When Lazio had Veron, Nedved, Boksic, Nesta, Simeone, Salas and Mancini and finally won

After throwing the title away in 1998-99, Lazio took advantage of an even more spectacular capitulation by Juventus to finally land what was only the second Scudetto in the club’s history. Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side then completed a brilliant double by edging out Inter over two legs in the Coppa Italia final.

While much was understandably made of Juve’s inability to get over the line – they lost four of their final eight games – Lazio had paid their dues and were worthy champions, amassing 22 of the maximum 24 points at the business end of the season.

Marcelo Salas had made light of the loss of his partner in crime, Christian Vieri, who had defected to Inter, while a midfield already boasting the dynamism of Pavel Nedved was shrewdly strengthened by the acquisitions of Argentine duo Juan Sebastian Veron and Diego Simeone.

In defence, meanwhile, hometown hero Alessandro Nesta continued his development into one of the finest centre-halves in world football alongside the evergreen dead-ball specialist Sinisa Mihajlovic, as Lazio finally claimed the Scudetto that their persistence warranted.

CHANGES

Lazio received a world-record fee of €46m for Vieri, who departed for Inter after falling out with president Sergio Cragnotti. The Biancocelesti reinvested the money well, though. As well as bringing in Simeone and Veron, they also signed Simone Inzaghi, who popped up with some crucial goals.

Elsewhere, Milan strengthened their attack by landing the most coveted striker in world football, Andriy Shevchenko, while Roma snapped up Sampdoria sensation Vincenzo Montella.

The most interesting changes arguably came on the bench, though, with former Juve boss Marcello Lippi taking over at Inter and Fabio Capello assuming control of Roma.

SEASON SUMMARY

After the opening rounds, the fans were braced for one of the most open title races in years.

However, Inter’s hopes of challenging for the Scudetto were hampered by Vieri and Ronaldo’s incessant fitness problems,…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/when-lazio-had-veron-nedved-boksic-nesta-simeone-salas-and-mancini-and-finally-won-serie-a-in-1999-00/112

Author : [email protected] (Mark Doyle)

Publish date : 2024-07-22 11:00:00

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