A memorable trouncing of the "Old Lady" to go down in the history books
Lazio bury Juventus with four goals in an epic win
Also on this day: October 29, 1978: Lazio Vicenza 4-3. Lazio win thriller, Giordano and Rossi confirm to be best of their generation. Non Lazio player of the day: Paolo Rossi
The season so far
It was Zdenek Zeman's second year in charge after the previous year's second place (although way behind champions Juventus). They had also reached the UEFA Cup quarter-final (unlucky exit to former Lazio Karl Heinz Riedle's Borussia Dortmund) and the semi-final of Italian Cup. So, they were trying to build on a positive year.
The summer market had brought defenders Guerino Gottardi (Neuchatel Xamax) and Alessandro Grandoni (Ternana) plus midfielder Massimiliano Esposito (Reggiana). The main changes were the players leaving. It was with great sadness that Lazio said goodbye to beloved Paul Gascoigne (Rangers for 4.3 million pounds) after 3 eventful years in Rome. Also leaving were defenders Roberto Cravero (Torino), Roberto Bacci (Torino) and midfielder Giorgio Venturin (Cagliari - loan).
Cragnotti had tried to sell Beppe Signori to Parma but the fans had literally taken to the streets in thousands in protest and "convinced" the owner to keep the striker.
So, all in all, a more sober transfer market than Cragnotti's previous ones.
Serie A started on August 27 and today was the 8th fixture. Lazio had so far won 3 (Piacenza 4-1 at home on debut, Cagliari 1-0 away and Padova 2-0 at home) and drawn 4 (Bari 3-3 away but from 1-3 down in ten men, Udinese 2-2 at home, the derby and Inter away both 0-0). The Biancocelesti were unbeaten and currently joint 5th on 13 points (this was only the second season with three points per victory).
In Coppa Italia Lazio had scraped through on penalties against Chievo away and then played Udinese away on October 25 in the last 16 winning 1-0. Next up were Inter in November-December in the quarter finals.
In the UEFA Cup Lazio had knocked out Cypriots Omonia 7-1 on aggregate. Then came Olympique Lyonnais and Lazio had lost the away leg 1-2 in France while the return in Rome was in two days’ time.
Today however, was an important and always exciting Lazio vs Juventus. The Old Lady/Madam/Fidanzata d'Italia that half of Italy always dream of beating (the other half support them).
Juventus were reigning champions. The Bianconeri had won the double (Scudetto + Coppa Italia) under Marcello Lippi. They had also reached the UEFA Cup final but lost to Parma 1-2 on aggregate. The top scorer was Fabrizio Ravanelli with 30 goals while only in Serie A it was Gianluca Vialli with 17.
This year Lippi was still on the bench. The main new players were: defender Gianluca Pessotto (Torino), Pietro Vierchowod (Sampdoria), midfielders Vladimir Jugovic and Attilio Lombardo (Sampdoria) plus forward Michele Padovano (Reggiana).
Leaving were: defenders Robert Jarni (Betis Sevilla), Jürgen Kohler (Borussia Dortmund), midfielders Alessandro Orlando (Fiorentina) plus forward Roberto Baggio (Milan).
So far, in Serie A were joint second with Parma after 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat, one point ahead of Lazio but two behind leaders Milan.
In the Champions League, possibly their real objective this season, they had played 3 and won 3 (Borussia Dortmund 3-1 away, Steaua Bucharest 3-0 and Rangers 4-1 at home). In a good position for their European obsession (they had only won it once, the blood-stained cup of 1985 in Heysel, Brussels).
In Coppa Italia they had surprisingly been beaten by Atalanta 0-1 a.e.t and were out.
Today however, was a league fixture, the always appealing game in Rome for Juve's millions of fans in southern Italy.
The match: Sunday, October 29, 1995, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A pleasant, sunny October afternoon saw a full house of 70,000 for this big match.
Lazio had no injury problems while Juventus initially left Gianluca Vialli on the bench.
Lazio started well looking sharper than the visitors. The Biancocelesti had several chances to take the lead. Beppe Signori controlled a long ball from midfield with his left and fired a low shot with his right but Angelo Peruzzi saved. A few minutes later Diego Fuser won an aerial challenge outside the box, stretched and toed a shot past Peruzzi but the ball trickled just wide.
Lazio's main problems in defence came from "friendly fire", as in the 27th minute when Paolo Negro crashed into keeper Luca Marchegiani who was forced off with a suspect cruciate ligament injury and replaced by Fernando Orsi.
Lazio continued to go forward and were rewarded in the 39th minute. Roberto Rambaudi put in a low cross from the right which neither Aron Winter nor Antonio Conte made decent contact with and the ball spun out to Signori on the left side of the area where he fired a thundering left foot which hit the bar and went in. Lazio 1 Juventus 0. A well-deserved lead.
Juventus had a reaction and Ciro Ferrara hit the top of the crossbar with a header from an Angelo Di Livio corner.
