Angry Balbo unleashes dead-rubber hat-trick on Cremonese

June 4, 1995 – Cremona, Stadio Zini
Cremonese 2-5 Roma
Serie A, Week 34

Six years on from the day that will always be remembered for Antonio De Falchi’s tragic death outside the Stadio San Siro, Roma played another match on June 4.

It was 1995 and the Giallorossi traveled to Cremonese in the last week of Serie A for an encounter with nothing riding on it. Roma were fifth and would remain fifth, a disappointing final league position considering the lofty aims they had set out with and their distance from second place – just four points away in the year which saw the introduction of three points for a win.

It had started out as the year of dream South American strike pairing Abel Balbo and Daniel Fonseca; it ended as the year of Balbo. The Argentine frontman underlined the point by signing off in style with a hat-trick at the Stadio Zini to take his Serie A tally to 22 for the season (his best ever). A hat-trick which displayed his full repertoire. The opener was a well-taken first-time finish from the edge of the box, his second a header from a rebound, the third from the spot.

The hosts twice equalized Balbo’s initial efforts before the Argentine’s third and a brace from midfielder Massimiliano Cappioli put the game to bed, giving the score sheet a similar feel to the one from the Giallorossi’s best result of the season: Lazio 0-3 Roma (Balbo, Cappioli, Fonseca).

At the end of the match Balbo somewhat controversially dedicated his performance to Carlo Mazzone because the coach hadn’t granted his request for family leave on a weekend when the result mattered little on paper. But first or last outing of the season – as Mazzone had insisted and Balbo then showed – when Roma play it always matters.