Lazio go top with emphatic win over reigning champions
Lazio earned a hard fought but deserved victory over previous season's “Triplete” winners. The Nerazzurri only seemed to come to life in the last 15 minutes but it was a question of too little too late as a Hernanes free kick sealed an impressive triumph for Lazio.
The season so far
The previous season had been an uphill struggle for Lazio who after winning the Super Coppa in August 2009 had had an awful season. At a certain point they were doing so badly that new coach Davide Ballardini was sacked and in came hardened veteran Edy Reja. They then improved enough to avoid relegation but the trauma of being involved in the battle to avoid the drop was a great motivator for a better 2010-11 campaign. Reja had been confirmed and the main addition to the squad was talented Brazilian midfielder Hernanes known as “The Prophet”. In had also come dynamic Uruguayan midfielder Alvaro Gonzalez, known as 'El Tata'. Leaving Lazio were Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) and fellow defenders Emilson Cribari (Napoli) and Sebastiano Siviglia (retired). Lazio had also said goodbye to Luciano Zauri, Roberto Baronio and local boy Faraoni. Simone Inzaghi and Julio Cruz also retired.
The season had generally started well for Lazio who despite losing the opener (Sampdoria) and later the derby, had stacked up 27 points. The new signing Hernanes was proving to be an excellent buy.
Inter were reigning Champions but had lost club cult hero José Mourinho. In had come Rafa Benitez and the team had been strengthened with young Brazilian talent Phillipe Coutinho plus defenders Andrea Ranocchia and Nicolas Burdisso. On the other hand, Mario Balotelli had flown off to Manchester City, Ricardo Quaresma to Turkey, veteran keeper Franceso Toldo had retired and disappointing Marko Arnautovic had returned to Twente.
Inter's season had not been great by their recent dominating standards. There had been victories but also defeats against Roma and Milan and in particular they were being slowed down by too many draws. They came to the Olimpico on 23 points.
The match: Friday, December 3, 2010, Rome, Stadio Olimpico
An unusual Friday night kick-off was played in front of a 50,000 crowd on a cold, wet Roman evening. Inter were without injured star forwards Diego Milito and Samuel Eto'o but still had the main block of players who had made a clean sweep of trophies the year before.
Lazio were the team who started the game more positively and after an initial tactical 15 minutes had the first chance. On 18th minute Sergio Floccari's header was parried by Luca Castellazzi and Stefano Mauri's subsequent shot was walled by Javier Zanetti.
Lazio however continued to push forward and in the 26th minute broke the deadlock. A corner by Hernanes was headed towards goal by Floccari but somehow stopped from going over the line by the keeper, the loose ball was then bicycle kicked away by Esteban Cambiasso but it then came off Giuseppe Biava's hip and ended up in the back of the net. A slightly unorthodox goal but as they say they all count and the lead was no less than Lazio deserved.
At that point Inter also lost former Lazio Dejan Stankovic through injury (on came Thiago Motta) but they did have a couple of chances themselves not without the complicity of Lazio's keeper Fernando Muslera. The clearest of the two was an apparently harmless freekick by Wesley Sneijder with Fernando Muslera's clumsy parry setting up a colossal chance for Goran Pandev, but the North Macedonian found the ball on his wrong foot and couldn't find the target with the rebound.
The second half saw Inter try to defend higher but they were promptly punished. Unlikely goal scorer Biava was back to his bread and butter and with a strong tackle in midfield won the ball back, Hernanes then floated a perfect long range pass over the Inter defence which Mauro Zarate ran onto and chipped a left footed winner past Castellazzi to make it 2-0.
This put Lazio in an ideal tactical position and they had several chances to finish Inter off, especially with Floccari and Mauri, but the opportunities were squandered and Inter, seeing themselves let off the hook, eventually struck back with 15 minutes remaining. Former Lazio Pandev took advantage of two lucky rebounds off the two Lazio central defenders to hammer the ball past Muslera. Inter logically threw caution to the wind and an increasingly nervous Lazio had to endure a tense last 10 minutes. Inter attacked and had a huge chance to equalize with Ivan Cordoba whose close-range shot was somewhat fortuitously saved into corner by Muslera.
Lazio's win was finally sealed in the 89th minute when a Hernanes free kick from the edge of the box curled over the wall beating Castellazzi on his left post. The game was won even if Inter did hit an injury time crossbar with a long range shot by Dutchman Sneijder.
A thoroughly deserved 3 points for the hosts who could have avoided a nerve racking last 10 minutes had they taken some of the clear chances they set up. A convincing win against a disappointing Inter who despite their fighting spirit seemed to lack a clear game plan.
Lazio flew top of the table on level points with Milan who still had to play Brescia at the weekend.
Who played for Lazio
Muslera, Lichtsteiner, Biava, Dias, Radu, Brocchi, Matuzalem, Mauri, Hernanes (90' Bresciano), Zarate (80' Ledesma), Floccari (81' Rocchi)
Manager: Reja
Who played for Inter
Castellazzi, Natalino (82' Santon), Cordoba, Lucio, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Stankovic (36' Thiago Motta), Muntari (55' Alibec), Sneijder, Pandev, Biabiany.
Substitutes: Orlandoni, Benedetti, Materazzi, Nwankwo.
