After such a close-run finish to this seasons Serie A, memories of championship run-ins of the past cannot help but spring to mind. As I watched the rain halt play in Inter’s recent match against Torino, I was immediately taken back to the dramatic final day of the 1999-2000 season in Perugia.
Juventus travelled to Perugia on that final day in knowledge that a win would be enough to seal the title. Their slender lead had only recently been cut down. The Bianconeri had a five-point advantage over second-place Lazio with just three fixtures remaining.
Lazio were hoping for what almost amounted to a miracle as they chased the second Scudetto in their history. The twenty-five-time champions Juve on the other hand, had been over this course before. However, an uncharacteristic stumble had seen Carlo Ancelotti’s Juve go from five clear, to leading by just two.
A victory over Parma in their penultimate game meant that Juventus just needed a victory against Perugia in the final game. Lazio could only do their job and win over Reggina, then hope that Perugia could do them a huge favour. History would not offer much in the way of hope for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men from the capital. They went into the final day of the previous campaign in a similar position. A win over Parma at Stadio Olimpico meant any dropped points by Milan in their final game would send the title to Rome. Milan were victorious in their match to lift the title, defeating a certain Perugia to do so.
A year later, Perugia would again find themselves in the position of potential king-makers to Lazio. Juventus had comfortably dispatched Perugia in the reverse fixture back in January of that year. Alessandro Del Piero had the hosts ahead in Turin thanks to a first half penalty. Some sheen was applied to the final score of 3-0 with Zinedine Zidane and Darko Kovacevic both scoring in the dying embers of the game to seal the points.
Another Juventus win would seal their 26th Serie A title. A draw, along with a Lazio win, would force a play-off for the title. Defeat for Juve coupled with a Lazio victory would see Eriksson’s side named champions.
The final day got underway and Lazio hit the front against Reggina in the Roman sunshine, sending them well on their way to a comfortable three points. It was clear from an early stage that if there were to be final day drama, it would have to come in Perugia. It was around that point that Mother Nature decided she wanted to get involved in the late season theatre.
Whilst Lazio were comfortably ahead in their game, Juventus were locked at 0-0 with Perugia. Filipo Inzaghi had come closest to breaking the deadlock in the opening 45-minutes with a shot that flashed across the face of home side’s goalmouth. The teams went in level at the interval and as they did, a monsoon-like downpour began to fall from the Umbrian sky. With water settling on the field and pooling significantly in some areas, the decision was taken to delay the re-start of the game.
As word reached Rome, the game there was also briefly put on hold in a bid to have both matches being played out simultaneously. However, Lazio resumed their game first after a short delay whilst there was a wait of over an hour in Perugia. Referee Pierluigi Collina was prepared to be patient in his efforts to save the match from postponement and he finally gave the go-ahead to the restart. A decision which did not appear to sit well with the league leaders.
The action resumed on a now sodden Stadio Renato Curi pitch and almost immediately, there was another huge title twist. Lazio had already completed a 3-0 win back in Rome meaning Juventus still needed a win to lift the title.
The rainwater laying on the turf was splashing up every time a player planted their foot on the ground. Rainwater exploded into the air every time the ball bounced on the field such was the condition of the pitch. Just over four minutes after the restart, Perugia made a huge splash of their own.
A ball into the Juventus box was not dealt with properly as a weak Antonio Conte header went straight to Perugia defender Alessandro Calori in the box. The defender controlled the ball on his chest before firing a right-foot shot into the bottom corner of Edwin Van Der Sar’s net. It was a goal more in-keeping with his namesake Del Piero on the opposing team than Marco Materazzi’s defensive colleague Calori.
Juve were clearly frustrated about the state of the pitch as they suddenly found themselves scrambling to send the title race to a play-off. They were also being frustrated by a resolute home side who clearly looked desperate to deny their opponents. Perugia were no mugs having long since made safe their place in the league, finishing in tenth position. The Juve task then grew even greater as Gianluca Zambrotta picked up a red card.
Meanwhile, back in Rome the Lazio fans were still at Stadio Olimpico, in the stands and all over the pitch. The Biancocelesti players followed events from Perugia in the dressing room. Despite being down to ten-men, Juventus were pushing for an equaliser. As the clock hit the 90-minute mark, they passed up a glorious opportunity. Edgar Davids sent a long ball forward which was headed on to Inzaghi. The Juve striker was all alone right in the centre of goal but somehow manged to lift his effort over the crossbar from the penalty spot. What ‘La Vecchia Signora’ would give for one of those late strikes that they managed against the same opponents earlier in the campaign.
Inzaghi’s was the last real chance for the Bianconeri and Collina’s whistle brought an end to the game, sparking wild celebrations amongst the Lazio fans back in Rome. There was even a pitch invasion by Perugia fans as they greeted their side’s impact on the title race.
The decision to resume the Juventus game despite the conditions was a controversial one and the circumstance remain so until this day. The late Sven-Goran Eriksson would later credit referee Collina for having the strength in his conviction to play the second half in the face of strong Juve protestations to have the match abandoned.
Former Perugia striker Alessandro Melli played in the game and he recently claimed in an interview that there was an attempt by some players to agree to a draw pre-match. That would have guaranteed Juve a play-off but Melli claimed several Juve players rejected the offer.
There have also been claims made about Perugia owner at the time Luciano Gaucci. It is alleged that Gaucci, no stranger to a bit of controversy, had ties to Lazio and had offered his players a bonus if they denied Juve the title. Melli also claims that Gaucci threatened to take the Perugia players to a training camp in China as punishment if they had lost.
The details of that rainy afternoon in Perugia are still debated to this day. It was a dramatic finale to the campaign and a reminder that when it comes to Serie A, anything is possible and controversy is never far away.
