One small step at a time
Lazio and Napoli settle for a point each towards their objectives
Also on this day: April 3, 2021, Lazio Spezia 2-1. Lazio conquer eighth consecutive home win despite superb but short lived Spezia equaliser. Player of the day: Andreas Pereira
The season so far
The previous season had been Delio Rossi's last and ended on a triumphal note winning the Coppa Italia.
This year Lazio had chosen Davide Ballardini as their new manager. With the change in the dug out there came several changes to the squad. In the summer Lazio had brought in goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri, defender and future Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni (Mallorca-back from loan), midfielders Roberto Baronio (Brescia- back from loan), Eliseu (Malaga) and Fabio Firmani (Al-Waslp-back from loan) plus striker Julio Cruz (Inter). So not a memorable incoming player market.
In the summer obviously some players had also left. Hugely disappointing goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo (who had been welcomed as the new messiah) went to Zaragozza on loan and David Rozehnal was sold to SV Hamburger. Homegrown talent and Lazio fan, Lorenzo De Silvestri went to Fiorentina while versatile Luciano Zauri and striker Libor Kozak were loaned to Sampdoria and Brescia.
Goran Pandev and Christian Ledesma were out of favour and excluded from the squad over contractual issues.
Lazio's season had started in a dreamlike fashion. On August 8 in Beijing, the Biancocelesti had defeated José Mourinho's, soon "triplete" winning, Inter 2-1 to lift the Italian Supercoppa for the third time. Goals by Francelino Matuzalém and Tommaso Rocchi sank the seemingly invincible Nerazzurri.
Lazio started the league with the enthusiasm of having won silverware but realistically did not expect any more miracles from the season.
No miracles but neither for things to be going so badly. Lazio had started well winning the first two games of the season but then things went downhill. Their next win came in the 16th fixture, a 1-0 home win against Genoa. More defeats followed and only one win before Ballardini was finally sacked after a 0-1 home defeat to Catania on February 7. Lazio were 18th, on 22 points and in the Serie B zone, one point behind Catania 17th and safe.
In came Edy Reja and Lazio had won their first match 2-0 away at Parma and Ledesma was put back in the squad. A week later however, Lazio had lost 1-3 away at Palermo. They then drew 1-1 at home to Fiorentina, lost 1-2 away to Sampdoria and 0-2 at home to Bari. The situation was worrying, Lazio were 17th only two points above Livorno who were 18th and in the last relegation slot.
Luckily then Lazio picked up and had earned 7 points in the past three games (Cagliari 2-0 away, Siena 2-0 at home and Milan 1-1 away). Lazio were now 16th with a five-point cushion on 18th placed Atalanta.
A stressful situation was now looking rosier but Lazio still needed points.
In the Europa League, Lazio had already been eliminated. They had won the playoff in August, 3-1 against Swedish Elfsborg but had then been eliminated in the group phase. The Biancocelesti won 2 (Levski Sofia 4-0 away and Villarreal 2-1 at home) and lost 4 (Salzburg 1-2 home and away, Villarreal 1-4 away and Levski Sofia 0-1 at home).
In the Coppa Italia Lazio had beaten Palermo 2-0 but then lost 2-3 away to Fiorentina.
Napoli had finished 12th the previous season, under current Lazio manager Edy Reja first (1-27) and then Roberto Donadoni (28-38). They had beaten Lazio 1-0 in Rome but lost 0-2 in Naples. Top scorer was Marek Hamšík with 12 goals (9 in A).
This season the manager was first Donadoni (1-7) and now Walter Mazzarri. The main new players were: keeper Morgan De Sanctis (Sevilla), defender Hugo Campagnaro (Sampdoria), midfielders Juan Camilo Zuniga (Siena) and Luca Cigarini (Atalanta) plus Neapolitan forward Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese).
The main departures were midfielder Manuele Blasi (Palermo-on loan), Samuele Dalla Bona (Iraklis-on loan), Daniele Mannini (Sampdoria-on loan), Francesco Montervino (Salernitana) plus forward Marcelo Zalayeta (Bologna-on loan).
The Partenopei were currently 7th and fighting for the Europa League slots. The Azzurri had won 12 (including Juventus twice, 3-2 away and 3-1 at home), drawn 12 (including Lazio 0-0) and lost 7. Their most recent result had been a 1-0 home victory against Catania.
