Pandev hat-trick "reghnümi" Reggio
A superb performance by the Macedonian breaks Calabrian resistance
Also on this day:
The season so far
Lazio had finished 12th the previous season under Delio Rossi. A disappointing campaign, the highlight being beating Roma 3-2 in March with a 92nd minute Valon Behrami winner. In the Coppa Italia they had reached the semi-finals but lost to Inter 0-2 on aggregate.
This season Rossi was still in charge and the main new players were: keeper Juan Pablo Carrizo (finally... from River Plate), defender Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lille), midfielders Cristian Brocchi (Milan), Pasquale Foggia (Cagliari-end of loan), Francelino Matuzalém (Real Zaragoza-on loan) plus forwards Mauro Zárate (Al-Saad-on loan) and Libor Kozak (Opava).
Leaving were popular keeper Marco Ballotta (Calcara Samoggia), defender Luciano Zauri (Fiorentina-on loan), midfielders Valon Behrami (West-Ham United), Gaby Mudingayi (Bologna), Roberto Baronio (Brescia-on loan) plus strikers Rolando Bianchi (Manchester City-end of loan) and Igli Tare (retiring but he would be back in another role).
In Serie A Lazio had so far played 17 games and were in 7th position on 27 points. Lazio had won 8, drawn 3 and lost 6 (including derby 0-1) but came from a 1-0 home win against Palermo.
The previous season Reggina had finished 15th under three different managers: Massimo Ficcadenti (1-10), Renzo Ulivieri (11-26) and Nevio Orlandi (27-38). The Amaranto drew 1-1 against Lazio at home but lost 0-1 away. Top scorer was Nicola Amoruso with 12 league goals.
This season the manager was originally Nevio Orlandi but he had been replaced during the week by Giuseppe Pillon. The main new signings were: keeper Christian Puggioni (Perugia-back from loan), defenders Bruno Cirillo (Levante), Andrea Costa (Bologna), Santos (Genoa), midfielders Carlos Carmona (O'Higgins), Antonino Barillà (Ravenna - back from loan), Davide Di Gennaro (Milan - on loan, via Genoa) plus forwards Franco Brienza (Palermo), Bernardo Corradi (Parma) and Alessio Sestu (Avellino).
Leaving Reggio Calabria were: defenders Francesco Modesto (Genoa), Salvatore Aronica (Napoli), midfielder Simone Missiroli (Treviso - on loan) plus forwards Stephen Makinwa (Lazio - end of loan) and Nicola Amoruso (Torino).
The Reggini were currently struggling in 19th position on 13 points after 3 wins, 4 draws and 10 defeats. The Reggini were two points adrift from safety, Bologna and Torino on 15. The Amaranto's most recent game was a 1-1 away draw at Cagliari.
In Coppa Italia the Reggini went out in the last 16 in November, losing to Udinese on penalties.
Lazio were favourites but the Calabresi had a new manager which often brought enthusiasm, at least initially.
The match: Sunday, January 11, 2009, Stadio Oreste Granillo, Reggio Calabria
A rainy day in Reggio Calabria brought about 10,000 spectators to the Granillo.
This was the first league game since December 20 and the Christmas break.
Reggina were without suspended midfielder Carlos Carmona who was replaced by Luca Tognozzi while Lazio had absences in defenders Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sebastiano Siviglia and played Mourad Meghni rather than Cristian Brocchi.
The home side started strongly and were already in front after four minutes. Franco Brienza beat a sleepy David Rozehnal and burst towards goal but was met by keeper Juan Pablo Carrizo who got a touch on the ball but also brought the Reggina midfielder down. For the referee it was a foul and Bernardo Corradi put away the penalty. Reggina 1 Lazio 0.
Reggina were then dangerous again with an Édgar Barreto freekick but it went just wide.
Lazio however reacted well and had a Goran Pandev chance saved after a brilliant Megnhi back heel and equalised soon after. In the 14th minute Pandev stole a ball in midfield, ran forward going past two defenders and let loose a shot which took a deflection off Santos and spun up and over Andrea Campagnolo. Reggina 1 Lazio 1.