Just before halftime however, Lazio doubled their lead. Beppe Favalli hoofed the ball forward hopefully and it turned into an assist for Gigi Casiraghi who took advantage of a moment of hesitation and misunderstanding between Moreno Torricelli and Peruzzi to go past them and from an angle shot at the open goal, the ball hit the post, giving the Lazio striker another go, he got up and this time, despite defenders on the line, he scored with a low right foot. Lazio 2 Juventus 0. A perfect time to score a second goal, just on the halftime whistle.
No disputing the score line so far, Lazio by far the better team.
For the second half Juventus brought on Vialli for Di Livio and Gian Carlo Marocchi for Moreno Torricelli.
The more attacking orientated line up did not however have the desired effects. Juventus rarely threatened with Alessandro Del Piero and Vialli kept quiet by Alessandro Nesta and José Antonio Chamot.
In the 60th minute Zeman took off Signori and threw on Alen Boksic. Beppe-Gol was not overjoyed.
Lazio absorbed Juventus' sterile pressure and struck on the break. In the 71st minute Casiraghi powered past Ferrara on the left and with the outside of his foot served Favalli on the left vertex of the box, he crossed low into Rambaudi who had time to domesticate the ball and drill a low left foot past Peruzzi. A great move, Lazio 3 Juventus 0.
Both sides then made their third substitutions (this was the first season three were allowed). In the 72nd minute the hosts protected their lead putting Dario Marcolin on for Fuser while the visitors tried Gianluca Pessotto for Alessio Tacchinardi.
Things did not change and Lazio scored again. Boksic went on one of his devastating runs down the left where he exquisitely chipped a delicate cross over to Casiraghi who acrobatically smashed a header into the back of the net. Power, refined skill, agility and power again for a super goal. Lazio 4 Juventus 0. It was turning into a historic rout; the fans were enjoying this.
Juventus to be fair were unlucky not to get a late consolation goal. First Fabrizio Ravanelli hit the bar, after Negro had completely missed the ball while trying to clear, and then Vialli, set up by a Ravanelli header, hit the post with a powerful cross goal strike. Final score Lazio 4 Juventus 0.
The result was a fair reflection on Lazio’s dominance despite the Bianconeri hitting the woodwork three times. Lazio proved that when they were at their best, they could beat anyone. Unfortunately, this was not always the case and inconsistency was never far away.
Lazio moved up to 3rd in the table overtaking today's opposition.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani (27' Orsi), Nesta, Favalli, Di Matteo, Negro, Chamot, Rambaudi, Fuser (72' Marcolin), Casiraghi, Winter, Signori (60' Boksic)
Substitutes: Romano, Piovanelli
Manager: Zeman
Who played for Juventus
Peruzzi, Ferrara, Porrini, Carrera, Torricelli (46' Marocchi), Paulo Sousa, Conte, Tacchinardi (72' Pessotto), Di Livio (46' Vialli), Del Piero, Ravanelli
Substitutes: Rampulla, Sorin
Manager: Lippi
Referee: Collina
Goals: 39' Signori, 45' Casiraghi, 71' Rambaudi, 77' Casiraghi
What happened next
A week later Lazio fell to their first league defeat 0-2 in Florence. Lazio had a decent season and finished 3rd. Another positive year with some more great wins: Sampdoria 6-3, Atalanta 5-1, Cagliari 4-0, Fiorentina 4-0, Roma 1-0 all at home but also some bad and unexpected defeats, Vicenza 0-1, Piacenza 1-2, Cremonese 1-2 all away. Despite some fantastic displays, mainly at home, Lazio were too inconsistent to challenge for the title. Top scorer was Beppe Signori with 26 goals (24 in A and top with Igor Protti of Bari).
In Coppa Italia Lazio then lost to Inter 1-2 on aggregate in the quarter finals.
In the UEFA CUP Lazio were eliminated in the round of 32 by Olympique Lyonnais 1-4 on aggregate.
Juventus did not retain their title and finished 2nd behind Milan. They did however win two trophies: the Italian Supercoppa (Parma 1-0 in January) and above all the Champions League. They won their group and then eliminated Real Madrid and Nantes before defeating Ajax on penalties in Rome. Top scorer was Ravanelli with 17 goals (12 in A).
Lazio 1995-96
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 66 |
Coppa Italia | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
UEFA Cup | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
Total | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 77 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Fuser | 39 | 32 | 4 | 3 |
Negro | 39 | 31 | 4 | 4 |
Di Matteo | 38 | 31 | 3 | 4 |
Signori | 38 | 31 | 4 | 3 |
Chamot | 37 | 32 | 4 | 1 |
Winter | 37 | 30 | 3 | 4 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Signori | 26 | 24 | 1 | 1 |
Casiraghi | 18 | 14 | - | 4 |
Winter | 7 | 6 | - | 1 |
Fuser | 6 | 6 | - | - |
Boksic | 4 | 4 | - | - |
Let's talk about Roberto Rambaudi
Roberto Rambaudi was born in Moncalieri (Turin), on January 12, 1966.
