A game of two halves, goals missed and goals scored
After missing the impossible Lazio score five second half goals and qualify for the next round
The season so far
Lazio had qualified for the Champions League by winning their historic second Scudetto. The Biancocelesti had also won the Coppa Italia to clinch the double. They had then followed these up by winning the Italian Supercoppa in September beating Inter 4-3. In the Champions League they had reached the quarter finals but were beaten 3-5 on aggregate by Valencia. The manager was Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The summer market seemed to have further strengthened the Romans. Arriving were keeper Angelo Peruzzi (Inter), midfielders Dino Baggio (Parma), Lucas Castromán (Vélez Sarsfield), Karel Poborský (Benfica) plus forwards Hernán Crespo (Parma) and Claudio Lopez (Valencia).
Some sacrifices were obviously necessary and leaving were keeper Marco Ballotta (Inter), defender Nestor Sensini, midfielders Matias Almeyda (Parma), Attilio Lombardo (Sampdoria), Sergio Conceição (Parma) and forwards Alen Boksic (Middlesbrough) and Roberto Mancini (retiring). Some great players who would be missed.
This evening was the fifth fixture in the Champions League group phase. Lazio had so far won 2 (Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 away on debut and Sparta Prague 3-0 at home), drawn 1 (Arsenal 1-1 at home) and lost 1 (Arsenal 0-2 away). Lazio were on 7 points behind Arsenal on 10.
In Serie A Lazio had played three games: won 1 (Perugia 3-0 at home), drawn 1 (Atalanta 2-2 away on debut) and lost 1 (Verona 0-2). Not a great start and to make things worse Roma were top with 9 points.
In Coppa Italia Lazio were through to the quarterfinals after beating Sampdoria 6-3 on aggregate in September. The Biancocelesti would now play Udinese in November-December.
Tonight however was a Champions League night and with a win Lazio could already book a place in the second group stage.
Shakhtar Donetsk had finished 2nd in the Ukrainian league, the Vyšča Liha. The manager was Viktor Prokopenko. So far the "Hirnyky" (Miners) had won 1 (Sparta Prague 2-1 at home) and lost 3 (Lazio 0-3 at home, Arsenal 2-3 and Sparta Prague 2-3 both away). The Ukrainians were on 3 points. The "Kroty" (Moles) had to win tonight to have any chance of progressing in the Champions League.
The match: Wednesday, October 25, 2000, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
There was not a big crowd tonight, around 15,000.
Shakhtar Donetsk were still almost all Ukrainians as this was the period before they started playing with several Brazilians. Lazio were without Sinisa Mihajlovic and Fabrizio Ravanelli but fielded a strong side.
It became clear early on that there was a huge gap in skill between the two teams. Lazio had chance after chance but could not score. The Biancocelesti had eleven shots on target but zero goals. Simone Inzaghi missed a few sitters and had a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside (still many years until VAR), Pavel Nedved shaved the post, the keeper saved from a low Juan Sebastian Veron free kick, from a Fernando Couto header and from Claudio Lopez several times. The Argentine also had a lob cleared off the line by a defender. It almost seemed too easy, causing Lazio to lack the killer instinct.
In all this Shakhtar had threatened once with a cross goal shot parried by Angelo Peruzzi but then unexpectedly struck in the 42nd minute. A high ball over Couto and Beppe Favalli found Vorobei who headed on and just inside the area on the left blasted a brilliant left foot into the top near corner. A superb goal and Lazio 0 Shakhtar Donetsk 1.
In a game so far dominated Lazio were one-nil down at the break.
Lazio made two changes over halftime, more offensive midfielder Dejan Stankovic came on for Roberto Baronio and Hernan Crespo replaced an inconclusive Inzaghi (although to be fair he had scored a perfectly good goal).
Lazio came back on, aware of the fact that it's no use showing you are by far the better team if you do not score. It went from a drought to a flood.
In the 48th minute Nedved headed on, Crespo flicked it into the area to Claudio Lopez who hooked a left footer into the far corner, 1-1.
In the 54th minute Lazio went in front. Favalli on the left vertex of the area nutmegged a defender, went a few metres forward and drilled a low shot in on the far post. A class goal and 2-1.
The gates had opened and in the 57th minute Veron made it three. He curled a sublime free kick from the right vertex into the front post corner. When shown from behind the goal one can appreciate just how much the ball turned, 3-1.