Eight minutes later Lazio were ahead. In the 22nd minute Mauro Zárate did well near the by-line and crossed, Tommaso Rocchi left it and it reached Pandev who chested it down, turned and drilled a left foot past the keeper. A great goal and Reggina 1 Lazio 2.
The remainder of the half saw the Calabresi attack but without causing Lazio any headaches. Halftime Reggina 1 Lazio 2.
After eight minutes of the second half Reggina made two changes: midfielder Francesco Cozza for defender Andrea Costa and debutant midfielder Nicolas Viola for Tognozzi. The substitutions had a positive effect on the home side who were more energetic and determined.
Lazio however had a dangerous Meghni shot saved by Campagnolo and then Rocchi scored on a Modibo Diakité assist from the by-line but the ball was judged to have gone out before the French defender got to it.
A few minutes later Reggina equalised. In the 63rd minute Stefan Radu lost a challenge in midfield and Alessio Sestu charged down the right wing from where he put in a precise, low cross which Cozza met in front of goal and, between hesitant Diakité and Lorenzo De Silvestri, slotted the ball in from close range. Reggina 2 Lazio 2.
Lazio tried to liven things up by bringing on Brocchi for Ousmane Dabo in the 66th minute and Stefano Mauri for Meghni in the 75th.
A minute later Pandev struck again. The Macedonian started and finished the move. He swung the ball out to Zárate on the left who dribbled past a defender before squaring a low ball into the middle where Pandev was there to score with his right foot. Reggina 2 Lazio 3.
The assist man Zárate was then taken off and in the 80th minute Pasquale Foggia came on. Reggina too made a last substitution when in the 86th minute Davide Di Gennaro replaced Sestu.
It was in fact future Lazio Di Gennaro who set up Brienza for Reggina's biggest chance to equalise in the dying moments. Brienza's powerful low strike looked like a sure goal but it hit Corradi and went just wide of the right post with Carrizo beaten. Final score Reggina 2 Lazio 3.
A balanced game but Lazio had Zárate and Pandev at the top of their game who had excelled and won the game for the Biancocelesti.
Lazio were still 7th but had gained two points on Roma in 8th. Reggina were stuck in 19th place but now three points from Bologna in 17th place.
Who played for Reggina
Campagnolo, Cirillo, Lanzaro, Santos, Costa (53' Cozza), Sestu (86' Di Gennaro), Barreto, Tognozzi (56' Viola), Barillà, Corradi, Brienza
Substitutes: Cosenza, Marino, Krajcik, Ceravolo
Manager: Pillon
Who played for Lazio
Carrizo, De Silvestri, Diakité, Rozehnal, Radu, Dabo (66' Brocchi), Ledesma, Meghni (75' Mauri), Pandev, Rocchi, Zarate (80' Foggia)
Manager: Rossi
Referee: Bergonzi
Goals: 4' Corradi (pen), 14' Pandev, 21' Pandev, 63' Cozza, 76' Pandev
What happened next
Lazio continued to have an up and down season and finished 10th in Serie A. The highlight was beating Roma 4-2 in the second derby in April. In late January a disappointing Carrizo lost his place to Muslera. Top scorer was Zárate with 16 goals (13 in A).
On January 22, in the quarter finals, Lazio beat Torino 3-1, coming from behind with goals by Pandev, Mauri and Rocchi.
Then came the double-legged semi-final against Juventus. In Rome, in March, Lazio won 2-1 again coming from behind with Pandev and Rocchi. Lazio then also won in Turin with goals by Zárate and Kolarov while Del Piero pulled one back for the Zebras. Lazio were in the final.
On May 13 Lazio faced Sampdoria in Rome (Olimpico is now the fixed venue for the final). A hard-fought game ended up 1-1 with goals by Zárate and Pazzini. The penalty shootout went Lazio's way after seven penalties, Muslera saving two and Ousmane Dabo firing home the winning spot kick. Lazio 7 Sampdoria 6. Lazio won their 5th cup and it was a fitting end to Delio Rossi's positive reign with the Biancocelesti. Next up was the Supercoppa against Inter, in August in Beijing, but that's another story.
