Goal of the century
The Biancocelesti win at Parma thanks to an incredible goal from Almeyda.
Also on this day: September 26, 1971: Lazio Brescia 1-0. Thanks to a great game from Nanni and a Chinaglia goal, Lazio start the season with a win. What happened in Serie B 1971-72.
The season so far
In the previous season Lazio had gone agonisingly close to winning the scudetto. With eight games to the end of the season they were leading with five points over Fiorentina and seven over Milan. But a single point in the next three games reduced the cushion over Milan to just one point. Lazio then won three consecutive games but so did Milan. In the penultimate match in Florence, the Biancocelesti were held to a draw and denied a clear penalty by a distracted referee. Milan won, overtook them, and maintained the lead in the last game.
In the summer transfer window, Lazio surprisingly sold their centre forward Christian Vieri to Inter in exchange for 90 billion lire (45 million euros) plus Diego Simeone. Other signings were Juan Sebastian Veron and Nestor Sensini from Parma, Simone Inzaghi from Piacenza and Kenneth Andersson from Bologna. The Swede would go back to Emilia Romagna in the winter and Lazio would add Fabrizio Ravanelli.
The 1999-00 season opened with the victory against the mighty Manchester United in Monte Carlo for the UEFA Super Cup with a Marcelo Salas goal. Another European triumph after having won the final Cup Winners Cup the previous year in Birmingham against Real Mallorca.
Lazio had played two Champions League matches. The 1999-00 Champions League saw Lazio participate for the very first time. In the 1974-75 season Lazio should have played the European Cup but had been disqualified following the brawl with Ipswich Town players in the UEFA Cup earlier the previous season.
Lazio were grouped with Bayer Leverkusen, Dynamo Kiev and Maribor. They had drawn in Germany and beaten the Ukrainians, despite being 1-0 down due to an absurd penalty.
In campionato the Biancocelesti had won their two home games and drawn at Bari. They were first together with Inter, Fiorentina and Juventus.
The match: Sunday, September 26, 1999, Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma
Lazio lost Pavel Nedved early on. Saliou Lassissi in the 5th minute in an attempt to kick the ball kicked the Czech on the thigh leaving a large cut and he was forced off substituted by Sergio Conceição.
Shortly after, Salas to Alen Boksic in the box. The Croat was challenged by a Parma defender, but the ball arrived to Conceição who however passed it to Gianluigi Buffon. In the 11th minute corner for Lazio. Sinisa Mihajlovic crossed for Veron outside the box, his volley was only slightly wide. Former Lazio Diego Fuser attempted a shot in the 20th minute but Marco Ballotta was able to parry into corner. In the 24th minute Salas and Antonio Benarrivo clashed heads. Moments of panic as the Parma right back passed out for a few seconds. He was forced off, substituted by Michele Serena.
In the 30th minute Lazio scored. Salas headed the ball to Boksic in the box, the Croat turned around and crossed, Serena cleared but basically passed the ball to Salas who shot. Alain Boghossian threw himself towards the ball but his deflection fooled Buffon who could do nothing to avoid the goal.
Parma had a chance immediately after following a free kick but Marcio Amoroso was unable to find the goal. Lazio on the counter attack with Matias Almeyda, cross into the middle, Boksic alone in front of Buffon could not find the right impact with the ball.
In the 58th minute a wonderful long ball from Mihajlovic in the Lazio half to Salas in the Parma box, ball chested down and volleyed towards the goal, Buffon was magical. Shortly after Amoroso crossed for Fabio Cannavaro who promptly shot, Ballotta saved. In the 61st minute Parma equalised. Corner, Amoroso headed the ball onto the crossbar, ball back in the box and headed again by Boghossian into the goal. A pity, Lazio were in total control of the match.
In the 69th minute the goal of the century. Beppe Favalli crossed, Lillian Thuram cleared, the ball was 35 metres out on the left and Almeyda decided to shoot. A surface-to-air missile into the top hand corner for the best goal ever in Lazio history. Parma 1 Lazio 2.
Lazio put the game to rest and brought home the three points.
Who played for Parma
Buffon, Lassissi, Thuram, Cannavaro, Fuser, D. Baggio (77' Vanoli), Boghossian (67' Breda), Benarrivo (28' Serena), Ortega, Crespo, Amoroso
Substitutes: Micillo, Torrisi, Di Vaio, Stanic
Manager: Malesani
Who played for Lazio
Ballotta, Pancaro, Nesta, Mihajlovic, Favalli, Veron (87’ Sensini), Almeyda, Simeone, Nedved (7’ Conceição), Boksic (72’ Lombardo), Salas
Manager: Eriksson
Referee: Collina
Goals: 30’ Salas, 61’ Boghossian, 69’ Almeyda
What happened next
In the Champions League Lazio won their group thanks to four wins against the Ukrainians and Slovenians plus two draws against the Germans. The second part of the Champions League was another group phase, this time against Chelsea, Olympique Marseille and Feyenoord.