At this point the Ukrainians had the first of their two second half shots on target, a long range effort which bounced in front of Peruzzi causing him some problems.
In the 68th minute Lopez got his brace when on the counter attack he ran thirty metres undisturbed, went round the keeper and slotted the ball in for the 4-1.
In the 70th minute Nestor Sensini replaced Attilio Lombardo and soon after the visitors had a shot which Peruzzi comfortably caught.
There was still time for Lopez to get his hat-trick. In the 90th minute Crespo's through ball found "El Piojo"(Flea) inside the area on the left and he beat Virt with a low shot in the opposite corner. Final score Lazio 5 Shakhtar Donetsk 1.
An ultimately easy win for Lazio after a first half scare that was mainly self inflicted. With the right concentration the goal came, lots of them.
Lazio were through to the next round while the Ukranians, to get into the consolatory UEFA Cup, now had to beat Arsenal at home and hope Lazio won in Prague.
Who played for Lazio
Peruzzi, Pancaro, Nesta, Fernando Couto, Favalli, Lombardo (70' Sensini), Baronio (46' Stankovic), Veron, Nedved, S.Inzaghi (46' Crespo), C.Lopez
Substitutes: Marchegiani, Negro, Simeone, Salas
Manager: Eriksson
Who played for Shakhtar Donetsk
Virt, Tymoshchuk, Okoronkwo, Gleveckas, Zubov, Kovalyov (83' Starostyak), Aliuta (65' Bielik), Popov (75' Chmarko), Bakharev, Vorobei, Atelkin
Substitutes: Shutkov, Shevchuk, Gai, Savu
Manager: Prokopenko
Referee: Sars
Goals: 42' Vorobei, 48' C.Lopez, 54' Favalli, 57' Veron, 68' C.Lopez, 90 C.Lopez
What happened next
In the Champions League the Biancocelesti then beat Sparta Prague 1-0 away and came second behind Arsenal, on the same 13 points but the Gunners had won the direct match.
Lazio were not as successful in the second group phase and were eliminated, against Real Madrid (D1, L1), Leeds United (D1, L1) and Anderlecht (W1, L1).
Lazio did not repeat the previous Serie A campaign and finished 3rd (CL qualification). In early January Eriksson resigned after poor results and having already agreed to become the England manager from June. Dino Zoff came in and things improved but Lazio ultimately fell short. Top scorer was Hernan Crespo with 28 goals (26 in A).
In Coppa Italia went out in the quarter finals, losing to Udinese 3-5 on aggregate.
Shakhtar Donetsk then beat Arsenal 3-0 in the last match but it only counted for prestige in CL as they were already out. It did however get them into the UEFA Cup where they then lost to Celta Vigo 0-1 on aggregate. In their domestic league Shakhtar again finished 2nd behind Dynamo Kyiv (their 9th consecutive title). The Miners finally won their first league title in 2002 (they now have 15).
Lazio 2000-01
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 65 |
Coppa Italia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
Champions League | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 22 |
Super Coppa | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
Total | 51 | 29 | 10 | 12 | 100 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Super Coppa |
Nedved | 46 | 31 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
Pancaro | 43 | 31 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
Simeone | 41 | 30 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
Crespo | 40 | 32 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Nesta | 39 | 29 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Super Coppa |
Crespo | 28 | 26 | - | 2 | - |
Nedved | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | - |
Salas | 8 | 7 | 1 | - | - |
Mihajlovic | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Inzaghi | 7 | 4 | - | 3 | - |
Lopez | 7 | - | - | 5 | 2 |
Let's talk about Beppe Favalli
Giuseppe "Beppe" Favalli was born in Orzinuovi (Brescia) on January 8, 1972.
He grew up with the Cremonese youth sector and made his debut with the Grigiorossi on April 16, 1989 in a Cremonese-Sambenedettese in Serie B. "Le Tigri" (The Tigers) won promotion and the following year Favalli made his Serie A debut and played 28 league games. Cremonese were then relegated but won promotion again the next year so he played another season in the top flight. In this 1991-92 campaign he also scored his first Serie A goal (Verona). The Cremonesi were relegated again but Favalli would stay in Serie A. He played a total of 102 games for "I Violini" (Violins) with 3 goals (2 in B and 1 in A).
