|
Having won two trophies in the 1997/98 season, Chelsea manager Gianluca
Vialli embarked on an impressive spending spree in the summer of 1998
which was designed to give the Blues the necessary quality to challenge
for the Premiership title. Marcel Desailly, Albert Ferrer and Brian
Laudrup all moved to Stamford Bridge once their respective World Cup
campaigns were over, but the most expensive of Vialli's signings was his
Italian compatriot, Pierluigi Casiraghi. Signed from Lazio for a cool
£5.4 million, the muscular hit-man was expected to seamlessly fill the
boots of Mark Hughes, a player of similar attributes, who had been
allowed to join Southampton. 'Gigi' made his debut in a one-sided clash
at Coventry which Chelsea managed to lose 2-1 on a day that City's
goalkeeper, Magnus Hedman, was in outstanding form, saving three
goal-bound efforts from Casiraghi alone.
After that defeat, the Stamford
Bridge side remained unbeaten in the Premiership until January - but by
that time, Gigi had played his last game. The frustrations of his debut
set the tone for much of his brief Chelsea career as he struggled to
get the lucky break his selfless work deserved. Denied a blatant penalty
after being tripped by Arsenal's Patrick Vieira in a goalless draw at
Stamford Bridge, he was then replaced by Tore Andre Flo at Blackburn and
watched from the bench as the Norwegian striker scored twice in the
last ten minutes to secure an unlikely victory. Casiraghi finally found
the net for the Blues with a superb strike at Anfield - a goal fondly
remembered by Chelsea supporters for an eye-watering collision between
Liverpool's Phil Babb and a goalpost as the defender tried to prevent
the ball crossing the line. But still the luck deserted Gigi. He was
denied another goal in his next game by a cynical foul after Charlton's
goalkeeper, Sasa Ilic, upended the Italian striker as he was poised to
roll the ball into an empty net (Frank Leboeuf scored from the resultant
penalty and Ilic, who was only yellow-carded by generous referee Steve
Dunn, was later stretchered off after colliding with Casiraghi).
Chelsea's season took a dramatic twist when Laudrup announced that he
would be leaving to return to Denmark. His last match for Chelsea was
against FC Copenhagen, the club he was set to join, and it was the Dane
who was on hand to score the crucial winning goal after man-of-the-match
Casiraghi's effort had rebounded from the crossbar. Ironically, Gigi's
final appearance came in the very next match. With Chelsea a goal down
to West Ham, Casiraghi threw himself bravely into a near-post challenge
and collided with the Hammers' keeper, Shaka Hislop. He collapsed in
agony, having torn the ligaments and damaged the nerves in his right
knee, causing irreparable damage. Ten operations followed but to no
avail and in February 2000 Chelsea called an end to his gutsy battle
when they terminated Casiraghi's contract and accepted a £450, 000
insurance payout. (Kelvin Barker)
1985–1989 Monza 94 (28)
1989–1993 Juventus 98 (20)
1993–1998 Lazio 140 (41)
1998–2000 Chelsea 10 (1)
|