Clubs were invited to compete based on their final league position in the previous season, though not all of the eligible English clubs entered. The tournament began with an international stage which saw teams playing matches against those from the opposite league. Two teams from each country then advanced to the semi-finals, which were one all-English and one all-Italian tie, ensuring a final between an English team and an Italian team atWembley Stadium.Ascoli andNotts County reached the final, respectively beatingAncona andStoke City in the semi-finals, and Notts County won the tournament by winning the final 2–1.Nicola Caccia of Ancona was the competition's top scorer with five goals.
This was the only staging of the tournament in the 1990s to be won by an English side. The competition was criticised by some as a low-interest distraction, and several contentious incidents contributed to its reputation for violence, notably a match betweenSheffield United andUdinese which saw a 15-man brawl and the dismissal of four players. Despite its reputation, the tournament proved a season highlight for the finalists, both of whom experienced otherwise poor campaigns culminating inrelegation to their respective third tiers.
TheAnglo-Italian Cup had been staged intermittently since1970, and was revived in 1992, in England serving as a replacement for theFull Members' Cup.[1] This iteration of the tournament was contested by teams from theFootball League First Division, then the second tier of theEnglish football league system, andSerie B, the second tier of theItalian football league system.[2] In earlier seasons, First Division clubs had participated in a qualifying stage to determine which teams played in the international stage, but this was dispensed with in the 1994–95 season, and invitations instead given to the three teamsrelegated from the previous season'sPremier League and the five highest-placed non-promoted teams from the previous season's First Division. Serie B clubs were selected on a similar basis.[3] Of the eligible English clubs,Millwall andOldham Athletic declined their invitations, withMiddlesbrough andStoke City taking their places.[4] The participating clubs and their 1993–94 league positions were as follows:
At the international stage, the sixteen teams were divided into two groups of eight, each featuring four teams from each country. Clubs played four matches against the teams in their group from the opposite league, two at home and two away. At the end of the international stage, the highest-placed team from each country in each group would advance to atwo-legged semi-final, where they would play the other semi-finalist from their own league. A single-match final between the two winners would then follow atWembley Stadium.[7] During the international stage, English referees were appointed to officiate matches in Italy, while Italian referees oversaw games in England.[8] The groups for the international stage were as follows:[9]
Oliver Bierhoff(picturedc. 1999) scored four goals in the group stage.
Group A began on 24 August 1994 with two matches in Italy and two in England.[9] Notts County made a 1–1 draw at Ascoli, withPaul Devlin scoring a last minute equaliser for the away team afterGiuseppe Incocciati had put Ascoli ahead.[10] Meanwhile, about 30 supporters of Wolverhampton Wanderers saw their side win 1–0 at Lecce, withDavid Kelly scoring on the break late in the match.[11] In England, Giampaolo Saurini's powerful 63rd-minute strike, followed shortly afterwards by a headed goal fromDaniele Fortunato, gave Atalanta a 2–0 win over Swindon Town.[12] AtPrenton Park, goals fromJohn Aldridge andChris Malkin gave Tranmere Rovers a 2–0 lead over Venezia, but the latter scored twice themselves, the second coming three minutes from the end, and the match finished 2–2.[13]
In the second round of games, played on 6 September,[9] Tranmere were forced to field several youth players after injuries and international call-ups among their senior side, and they were defeated 2–0 at Atalanta.[14] Devlin was dismissed from his team's home match with Lecce for a second bookable offence, butPhil Turner's 55th-minute goal was nevertheless sufficient to secure a 1–0 win for Notts County.[15] The match between Wolves and Ascoli also saw a red card, withPaolo Benetti of Ascoli dismissed after reacting angrily to a foul byRobbie Dennison onMarco Bizzarri, the Ascoli goalkeeper. Despite playing the final ten minutes with ten men, Ascoli won 1–0.[16] Meanwhile, Swindon were beaten 1–0 at Venezia,[17] leaving Notts County as the leading English team in the group, a point ahead of Wolves.[18] Atalanta led among the Italian teams, with two wins from two.[17]
A third round of games was played on 4 and 5 October,[9] with Tranmere losing 1–0 at home to Ascoli through aOliver Bierhoffpenalty, a result that effectively ended Tranmere's chances of progressing to the semi-final.[19] Atalanta led 1–0 at half-time in their home game with Notts County throughLeonardo Rodríguez, but the Italian team were reduced to ten men with 30 minutes to play whenPaolo Montero was sent off for a second yellow card, and aTony Agana equaliser saw the game finish 1–1.[20] Swindon gained their first win in the competition, withAndy Mutch scoring twice in his team's 3–1 win over Lecce,[21] while Wolves were beaten 2–1 at Venezia despite having taken a 1–0 28th-minute lead.[22] The results left Notts County needing a point in their final game to reach the English semi-final,[20] while Ascoli, Atalanta and Venezia were level among the Italian teams, each with two wins and a draw.[17]
The final round of Group A fixtures look place on 15 November.[9] Fabio Pascucci was dismissed for Ascoli after a foul on Scott in his team's home match with Swindon, but Bierhoff scored ahat-trick, and the Italian side won 3–1.[23] Elsewhere in Italy,Orazio Russo scored twice for his team in their 3–0 over Tranmere, helping Lecce to their first win of the competition,[24] and leaving Tranmere without a victory.[9] Notts County led Venezia 2–1, before the latter were awarded a penalty,Dean Yates was sent off for the former for a disputed handball, andMarco Barollo equalised with the resultant kick. Notts County regained the lead throughShaun Murphy, but Barollo scored again, and the match finished 3–3.[25] At Molineux, Atalanta took at early lead against Wolves throughValter Bonacina, but the home team levelled viaLee Mills before half-time, and the match finished 1–1.[26] The results meant Ascoli progressed as the highest-ranking Italian team, and Notts County as the leading English team.[9]
Bramall Lane(pictured in 1992) was the scene of a 15-man brawl during the group stage.
