Lazio Mura 05 3-1
Kozak double plus Zarate take Lazio to Europa League Group Stage
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had arrived fourth qualifying for the preliminary round of the Europa League and missing out on a Champions League qualification by just two points. It had been an excellent season and there was hope the Biancocelesti could finally reach that goal of top tier European football this year.
Lazio had a new manager. Veteran Edy Reja had decided not to continue and the club had called Vladimir Petkovic, a Swiss national of Bosnian origin, who had achieved good results in his adopted nation. A surprise move, nobody had ever heard of the man, but typical of Lazio and Sports Director Igli Tare.
The summer transfer window had been concentrated on just two new signings: Brazilian attacking midfielder Ederson on a free transfer and Michael Ciani, big French defender from Bordeaux. Saying goodbye to the capital were Guglielmo Stendardo (contract ended by mutual consent), Javier Garrido (loan with option to buy to Norwich City) and Emiliano Alfaro (same formula, to Al-Wasi).
Lazio had played a number of friendlies, losing almost all of them. Siena, Torino, Galatasaray, Getafe, all defeats. The Biancocelesti had beaten only minor teams and Malmoe on August 16. But the objective was to get in shape specifically for the Europa League play off where Lazio had to play Slovenians Mura 05.
In the first leg a week before this match Lazio had won comfortably 2-0 with goals from Hernanes and Miroslav Klose. So, for the return game there was obvious and logical optimism
The match: Thursday, August 30, 2012, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
After the big win in the first leg, Petkovic took the opportunity to experiment. As a consequence Federico Marchetti, Abdoulay Konko, Cristian Ledesma, Stefano Mauri, Antonio Candreva and Miroslav Klose all got a night off.
It was a slow start. The first real chance came after 20 minutes with a Hernanes shot which was too high. Mauro Zarate had a free kick brilliantly parried into corner by Filip Drakovic who repeated himself immediately after on an André Dias header. On the half hour however, Lazio scored. Zarate in some way managed to pass the ball to Libor Kozak just inside the box but dead centre. The tall Czech managed to control and then volley the ball into the net.
Zarate could have made it two shortly after on a Kozak assist, but it was then thanks to a great save from Albano Bizzarri on a Nusmir Fajic shot that the score actually stayed 1-0. The Bosnian player dribbled both Dias and Giuseppe Biava but his shot was saved into corner by the Lazio goalkeeper.
In the 42nd minute Lionel Scaloni crossed into the box from the right, Kozak headed the ball back to Hernanes whose shot was walled by the Mura 05 defence. The stray ball was picked up again by Scaloni, quick pass to the centre of the box for Zarate who with a low shot made it 2-0 for Lazio.
Towards the end of the first half Drakovic saved successive shots from Senad Lulic, Scaloni and Hernanes.
In the 55th minute Lazio made it three. A mistake by Erik Janza allowed Kozak to run into the box and beat Drakovic. The Biancocelesti continued to push on the accelerator and had a number of chances to make it 4-0 with Hernanes, Candreva, Kozak, Antonio Rozzi and Eddy Onazi but it was Mura 05 who scored in the 89th minute with Jure Travner following a Mate Eterovic free kick and a Bizzarri fumble.
Lazio comfortably through to the Europa League group phase.
Who played for Lazio
Bizzarri, Scaloni, Biava, Dias, Cavanda, A. Gonzalez (61’ Rozzi), Onazi, Hernanes (79’ Konko), Lulic (69’ Candreva), Zarate, Kozak
Manager: Petkovic
Who played for Mura 05
Drakovic, Marusko, Travner, Kramar, Janza, Bohar (46'Buzeti), Horvat (84' Kouter), Vas (43' Kozar), Majer, Eterovic, Fajic.
Substitutes: Cipot, Barbic, Gruskowiak, Lotric.
Manager: Bogatinov.
Referee: Trattou (Cyprus)
Goals: 30’ Kozak, 42’ Zarate, 55’ Kozak, 89’ Travner
What happened next
After beating Mura in the playoff in August, Lazio topped their group (Tottenham, Panathinaikos and Maribor the opponents), and later eliminated Borussia Mönchengladbach and Stuttgart. They faced Fenerbahce in the quarterfinals but they lost in Turkey following a horrendous refereeing display and were not able to overcome the deficit in the return match.
Lazio started the campionato very well and by the end of the first half were second. The Champions League looked possible. But in the next 16 games the Biancocelesti won just four times so top tier Europe was not to be. Lazio ended up 10th. There was still Europa League qualification hope via the Coppa Italia.
