September 19, 1999: Lazio Torino 3-0
- Dag Jenkins
- Sep 19, 2023
- 12 min read
Updated: Nov 13, 2024
Lazio take bull by the horns and dominate
Despite a non-vintage first half, Lazio lead by two goals at the break, then outclass Toro and finish them off with the Matador
Also on this day: September 19, 2002: Lazio AC Skoda Xanthi 4-0, UEFA Cup. With four unanswered goals Lazio look with confidence to return leg. Player of the day: Simone Inzaghi
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 (Marcelo 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 also 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 won on their debut 2-1 at home to Cagliari and had then drawn away at Bari 0-0. Today was the third Serie A fixture.
A few days earlier they had played their first Champions League game with a 1-1 away draw at Bayer Leverkusen. The next game was in a few days time, against Dynamo Kiev, so some turnover of players was expected today.
Torino were newly promoted. The Granata had finished 2nd in Serie B under Emiliano Mondonico.
This season the coach from near Cremona had been confirmed. The squad had been changed slightly. Some new arrivals were; defenders Francesco Coco (Milan -on loan), André Cruz (Standard Liege), Fabio Galante (Inter), Gustavo Mendez (Vicenza), midfielder Fabio Pecchia (Sampdoria) and forwards Ilija Ivić (Olympiakos), Pinga (Clube Atlético Juventus) and Andrea Silenzi (Ravenna).
The main players leaving were; defenders Gianluca Comotto (Vicenza -on loan) and Stefano Fattori (Vicenza) plus midfielder Giuseppe Scienza (Cesena).
Toro had drawn 0-0 away at Bologna on their debut and then beaten Venezia 2-1 at home.
So both teams on 4 points but Lazio were favourites to win today, despite possibly being fatigued from their Champions League debut.
The match: Sunday, September 19, 1999, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
It was still hot in Rome for the 3 o' clock kick off and the Olimpico gathered a crowd of about 45,000.
Lazio as predicted used a consistent turnover compared to the mid-week game in Germany. The line up presented seven changes, the main absences were Leverkusen goal hero Sinisa Mihajlovic plus Roberto Mancini and Alen Boksic. Lazio played with Simone Inzaghi and Marcelo Salas up front while defender Nestor Sensini was making his Lazio debut.
Torino had a few absences and were missing defenders Cruz and Roberto Maltagliati. The Granata chose a more defensive midfielder Mendez over the more creative Ivic, probably to try to limit Pavel Nedved.
The game started with Torino surprisingly authoritative and positive although they never really threatened apart from a Marco Ferrante shot well wide. They however looked sharp and well organized.
Lazio slowly stirred and had a Sérgio Conceição low left foot go wide and then in the 14th minute were awarded a penalty. Nedved had a shot walled but was quick to pounce on the rebound for another closer effort but he was tripped by former Lazio Mauro Bonomi and simultaneously by Massimo Ficcadenti for a clear foul. Veron took the responsibility and beat Bucci to his left but the referee saw too many players inside the area and ordered it to be retaken. "La Brujita" stepped up again and this time put it in the opposite corner. Lazio 1 Torino 0.
At this point Lazio sat back and controlled the game looking for the right counterfoots. Torino were very light up front with only Lentini causing any problems but his cross was headed over the bar by Ferrante. Torino then in the 29th minute were forced to replace injured defender Ficcadenti with Mirko Cudini.
Lazio struck again just before halftime. Salas gave a perfect assist to Inzaghi at the edge of the box, Simoncino's shot was then parried by Luca Bucci but came back to the Lazio striker who hit it again and it somewhat luckily hit the ground and bounced over the keeper. Lazio 2 Torino 0.
A flattering scoreline for Lazio who were two nil up with the minimum effort.
For the second half Luca Marchegiani remained in the changing rooms due to a muscular problem and was replaced by Marco Ballotta. By then however Lazio did not really need a keeper as it was all one-way traffic. Torino soon brought on Ivic for former Roma Alessio Scarchilli but Toro' s horns would continue to be blunt.