Rambaudi was formed in the Torino youth sector but never played a game for them.
In 1985 he joined Omegna (C2) for a year playing 29 games with 4 goals. The Piemontesi were relegated and Rambaudi moved on.
Between 1986 and 1988 he played for Pavia (promotion to C1 then relegated back to C2) making 61 appearances and scoring 18 times.
In 1988 he joined Perugia (C1) where he played for one season playing 28 games and scoring 8 goals.
In 1989 came the move that would change the course of his career. Rambaudi moved South to Foggia (Serie B) where he would play under Czech coach Zdenek Zeman. The Bohemian played an aggressive and entertaining style of football and Rambaudi became one of his key players.
In 1989-90 Foggia finished 8th but Rambaudi impressed, getting 37 games and scoring 7 goals.
The following year the Satanelli won promotion to Serie A winning the league by a wide margin. The attacking trio of Baiano-Signori and Rambaudi was already making a name for itself. Rambaudi again played 37 games but with 15 goals.
Back in Serie A Foggia continued to entertain with their performances and finished 9th. Rambaudi played 33 times and scored 9 goals.
In 1992 the "Tridente delle Meraviglie "(The Trident of Marvels) was disbanded; Baiano left for Fiorentina, Signori for Lazio and Rambaudi joined Atalanta. His time at Foggia and "Zemanlandia" have gone down in the football history books and the attacking trio Rambaudi was part of, one of the most prolific and spectacular ever.
In Bergamo Rambaudi stayed two seasons playing 57 games with 8 goals. In 1994 at the end of his second year Atalanta were relegated to Serie B and Rambaudi got a call from a manager, but not just any manager, from Zdenek Zeman.
Zeman had been appointed by Sergio Cragnotti's Lazio and with Signori already there he requested the club to sign Rambaudi.
With his old mentor Zeman and reunited with his former attacking buddy Signori (they are also close friends) Rambaudi again flourished forming excellent attacking line-ups with Signori, Boksic and Casiraghi. He became much more of an assist man than a goal scorer, much to Signori's delight. Rambaudi was a perfect pawn in Zeman's frenetic but schematic tactics and his performances even earned him a call up to Arrigo Sacchi's national squad (Sacchi had a similar style of play to Zeman).
Rambaudi stayed at Lazio for four seasons. The first three with Zeman, when he played regularly and the last with Eriksson, when he started to get less playing time. With Lazio he played 109 games in Serie A with 13 goals (and probably too many assists to count). He won a Coppa Italia (1998 defeating Milan) and a Supercoppa Italiana (1998 defeating Juventus).
In October 1998, still not fitting in with Eriksson's plans, Rambaudi joined Genoa in Serie B but only played 7 games.
In the 1999-2000 season, which also would be his last, he played 13 games for Treviso in Serie B.
He then retired after 460 professional matches (199 in Serie A, 94 in Serie B, 57 in C1, 61 in C2, 33 in Coppa Italia, 15 in UEFA Cup, 1 in the Mitropa Cup.
At International level Rambaudi won two Italy caps (Estonia and Croatia both in 1996).
After retirement has been involved in coaching and punditry. He worked for a year in the Lazio youth sector and then has had various experiences in the lower divisions including Latina, Viterbese, Astrea, the Luiss University team, Atletico Lodigiani and Flaminia. So far, he has not had much luck as a manager and has had more success as a Tv pundit working for Dahlia TV, Mediaset Premium and Rai Sport.
Rambaudi was a good club player. He was an attacking right winger and was known as "Rambo" (for obvious reasons). Despite his nickname he was not a particularly physical player but he had a lot of running in him. He was tireless up and down his right wing, sometimes affecting his decisional lucidity. He was perfect for Zeman's style of play and it's not surprising his best years were with Foggia and the first three with Lazio. Rambaudi was hardworking, methodical and schematic just like the Bohemian coach. High pressing, constant movements, frenetic low one-two passes to get the ball into an assist or crossing position (always preferably on the ground) suited "Rambo's" characteristics perfectly.
Rambaudi had good years at Lazio and was involved in some of the highest scoring and spectacular wins in their history. He was part of the build up to the real glory years but his period at Lazio and the entertaining football displayed is remembered fondly.
Lazio Career
Season | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1994-95 | 46 (5) | 32 (4) | 7 | 7 (1) |
1995-96 | 35 (3) | 28 (1) | 4 (1) | 3 (1) |
1996-97 | 36 (5) | 28 (4) | 4 (1) | 4 |
1997-98 | 26 (4) | 21 (4) | 4 | 1 |
Total | 143 (17) | 109 (13) | 19 (2) | 15 (2) |
Sources
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