Qualification for the quarterfinal was put in peril by only getting one point against the Dutch, after beating the French twice. In the final game against Chelsea, after having drawn at home, Lazio had to win at Stamford Bridge to clinch the qualification in first place (the top two teams went through) as a bonus, so they could avoid having to play the quarter final against Barcelona, Manchester United or Bayern. They managed to do so, coming from behind in a spectacular game. In the quarterfinals Lazio played against Valencia. Everybody thought that it would be an easy match, but Lazio collapsed in Spain. Without Luca Marchegiani and Alessandro Nesta, Lazio went 2-0 down after 4 minutes, re-opened the game thanks to an Inzaghi goal half way through the first half, but Valencia netted another two goals and with ten minutes to the end were leading 4-1. Salas scored in the dying minutes to give Lazio a chance of qualification but another defensive blunder with just a few seconds to go, gave Valencia a three goal lead. Fans were hopeful Lazio could recover at the Olimpico, but the Biancocelesti only scored one goal with Veron and went out of the Champions League. A real pity.
Lazio, like many of the big teams, started the Coppa Italia in the fourth round games and had to play against Reggiana, who had won their group in August. Lazio, with a few Primavera players in the starting eleven, plus more on the bench, had drawn the first leg away 1-1 (Alen Boksic the scorer for the Biancocelesti) and won the return match 4-1 at home thanks to a Sinisa Mihajlovic free kick double and goals by Simone Inzaghi and Boksic.
The quarter finals were much more difficult as Lazio had to face Juventus. At the end of the first half in Turin the Biancocelesti were losing 3-0 and were virtually out of the competition. But in the second half first a penalty scored by Fabrizio Ravanelli and then a goal by Roberto Mancini with ten minutes to go re-opened the contest. In the return match at the Olimpico Lazio scored in the second half with Boksic. Alessandro Del Piero equalised but Diego Simeone put Lazio ahead in the 81st minute and the Biancocelesti were able to hold onto the precious victory.
Whereas on the one side there were two big clashes in the quarter finals (Lazio vs Juve and the Milanese derby), the other two games should have been more one-sided: Cagliari-Roma and Fiorentina-Venezia. But the islanders eliminated the Giallorossi and an away goal by Venezia gave them a historic semi-final against Lazio.
In the first leg, Lazio destroyed Venezia 5-0 with doubles from Mancini and Mihajlovic (with two penalties) plus a Ravanelli goal. Silver Fox had also missed a penalty. The return was just a formality and Lazio drew 2-2 with an Inzaghi double.
Inter brushed off Cagliari and so met Lazio in the final. The first leg was in Rome on April 12. Inter scored immediately with Clarence Seedorf but Lazio managed to equalise with Pavel Nedved at the end of the first half. In the beginning of the second, Simeone put Lazio ahead so Marcelo Lippi put Ronaldo on the pitch, his first game in five months. Five minutes later the Brazilian broke his patellar tendon. The scene was dramatic and very sad. The game basically ended there.
In the campionato the Biancocelesti started well and by the sixth game they took the solitary lead. Juventus caught up with Lazio in the 10th game after the Biancocelesti lost the derby. A trio of teams (Lazio, Roma and Juve) then led the Serie A for a few matches until Lazio sprinted off in the 14th. It did not last long. A loss on a frozen Venice evening on January 5 gave Juventus the lead again. Roma had fallen behind. Lazio regained the top of the table after beating Bologna in the Centenary game, but two goalless draws in the next two games gave Juve a three-point lead. By the 26th game the deficit increased to nine points and it looked as if it was all over for the scudetto. But on March 25 Lazio won the derby and Juve lost at Milan. The Biancocelesti were at -6 but the next match was in Turin against Juventus. Thanks to a goal from Diego Simeone, the Juventus lead was reduced to three points. However Florence looked as if it would be fatal again as Lazio drew 3-3 and Juventus won in Milan against Inter.
There were four games to go. Everybody thought it was all over but manager Sven Goran Eriksson tried to get the team to believe in the impossible. In the 32nd game of the season Lazio beat Venezia and Juventus lost at Verona. Two games to go, two points difference. Lazio beat Bologna away and Juventus were winning 1-0 against Parma. Towards the end of the match there was a corner for Parma. Mario Amoroso crossed and Fabio Cannavaro equalised but the referee inexplicably disallowed it.
This was the talking point in Italy for the entire week. Juve had already won a controversial scudetto a couple of years back when a clear penalty on Ronaldo was not given to Inter in Turin. So there was massive media pressure on the last two games of the season: Lazio-Reggina and Perugia-Juventus.