Lazio started queuing up and could have scored several more goals. Salas had a massive chance from near the penalty spot on an Inzaghi square ball after Bucci had blundered coming out, but the Chilean's shot was cleared off the line by Djibil Diawara. Then Bucci redeemed himself pulling off an excellent save off a Conceição close range shot from Beppe Favalli's cross and then some minutes later the Portuguese winger shot out from an inviting position. Lazio had chance after chance, again with Inzaghi set up by Paolo Negro, but he pulled his shot wide and then Diego Simeone's shot shaved the post.
Torino were outplayed and finally capitulated again in the 88th minute. It was aptly the "Matador" Salas who finished off the Toro. He challenged a defender in the area and in the tackle went to the ground from where he then hooked the ball over the keeper for a perfect lob. A brilliant, if not unusual goal, Lazio 3 Torino 0.
A well deserved win for Lazio who after a few initial difficulties cruised to an easy victory and could now look towards the next Champions League home debut against Dynamo Kiev.
Who played for Lazio
Marchegiani (46' Ballotta), Negro, Nesta, Sensini, Favalli, Conceição (79' Stankovic), Veron, Simeone, Nedved, S.Inzaghi (75' Almeyda), Salas
Manager: Eriksson
Who played for Torino
Bucci, Bonomi, Ficcadenti (29' Cudini), Diawara, Mendez, Pecchia, Scarchilli (52' Ivic), Coco, Asta (59' Tricarico), Ferrante, Lentini
Substitutes: Pastine, Sommese, Brambilla, Artistico
Manager: Mondonico
Referee: Braschi
Goals: 14' Veron (pen), 45' S.Inzaghi, 88' Salas
What happened next
A few days later Lazio beat Dynamo Kiev 4-1 in the Champions League. However it was domestically that Lazio made history.
It would be a memorable season with Lazio winning the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia.
In Serie A Lazio started strongly and were top until the 16th fixture but then slowed down and were overtaken by Juventus. With 8 games remaining Lazio were 9 points behind the "Old Lady".
Lazio then won the derby and beat the Bianconeri away reducing the deficit to 3 points. Then however two games later a 3-3 away draw in Florence pushed Lazio back to 5 points behind in a deja- vu situation similar to the previous unlucky year.
Then the unexpected happened. With three games remaining Juve lost 2-0 in Verona (a Fabrizio Cammarata brace - I can still see his name flashing up on the Olimpico scoreboard) and Lazio, beating Venezia 3-2 at home, were suddenly only two points behind.
The week later was full of controversy as Juventus beat Parma 1-0 at home but the visitors had a goal inexplicably disallowed. To this day not even the most ardent Juve fan can tell you why it was ruled out. Fabio Cannavaro had headed in from a corner but there was no offside, not even a hint of fouls, the ball had not gone out of play ... a mystery. Lazio meanwhile won 3-2 away at Bologna to maintain a slither of hope.
Then came the drama to end all dramas. In the last match of the season Lazio were at home to Reggina and Juve away to Perugia (both teams were already safe). The most optimistic scenario was maybe forcing a playoff with Juventus if they drew in Perugia and then may the best team win. In Rome it was a gloriously sunny day but up the road in Umbria the weather was different.
At half time Lazio were cruising 2-0 while Juve were still 0-0. Then the heavens opened in Perugia and the pitch became so flooded the game had to be postponed for 75 minutes. Lazio meanwhile cruised to a 3-0 win and what followed was surreal. The players went back to the changing rooms while the game in Perugia restarted despite a waterlogged pitch. The 70,000 Lazio fans stayed in their seats, a few listening to their transistor radios and the others scrutinizing their reactions.
At first it was rumoured the game would be shown on the scoreboard but that never materialized. In the 49th minute came the first explosion of joy and thousands invaded the pitch when Alessandro Calori (initially former Roma player Cappioli was attributed the goal) scored for Perugia. The next 40 minutes were agony and became worse when suddenly the stadium tannoy started booming out the final minutes of the game. People reacted in different ways to the metallic echo of the commentary; some prayed, others blocked their ears, others held on to friends, family or even complete strangers meanwhile the transistor radio owners were no longer treated like Hollywood stars.