Like Group A, the first round of Group B fixtures look place on 24 August.[9] Derby led 1–0 at Ancona through aMark Pembridge header, but two defensive lapses in the final ten minutes of the first-half allowedNicola Caccia to score twice, and Ancona won 2–1.[28] Stoke won 2–0 at Cesena through aJohn Clarkfree kick and a lateMartin Carruthers strike,[29] while Middlesbrough made a 0–0 draw with Piacenza.Paul Wilkinson was sent off in the 84th minute of the latter for kicking an opponent.[30] AtBramall Lane, the match between Sheffield United and Udinese "degenerated into gruesome farce", with a 15-man brawl and the dismissal of four players (three Sheffield United and one Udinese) and the Sheffield United managerDave Bassett. The match was close to abandonment, but was seen through to completion and won 2–1 by Udinese.[31]
Three games took place in Group B during September, two of which took place in England.[9] Derby were leading 5–0 at half-time against Cesena, and they eventually won 6–1.Paul Kitson scored four goals during the match, withSteve Hodge scoring Derby's other two.[32] At theVictoria Ground, Caccia scored his third goal of the tournament to give Ancona a 1–0 half-time lead, but Stoke were level throughWayne Biggins shortly into the second half, and the match finished 1–1.[33] Following the experience of their match with Udinese, Sheffield United prevented most their senior team from travelling to Italy,[8] and a radically different line-up made a 2–2 draw at Piacenza.[17] A match between Udinese and Middlesbrough had to be postponed due to the former having to rearrange an abandonedCoppa Italia tie withFiorentina.[34] Ancona and Stoke respectively ended the round as their country's leading team in the group, both with one win and a draw.[17]
Five Group B matches were played in October, four of which took place on 4 October.[9] TheBolivia internationalJaime Moreno scored his first goal for Middlesbrough, a 56th-minute left-footed volley in a 1–1 home draw with Cesena.[35] Piacenza took a 1–0 lead in their home game with Derby via aAntonio De Vitis penalty, beforePaul Williams levelled for Derby with a 77th-minute volley. Derby then had the opportunity to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty andFrancesco Turrini was dismissed for violent conduct, but Pembridge saw his kick saved, and the match finished 1–1.[36] With Bassett absent, a young Sheffield United side made a 3–3 draw with Ancona,[37] while Stoke scored three goals in six second-half minutes in a 3–1 win at Udinese.[38] Middlesbrough also travelled to Udinese for their rearranged match in October, a 0–0 draw that saw three red cards (two for Udinese, one for Middlesbrough) for poor tackles.[39]
The final round of matches in Group B was played in November.[9] Middlesbrough fielded "a side close to junior level" for their match at Ancona, and were beaten 3–1, with Caccia scoring twice for the home side.[40] Their win meant Ancona progressed as the leading Italian team.[9] Once again fielding an inexperienced team, including one non-contract and two transfer-listed players, Sheffield United won 4–1 at Cesena,[41] while Derby were 3–1 winners at home to Udinese. Derby's win meant Stoke City would need at least a point to progress as the leading English team,[42] andJohn Butler had them ahead early in their home match with Piacenza. Martin Caruthers scored two goals, one shortly before and one shortly after half-time, andNigel Gleghorn added a fourth, Stoke advancing with a 4–0 win.[43]
The Italian semi-final was played in December between Ancona and Ascoli.[9] The first leg was played at Ascoli'sStadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca, and was won 1–0 by Ancona via a 33rd-minute goal from thedefenderCarlo Cornacchia. In the second leg, a 70th minute goal from Giuseppe Incocciati gave Ascoli a 1–0 lead that forced extra time, and Incocciati scored a second in the 101st minute.Felice Centofanti pulled a goal back for Ancona in the final seconds, but the final whistle went shortly afterwards, and Ascoli advanced to the final via theaway goals rule.[44]
The English semi-final between Notts County and Stoke City followed in January.[9] The first leg at Notts County'sMeadow Lane ground ended 0–0, with the home side having only one shot on target, and Stoke failing to test the Notts goalkeeper.[45] The second leg also finished 0–0 after extra time, and apenalty shoot-out was therefore required to decide the winner. The goalkeeperJason Kearton made two saves for Notts County, and his side won the shoot-out 3–2 to qualify for a second successive Anglo-Italian Cup final.[46]
The original Wembley Stadium(pictured in 2002) hosted the final.