In Coppa Italia they had gone out in the last 16 losing 3-0 away to Juventus.
This afternoon's league game was of uncertain outcome between two teams still needing points for their respective targets.
The match: Saturday, April 3, 2010, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A warm, sunny day attracted about 30,000 spectators.
For Lazio, Sergio Floccari was back from injury while Tommaso Rocchi was preferred to Mauro Zarate as his attacking partner. In defence Giuseppe Biava was chosen over Guglielmo Stendardo in the centre of defence with André Dias.
Napoli had no absences and played with the predicted line-up with Marek Hamšík and Fabio Quagliarella in support of Ezequiel Lavezzi up front. Napoli took to the field with uncharacteristic red kits with a yellow stripe on the shorts...
Lazio took the lead almost immediately. In the 4th minute Stefano Mauri put in a perfect cross from the left and Floccari anticipated his marker and scored with an excellent and powerful header. Lazio 1 Napoli 0.
The game then went a bit flat. The visitors had a chance in the 10th minute when Juan Camilo Zúñiga tried a shot from a difficult angle, Fernando Muslera saved and Lavezzi's bicycle kick on the rebound went high. Napoli struggled to react after that and Lazio were content to sit on their lead.
The Biancocelesti did have a low Alexsandar Kolarov effort from outside the area saved by Morgan De Sanctis in the 19th minute.
Things changed in the 38th minute. Fabio Quagliarella superbly teed up Marek Hamšík in front of Muslera, cutting out the whole defence and the Slovak beat the Uruguayan keeper, coming off his line, with a lovely touch. Lazio 1 Napoli 1.
Now it was Lazio’s turn to lose confidence. Before halftime Lavezzi won possession half way into Lazio’s half and sent a cracking shot towards the top hand corner but Muslera pulled off a brilliant save. Score at the break Lazio 1 Napoli 1.
A fair score line, Lazio had seemed in control but were too conservative and ended up being punished by Napoli's quality up front.
For the second half Reja decided to play Zarate instead of Rocchi.
The Argentine started promisingly but soon got into his head to do it all alone and became increasingly less useful to the team, losing possession and unbalancing the team.
The second half was lacklustre and very blocked. Napoli had more control but were unable to cause any major threats apart from long distance shots by Hamšík and Hugo Campagnaro, saved well by Muslera. Lazio had a penalty appeal for Cristian Brocchi being obstructed on entering the area but the referee deemed it not sufficient for a spot kick.
In the last ten minutes Lazio threw Julio Cruz on for Floccari in an attempt to possibly find an acrobatic winner. It was Mauri who had a chance from a Kolarov cross but on his wrong foot and it went over the bar. The stalemate remained until the end. Final score Lazio 1 Napoli 1.
A point each for the teams' respective objectives. Not great but not to be scoffed at either. Lazio manager Reja saw the glass half full, although he admitted Lazio would have to win at least two of the last six games and the fixture list was not straightforward (Bologna away, derby, Genoa away, Inter at home, Livorno away and Udinese at home).
To complicate matters came the news that Atalanta had beaten Siena thus reducing Lazio's cushion to three points. The new table read: Siena 26, Livorno 26, Atalanta 31, Lazio 34, Bologna 35. Next up Roma vs Atalanta (the Giallorossi were top so not an easy choice of outcome for Lazio fans) and Bologna vs Lazio. Not a week for the faint hearted.
Napoli meanwhile moved up to 6th as Juventus had crumbled 0-3 at Udine.
Who played for Lazio
Muslera, Biava, Dias, Radu, Lichtsteiner, Brocchi, Ledesma, Mauri, Kolarov, Rocchi (46' Zarate), Floccari (79' Cruz)
Substitutes: Berni, Del Nero, Stendardo, Baronio, Hitzlsperger
Manager: Reja
Who played for Napoli
De Sanctis, Grava, P. Cannavaro, Campagnaro, Maggio (53' Rinaudo), Gargano, Pazienza, Zuniga, Hamšík, Lavezzi, Quagliarella
Substitutes: Gianello, Rullo, Cigarini, Maiello, Bogliacino, Denis
Manager: Mazzarri
Referee: Orsato
Goals: 4' Floccari, 38' Hamšík
What happened next
Lazio managed to avoid relegation and finished 12th. A week later Lazio beat Bologna 3-2 away giving themselves more breathing space while Roma beat Atalanta. More defeats followed but wins against Genoa and Livorno away and Udinese at home ultimately gave Lazio a respectable position. Top scorer was Tommaso Rocchi with 10 goals in total while just in the league it was Sergio Floccari with 8.
