San Siro curse not valid in Cup
Lazio dump Milan out of the cup despite playing whole second half in ten men
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished a poor 9th. They had replaced manager Vladimir Petkovic with Edy Reja after 16 matches, so the honeymoon with the Swiss was over but not his legacy (2013 Coppa Italia triumph).
This season Lazio had a new manager in Stefano Pioli. There had also been several changes to the squad, some major, some minor. The biggest buy for Lazio was Dutch central defender Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord) who had impressed at the recent 2014 World Cup. Other good signings were defender Dušan Basta (Udinese) and midfielder Marco Parolo (Parma). Another new face was Serbian striker Filip Djordjevic (Nantes- end of contract) while local lad Danilo Cataldi was back from a loan period (Crotone).
Sadly, some players left, in particular Giuseppe Biava (end of contract) and André Dias (retired). Other minor movements were mainly in attack; Emiliano Alfaro (Liverpool Montevideo - loan), Brayan Perea (Perugia- loan/ he would return in January) and Hélder Postiga (Valencia - end of loan). In the winter session popular Uruguayan midfielder Álvaro "El Tata" Gonzalez had left for Torino.
The first half the season had been a mixed bag but things were now looking up. Lazio were currently in joint 4th place with Sampdoria on 34 points. Only two days earlier Lazio had defeated this evening's opposition 3-1.
Dutch International de Vrij had confirmed to be a class act, Parolo a reliable, solid club player while Djordjevic had not impressed.
This evening however, was a cup game. Lazio's campaign had started in August defeating Bassano 7-0 at home. In December they brushed aside Varese 3-0 at home and on January 14 beat Torino 3-1 away. Tonight, was the quarter final.
Milan had finished 8th the previous season. They had different managers: Massimiliano Allegri (1-19) and Clarence Seedorf (20-38). Top scorer was Mario Balotelli with 18 goals (14 in A).
This season the manager was Filippo Inzaghi. The main new signings were: keeper Diego López (Real Madrid), defenders Alex (PSG), Pablo Armero (Udinese - on loan), midfielders Giacomo Bonaventura (Atalanta), Marco Van Ginkel (Chelsea - on loan) plus forwards Jérémy Menez (PSG) and Fernando Torres (Chelsea).
Leaving the Rossoneri were: keeper Marco Amelia (Rocca Priora then Perugia), defender Kevin Constant (Trabzonspor), midfielders Valter Birsa (Chievo), Urby Emanuelson (Roma), Adel Taarabt (QPR - end of loan) plus forwards Mario Balotelli (Liverpool), Kaká (Săo Paulo) and Robinho (Santos - on loan).
In the league, Milan were currently in joint 7th position with Inter and Palermo on 26 points. In the season opener they had beaten Lazio 3-1 at home but only three days ago they had lost 1-3 in Rome. Today however was a cup game.
In Coppa Italia Milan had qualified for today's quarterfinals by beating Sassuolo 2-1 at home on January 13.
Lazio were higher up in the league table but seeing Lazio's record here, where they had not won in the league since 1989, the outcome was uncertain. Lazio had however beaten Milan away in the semi-final of the cup in 2004 and then went on to lift the trophy.
The match: Tuesday, January 27, 2015, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan
A cold, late January Coppa Italia night only encouraged about 10,000 spectators to attend. It was also broadcast live on the Italian main network.
Both sides made several changes compared to league games. The Rossoneri rested keeper Diego López, defenders Philippe Mexes, Daniele Bonera and Mattia De Sciglio, midfielders Giacomo Bonaventura, Nigel de Jong, Keisuke Honda (on bench) and Stephan El Shaarawy.
The Biancocelesti decided to play without keeper Federico Marchetti, defenders Stefan de Vrij and Dušan Basta, midfielders Antonio Candreva (on bench), Senad Lulić, Felipe Anderson, Cristian Ledesma (on bench) and Stefano Mauri (on bench) plus forward Filip Djordjevic.
Lazio almost took the lead immediately when Ignazio Abate messed up a back pass to the keeper but Miroslav Klose having gone round Christian Abbiati fired wide. Lazio then had further chances with an Abdoulay Konko header, an Eddy Onazi strike from the edge of the box and a Keita Baldé solitary move.
Milan's only shots were a threatening Alessio Cerci volley parried well by Etrit Berisha and a central Jérémy Ménez effort comfortably saved the Albanian keeper.
Milan were in difficulty and changed something tactically. Filippo Inzaghi moved Sulley Muntari to the left, Andrea Poli and Riccardo Montolivo played centrally and Ménez moved towards the centre of attack.
Things seemed to be improving but then Lazio scored. On a Stefan Radu free kick into the area Michelangelo Albertazzi intercepted the ball with an outstretched left arm and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Lucas Biglia coolly slotted in a low shot to Abbiati's left. Milan 0 Lazio 1.
At this point Lazio seemed in total control but in the 44th minute were down to ten men. It was a harsh decision to say the least. Lorik Cana received two bookings in five minutes for pretty run of the mill tackles and by no means dirty, but the fact was he was off. Lazio manager Stefano Pioli was furious and had words with the referee at the break. Halftime Milan 0 Lazio 1.
For the second half Lazio adjusted their line up for the new situation and took off midfielder Danilo Cataldi and put on another defender Diego Novaretti.
In the 51st minute Milan increased their attacking weight by putting on Keisuke Honda for Sulley Muntari.
Lazio suffered another setback in the 55th minute when Brazilian defender Mauricio was forced off injured, after a clash with keeper Berisha, replaced by Basta.
