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Just a year after having to watch Lazio being crowned champions of Serie A, Roma usurped their city rivals as the kings of Italian football.
The Giallorossi had finished sixth in 1999-2000 but some fine signings and the tactical acumen of coach Fabio Capello propelled them towards what was only the third Scudetto in the capital club’s history – and their first since 1983.
The former Milan boss had taken a break from the game following a disastrous second spell at San Siro but he returned refreshed and reinvigorated, cleverly switching to a 3-4-1-2 formation that brought the very best out of new centre-half Walter Samuel, wing-backs Cafu and Vincent Candela, and captain Francesco Totti.
The decision to pay €36m for Gabriel Batistuta – a record fee for a player over 30 – was initially queried but the Argentine top-scored as Roma held off Juventus in an enthralling title tussle to spark celebrations at the Stadio Olimpico for the second successive season.
CHANGES
Lazio may have been the reigning champions but Sergio Cragnotti had his sights set on European domination, so he broke the transfer fee world record by signing Parma hotshot Hernan Crespo for €55m, as well as snapping up Valencia forward Claudio Lopez for an additional €18m.
Juventus also strengthened their attack by acquiring Monaco starlet David Trezeguet, while Inter brought in Hakan Sukur and Robbie Keane to provide cover for their injury-prone strikers, Christian Vieri and Ronaldo.
It was Roma who did the best business, though. Not only did they sign Batistuta and Samuel, they also paid Bayer Leverkusen €18m for Emerson, who proved just as integral to their title-winning team.
SEASON SUMMARY
Napoli made a welcome return to Serie A only to go straight back down.
Inter sacked Marcello Lippi after their very first Serie A outing, with Champions League elimination at the hands of Helsingborgs having been followed up by a 2-1 loss at Reggina. Milan, meanwhile, stuck by Alberto Zaccheroni – despite…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/when-batistuta-came-to-rome-serie-a-in-2000-01/111
Author : [email protected] (Mark Doyle)
Publish date : 2024-07-21 12:00:00
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