The final was played at Wembley Stadium on 19 March.[47] The match was attended by 11,704 spectators,[48] mostly Notts County supporters, but including over 1,000 supporters of Ascoli,[49] and was refereed by Charles Agius of Malta.[50] Notts County took the lead after 14 minutes, when a long throw-in fromAndy Legg deceived the Ascoli goalkeeper Marco Bizzarri and went straight over him into the net.[51] Television replays showed that Legg's throw-in did not make any contact before it crossed the line,[52] but a goal was credited to Tony Agana,[48][9] who was adjudged to have got a touch,[51] though David Stapleton of theNottingham Evening Post thought it a Bizzarri own goal.[50] Ascoli made the score 1–1 in the 33rd minute through Walter Mirabelli, who took advantage of a mix-up in the Notts County defence to equalise from close range, but Notts County retook the lead shortly before half-time through aDevon White header.[53] There was no further scoring in the second half, Legg seeing a goal from a powerful free-kick disallowed, and the English side won the match 2–1.[50]
A total of 98 goals were scored during the tournament. Excluding oneown goal, there were 71 different goalscorers. The top scorer was Nicola Caccia of Ancona, who found the net five times during the competition.[17]
The Anglo-Italian Cup struggled to generate interest,[2] and there was criticism for the standard of the refereeing,[10][30] low attendances,[42] and the perceived distraction it caused to the league season.[26] Some clubs used the event as an opportunity to field fringe players.[56] The competition had also developed a reputation for violence,[1] "more like theAggro-Italian Cup" as one newspaper put it,[57] and there were several contentious incidents during the 1994–95 edition.[16][31][36]Glyn Hodges, who was one of the three Sheffield United players dismissed in their opening game with Udinese, later recalled that the experience caused Dave Bassett, his team's manager, to abandon any interest in progressing.[8] There was speculation in the press about whether the tournament would continue,[58][53][59] but it did for one more season, being cancelled in 1996 when the two leagues were unable to agree on scheduling.[1]
Notts County were ultimately the only English side to win the competition in the 1990s.[60] It was Notts County's first triumph in a cup competition since winning the1894 FA Cup final 101 years earlier,[50] and proved a high point in a mostly poor season for the club which saw three managerial changes, an unsettled playing side, and culminated in relegation to theFootball League Second Division, something which prevented them from defending their title the following season.[61] Ascoli were also relegated following the 1994–95 season, dropping toSerie C, and their semi-final victory over Ancona is regarded as one of their best results in a difficult period for the club.[62] The opportunity to play at the original Wembley Stadium is also considered a highlight in Ascoli's history.[49]
^abcdStapleton, David (20 March 1995). "Now Save Us From the Drop".Nottingham Evening Post. p. 24.
^abMoore, David (20 March 1995). "Devon Cream".Daily Mirror. London. p. 31.
^Central Sports Special. 19 March 1995. ITV Central., 05:42–05:52
^abCarter, Simon (20 March 1995). "Notts' Silver Lining".Derby Evening Telegraph. p. 19.
^Player positions taken from"Notts County",Ascoli V Notts County Official Matchday Programme: 27, 19 March 1995. Squad numbers taken fromCentral Sports Special. 19 March 1995. ITV Central., 01:30–01:51
^Player positions taken from"Ascoli",Ascoli V Notts County Official Matchday Programme: 26, 19 March 1995. Squad numbers taken fromCentral Sports Special. 19 March 1995. ITV Central., 02:04–02:22
England
Italy
