What a goal. Even Ruben Sosa, who was in the stands, had to admire Signori and probably thought that Lazio had substituted him with a much better player.
Lazio came fifth and secured a UEFA Cup qualification. Signori also started playing for the Nazionale
In his second year, Beppe was injured for quite a few games so he only scored 23 times in Campionato. In 24 appearances. Lazio came fourth but the European adventure was short lived and Signori failed to score. Scoring in European competitions for Lazio would be a problem for Beppe.
In the 1994-95 season Cragnotti decided to hand over the team to Signori’s footballing father, Zeman. This meant that Beppe would probably have fewer scoring opportunities since he would have to cover the left flank slightly more than what he was used to under Dino Zoff. He did not play as much due to injury and scored slightly less than usual even if Lazio scored 98 goals in all competitions. Lazio came second, a long way away from champions Juventus but all in all it was a very good season.
Cragnotti thought that the summer transfer window of 1995 was the last opportunity to sell Signori for a large profit. Beppe Signori was sold to Parma for 25 billion lire plus Dino Baggio and Pippo Inzaghi. Lazio needed money so when the Parma President Calisto Tanzi, looking to make his team stronger, made the offer, Cragnotti saw no reason to say no. The rest of the world did however say no. Firstly, the fans who organised a demonstration. 5000 people took to the streets to show their lack of appreciation for the deal. Secondly, the banks guaranteed they would cover the debts if the deal did not go through. Thirdly President Zoff underlined all the technical problems that would have occurred if the deal was made. Lastly, Beppe Signori said no. So Signori stayed.
Signori’s response to this was to be the leading Italian goal scorer (together with Igor Protti) for the 1995-96 season with 24 goals. Lazio did not do as well in Zeman’s second year but managed to arrive third at the end of the season. Signori also scored his first European goal, a penalty in the first round of the UEFA Cup in Lazio’s 5-0 win over Omonia Nicosia.
The 1996-97 season was a difficult one. Zeman was sacked in January. The team seemed to be fed up with him and were not following the Czech's instructions. Back came Dino Zoff and things improved. Lazio managed to reach 4th place and Signori scored 15 goals that season.
Everything changed in the 1997-98 season with the arrival of Sven-Goran Eriksson. Sven had been working for Sampdoria for the last five years and had established a strong working partnership with Roberto Mancini. Mancini had not renewed his contract with Sampdoria so Cragnotti convinced him to come to Lazio. It was a major change in philosophy: if Lazio had ambitions, they needed to think ambitiously.
Signori was no longer Lazio’s golden boy. The Lazio hero of the past years was not pleased with the new direction. After initially being in the team, Eriksson started putting him on the bench, preferring Mancini, Casiraghi and Boksic. Signori had been plagued by a herniated disc and the cortisone he was taking to cure it, plus periods of inactivity, had increased his weight. On the pitch he was not giving what the fans were used to basically because he did not have it in him.
The last straw took place in Vienna in the UEFA Cup tie with Rapid. Signori had been warming up for a while ready to take Mancini’s place on the field. The plan changed when Mancini got sent off. The problem was that nobody told Signori to stop warming up. Beppe-gol was offended and asked to leave the club. Lazio loaned him to Sampdoria in December. A real pity.
The trauma following his move to Genoa, both physically and mentally, did not allow him to play well with Sampdoria. He played 17 games and scored three goals. The worst thing for him was probably to witness that Lazio were thriving without him. They fought for the scudetto until April, reached the UEFA Cup final and won the Coppa Italia.
With Lazio Signori played 195 games (152 in Serie A, 24 in Coppa Italia, 19 in the UEFA Cup) and scored 127 goals (107 in Serie A, 17 in Coppa Italia and 3 in the UEFA Cup). He is Lazio’s third best goal scorer in all competitions behind Ciro Immobile and Silvio Piola, third best for goals in Serie A and second behind Bruno Giordano for goals scored in Coppa Italia.
In the summer of 1998 Lazio sold him to Bologna and Signori started a second career in Emilia. He solved his physical problems and returned to being the goal scoring machine he was with Lazio. He stayed for six seasons, played 176 times and scored 84 goals.
His last two years of active football were played abroad firstly with Iraklis in Greece, but a serious injury put him out of action for most of the season, and lastly in Hungary with Sopron. He did try looking for a team once his contract expired but since there were no concrete offers, in 2007 he quit.
Signori has 28 caps and seven goals with Italy. His Nazionale career started after former Milan manager Arrigo Sacchi took charge in late 1991. There was a slight problem though. Sacchi played with a 4-4-2 formation and decided that Signori had to play at midfield. But Signori was the greatest goal scorer of Italian football, so why should he play in midfield and not in attack? Because Sacchi preferred to have Roberto Baggio plus Gianluca Vialli, Daniele Massaro, Ruggero Rizzitelli or Pierluigi Casiraghi up front.
This problem hindered Signori’s Nazionale career which could have given him more prestige and goals. The problem came to an end in the USA '94 World Cup. In the second game against Norway, Italy were down to ten men due to goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca being sent off. Baggio was taken off the field to let Luca Marchegiani come in and it was up to Beppe Signori to play both at midfield and in attack. Italy had lost the first game to Ireland so were desperate for a win. Signori played a magnificent game and Italy won thanks to his assist for a Dino Baggio goal.
Beppe at this point asked Sacchi if he could play forward. The answer was no. Signori obeyed but after the game against Nigeria he called it a day. Either in attack or nothing. Sacchi as a consequence left him out in the quarter final against Spain (even though he did come on in the second half and provide the assist for Baggio’s goal) and the semi-final against Bulgaria (he came on with 20 minutes to go). For the final Sacchi asked Beppe if he wanted to play in midfield again, but he refused. Signori did not play the final and Italy lost on penalties.
Signori went on to play a few more games for the Nazionale after the World Cup but was left out of Euro 1996.
When he stopped playing Signori was very optimistic and ambitious. He wanted to be a manager and started doing a bit of punditry. But all this came to an end on June 1, 2011 when he was arrested on charges of money laundering. It was the same case that had seen Stefano Mauri arrested. Signori was accused, together with others, including his lawyer, of having laundered money, at least €600,000, from an illegal betting association in Singapore. The Italian Football Association suspended him for five years.
As in the Mauri case, there was no concrete proof. The arrest was made to force Beppe to confess. Signori always maintained his innocence, renounced the statute of limitations, and had the strong backing of all Bologna and Lazio fans who did not believe a word of what the Court of Cremona was accusing their hero of doing.
On February 23, 2021 he was declared innocent first by the Court of Piacenza and then on March 30 by the Court of Modena, for the simple reason that there was no case to answer. The Italian Federation rehabilitated him almost immediately, so after ten years of hell, Beppe Signori could return to the football world.
The whole case has been explained by Signori in a documentary.
Beppe Signori is a hero, a legend, a captain, a great player, a great goal scorer, who will always have a special place in the hearts of all Lazio fans.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1992-93 | 38 (32) | 32 (26) | 6 (6) | - |
1993-94 | 28 (23) | 24 (23) | 1 | 3 |
1994-95 | 39 (21) | 27 (17) | 5 (4) | 7 |
1995-96 | 38 (26) | 31 (24) | 4 (1) | 3 (1) |
1996-97 | 39 (15) | 32 (15) | 4 | 3 |
Jul-Dec 1997 | 13 (10) | 6 (2) | 4 (6) | 3 (2) |
Total | 195 (127) | 152 (107) | 24 (17) | 19 (3) |
Sources
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