2002–03 S.S. Lazio season

Lazio

2002–03 season
Manager	Roberto Mancini
Serie A	4th
Coppa Italia	Semi-finals
UEFA Cup	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	Claudio López (15)
Home colours
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

S.S. Lazio suffered from a season of financial turmoil in 2002–03, but in spite of all troubles finished fourth in the Serie A, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League in the process.

Season

The days of wealth were gone for Lazio following the collapse of owner Sergio Cragnotti's grocery empire. Cragnotti had tried to keep pace with the top teams during the initial stages of the summer, having signed wingers Christian Manfredini and Eriberto from Chievo. Due to payment difficulties the deal seemed to fall through, and Eriberto's transfer came to nothing when it was disclosed that he had played under a false passport, was four years older than advertised and called Luciano. That meant that the player was suspended, and stayed at Chievo. Manfredini was finally signed, while Juan Pablo Sorín came on loan from Brazilian side Cruzeiro, striker Enrico Chiesa came on a free transfer from bankrupt Fiorentina, while Massimo Oddo signed from relegated Hellas Verona.

In the latter part of the summer, the financial problem got more urgent, which resulted in all star players being put up for sale. Cragnotti was also forced to relinquish control of the club. Alessandro Nesta was sold to Milan, while Hernán Crespo signed for Internazionale, while Bernardo Corradi came in as a replacement as part of the deal.

The new-look Lazio surprised everyone, when it under the inspired coaching of Roberto Mancini propelled into the top position of the league during the latter part of the autumn season, and the team played with much more spirit and heat before, despite the players being forced to take pay cuts in the excess of 80%. Meanwhile, the transfer saga of Gaizka Mendieta lingered on, with Lazio struggling to pay the entire transfer fee for the Spanish flop, who subsequently had been loaned out to Barcelona in order to cover his salary costs.

During the second half of the season, Lazio could not repeat its form from the first half, but held on to a fourth place while being in touch with Inter and Milan, who finished just up the ladder. The most prolific players were reinvigorated goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi, experienced centre-half Jaap Stam, playmakers Stefano Fiore and Dejan Stanković, plus strikers Claudio López and Bernardo Corradi, who both scored more than ten goals.

Squad

Goalkeepers

• Luca Marchegiani
• Angelo Peruzzi
• Emanuele Concetti

Defenders

• Francesco Colonnese
• César
• Juan Pablo Sorín
• Siniša Mihajlović
• Giuseppe Pancaro
• Guerino Gottardi
• Giuseppe Favalli
• Massimo Oddo
• Paolo Negro
• Fernando Couto
• Jaap Stam

Midfielders

• Dino Baggio
• Dejan Stanković
• Stefano Fiore
• Diego Simeone
• Giuliano Giannichedda
• Nikola Lazetić
• Fabio Liverani
• Lucas Castromán
• Christian Manfredini

Attackers

• Claudio López
• Bernardo Corradi
• Simone Inzaghi
• Enrico Chiesa

Serie A

Matches

Lazio v Chievo

15 September 2002 1	Lazio	2–3	Chievo
15:00 CEST	Simeone  5' Corradi  64'		D'Anna  14' Bierhoff  49' Della Morte  70'

Torino v Lazio

22 September 2002 2	Torino	0–1	Lazio
15:00 CEST			Simeone  86'

Lazio v Milan

28 September 2002 3	Lazio	1–1	Milan
20:30 CEST	C. López  51'		Maldini  7'

Atalanta v Lazio

6 October 2002 4	Atalanta	0–1	Lazio
20:30 CEST			César  24'

Lazio v Perugia

20 October 2002 5	Lazio	3–0	Perugia
15:00 CEST	S. Inzaghi  11' Chiesa  84, 90 + 1'

Lazio v Roma

27 October 2002 6	Lazio	2–2	Roma
20:30 CET	Fiore  51' Stanković  75'		Delvecchio  56' Batistuta  66'

Empoli v Lazio

3 November 2002 7	Empoli	1–2	Lazio
15:00 CET	Atzori  45 + 1'		Corradi  45' Stanković  81'

Reggina v Lazio

6 November 2002 8	Reggina	0–3	Lazio
20:30 CET			Fiore  16' Stanković  33' Corradi  53'

Lazio v Parma

10 November 2002 9	Lazio	0–0	Parma
15:00 CET

Como v Lazio

17 November 2002 10	Como	1–3	Lazio
15:00 CET	Corrent  37'		Simeone  18' C. López  56, 63'

Lazio v Modena

24 November 2002 11	Lazio	4–0	Modena
20:30 CET	Corradi  25, 89' C. López  31' César  71'

Piacenza v Lazio

1 December 2002 12	Piacenza	2–3	Lazio
15:00 CET	Maresca  17' Caccia  26'		Simeone  42' C. López  45 + 1' Corradi  90 + 1'