After an interminable wait and 5 minutes of injury time at 18.04 of the 14th May 2000 Lazio were declared to be champions of Italy for the second time in their history. Twenty-six years after Tommaso Maestrelli, Giorgio Chinaglia and Co, Lazio were "Campioni d'Italia"!! Absolute mayhem broke out in the stadium and in the streets of Rome. A well deserved title albeit won in unique and unexpected circumstances. The celebrations were unforgettable and went on for weeks.
A few days later, still smelling of champagne and sporting celebratory blonde and tricolour hairstyles, Lazio also won the Coppa Italia. Having beaten Inter 2-1 in the first leg of the final in Rome, a 0-0 draw in Milan proved enough to win a historic double. A season to remember and tell future generations about.
In the Champions League Lazio reached the quarterfinal but were knocked out by Valencia (5-3 on aggregate).
Lazio's top scorer in the league was Marcelo Salas with 12 goals while Simone Inzaghi got 19 in all competitions.
Torino had a bad season and were relegated to serie B in 15th position. Torino won 8, drew 12 and lost 14 (including Lazio 2-4) but with four relegation slots they slumped down to the "purgatory" of B. The others on the same trip were Piacenza, Cagliari and Venezia. Their top scorer was Marco Ferrante with 18 league goals.
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 Roberto Néstor Sensini
Nestor Sensini was born in Arroyo Seco, Argentina, on October 12, 1966.
He is the son of Italian immigrants from Le Marche and started his football career with Newell's Old Boys. He made his debut for "La Lepra" in 1986. The Rojinegro also produced players such as Gabriel Omar Batistuta, Jorge Valdano and Lionel Messi amongst others. Sensini played 89 games and scored 2 goals for Newell's and won a league in 1989 and reached a Copa Libertadores final but lost to Nacional. It is here was given his nickname "La Boquita" (Little Mouth), I presume sarcastically...
In 1989 he went to Europe and joined Udinese in Serie A. His first season was unfortunate and the Friulani were relegated under Bruno Mazzia and then Rino Marchesi. Sensini played 33 games with 2 goals (Sampdoria, Cesena) and 1 game in Coppa Italia.
The following year Udinese finished 8th in Serie B under Marchesi, then Pietro Fontana and finally Adriano Buffoni. Sensini played 36 league games and scored 4 goals (Salernitana, Barletta, Padova, Triestina). In the squad were also Francesco Dell'Anno, Claudio Garella and Lorenzo Marronaro.
In 1991-92 Udinese were promoted under Franco Scoglio until February and then Adriano Fedele. The Bianconeri finished 4th and Sensini played 36 league games with 2 goals (Piacenza x2) and 4 games in Coppa Italia.
In Serie A Fedele stayed on but was then replaced by Alberto Bigon. Udinese finished 14th after a relegation playoff (Brescia 3-1). Sensini played 33 league games plus the playoff with 1 goal (Torino) and 2 in Coppa Italia.
In 1993-94 he started at Udinese under Azeglio Vicini and played 11 league games and 3 in Coppa italia but then in November joined Parma. Udinese eventually went down under Adriano Fedele who took over while Sensini was still in Friuli.
At Parma the manager was Nevio Scala and the Gialloblù finished 5th. They won the European Super Cup (Milan 2-1 on aggregate after extra-time) and reached the final of the Cup Winners Cup (Arsenal 0-1). Sensini played 20 league games, 6 in Coppa Italia and 5 in Europe with 1 goal (Benfica in semifinal).
In 1994-95 Parma finished 3rd, won the UEFA Cup (Juventus 2-1 on aggregate ) and were runners-up in the Coppa Italia (Juventus 1-2 on aggregate). Sensini played 24 league games with 2 goals (Inter x2), 8 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Cagliari) and 10 games in Europe. He played with Fernando Couto, Dino Baggio, Stefano Fiore and Gabriele Pin.
In 1995-96 Parma finished 6th. Sensini played 31 league games with 2 goals (Torino, Roma), 1 game in Coppa Italia, 6 in the Cup Winners Cup plus the Italian Supercoppa (lost 0-1 to Juventus).
In 1996-97 Carlo Ancelotti arrived as manager. The Ducali finished 2nd in Serie A. Sensini played 31 league games with 1 goal (Sampdoria) and 2 in the UEFA Cup. He played with Hernan Crespo and Enrico Chiesa as teammates.