Perugia President Luciano Gaucci, ashamed of the lack of fighting spirit his team had shown against Milan in the last game of the previous season, stated that it would not be a walkover for Juventus. Lazio fans hoped in a draw and then to go to a playoff. And this is what was happening at the end of the first half. Lazio were winning 2-0 and it was still goalless in Perugia. But a massive storm had erupted over the Umbrian capital and the pitch was waterlogged. Referee Pierluigi Collina tried a number of times to see if the ball would bounce on the waterlogged pitch, but no. There was a problem. If the game had been abandoned they would have to start from scratch the next day. With what had happened in the previous match when Cannavaro’s goal was disallowed for no reason at all, the Italian referee felt that the repetition of the game would have been unfair. So he insisted. When they were about to give up, the rain stopped. The pitch was not in ideal condition, but playable. The second half could recommence, an hour later than it should have. In the 50th minute Alessandro Calori scored for Perugia. Juve did not manage to equalise and Lazio won their second scudetto.
Still smelling of champagne and without any training whatsoever since the Sunday match, Lazio faced Inter for the second leg of the Coppa Italia final. There were chances for both sides, particularly for Inter in the dying seconds of the match, when Alvaro Recoba hit the woodwork, but the game was goalless and the Biancocelesti won the double.
An amazing season.
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 Matias Almeyda
Matias Jesus Almeyda was born on December 21 1973 in Azul near Buenos Aires. He started playing football in the youth teams of River Plate and debuted in 1991-92. He played for River for five years winning the Apertura three times (1993, 1995 and 1996) and Copa Libertadores in 1996.
In 1996 Almeyda signed for Sevilla. It was not a good year for the club and at the end of the season they were relegated.
In 1997 he was signed by Lazio. In his first year he did not play much, just 28 games, but in his second he became a regular player, impressing everybody. A strong, powerful, tireless player, he blocked the opposition and stole balls allowing the counter attack. He was the perfect midfield companion for Juan Sebastian Veron. With Lazio he won a scudetto, a Cup Winners Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, the Coppa Italia twice and the Super Coppa twice. In 1999 he was awarded a Guerin D’Oro as best midfield player of Serie A.
His goal against Parma is probably among the best in Lazio's history. A 35 metre volley whacked behind Gianluigi Buffon.
In 2000 he was sold to Parma with Sergio Conceição in the Hernan Crespo deal. A huge mistake by President Sergio Cragnotti. He stayed for two years in Emilia Romagna winning another Coppa Italia in 2001-2002.
In 2002 he signed for Inter and stayed a couple of years. His stay in Milan was marred by injuries. In 2004 he signed for Brescia but in November, after 5 appearances, moved back to Argentina to play for Quilmes in the Copa Libertadores. After four months, at only 31 years of age, he decided to retire.
In two years of inactivity he concentrated on his farm, played in a Showball tour around the world with Diego Maradona and participated in the Indoor Football World Cup in Spain. He came out of retirement in 2007 to play for Lyn in Oslo. He appeared in a couple of games and played regularly only in the reserves team and in the domestic cup before retiring again. In 2009 he signed for Argentine fourth tier side Fénix. In August he went back to River Plate and stayed for another two years. In 2011 the team was relegated and he quit for the third time.
Almedya won 40 caps for Argentina with one goal and participated in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. He also played in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta winning a silver medal. Argentina were beaten by Nigeria.
After he retired Almeyda became a manager and was head coach for River Plate for 18 months winning the Primera B Nacional and earning promotion to the top tier in 2011-12. He was sacked in November 2012. He then took charge of Banfield taking the team to promotion. In 2015 he was nominated manager at Guadalajara. In Mexico he won the Liga Clausura in 2017, the Cop MX Spertura in 2017 and Clausura in 2017, the Supercopa MX in 2016 and the CONCACAF Champions League in 2016.
He left Mexico in 2018 and joined San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS. In his first year he just missed the playoffs but reached them in his second, eliminated by Sporting Kansas City. He quit the US in 2022.
He then became head coach of AEK Athens and won both the Super League Greece as well as the Greek Cup, the first time AEK had won the double since 1978. In January 2023 he renewed his contract until 2028.
During his career Almeyda suffered from depression and alcoholism, particularly when he was at Inter. But he came out of it and has had a successful manager career. As a footballer his highlight was his stay at Lazio. He always talks about his experience in Rome as the best and most prestigious of his career. The fans have never forgotten him.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Cup Winners Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Super Cup |
1997-98 | 28 | 19 | 2 | - | - | 7 | - |
1998-99 | 35 (1) | 25 (1) | 4 | - | 6 | - | - |
1999-00 | 30 (1) | 19 (1) | 2 | 8 | - | - | 1 |
Total | 93 (2) | 63 (2) | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
Sources
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