This Week In Lazio History: August 17-23 | OneFootball

This Week In Lazio History, for August 17-23, spans Serie A openers, European play-offs and a tribute to Fernando Saraceni. According to The Laziali, the centrepiece is the 4-1 second-leg win over FC København in the 2001 Champions League play-off.

Beaten 1-2 in Copenhagen on 8 August, Lazio felt confident back in Rome. In front of 40,000, new arrivals Gaizka Mendieta and Stefano Fiore started but a flat first half yielded only chances for Hernan Crespo and Claudio Lopez, plus Paolo Negro’s injury, 0-0 at the break.

Soon after the restart Lopez sent Crespo through to round the keeper for 1-0. Poborsky then made way for Castroman, Mihajlovic soon followed for Colonnese, and a quick Simeone free-kick let Favalli cross for Crespo’s second.

Two minutes later it was 3-0, Mendieta squaring for Lopez after the referee stepped over the ball in midfield. With 10 minutes left Zuma pulled one back, before Fiore sealed it 4-1 in the 89th minute from Mendieta’s long pass.

Elsewhere in this week across the years, Lazio beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in a 2015 play-off, won 4-3 at Atalanta in 2016 and 3-1 at Empoli in 2021.

Fernando Saraceni, born in Rome on 20 January 1891, shone as a forward then defender and reached national finals in 1913, 1914 and 1923. He featured in the famed June 1908 treble of wins, 3-0 v Lucca, 4-0 v Spes Livorno and 1-0 v Virtus Juventusque, and died on 23 August 1956.

Source: The Laziali

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