Pre Season Friendly
Tuesday, August 3, 2004
Ninian Park, Cardiff
Cardiff City Lazio 2-3
Lazio's superior quality comes out as they come from behind to beat battling city.
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 6th and won the Coppa Italia. This year, however, everything had changed. In the midst of a financial crisis, new owner Claudio Lotito had cut costs, agreed a long-term deal with state debt collectors and was setting up a new look team.
For a start, Roberto Mancini had left for Inter. A lot of the star players also said goodbye; Jaap Stam (Milan), Stefano Fiore and Bernardo Corradi (Valencia), Sinisa Mihajlovic and Giuseppe Favalli (Inter), Demetrio Albertini (Atalanta), Claudio López (América - México), Lucas Castromán (Vélez Sarsfield) and Guerino Gottardi (retired).
The new manager was Domenico Caso. Arriving at Lazio were players of a "slightly" different calibre, many unknown. Lotito would become famous for signing nine players on one day later in the summer. So far Lazio had not been particularly active but were in negotiations to bring fan favourite Paolo Di Canio home. A promising signing was Goran Pandev from Inter as part of the deal that took Dejan Stankovic to the Nerazzurri. They still had another few weeks to strengthen the team, the problem was it had to be done on an extremely low budget. Lotito, the new owner, was no "Rockefeller" and had agreed to pay off Lazio's debts over 23 years, so there were some hard times ahead. Luckily, Lazio still had some good players: Fernando Couto (very near a renewal), Paolo Negro, Ousmane Dabo, César, Fabio Liverani, Massimo Oddo, Angelo Peruzzi, Luciano Zauri, Simone Inzaghi, to name a few, so it was not all doom and gloom.
The match: Tuesday, August 3, 2004, Ninian Park, Cardiff
A crowd of 15,000 came out to watch the Bluebirds prepare for the season against prestigious opposition Lazio. The Ninian Park ground had once been able to hold around 60,000 but was now reduced to about 20,000. It was a hot and sticky day in the Welsh capital.
Lazio had two last minute absences, Simone Inzaghi through injury and Dino Baggio had a temperature. Goran Pandev had arrived in South-Wales at the last minute. Cardiff City were without Willie Boland and striker Peter Thorne.
Cardiff City started stronger playing classic British style football and with the advantage of more advanced fitness levels. In the first twenty minutes the hosts had at least three chances but Earnshaw was either a fraction too late or imprecise finishing. Lazio had a chance on 25 minutes but Pandev shot straight at Margeston from a favourable position.
After a period of sustained pressure the hosts took the lead in the 27th minute through Alan Lee. The Irish international's header from a John Robinson cross beat Matteo Sereni to put the "Taffs" in front. Cardiff City 1 Lazio 0.
Cardiff almost doubled their lead just before halftime but a Lee header went just wide.
Lazio suffered the Welsh side's energy and physicality in the first half, but as the game went on Fabio Liverani and Ousmane Dabo started to gain more control of the midfield. The first half finished 1-0, a hard fought 45 minutes and good practice for Lazio especially on corners and high crosses into the area.
In the second half "Caerdydd" slowed down and Lazio's superior quality emerged. The home side made two changes (Warner and Collins on for Margeston and Gabbidon) while for the visitors, youth player Marco Angeletti came on for a subdued César.
In the 56th minute Lazio equalised with their best player so far, Goran Pandev. The North Macedonian finished a good move with an angled shot across Warner. Lazio kept quality possession in midfield and then with a sudden through ball teed up the Macedonian's famous left foot to make it 1-1.
Lazio's satisfaction did not last long however as only eight minutes later the Bluebirds scored again. It was top scorer "Earnie" Earnshaw in the 64th minute who gave the Canton end something to cheer about. He raced onto a ball, turned a defender on the edge of the area and unleashed a shot across Sereni and in the opposite top corner. He followed it with a somersault, cartwheel...and a booking. Cardiff 2, Lazio 1.
The hope for the Cardiff City faithful to earn a prestigious win only lasted four minutes. In the 68th minute Christian Manfredini scored with a powerful, angled shot from the long range. 2-2.
Cardiff were tiring after their energy consuming game plan and Lazio’s technique and skill started to tell. In the 79th minute Roberto Muzzi scored the winner again with a powerful shot from outside the area which Warner, who had already sliced the clearance, should have saved but managed to tip it over his head and see it roll into the goal.
A good test for both sides for the forthcoming season.
Who played for Cardiff City
Margeston (46' Warner), Weston, Vidmar, Bulock, Page (73' Croft), Gabbidon (46' Collins), Robinson (73' Campbell), Kavanagh, Lee, Earnshaw, Langley
Substitutes: Barker, Parry
Manager: Lawrence
Who played for Lazio
Sereni, Oddo, Negro, Sannibale, Zauri, Dabo, Liverani, Manfredini (80' Melara), Pandev, César (46' Angeletti), Muzzi (89' De Sousa)
Substitutes: De Angelis, Castroni, Ferrazza
Manager: Caso
Referee: Whitby
Goals: 27' Lee, 56' Pandev, 64' Earnshaw, 68' Manfredini, 79' Muzzi
Sources
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