More good news came from city rivals Roma throwing away the Scudetto. The Giallorossi were top with four games to go but then lost 1-2 at home to Sampdoria and were overtaken by Inter. A huge relief for Lazio fans who famously lifted the banner "Oh noooo…" when Inter scored and beat Lazio a week later (by then Lazio were virtually safe).
Napoli finished 6th and qualified for the Europa League. In the last six games the Azzurri won 3, drew 1 and lost 2. Top scorer was Marek Hamšík with 12 league goals.
Inter of course won the Scudetto for their 18th title. At the other end Atalanta, Siena and Livorno trudged down to Serie B (the Dea and Robur would bounce straight back up while the Amaranto would have to wait three years).
Lazio 2009-10
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 39 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
Europa League | 8 | 3 | - | 5 | 12 |
Super Coppa | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
Total | 49 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 57 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Lichtsteiner | 43 | 33 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
Mauri | 43 | 34 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
Muslera | 42 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Kolarov | 41 | 33 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
Zarate | 41 | 31 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Rocchi | 10 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Floccari | 9 | 8 | 1 | - | - |
Zarate | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | - |
Kolarov | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - |
Mauri | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | - |
Cruz | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | - |
Let's talk about Julio Cruz
Julio Ricardo Cruz was born in Santiago del Estero, in Northern Argentina, on October 10, 1974.
He grew up in the Banfield youth set up. Banfield is a town just outside Buenos Aires. He then made his professional debut for "El Taladro" (The Drill) in 1993. He played three and a half seasons for Banfield, playing 65 league games and scoring 16 goals.
In July 1996 he moved to Buenos Aires and joined River Plate. He stayed one season with "Los Millionarios" and won an Apertura in 1996 and a Clausura in 1997. He played 29 league games with 17 goals, 5 in Copa Libertadores with 1 goal plus the Intercontinental Cup (lost to Juventus 0-1 to an Alessandro Del Piero goal).
In 1997 he came to Europe and joined Feyenoord in the Eredivisie. He stayed three seasons, playing 86 league games with 44 goals, 8 in the Dutch Cup with 2 goals, 17 in Europe with 6 goals and 1 in the Dutch Supercup. He won one league title (1999) and a Supercup (1999).
In 2000 he arrived in Italy when he signed for Bologna in Serie A. The manager was Francesco Guidolin and the Felsinei finished 10th. Cruz played 27 league games with 7 goals (Napoli, Fiorentina, Parma, Vicenza, Bari, Lecce x2) and 1 game in Coppa Italia.
He stayed two more seasons in Bologna, still with Guidolin as manager. The Rossoblu finished 7th and 11th. Cruz played another 61 league games with 20 goals (Parma, Lazio, Chievo, Udinese, Verona, Milan, Fiorentina, Lecce, Roma, Torino, Roma x2, Brescia x2, Perugia, Modena, Parma x2, Inter, Juventus), 4 games in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Empoli x2) and 6 games in the Intertoto Cup with 1 goal (Bate Borisov). In his time in Bologna "la grassa" he played alongside Lazio connections, Beppe Signori (1992-97), Fabio Firmani (2005-09, 2009-11) and Mourad Meghni (2007-11).
In 2003 he joined Inter where he would remain for six seasons.
In his first year the manager was Hector Cuper (1-6) and then Alberto Zaccheroni and the Nerazzurri finished 4th (Champions League). Cruz played 21 league games with 7 goals (Brescia, Ancona, Reggina, Juventus x2, Lecce, Udinese), 4 in Coppa Italia with 3 goals (Reggina x2, Udinese) and 6 in the Champions League with 1 goal (Arsenal). He was not always a regular as Inter had Christian Vieri, Alvaro Recoba, Adriano and Obafemi Martins in the squad.