In 1997-98 Parma finished 6th. Sensini played 24 league games with 5 goals (Piacenza, Udinese, Empoli, Lazio), 3 games in Coppa Italia and 6 in the Champions League with 3 goals (Widzew Łódź x2, Galatasaray).
In 1998-99 Alberto Malesani became Parma manager. The Crociati finished 4th (CL qualification) but above all won the Coppa Italia (Fiorentina 313, on away goals) and the UEFA Cup (Olympique Marseille 3-0). Sensini played 26 league games with 1 goal (Sampdoria), 8 games in Coppa Italia and 10 in Europe with 1 goal (Bordeaux). Two of his teammates were Diego Fuser and Juan Sebastian Veron.
In 1999-2000 he joined Lazio. The manager was Sven-Göran Eriksson and he joined former teammates Couto and Veron. Lazio had a great season winning the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia. Sensini gave a good contribution playing 23 league games with 1 goal (Torino), 2 games in Coppa Italia and 7 in the Champions League.
The following season he started off at Lazio but after 1 league game, 3 in the Champions League and the Italian Supercoppa final he returned to Parma. He left after winning another trophy, the Super Cup beating Inter 4-3.
Back at Parma he found Alberto Malesani as manager but he was replaced by Arrigo Sacchi (14-16) and then Renzo Ulivieri (17-34). Parma finished 4th (CL qualification) and were runners-up in the Coppa Italia (Fiorentina 1-2 on aggregate). Sensini played 19 league games and 4 in Coppa Italia. His teammates included Matías Almeyda, Sergio Conceição and Marco Di Vaio.
In 2001-02 Parma had three different managers; Renzo Ulivieri (1-9), Daniel Passarella (11-14) and Pietro Carmignani (15-34). Parma finished 10th but won the Coppa Italia beating Juventus, on away goals after 2-2 on aggregate. Sensini played 16 league games, 3 in Coppa Italia and 6 in Europe 4 (CL + 2 EL) with 1 goal (Lille in CL).
In 2002 he returned to Udine. He stayed another four seasons, under Luciano Spalletti for three and the last under Serse Cosmi (1-24) and Loris Dominissini (25-30) but by then he had retired and helped Dominissini as coach. Udinese finished 6th, 7th, 4th (CL) and 11th. Sensini played another 101 games (91 A, 4 CI, 1 UC, 6 UCL) with another 7 league goals. In his second spell in Udine he played with Roberto Muzzi, Giampiero Pinzi, Stefano Fiore, Lucas Castromán, Manuel Belleri, Stefano Mauri and Roberto Baronio.
He then retired at 39 in January 2006.
At International level he won 59 caps for Argentina. He played in 3 World Cups including the Italia 90 final (lost 0-1 to Germany). He won a silver medal at Atlanta Olympics '96 and a bronze at the ' 89 Copa América.
Since retiring he has become a manager. He shared the job with Dominissini for 6 matches at Udinese after retiring. He then spent a year at Estudiantes, two seasons with Newell's Old Boys, one with Colón and one with Atletico Rafaela. Since 2015 he has been manager of Everton, from Vina del Mar, in Chile.
Sensini was versatile and could play both as a defender and as a midfielder. He is 1.78 and 77 kilos. He was mainly a defensive player and was used at full-back, centre-back and as a central midfielder. He was a strong tackler but would also be dangerous at the other end with his well-timed runs, enabling him to often get on the score sheet. He was a hard but fair player, both rugged and refined, most managers dream. His best years were at Parma where he won the Coppa Italia twice (1999, 2002), 2 UEFA Cups (1995, 1998) and a UEFA Super Cup (1993).
At Lazio he unfortunately only played one full season but it was enough for Laziali to appreciate his strong character, experience and class. It was a successful one too; a Scudetto, a Coppa Italia and an Italian Supercoppa (2000). It was brief but intense and he will forever be one of the second Scudetto heroes.
Lazio career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Super Coppa |
1999-00 | 32 (1) | 23 (1) | 2 | 7 | - |
Sep-Nov 2000 | 7 (1) | 1 | 2 (1) | 3 | 1 |
Total | 39 (2) | 24 (1) | 4 (1) | 10 | 1 |
Sources
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