In the fourth round Lazio had beaten Siena in the penalty shootout after Ciani saved the campaign with a last second equaliser and Juan Pablo Carrizo stopped two penalties. Things went smoother in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Catania (Stefan Radu and a Hernanes double).
In the semi-finals Lazio had to face Juventus. In the first leg in Turin the Biancocelesti managed to draw 1-1 thanks to a number of miracles from goalkeeper Federico Marchetti and another last gasp goal from Stefano Mauri. In the return match, Lazio scored with Alvaro Gonzalez in the beginning of the second half and it looked as if the Biancocelesti had secured the final. But a Radu mistake in the second minute of injury time gave Juventus the equaliser. Extra time was on the cards but a Sergio Floccari header with one minute to go gave Lazio the ticket for the final. A ticket which was about to be thrown away as Juventus had an open goal chance in the 95th minute but Claudio Marchisio kicked the ball wide.
The final would be against Roma who had eliminated Inter in the other semi-final. This was the first derby in a final. Whoever won would have their names in the history books. Lazio managed to beat Roma with a legendary goal by Senad Lulic, one of those moments which will never be forgotten.
Lazio 2012-13
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 51 |
Coppa Italia | 5 | 3 | 2 | - | 8 |
Europa League | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 25 |
Total | 57 | 29 | 14 | 14 | 84 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
Hernanes | 53 | 34 | 5 | 14 |
Ledesma | 52 | 36 | 5 | 11 |
Lulic | 50 | 33 | 5 | 12 |
Candreva | 49 | 35 | 3 | 11 |
Gonzalez | 49 | 34 | 4 | 11 |
Top five goal scorers
Let's talk about Libor Kozak
I doubt there has ever been a centre forward at Lazio as tall as Libor Kozak. At 1.93 he was an ideal player for crosses and not only. He was not slow either so he could score in any possible way.
Kozak was born in Brumov-Bylnice in the Czech Republic on May 30, 1989. Early in his career he played in defence because he was so tall but his feeling for the goal and his dribbling skills made coaches move him forward. He started his football career with Opava and stayed there until 2008 debuting in the second Czech tier.
In 2008 he signed for Lazio. He initially played in the primavera team but impressed Delio Rossi who started to call him for the A team. He debuted in Serie A on May 9, 2009 at San Siro against Inter. After three appearances he was loaned to Brescia in Serie B for the 2009-10 season. Following a good year in Lombardy he was called back to Rome and played three years for the Biancocelesti. Kozak was not a goal scoring machine in Serie A, but, particularly in his last year, he scored many goals in Europa League of which he was top scorer in 2012-‘13. He was part of the teams that won the Coppa Italia 2008-2009 and the historical one against Roma in 2013.
Adriano Galliani, Silvio Berlusconi’s right hand man, when at Milan accused Kozak of being a dirty player and from then on he had a tough time with the Serie A referees. In a game with AC Milan he first elbowed Daniele Bonera and then literally clashed heads with Nicola Legrottaglie. Galliani said at the end of the game that Libor should have been arrested.
In 2013 Lazio decided to cash in some money and sold Kozak to Aston Villa. After a good start, at the beginning of 2014 he suffered a serious injury breaking his leg. Due to complications following an operation which went wrong, he missed the entire 2014-15 season. He came back after 605 days in August 2015 but in January he broke his ankle. In four years with the Villans he played just 22 games.
Once his contract was over he signed for Bari in Serie B. In the 2017-18 season he appeared in 16 games scoring two goals but the club then went bust and he was a free agent. In 2018 he signed for Livorno in Serie B but left after nine games to join Slovan Liberec. In 2019 he joined Sparta Prague and stayed for two years appearing in 55 games and scoring 22 goals.
In 2021 he signed for Puskas Akademia in Hungary. After 29 appearances and 5 goals he moved back to the Czech Republic and signed with Slovacko. In January 2023 he signed with Trinity Zlin.
Kozak has 9 caps with the Czech Republic and two goals.
Lazio fans have a very fond memory of Kozak and gave him a big hand when on May 28 the heroes of the 2013 Coppa Italia win celebrated their tenth anniversary at the Olimpico before Lazio Cremonese.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
2008-09 | 3 | 3 | - | - |
2010-11 | 22 (7) | 19 (6) | 3 (1) | - |
2011-12 | 24 (5) | 17 (4) | - | 7 (1) |
2012-13 | 31 (10) | 19 | 1 | 11 (10) |
Total | 80 (22) | 58 (10) | 4 (1) | 18 (11) |
Sources