In 2004-05 Roberto Mancini arrived as manager from Lazio. Inter finished 3rd (Champions League), won the Coppa Italia (Roma 3-0 on aggregate) and reached the quarter finals of Champions League (Milan 0-5 on aggregate). Cruz played 18 league games with 5 goals (Lazio, Bologna, Juventus, Messina, Siena), 6 games in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Bologna, Atalanta) and 8 games in Champions with 2 goals (Valencia, Anderlecht).
In 2005-06 Mancini stayed but Vieri left and Cruz played more, 31 league games with 15 goals (Palermo x2, Lecce, Livorno, Udinese, Empoli, Treviso, Chievo, Udinese x2, Ascoli, Reggina x2, Siena, Cagliari), 8 games in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Roma home and away in final) and 7 games in Champions League with 4 goals (Artmedia Bratislava, Porto x2, AJax). The Nerazzurri won the domestic treble, Scudetto, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa.
In 2006-07 Inter won the Scudetto and the Supercoppa. Inter had signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hernan Crespo and still had Adriano and Recoba, so Cruz played less. He made 15 league appearances with 7 goals (Livorno, Parma, Catania, Livorno, Milan, Palermo, Empoli), 4 in Coppa Italia with 2 goals (Messina, Roma) and 4 in Champions League with 3 goals (Spartak Moscow x2 at home and one away).
The 2007-08 season saw Inter win their 3rd consecutive Scudetto under Mancini. Cruz played 28 league games with 13 goals (Roma, Napoli x2, Genoa, Juventus, Atalanta, Fiorentina, Torino, Cagliari, Milan, Torino, Cagliari, Milan), 3 games in Coppa Italia with 4 goals (Juventus x3, Lazio) and 6 games in Champions League with 2 goals (Fenerbahçe, PSV Eindhoven) plus the Italian Supercoppa.
The 2008-09 season would be his last with Inter. José Mourinho arrived as new manager and the Nerazzurri won the Scudetto and the Supercoppa. Cruz played 17 league games with 2 goals (Lecce, Udinese), 1 game in Coppa Italia and 5 in Champions League with 1 goal (Anorthosis). After 197 games he then left Inter. In his six seasons he had played alongside many Lazio connections: Dejan Stankovic (1998-2004), Christian Vieri (1998-99), Matias Almeyda (1997-2000), Sinisa Mihajlovic (1998-2004), Beppe Favalli (1992-2004), Juan Sebastian Veron (1999-2001), César (2001-06), Hernan Crespo (2000-2002) and Luís Jimenez (2007).
In the summer of 2009 Cruz joined Lazio. The Biancocelesti had a new manager Davide Ballardini, who had taken over from Delio Rossi. Lazio had won the Coppa Italia the previous season so played the Supercoppa final against Inter in August. The game took place in China and Lazio surprisingly triumphed 2-1. The rest of the season did not go as well. Ballardini was sacked in February and replaced by Edy Reja. Lazio struggled but avoided relegation. Cruz played 25 league games with 4 goals (Chievo x2, Catania, Siena), 4 in the Europa League plus the Supercoppa against his former club. His season was hampered by several injuries and at the end he decided to retire.
At international level he earned 22 caps for Argentina with 3 goals (Mexico, Wales and Qatar). He took part in a Copa America (1997) and a World Cup (2006).
Cruz was a centre-forward, nicknamed "El Jardinero" (The Gardener). At 1.90 and 78 kilos his main ability was in headers. He was however a good all-round player and moved well for his height. He was technical, good at freekicks but above all scored goals, 198 in his career. He won 2 Argentinian league titles, 1 in Holland plus a Supercup, 4 Italian league titles, the Coppa Italia twice and the Italian Supercoppa 4 times. He scored 80 goals in Serie A (8 against Juve)
At Lazio he arrived late in his career, at 35. He was not the success one had hoped, not helped by Lazio's poor season and a series of injuries. He did however lift another trophy, the Supercoppa in Beijing playing the last tense twenty minutes.
Since retiring he has run for Mayor in Lomas de Zamora in the Buenos Aires province. He owns a Fazenda (Hacienda-large farm) to spend his retirement. His son Juan Manuel is also a professional footballer who started with Banfield and now plays for Verona.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2009-10 | 30 (4) | 25 (4) | 4 | 1 |
Sources
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