Five of the best ever Rome derbies | via Forza Italian Football
The Derby della Capitale is unlike any other, it defines a season, it’s a matter of honour, pride and territory and you can be sure that players and team members alike will feel the full wrath of the fans should they fail to impress.
Whilst this season’s reverse fixture may not have been the most captivating of games, the past few years have paid witness to some of the most intense and heart-pounding moments played on Italian soil.
So sit back and let us take you on a tour-de-force through arguably the biggest and most heated fixture in the peninsula.
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Roma 1-1 Lazio: 1990/1991 season
To kick the list off, we’re turning back the years all the way to 1990, to look at one of the most brutal derbies in recent history.As it only ended one a piece, it’s a fair point to ask why this match was exactly memorable. The goals scored were fairly simple and neither side were really on top form, yet what made the game special was the high octane action and relentless challenges.
Tackles flew in from all over the pitch, resulting in several red cards being shown. Both sides of the crowd gasped, groaned and were sent into complete Euphoria throughout the duration of the game, which perfectly sums up what this fixture is about.
Additionally, such tackles nowadays would warrant far more than a simple yellow card let alone a sending off, which makes this thrilling match a rarity to watch.
Lazio 2-1: 1999/2000 season
To find out as to what makes this derby so special, you need only cast your mind back to the season in which Lazio won their last Scudetto. That’s right, this was it, the year 2000.
Having been drubbed 4-1 by their capital rivals earlier in the season, Lazio had everything to play for, as not only were they looking for the chance to get one back on the Lupi, but also to propel themselves towards the top of the table.In the end, they did just that. Despite going behind from an early penalty, the Aquile were able to claw their way back into the match, snatching a perfect victory. So sweet was the win, it was also one of the main reasons as to why Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men lifted the title that season, as had they not taken away all three points, then the history books could look very different.
Roma 5-1 Lazio: 2001/2002 season
It’s not often you will see a scoreline as heavy as this, nor the same player net four times in the space of 90 minutes. An encounter in the 2001/2002 season saw just that, as a poor Lazio side were given a lesson in football by the ever present Francesco Totti and Vincenzo Montella, who sped around the pitch, treating their supporters to some fine finishes.
A hard scoreline to play down, the result sparked outrage and downright embarrassment amongst the Lazio players, who wouldn’t have been blamed for covering their faces in public after receiving such a hiding.
Lazio 4-2 Roma: 2008/2009 season
Another six goal thriller, though one that Biancocelesti fans will want to remember more fondly.Warning sirens rang out for the ‘visiting’ side as Goran Pandev fired Lazio into the lead less than two minutes into the game, a small teaser of what was about to come.
The now Fiorentina-man Mauro Zarate then duly doubled the scoreline, with a scorching shot from outside the box that the Stadio Olimpico’s Curva Nord will likely recall with glee, before a barrage of goals and even two red cards capped of an extremely exciting match.
The action was non stop and made for everything you’d want to see from a neutral point of view.
Lazio 1-0 Roma: 2012/2013 Coppa Italia final
Whilst Roma currently hold the bragging rights in terms of overall derby victories, it’s hard to ignore the significance of several results which fell in Lazio’s favour.
Still fresh in our memories, this fixture is of significant importance because the result decided who would lift the famed Coppa Italia. On this occasion, it was the Aquile who reigned triumphant, thanks to a sole goal from Senad Lulic.
The match itself was admittedly not the most exciting of affairs, with neither side really posing a huge threat until the Bosnian’s tap in, yet it will forever have it’s place in history as a result of the intense atmosphere and proud display from either set of fans.
However, what makes this fixture stand out the most is not just because of what happened on the field or the prize at the end. Instead, what made the day most memorable was how the city seemingly split in half following the final whistle.
Lazio fans ran riot celebrating their victory, defaming Giallorossi legend Totti’s mural, with his face blacked out with spray-paint next to graffiti that read ‘Roma are dead’. It was a moment that truly showed the animosity between the two clubs and just how much an occasion like this meant to their fans.
@ConnalIV
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