Reggina ended up 19th and relegated. In the next games the Amaranto only won 3, drew 9 (including Juventus and Roma at home and Milan away) and lost 8 (including Lazio 0-1). Top scorer was former Lazio Bernardo Corradi with 11 goals (10 in A).
Inter won their 17th Scudetto while Reggina slipped down to Serie B with Torino and Lecce. Reggina have not been back to Serie A since and are currently in Serie D.
Let's talk about Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev was one of the most interesting players in the early years of Claudio Lotito’s presidency.
Born in Strumica, North Macedonia, on July 27, 1983, Pandev spent his early football career in the local FK Belasica until at 18 he joined Inter. In 2001-2002 he won the Torneo di Viareggio and the Primavera Championship. The next year he was loaned to Spezia in Serie C1 and in the following season he played for Ancona in Serie A.
Pandev was jointly owned by Udinese and Inter at this point, and the Milanese team gave Lazio their share as partial payment in the Dejan Stankovic deal. It took him a year to become a regular player in the first eleven and under Delio Rossi he became Tommaso Rocchi’s ideal attacking partner. Together they became one of the best scoring duos in Serie A. He reached double figures for four consecutive years showing a constant improvement.
With Lazio he won the Coppa Italia in 2008 and was top scorer for that year’s competition. This was when the problems started.
Lazio had offered quite a lot of money for their standards to keep him, but he refused to renew his contract. In the meantime, he claimed he was injured. He really wanted to go back to Inter and he pushed Lotito for a sale. Big mistake, never try to put Lotito in a corner.
The Lazio president threatened to leave him in the stands until the expiry of the contract and Pandev took Lazio to court. He won, joined Inter (surprise, surprise) as a free agent, and was one of the protagonists of Inter’s Triplete (Champions League, Scudetto and Coppa Italia).
He played one further year at Inter, and scored in the final of the 2010 World Fifa Club World Cup (the former Intercontinental Cup), before joining Napoli, first on loan for a year and then definitively, winning the Coppa Italia twice. In 2014-2015 he was sold to Galatasaray where he won the league. He stayed in Turkey for just a year before joining Genoa. He played in Liguria for five and a half years before joining Parma in January 2022 in Serie B.
After Lazio he was less prolific but he continued to be a charismatic player for all of his clubs. He played 69 games for Inter with 8 goals, 124 games for Napoli with 22 goals, 17 games for Galatasaray with 7 goals, 187 games for Genoa with 32 goals and 11 games for Parma with 1 goal.
In September 2022 he announced that the 2022-23 season would be his last.
He played 191 games for Lazio (159 in Serie A, 18 in Coppa Italia, 4 in Uefa Cup, 3 in Intertoto and 7 in Champions League) and scored 64 goals (48 in Serie A, 10 in Coppa Italia, 5 in Champions League and 1 in Uefa Cup).
He shares 10th place with Renzo Garlaschelli in Lazio’s all-time scorers in all competitions, and 11th place for goals in Serie A. He is the all-time non-Italian leading goal scorer for Lazio.
He is considered a legend in North Macedonia and has played 122 times for his national team with 38 goals. He scored the first North Macedonia goal ever in a European Championship in 2021.
Pandev was unfortunately not welcomed back well in Rome due to the way he left. The Curva Nord in particular booed him ever since and he himself made no attempt to make peace. It also did not help that he kept scoring against us. For the average fan however he will bring fond memories of his stay in the capital.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Cup | Intertoto |
2004-05 | 30 (4) | 25 (3) | 1 | - | 4 (1) | - |
2005-06 | 41 (12) | 35 (11) | 3 (1) | - | - | 3 |
2006-07 | 39 (14) | 36 (11) | 3 (3) | - | - | - |
2007-08 | 44 (19) | 32 (14) | 5 | 7 (5) | - | - |
2008-09 | 37 (15) | 31 (9) | 6 (6) | - | - | - |
Total | 191 (64) | 159 (48) | 18 (10) | 7 (5) | 4 (1) | 3 |
Sources
Comments