Lazio fly to third place
Lazio win at Brescia with goals from Tata Gonzalez and Libor Kozak and fly to third place
Also on this day: February 13, 2017, Lazio Milan 1-1. Lazio superior but fail to close out game and are punished late on by Suso. Player of the day: Cristiano Lombardi
The season so far
The summer transfer window had seen Lazio as one the protagonists with the signing of Brazilian star Hernanes. A midfielder who can use both feet, he was one of the most important and expensive signings of the Claudio Lotito presidency. As a consequence Lazio had Champions League ambitions. Other signings included Alvaro Gonzalez, Mark Bresciano, Javier Garrido and the return from previous loans of Sergio Floccari and Libor Kozak.
The 2010-2011 season however did not start so well as Lazio were defeated by Sampdoria. From then on they went on an excellent run and in the following 8 games they won seven and drew only once against Milan. At that point Lazio were top with a 4-point lead. The very controversial loss against Roma, with at least one penalty not given to Lazio, and the bad defeat against Cesena the week after took the Biancocelesti down to second place which they held for some time thanks to wins against Napoli and Inter. A couple of unexpected defeats against Lecce and Bologna in January had brought Lazio down to fourth place but a Champions League qualification was still within their reach.
The match: Sunday, February 9, 2011, Stadio Mario RIgamonti, Brescia
Lazio started off well and scored in the 17th minute. Stephan Lichtsteiner on the right made a one-two with Cristian Ledesma and crossed the ball into the box to Alvaro Gonzalez. El Tata’s splendid header gave Lazio the lead. It was his first goal for Lazio in Serie A.
The Uruguayan could have made it two in the 26th minute on a counter attack but his shot was well saved by Michele Arcari. Brescia, so far absent, made a tactical move at the half hour mark by substituting Perparim Hetemaj with Davide Lanzafame and giving control of their game to Alessandro Diamanti.
The move brought its benefits in the second half and Fernando Muslera saved an Eder free kick. But just as Brescia were becoming more dangerous, Lazio doubled the lead. In the 58th minute, Ledesma took a corner and the giant Kozak headed the ball into the Brescia net. Brescia disappeared and Lazio could have made it three in the 78th minute. Giuseppe Biava exploited a Brescia indecision in front of their goalkeeper and passed the ball to Christian Brocchi who saw that Mauro Zarate was unmarked in the middle of the box. Ball to the Argentinian. His shot was saved on the line by Francesco Bega.
Towards the end of the match Muslera first saved a shot from Eder from close range and then two Diamanti free kicks, the second of which was deflected onto the woodwork.
Good away win for Lazio, now back in third place.
Who played for Brescia
Arcari, Zebina, Bega, Zoboli, Berardi, Kone, A. Filippini (61' Cordova), Hetemaj (31' Lanzafame), Accardi (69' Possanzini), Diamanti, Eder.
Substitutes: Leali, Mareco, Baiocco, Drapelà.
Manager: Iachini.
Who played for Lazio
Muslera, Lichtsteiner, Biava, Dias, Scaloni, Ledesma, Matuzalem, Gonzalez (65’ Brocchi), Hernanes (87’ Bresciano), Sculli (74’ Zarate), Kozak
Manager: Reja
Referee: Giannoccaro
Goals: 17’ Gonzalez, 58’ Kozak
What happened next
On the whole it was a very good season for Lazio with a record number of points for the Biancocelesti, in the Serie A format with 20 teams. But it was not quite good enough to get a Champions League qualification. Lazio had been in the first four places for most of the season, but fell short just when it was time to cash in. Too many matches that should have been won were lost or drawn (Cesena away, Lecce at home, Cagliari away are just some examples) and the decisive loss at Udine (with Zarate missing a penalty and Udinese down to 10 men) meant that once again Lazio lost out to Udinese on goal difference and arrived 5th.
In Coppa Italia Lazio went out against Roma in the fourth round.
Hernanes was the player with the most appearances (36 in Serie A and one in Coppa Italia) and with the most goals (11 in Serie A and one in Coppa Italia).
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 |
8 | 8 | 0 | |
Kozak | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Mauri | 6 | 6 | 0 |
Let's talk about Alvaro El Tata Gonzalez
Alvaro Gonzalez, nicknamed El Tata (the wise one), was born in Montevideo on October 29 1984. He began his career in the youth teams of Defensor Sporting and continued until he reached the A team. With Defensor he won a Copa Artigas in 2005-06. In 2007 he went to play in Argentina with the famous Boca Juniors but, after having won the Torneo de Apertura, he suffered a severe knee injury and missed most of the season. In 2009 he went back to Uruguay and signed for Nacional.
He came to Lazio in the summer of 2010. An excellent defensive midfielder, he was often used on the right wing and sometimes even as right back. He was dynamic, tough and fast. He stayed with Lazio for four and a half years and was part of the team that won the historic Coppa Italia against Roma in 2013. As a matter of fact, he scored a decisive goal in the semi-final return leg against Juventus
He played 146 games for Lazio (113 in Serie A, 11 in Coppa Italia and 22 in Europa League) and scored 7 goals (4 in Serie A, 2 in Coppa Italia and one in Europa League).
In January 2015 he was loaned to Torino but played very little and in 2016 he went on loan to Atlas in Mexico. He returned to Nacional in 2017 and played his last two years.
Gonzalez was a very important player for his national team. He played 72 times for his country with three goals. He won the Copa America in 2011 and played in the World Cup of 2014.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
2010-11 | 22 (2) | 19 (1) | 3 (1) | - |
2011-12 | 40 (1) | 31 81) | 2 | 7 |
2012-13 | 49 (3) | 34 (1) | 4 (1) | 11 (1) |
2013-14 | 30 (1) | 25 (1) | 1 | 4 |
2014-Jan 2015 | 5 | 4 | 1 | - |
Total | 146 (7) | 113 (4) | 11 (2) | 22 (1) |
Sources
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