Third consecutive victory for Lazio
Lazio continued their good form with a third consecutive victory, but it was by no means easy
Alo on this day: February 27, 2010, Lazio Fiorentina 1-1. A Siviglia beauty is not enough as young Brazilian equalises in injury time. Player of the day: Thomas Hitzlsperger
The season so far
On July 19, 2004 Claudio Lotito became President. The situation was critical from a financial point of view. Many of their best players such as Sinisa Mihajlovic, Beppe Favalli and Jaap Stam did not renew their contracts and went elsewhere. Manager Roberto Mancini signed for Inter despite being under contract with Lazio. But Lazio had no means to keep him and he knew it. From what is known, his contacts with Inter started in the autumn and he tried to convince many of his players to follow him to Inter. Some did, some refused (for example Stam).
Stefano Fiore and Bernardo Corradi were sold to Valencia to cover the debt remaining with the Spanish club for the purchase of Gaizka Mendieta. Demetrio Albertini was sold to Atalanta as payment for the other halves of Luciano Zauri and Ousmane Dabo. Claudio Lopez was loaned to America Mexico so Lazio could save paying his wages.
Two players not under contract decided to stay: Angelo Peruzzi and Fernando Couto.
Lotito therefore inherited a team with no manager and just a few players. The team was temporarily given to Mimmo Caso, the primavera manager and hero of the -9 season, for the pre-season training in Japan. Lazio had to fulfil a contract so off they went. In Japan Caso got on well with the players (and he was also cheap), so Lotito confirmed him.
Lotito’s second move was a PR one. He needed the Lazio fans on his side, so his idea was the return of Paolo Di Canio, a never forgotten hero of the tifosi. Di Canio managed to get released from his contract and came back home.
Lotito’s last move was the signing of seven players on the last day of the summer transfer window. These included some forgettable signings, but also two players that would become the backbone of the early Lotito years: Tommaso Rocchi and Sebastiano Siviglia.
The beginning of the season was problematic. Lazio were clearly in difficulty: badly organized, no game plan, problems between Caso and Di Canio and poor quality of some of the players. Lazio immediately lost the Super Coppa final against Milan, but they did manage to pass the UEFA Cup playoff against Metalurh Donetsk and reach the group stage, only to fail without winning a game.
In Serie A things did not go well. In 16 games Lazio won four, drew five and lost seven. They had 17 points, just four clear of relegation zone.
So, just before Christmas Lotito called another former player, Giuseppe Papadopulo, to manage Lazio. He was seen as more apt to guide the Biancocelesti to safety. The task was immediately uphill since the first game of the season was the derby, but Lazio amazingly won 3-1 and won in Florence in the next match, but that was followed by just one point in five games. The safety cushion had not changed on the eve of the game against Atalanta. But things were looking brighter after the win against the Bergamaschi and the away win with Chievo. Time to consolidate.
The match: Sunday, February 27, 2005, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio started the game very well and had a chance in the 6th minute when Rocchi crossed from the left and Fabio Bazzani headed the ball against the crossbar. Five minutes later Rocchi had another opportunity but his shot was well saved by Sebastian Frey. In the 19th minute Fabio Liverani sent the ball in the box with a long cross from almost the half way line. Bazzani headed the ball towards Rocchi but Bonera got there first … with his hand. The subsequent penalty was safely scored by Massimo Oddo.
Lazio were in control and Bazzani had another chance in the 23rd minute. Corner for Lazio, Liverani for the Lazio centre forward but his header was just slightly wide. In the 35th minute another header, this time by Emanuele Filippini following a Rocchi cross, was also wide.
Different ball game in the second half. Parma attacked, Lazio fell back and went on the defensive. In the 17th minute Mark Bresciano had a chance to equalise from a favourable position but was denied by a great save from Matteo Sereni. Four minutes later an Andrea Pisanu lob went just out. Alberto Gilardino then tried two bicycle shots. The first in the 24th minute was too high and the second a minute later was well saved by Sereni.
Parma attacked to the very end, but with one minute to go Lazio made it 2-0. Emanuele Filippini to Anthony Seric who was just over the half way line but unmarked and with nobody in front of him. The Croatian once in the box passed the ball to the upcoming Antonio Filippini who doubled for the Biancocelesti.
A difficult game, but a good win for Lazio.