Manager: Benitez
Referee: Orsato
Goals: 26' Biava, 52' Zarate, 74' Pandev, 89' Hernanes
What happened next
Lazio did not manage to keep up the pace of the title challengers. They faded and, not helped by a lame winter market session, had too many ups and downs, finally ending up 5th, agonizingly losing out on a Champions League place to Udinese on goal difference. Lazio would therefore play in Europe the next year but in Europa League.
Inter would win 5 consecutive games after the Olimpico defeat. They won the World Club Championship in mid-December but Benitez would then leave in mutual agreement with the club. He was replaced by Leonardo who won 11 out of his first 13 games in charge. Their title defence however was eventually ended with a 3-0 loss in the derby against Milan on April 2 and they finished 2nd. In Europe their consecutive Champions League dream was shattered by a surprise exit against Germans Schalke 04 in the quarter finals.
The league title was won by city rivals Milan and Barcelona succeeded them as Champions League winners.
Lazio 2010-11
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 55 |
Coppa Italia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
Total | 40 | 22 | 6 | 13 | 62 |
Top Five Appearances
Player | Total Appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Hernanes | 37 | 36 | 1 |
Biava | 36 | 35 | 1 |
Muslera | 36 | 36 | 0 |
Zarate | 36 | 35 | 1 |
Ledesma | 35 | 34 | 1 |
Lichtsteiner | 35 | 34 | 1 |
Top Five Goal Scorers
Player | Total Goals | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Hernanes | 12 | 11 | 1 |
Zarate | 9 | 9 | 0 |
Floccari | 8 | 8 | 0 |
Kozak | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Mauri | 6 | 6 | 0 |
Let's talk about Giuseppe Biava
Giuseppe Biava was born in Seriate (Bergamo) on 8 May, 1977. He was a product of the Leffe youth sector. His first years as a professional were spent at local clubs Albinese (1995-1998) and Albinoleffe (1998-2000). He then spent a year at Biellese before returning to Albinoleffe (2001-2003). At Albinoleffe he was part of the historic promotion to Serie B of 2003 and halfway through the next season, in January 2004, he signed for Palermo.
In Sicily he won promotion to Serie A where the “Rosanero Eagles” had been missing for 31 years. The following year Palermo and Biava qualified for the UEFA Cup with a fantastic 6th place finish. He played 4 years in Palermo making 112 appearances and scoring 3 times. In 2008 he moved to Genoa and in his first year under coach Gian Piero Gasperini the “Grifone” had a superb season arriving 4th, only missing out on a Champions League playoff on goal difference to Fiorentina.
In February 2010 Biava signed for Lazio and in those first 4 months played 13 times. It was in the next season that he would definitely assert himself in the centre of the “Capitolini's” defence. His first goal for Lazio came against Inter on 3 December. In the right place at the right time Biava scored with his hip after an Inter defender tried to clear the line. He would play 35 games that season contributing to a solid 5th place. In March 2012 Biava renewed his contract with Lazio until 30 June 2013 and in the 2011-12 campaign played 26 league games and 5 in Europa League.
In 2012-13 Biava continued to be a key man in the heart of Lazio's defence and would play 31 league games, 8 in Europa League and 4 in Coppa Italia. He is one of the heroes of the famous 26 May final against city rivals Roma, an unforgettable moment in Lazio's history. The Lazio fans have 4 sacred teams; the first scudetto team of 1974, the -9 penalisation team of 1987, the second scudetto team of 2000 and the Coppa Italia winning team of 2013. Biava played a fundamental role in that match pairing up with Albanian Lorik Cana to keep the likes of Francesco Totti, Erik Lamela, Daniel Osvaldo and Daniele De Rossi at bay. He played an impeccable derby and deservedly won himself an eternal place in all Laziali's hearts.
After the Cup triumph Biava renewed his contract for one more season at the end of which he returned home up north and joined Atalanta. At Atalanta he played one final year with 18 appearances and 2 goals.
Giuseppe Biava was an excellent defender. He was not particularly tall (1.80) but was nevertheless good in the air. He was an elegant and intelligent player. He was clean and precise, his main asset being his reading of the game and his timing. He was not flamboyant or showy, he played straight backed and was quick and accurate in his tackling. He scored goals too, 23 in 587 games, one an epic “Ibra like” scorpion acrobatic for Palermo in 2006. He was no superstar though, a quiet presence, he was rarely interviewed or in the headlines but he will always be one of the unsung heroes at Lazio.
Today Biava is still in his local area of Bergamo and starting out in a coaching career. After coaching their youth team, he has recently been promoted to first team manager of Albinoleffe for the 2022-23 season.
He played a total of 148 games for Lazio (125 in Serie A, 7 in Coppa Italia, 15 in Europa League and one Super Coppa Final) and six goals, all in Serie A.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Jan-Jun 2010 | 14 | 13 | 1 | - | - |
2010-2011 | 36 (3) | 35 (3) | 1 | - | - |
2011-2012 | 31 (1) | 26 (1) | - | 5 | - |
2012-2013 | 43 (1) | 31 (1) | 4 | 8 | - |
2013-14 | 24 (1) | 20 (1) | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Total | 148 (6) | 125 (6) | 7 | 15 | 1 |
Sources
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