This Week In Lazio History | May 20-26 | Matches, Memories, Birthdays | OneFootball

This week ends with the legendary Coppa Italia final against rivals Roma when Senad Lulic scored for Lazio in the 71st minute.

Matches of the Week

Date: Sunday, May 21, 1989Location: Stadio Olimpico, RomeFixture: Lazio Fiorentina 1-0 A Ruben Sosa penalty gives Lazio a deserved win and crucial points.

Date: Sunday, May 22, 1983Location: Stadio Olimpico, RomeFixture: Lazio Atalanta 2-1 The first win in two months plus the news that Giorgio Chinaglia may purchase the club gives new hope to fans.

Date: Sunday, May 22, 1960Location: Stadio Luigi Ferraris, GenoaFixture: Genoa Lazio 2-4 Lazio claw themselves out of a difficult situation thanks to Franzini, Carradori and a Rozzoni brace. Two more points needed to avoid relegation with two matches left.

Date: Sunday, May 25, 1997Location: Stadio Olimpico, RomeFixture: Lazio Verona 4-1 Fifth consecutive UEFA Cup qualification, but it was not easy.

Date: Sunday, May 26, 1940Location: Stadio PNF, RomeFixture: Lazio Roma 1-0 Early goal, saved penalty, and fights among players. In other words, a typical Rome derby.

Match In Focus

Date: Sunday, May 26, 2013Location: Stadio Olimpico, RomeFixture: Roma Lazio 0-1, Coppa Italia Final

It started out as the derby of fear. Many were afraid of clashes between fans so instead of a full house there were only 50,000 spectators. Tickets could even have been bought at the last minute. The tension was absolutely unbearable, for both sets of fans. It was not surprising, the fact that there was a derby to determine who would win the Coppa Italia (and who would qualify for the UEFA Europa League) had been known since the evening of April 17. Lazio had surprisingly knocked out Juventus in January, Roma had played their first leg against Inter that same month but then had to wait until April for the return match. And they too had caused a shock by winning in Milan.

The first half was blocked by the tension and no team wanted to risk anything. Just a couple of chances each. The second half was a lot more interesting with the ball moving from one end of the pitch to the other. And then in the 71st minute….

Free kick for Lazio. Eddy Onazi to Antonio Candreva on the right, inside the Roma half, ball back to Abdoulay Konko who passed it to Stefano Mauri who immediately gave it to Candreva and ran into an open space five metres from the edge of the box. Candreva understood what Mauri wanted to do, passed him the ball and ran forward. The Lazio skipper then waited for Candreva to get into the right position and passed it to the winger who in the meantime had accelerated and beaten Federico Balzaretti. As soon as Candreva saw the possibility of a cross, with Senad Lulic on the other side of the box, in came the low pass. Bogdan Lobont got a hand to it thus cutting out a Marquinhos clearance. The ball arrived to Lulic, open goal, 1-0. Delirium, tears of joy, hugs with strangers. The Lazio fans went crazy. But there were still at least another 20 minutes to go. And Roma had an immediate chance to equalize.

Free kick in the 73rd minute, Francesco Totti, completely absent from the game until this point, crossed in the box, nobody intervened, the ball bounced in front of Federico Marchetti who at the last possible second realized that it was going in. The Lazio goalkeeper managed to push the ball onto the crossbar and catch it as it came down. Nothing else happened. Lazio won and Roma were dead and buried.

In Memory: Alfredo Monza

On May 12, 1974, Lazio celebrated their first scudetto with one match to the end of the season. Great celebrations in the city, but there was still a game left, away at Bologna. In a festive climate, the teams drew 2-2. Lots of Biancoceleste fans went to Bologna that day, including veteran player Alfredo Monza.

Monza was born in Busto Arsizio on August 12, 1911. He arrived at Lazio in 1935 and would go on to play 222 consecutive games for the Biancocelesti and is considered one of the best Lazio left-backs of all time. In total, he made 253 appearances in the capital in 8 years with one single goal, an amazing shot from 60 metres in a Lazio-Bologna on November 5, 1939.

When he stopped playing he also managed Lazio with Dino Canestri in 1958 saving the team from relegation and was assistant to Fulvio Bernardini in 1958-59.

He stayed in Rome, invested his money in two hotels, and became a fan. He never missed a home game and occasionally even went to away matches. He was there, in Bologna on May 19, 1974, together with another 10,000 Lazio fans. On the way back, at 2 AM, the bus with 22 people crashed into a lorry. Three fans died, he was one of them.

The scudetto of 1974 brought a lot of joy but, over the years, also a lot of sadness. Alas, this was just the first chapter.

Birthdays this Week