In the summer of 1992 he joined Lazio. He came with another two promising Italy U21 Cremonese players, Mauro Bonomi and Dario Marcolin.
Favalli had some difficulties adapting to a bigger club and was timid at first in his approach to games. Zoff stood by him, he gradually improved and in his first year he played 32 league games and scored 1 goal (Pescara).
He would stay for 12 seasons. He played under Zoff, Zeman, Eriksson, Zoff again and Mancini. His time in Rome was full of satisfactions as Lazio gradually rose to being one of the best teams in Europe. Favalli won a Scudetto (2000), the Coppa Italia 3 times (1998, 2000, 2004), a European Cup Winners Cup (1999), 2 Italian Super Cups (1998, 2000) and 1 European Super Cup (1999).
On an individual level Favalli played 401 matches for the Biancocelesti and scored 6 goals (4 in A, 1 in CL against Shakhtar Donetsk and 1 in Coppa UEFA against Dinamo Minsk). He is second in Lazio history for number of appearances. He was also captain for 3 years (1997-98, 2002-04).
In 2004, with Lazio in a deep financial crisis, Favalli moved to Inter with Mancini. He stayed two seasons playing 68 games for the Nerazzurri. In his first year they came third and won the Coppa Italia (beating Roma). In his second they won the Scudetto (taken away from Juve due to Calciopoli), the Coppa Italia (beating Roma again) and the Italian Supercoppa.
In 2006 he changed Milanese allegiances and went to Milan. He would stay four successful seasons winning a Champions League (2007 Liverpool 2-1), 1 UEFA Super Cup (2007 Sevilla 3-1) and 1 World Cup for clubs (2007 Boca Juniors 4-2). He played under Carlo Ancelotti for three years and one under Leonardo. Favalli made 99 appearances for the "Diavolo" (80 in A, 7 in Coppa Italia and 12 in Europe).
At 38 after winning everything there was to win he retired.
At international level he won 8 Italian caps, 24 U21 caps with 2 goals and won the European Championship in Spain' 92, 6 Olympics caps and 9 games for Italy U18's with 1 goal.
Favalli was a left full-back although he could also play in the middle. He was 1.81 for 73 kilos. He was an extremely intelligent player tactically, possessed good technical skills and was athletic. He was a defender but gave a good contribution up front serving assists and crosses with his precise left foot. He was a hard but clean player.
At Lazio, after the initial skepticism, he became a legend. He gradually won over the fans with his reliable, solid performances. He was known as "Il Professore" for his calm character and his above average culture. His tactical acumen was greatly appreciated by his various managers at the club and he was first choice for all of them despite their diverging tactical approaches. Favalli was a model professional and well liked at Lazio for his modest, reserved character. The feeling was mutual, when he left for Inter he gave Lazio plenty of warning and paid for a whole page in the most popular local sports paper to thank all the fans, colleagues and staff for his fantastic 12 Roman years.
Favalli was captain for three seasons and won 8 trophies in Rome, including an elusive Scudetto, definitely legend material.
On a final curious note, Favalli's uncle Erminio played for Juventus in the 1960's (winning a Scudetto) and Palermo amongst other teams in the 1970's. Favalli's own son Alessandro is also a professional footballer and currently plays for Siena.
Season | Total Games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Cup Winners Cup | UEFA Cup | Super Coppa |
1992-93 | 36 (1) | 32 (1) | 4 | - | - | - | - |
1993-94 | 25 (1) | 23 (1) | - | - | - | 2 | - |
1994-95 | 32 (1) | 22 | 5 | - | - | 5 (1) | - |
1995-96 | 32 (1) | 26 (1) | 3 | - | - | 3 | - |
1996-97 | 31 | 26 | 3 | - | - | 2 | - |
1997-98 | 41 | 24 | 8 | - | - | 9 | - |
1998-99 | 34 | 25 | 4 | - | 5 | - | - |
199-00 | 25 | 18 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - |
2000-01 | 37 (1) | 27 | 6 | 6 (1) | - | - | 1 |
2001-02 | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - |
2002-03 | 35 (1) | 26 (1) | 3 | - | - | 6 | - |
2003-04 | 43 | 29 | 6 | 8 | - | - | - |
Total | 401 (6) | 298 (4) | 45 | 25 (1) | 5 | 27 (1) | 1 |
Sources
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