Riccardo Gaucci, son of former Perugia president Luciano Gaucci, has revisited one of the most dramatic finales in Serie A history — the 1999/2000 season that ended with Lazio’s Scudetto. Speaking (as quoted by VecchiaSignora) on the Pro Football podcast, Gaucci reflected on the infamous Perugia–Juventus match, played in torrential rain and remembered for Pierluigi Collina’s controversial decision to resume play despite near-unplayable conditions.
“Collina had orders to make sure that match was played at all costs; otherwise the next day would have been chaos,” Gaucci said. His comments referred to the dramatic afternoon of 14 May 2000, when a violent downpour flooded Perugia’s Stadio Renato Curi, forcing a suspension that lasted more than an hour. “With Lazio already winning the title thanks to their 1-1 result, if the game had been postponed, thousands of Lazio fans would have invaded Perugia. It would have been a nightmare for public order.”
The image of Collina pacing the waterlogged pitch with an umbrella in hand has become iconic. “I remember Collina desperately looking for a patch of grass where the ball could bounce,” Gaucci recalled. Once play resumed around 6 p.m., the teams battled through mud and puddles until Alessandro Calori struck in the 49th minute, scoring the goal that secured Perugia’s 1-0 win — and Lazio’s triumph.
“Maybe it was fate. That day, Juventus simply weren’t meant to win the Scudetto,” Gaucci concluded. “But they were such a strong side that, had they focused less on the rain and more on the football, they might have scored two or three goals.”
