2007-03-15 14:06:08 · 8 answers · asked by intman2805 1 in Sports ➔ Football ➔ UEFA Champions League
Lazio were not much to talk about until owner Sergio Cragnotti bought the club in 1992 and through his food multinational Cirio, bank rolled the club and transformed Lazio from also rans into Scudetto contenders, finally winning the Scudetto for only the second time in the team's history in 2000. Before this period, they were best known for their connections with Italy's faschist party.
Lazio has definately been in the Champions League, and were considered favorites the year that Real Madrid beat Valencia to win the European Cup in the 1999-2000 season. However, Lazio fell to Valencia in the quarterfinals of that years Champions League and failed to live up to the high expectations placed on them. Still, they were one of the most highly thought of teams in Europe in the late 1990's and early 2000's and at one time, when both Lazio and Roma were winning and playing well in the Serie A and Milan, Inter, and Juve were struggling, pundits were calling this trend a shift of power in Italian football from the north to the south of Italy. Sadly, things fell apart for Lazio when Sergio Cragnotti's Cirio business went bankrupt and he was forced to sell his stake in the club. This marked a period in time in European football when all clubs fell on hard times, except for the most wealthy, and the transfer market bubble in Europe finally collapsed as the world's economy slowed after the tech boom in the early 2000s. But I digress.
During their height, Lazio had some of the top players in European football and were managed by Sven Goran Erikson. Nedved, Veron, Nesta, Crespo, Salas, Claudio Lopez (when he was actually good), Mihjailovic, Diego Simeone, Karel Paborsky, Sergio Conceicao, Dejan Stankovic, Ivan de La Pena, Fernando Couto, Gaizka Mendieta, Ravielli (the white feather), Roberto Mancini (current coach of Inter) and Christian Vieri all played at one time or another at Lazio when they were good. However, the Cirio business went bust, and Lazio proved to be a house of cards. Top players, such as Pavel Nedved, Juan Veron, Hernan Crespo, and Allesandro Nesta immediately fled to Juventus, Manchester United, Inter, and Milan respectively in a fire sale. Lazio was forced to rebuild, and maintains a decent reputation in European club football as a team who usually challenges for a UEFA Cup place and will occasionally threaten for a lower Champions League slot. However, the club has been plagued by headlines about its racist ultra fans who are still closely affiliated with Italy's faschist party. For a billionaire who is looking for a good club to buy and revamp, Lazio would make an excellent buy out candidate.
2007-03-15 16:20:33 · answer #1 · answered by psem 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
SS Lazio of ITALY have appeared in the UEFA Champions' League. their best achievement was in 1999-2000 season when they qualified to the quarter-finals, losing to Spanish side, Valencia CF 5-3 on aggregate.
SS Lazio's UEFA Champions' League appearance:
1999-2000 - quarter-finals
2000-2001 - 2nd group stage
2001-2002 - 1st group stage
2003-2004 - 1st group stage
2007-03-16 11:43:28 · answer #2 · answered by foongwk140804 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it was in the 90's but they have never won the Champions League before.
2007-03-15 21:30:20 · answer #3 · answered by Eric F 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes they were in the competion in the 90's and i thin kthat they won the european cup (what it was known as before the champions league)
2007-03-16 14:29:38 · answer #4 · answered by TheOneAndOnly 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
@psem: good job, man. i never realized ivan dela pena played for lazio at one time. and all those great players, wow.
2007-03-19 09:23:29 · answer #5 · answered by tobermory 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes they have. in the late 90's they were quite a force to be reckoned with.
2007-03-15 21:10:46 · answer #6 · answered by Nanook~Maybe I need a longer Name?~ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont know i think they have in late 1990's
2007-03-16 07:27:32 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
have a look at this site.....http://www.footballinrome.co.uk/story.html
2007-03-15 21:10:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