Lazio v Inter

7 December 2002 13	Lazio	3–3	Inter
18:00 CET	C. López  10' (pen.), 36', 53'		Couto  37' (o.g.) Emre  66, 75'

Juventus v Lazio

15 December 2002 14	Juventus	1–2	Lazio
20:30 CET	Nedvěd  34'		Fiore  35, 51'

Lazio v Bologna

22 December 2002 15	Lazio	1–1	Bologna
15:00 CET	C. López  45 + 1'		Zaccardo  65'

Brescia v Lazio

11 January 2003 16	Brescia	0–0	Lazio
20:30 CET

Lazio v Udinese

19 January 2003 17	Lazio	2–1	Udinese
15:00 CET	C. López  27' Fiore  45 + 1'		Muzzi  40'

Lazio v Reggina

26 January 2003 18	Lazio	0–1	Reggina
15:00 CET			Bonazzoli  46'

Chievo v Lazio

2 February 2003 19	Chievo	1–1	Lazio
15:00 CET	Corini  45' (pen.)		Simeone  89'

Lazio v Torino

9 February 2003 20	Lazio	1–1	Torino
15:00 CET	Simeone  35'		Ferrante  71'

Milan v Lazio

16 February 2003 21	Milan	2–2	Lazio
20:30 CET	F. Inzaghi  62' Rivaldo  70'		Stanković  21' C. López  30' (pen.)

Lazio v Atalanta

23 February 2003 22	Lazio	0–0	Atalanta
15:00 CET

Perugia v Lazio

2 March 2003 23	Perugia	2–2	Lazio
15:00 CET	Zé Maria  13' Grosso  43'		Corradi  16' Negro  85'

Roma v Lazio

8 March 2003 24	Roma	1–1	Lazio
20:30 CET	Cassano  89'		Stanković  9'

Lazio v Empoli

16 March 2003 25	Lazio	4–1	Empoli
20:30 CET	C. López  8' Corradi  41' Simeone  71' Castromán  85'		Buscè  5'

Parma v Lazio

23 March 2003 26	Parma	2–1	Lazio
15:00 CET	Cardone  4' Adriano  90 + 2'		Stanković  50'

Lazio v Como

6 April 2003 27	Lazio	3–0	Como
15:00 CEST	Fiore  6' Corradi  17' C. López  66' (pen.)

Modena v Lazio

13 April 2003 28	Modena	0–0	Lazio
15:00 CEST

Lazio v Piacenza

19 April 2003 29	Lazio	2–1	Piacenza
15:00 CEST	S. Inzaghi  60' Corradi  74'		De Cesare  45'

Inter v Lazio

27 April 2003 30	Inter	1–1	Lazio
20:30 CEST	Crespo  43'		S. Inzaghi  77'

Lazio v Juventus

3 May 2003 31	Lazio	0–0	Juventus
15:00 CEST

Bologna v Lazio

10 May 2003 32	Bologna	0–2	Lazio
15:00 CEST			S. Inzaghi  45' (pen.) Favalli  59'

Lazio v Brescia

17 May 2003 33	Lazio	3–1	Brescia
15:00 CEST	Mihajlović  39' (pen.) César  45' C. López  81'		R. Baggio  20'

Udinese v Lazio

24 May 2003 34	Udinese	2–1	Lazio
15:00 CEST	Pizarro  67' (pen.) Jankulovski  83'		C. López  87' (pen.)

Top Scorers

• Claudio López 15 (4)
• Bernardo Corradi 10
• Diego Simeone 6
• Stefano Fiore 6
• Dejan Stanković 5

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
34	15	15	4	57	32	+25	60	7	8	2	31	16	+15	8	7	2	26	16	+10

UEFA Cup

1st Round

• Lazio-Xanthi 4-0
• 1-0 Christian Manfredini (45)
• 2-0 Claudio López (52)
• 3-0 Simone Inzaghi (67)
• 4-0 César (70)
• Xanthi-Lazio 0-0

2nd Round

• Lazio-Crvena Zvezda 1-0
• 1-0 Stefano Fiore (7)
• Crvena Zvezda-Lazio 1-1
• 1-0 Branko Bošković (70)
• 1-1 Enrico Chiesa (77)

3rd Round

• Sturm Graz-Lazio 1-3
• 1-0 Charles Amoah (45)
• 1-1 Enrico Chiesa (46)
• 1-2 Simone Inzaghi (57)
• 1-3 Simone Inzaghi (88)
• Lazio-Sturm Graz 0-1
• 0-1 Imre Szabics (87)

4th Round

• Lazio-Wisla Kraków 3-3
• 1-0 Nikola Lazetić (22)
• 1-1 Kalu Uche (39)
• 2-1 Mariusz Jop (44 og)
• 2-2 Maciej Żurawski (49 pen)
• 2-3 Maciej Żurawski (63 pen)
• 3-3 Enrico Chiesa (70)
• Wisla Kraków-Lazio 1-2
• 1-0 Marcin Kuźba (4)
• 1-1 Fernando Couto (21)
• 1-2 Enrico Chiesa (55)

Quarter Final

• Lazio-Beşiktaş 1-0
• 1-0 Simone Inzaghi (55)
• Beşiktaş-Lazio 1-2
• 0-1 Stefano Fiore (5)
• 0-2 Lucas Castromán (9)
• 1-2 Sergen Yalçın (83)

Semi Final

• Porto-Lazio 4-1
• 0-1 Claudio López (6)
• 1-1 Maniche (10)
• 2-1 Derlei (27)
• 3-1 Derlei (50)
• 4-1 Hélder Postiga (56)
• Lazio-Porto 0-0

Sources

RSSSF - Italy 2002/03