Milan logically attacked continuously but had great trouble creating goal scoring opportunities. Alex headed wide, Novaretti then made a last-ditch tackle on a dangerous Abate initiative and Giampaolo Pazzini had a superb goal disallowed for preparing his shot with a touch of the arm.
In the 70th minute the Rossoneri took off holding midfielder Poli and threw on a slightly more offensive Marco Van Ginkel.
In general, however, Lazio held up well. The Biancocelesti were organised and moved the ball around excellently. In the 78th minute they could have closed the game. On a counterattack, started by a clever touch by Klose, Keita hit the post with a wonderful low cross goal effort.
In the 81st minute another forward for Milan as Suso replaced defender Albertazzi. Milan now had five attacking players on the field but without balance this can mean nothing.
Lazio made a role for role substitution in the 83rd minute, taking off full-back Konko and putting on Bruno Pereirinha.
Milan piled forward in an increasingly desperate and confused manner and in injury time Lazio almost struck again but Onazi devoured a good goal scoring chance.
Milan did then score with Alessio Cerci but it was clearly offside. After five minutes of added time the referee blew up. Final score Milan 0 Lazio 1.
A well-deserved win and qualification for Lazio. The Biancocelesti had been the better team, more balanced, organised and sharper. They had not even suffered much in ten men.
Lazio were through to the semi-finals and would play Napoli home and away in March-April.
Who played for Milan
Abbiati, Abate, Alex, Rami, Albertazzi (81' Suso), Poli (70' Van Ginkel), Montolivo, Muntari (51' Honda), Cerci, Pazzini, Menez
Substitutes: Diego Lopez, Gori, Essien, Armero, Zaccardo, Calabria, De Santis, Mastour
Manager: F. Inzaghi
Who played for Lazio
Berisha, Konko (83' Pereirinha), Mauricio (55' Basta), Cana, Radu, Onazi, Biglia, Parolo, Cataldi (46' Novaretti), Klose, Keita
Manager: Pioli
Referee: Rocchi
Goal: 38' Biglia (pen)
Red Card: 44' Cana (L)
What happened next
Lazio had an excellent season and finished third with 69 points and qualified for the Champions League preliminary round. Lazio won 21, drew 6 and lost 11. The third place was conquered in a dramatic 4-2 victory in Naples in the last game of the season. Top scorer was Klose with 16 (13 in Serie A).
In Coppa Italia Lazio then defeated Napoli 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-final. The Biancocelesti drew 1-1 in Rome but then won 1-0 in Naples with a Senad Lulic winner.
In the final in Rome on May 20 Lazio were then defeated 1-2 by Juventus in extra time (after Djordjevic had hit a freakish double post on 1-1). A good cup run with an unlucky ending.
Alas Lazio would never get into the Champions League group stage as in August they were defeated 1-3 on aggregate by Bayer Leverkusen.
Milan finished 10th in the league. Top scorer was Jeremy Menez with 16 league goals.
In Serie A Juventus won their 32nd Scudetto while Carpi, Frosinone and Verona were relegated. Carpi have never been back and are now in Serie C.
Let's talk about Franjo Prce
Franjo Prce was born in Čapljina (Bosnia-Herzegovina) on January 7 1996. He soon moved to Croatia and is of Croatian nationality.
His first club as a kid was Omladinac Vranjic. At 12 he moved to Hajduk Split where he stayed until 16 in 2014.
In 2014 he joined Lazio. He played with the youth teams and was sometimes added to the first team squad.
In January 2016 he was loaned to Salernitana in Serie B but never made any appearances. His teammates included Lazio connections Chris Oikonomidis (2014-16, 2017-18), Thomas Strakosha (2013-15, 2016-2022) plus Mamadou Tounkara and Alessandro Tuia from Lazio's youth academy.
In 2016-17 he was back at Lazio. The manager was Simone Inzaghi. Prce made his debut on October 23 in a 2-2 draw with Torino, it would be his only appearance. Lazio finished 5th (EL) and were beaten finalists in the Coppa Italia (Juventus 0-2).
In January 2017 he moved to Brescia on loan in Serie B. The manager was first former Lazio player Cristian Brocchi and then Luigi Cagni. Prce played 7 league games and the Rondinelle (Swallows) finished 14th. One of his teammates was former Lazio captain Stefano Mauri (2006-16).
In 2017-18 Prce returned to Lazio. He however made no appearances before leaving in January on loan again. He had time nevertheless to see Lazio win the Supercoppa in August defeating Juventus 3-2.
In January 2018 he went back to Croatia and played six months for NK Istria 1961. He played 16 league games and the "Verudeži” finished 9th.
His contract with Lazio had now expired and his next team was Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus. In the 2018-19 season he played 17 league games with 1 goal and the "Trifylli" (Three leafed Clovers) finished 6th.
Prce's career then took him to Ukraine briefly (Karpaty), back to Croatia (Varaždin-8 games, Slaven Belupo-20 games with 1 goal), India (East Bengal-15 games with 1 goal), Slovenia for two seasons (Koper-32 games with 1 goal) and he is currently in Bulgaria with Spartak Varna on the Black Sea.
From 2012 to 2017 he went through all the Croatia national youth teams; U16s (7 games), U17s (23 games, 1 goal), U18s (3 games), U19s (7 games) and U21s (1 game). He never made it to the Croatian full international squad.
Prce is a central defender. He had the physique du rôle (1.85 and 79 kilos) but never made it at top level. He has however played in many different countries, seven, and lived in diverse cultural situations.
At Lazio he arrived young, at 16, but never fulfilled the expectations the Biancocelesti had for him. He made only one league appearance.
Lazio Career
Season | Serie A Appearances |
2016-17 | 1 |
Sources
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