Lazio are welcoming back Sven-Goran Eriksson for a special tribute after his tragic announcement, a stadium he once lit up with the Scudetto back at the turn of the millennium.
The former coach, who spent years working in Italy for Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and the Biancocelesti, sadly announced a terminal cancer diagnosis earlier this year. Since then, he’s toured a number of his former clubs and oversaw the Liverpool legends during a charity match.
Once upon a time, Eriksson turned a star-studded Lazio squad into one of the most dangerous sides in Europe, taking them to dreamland in the 1999-2000 season, where they won their second ever Scudetto after finishing a single point ahead of Juventus.
When Eriksson won with Lazio
With a squad containing familiar faces like Roberto Mancini, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Alessandro Nesta, Diego Simeone, Dejan Stankovic, Juan Sebastian Veron, Sergio Conceicao and Pavel Nedved, the Biancocelesti outclassed their opponents to secure the club’s second ever league title.
After a fairly slow start, which saw three wins and two draws to Bari and Milan, the team began to pick up steam, suffering defeat in their first game to rivals Roma in November 1999. They held the Old Lady to a goalless draw the following match before returning to winning ways.
The team began to wobble a little after the turn of the millennium, picking up a loss to Venezia and a handful of draws, but their ability to grind out wins ultimately proved key on their charge to the title, losing just four times across the campaign.
Eriksson’s Lazio also found glory in the Coppa Italia, beating Ravenna, Juventus, Venezia and finally Inter to lift the cup in May 2000. Things were more difficult in the Champions League, which saw the team top both group stages before crashing out to Valencia in the quarter-finals.
The Swede secured the most successful season in Lazio’s history that year, earning a spot in their history books and forever becoming a legend amongst the Biancocelesti fans, earning him a warm tribute upon his return to the Stadio Olimpico.