Who played for Lazio
Sereni, Oddo, Siviglia, Giannichedda, Zauri (78’ Manfredini), A. Filippini, Liverani (87’ Pandev), Dabo, E. Filippini, Bazzani, Rocchi
Manager: Papadopulo
Who played for Parma
Frey, Cardone, Bonera, Bovo, Bettarini, Olive (46' Simplicio), Grella (81' Sorrentino), Dessena (46' Pisanu), Vignaroli, Bresciano, Gilardino.
Substitutes: Bucci, Contini, Correya, P.Cannavaro, Ruopolo.
Manager: Carmignani.
Referee: Messina
Goals: 19’ Oddo (pen), 89’ A. Filippini
What happened next
The story of the season was two steps forward, three steps back. Papadopulo was able to add a greater fighting spirit to the side, but little else. Lazio managed to stay in Serie A, but Lotito had a lot of work to do if he wanted to improve the side.
Oddo was the player with the most appearances (42) and Rocchi the most goals with 17.
Lazio 2004-05
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 48 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
UEFA Cup | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
Super Coppa | 1 | - | - | 1 | - |
Total | 47 | 14 | 14 | 19 | 63 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup | Super Coppa |
Oddo | 42 | 35 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
A. Filippini | 41 | 36 | 2 | 3 | - |
Rocchi | 41 | 35 | 1 | 5 | - |
Dabo | 37 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Giannichedda | 37 | 32 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Rocchi | 17 | 13 | 2 | 2 |
Di Canio | 7 | 6 | - | 1 |
Muzzi | 6 | 3 | - | 3 |
Oddo | 4 | 4 | - | - |
A. Filippini | 4 | 2 | 2 | - |
4 | 3 | - | 1 | |
Cesar | 4 | 3 | - | 1 |
Let’s talk about The Filippini Brothers
Emanuele and Antonio Filippini are the twins of Italian football. Both midfield players, they very often played together in their careers so it seemed apt to speak about them as a single unit.
Born in Brescia on July 3 1973, the twins began playing football first with Voluntas Brescia and then in 1990 with Brescia. They were then sent on loan to Ospitaletto in Serie C to gain experience. They stayed there for three years before going back to Brescia in 1995 in Serie B.
The twins gave a great contribution to Brescia’s promotions to Serie A in 1997 and again in 2000. Emanuele in 2002 was sold to Parma in Serie A where he stayed until January 2004 when he joined Palermo in Serie B. His brother, who had stayed with Brescia, joined him in Sicily.
In 2004-05 the twins were loaned to Lazio on the last day of the summer transfer window. They made a major contribution to Lazio’s campaign to stay in Serie A despite the financial difficulties and the downgrading compared to the Cragnotti years as far as quality players was concerned. They became great friends with Di Canio and Rocchi and were fan favourites.
However Lotito was not interested in keeping them despite a great season and in 2005-06 they played with Treviso in the club’s first season in Serie A. The brothers separated a year later as Emanuele signed for Bologna in Serie B and Antonio went to Livorno in Serie A. They were only apart for a year. Emanuele joined his brother in Tuscany in 2007.
Emanuele quit football in 2009 once his contract with Livorno ended, Antonio two years later, playing one year with the Amaranto and his final year in his hometown of Brescia..
They both became managers. Emanuele followed the youth teams of Brescia (and also the Kenya under 21 for a few months) and a number of teams in the minor leagues before becoming assistant coach to Carmine Nunziata for the Italian Under 17 national team in 2018. In 2020 they were promoted to the Under 19 team.
Antonio was also manager of Brescia youth teams before going to Feralpisalò again to train the under 19s. In 2015 he was appointed by Milan to follow the under 15s. He was then manager at Lumezzane, Trento and assistant coach at Livorno. He became head coach for the Tuscan side from March to June 2020. In March 2021 he was appointed manager at Pro Sesto in Serie C and managed to avoid relegation. He was confirmed for the 2021-22 season but fired after just four games.
Emanuele FIlippini played 32 games for Lazio (27 in Serie A, 2 in Coppa Italia and 3 in the UEFA Cup). Antonio wore the Lazio jersey 41 times (36 in Serie A, 2 in Coppa Italia and 3 in the UEFA Cup) and scored four goals (two in Serie A and two in Coppa Italia).
Lazio Career
Player | Total appearances (goals) 2004-05 | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
Antonio Filippini | 42 (4) | 36 (2) | 2 (2) | 4 |
Emanuele Filippini | 32 | 27 | 2 | 3 |
Sources
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