Mauri remedies injustice
Juventus go ahead with non-existent penalty but a Mauri volley gives Lazio good point
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season had been Delio Rossi's last and ended on a triumphal note winning the Coppa Italia.
This year Lazio had chosen Davide Ballardini as their new manager. With the change in the dug out there came several changes to the squad. In the summer Lazio had brought in goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri, defender and future Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni (Mallorca-back from loan), Giuseppe Biava (just recently in January from Genoa) and André Dias (Săo Paulo recently), midfielders Roberto Baronio (Brescia- back from loan), Thomas Hitzlsperger (recently from Stuttgart) and Fabio Firmani (Al-Wasl-back from loan) plus striker Julio Cruz (Inter) and Sergio Floccari (just recently from Genoa). So not a memorable incoming player market but improved slightly in the recent session.
In the summer obviously some players had also left. Hugely disappointing goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo (who had been welcomed as the new messiah) went to Zaragoza on loan and David Rozehnal was sold to SV Hamburger. Homegrown talent and Lazio fan, Lorenzo De Silvestri went to Fiorentina while versatile Luciano Zauri and striker Libor Kozak were loaned to Sampdoria and Brescia. Defender Emilson Cribari had just recently gone to Siena on loan in the winter market window.
Goran Pandev and Christian Ledesma were out of favour and excluded from the squad over contractual issues. Pandev had then recently left for Inter.
Lazio's season had started in a dreamlike fashion. On August 8 in Beijing, the Biancocelesti had defeated José Mourinho's, soon "triplete" winning, Inter 2-1 to lift the Italian Supercoppa for the third time. Goals by Francelino Matuzalém and Tommaso Rocchi sank the seemingly invincible Nerazzurri.
Lazio started the league with the enthusiasm of having won silverware but realistically did not expect any more miracles from the season.
No miracles but neither for things to be going as badly as they were. Lazio had started well winning the first two games of the season but then things went downhill. Their next win came in the 16th fixture, a 1-0 home win against Genoa. Two more defeats followed, a win and two draws (including previous week's 1-1 home draw to Chievo).
Things were looking grim. Lazio were currently 17th on 21 points, only two points ahead of Catania in the last relegation slot.
Lazio were also out of Coppa Italia having lost 2-3 away to Fiorentina in the quarter finals on January 20.
Juventus had finished 2nd the previous season. Claudio Ranieri was manager until the last two matches when Ciro Ferrara took over. Juventus had gone winless in 7 matches (D6, L1) and the Bianconeri went for their first sacking during the season since 1969-70.
This season the manager was initially Ferrara but he too had just been sacked and today was Alberto Zaccheroni's first game in charge.
In the summer Juventus had signed: defender Martín Cáceres (Barcelona - on loan), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Fabio Grosso (Olympique Lyonnais), midfielders Diego (Werder Bremen) and Felipe Melo (Fiorentina).
Leaving Turin were: defender Olaf Mellberg (Olympiakos), midfielders Marco Marchionni (Fiorentina), Cristiano Zanetti (Fiorentina) and Pavel Nedvěd (retiring but staying at club in another role).
Juventus were currently in 6th place on 33 points. The "Old Lady" had won 10 (including Lazio 2-0 away and Inter 2-1 at home), drawn 3 and lost 8 (including Bari 1-3 away and Catania 0-1 at home). They came from three consecutive defeats (Milan, Chievo, Roma) hence Ferrara's recent sacking.
In the Coppa Italia Juventus were already out. They had beaten Napoli 3-0 at home but then lost 1-2 away to Inter.
The Bianconeri were also out of the Champions League. They had been eliminated in the group stage after 2 wins (Maccabi Haifa home and away), 2 draws (Bayern Munich away and Bordeaux at home) and 2 defeats (Bordeaux 0-2 away and Bayern Munich 1-4 at home). They had therefore been demoted to the Europa League where they would debut in February against Ajax.
Juventus were far from the top of their game but were still favourites against struggling Lazio. They also had a new manager, even if it was Zaccheroni who Lazio fans did not have fond memories of.
The match: Sunday, January 31, 2010, Stadio Olimpico, Turin
A cold Sunday evening saw about 20,000 spectators in the Turin Olympic stadium.
Lazio were not welcomed particularly warmly either as their bus was hit by a bottle, which cracked a window, when approaching the ground.
Juventus were without goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, defender Fabio Grosso, midfielders Claudio Marchisio, Christian Poulsen and Mauro Camoranesi plus striker David Trezeguet while Lazio had newly arrived defenders André Dias, Giuseppe Biava out and midfielders Cristian Brocchi, Pasquale Foggia unavailable plus forward Sergio Floccari was not ready. Cristian Ledesma was still out of favour over contact issues.
The pattern of the game was clear from the early stages. Juventus constantly forward and Lazio concentrating on defensive solidity.
The first chance was for Brazilian midfielder Diego but the former Werder Bremen player's strike was too central to worry Fernando Muslera.
In the 11th minute Alessandro Del Piero had a powerful shot from a difficult angle, perfect stylistically but off target.
Lazio defended well and were rarely flustered. They occasionally ventured into the Juventus' half with Mauro Zarate's speed and trying to find big Julio Cruz in the air.
It was however predominantly Juventus. In the 20th minute an inspired Diego turned and shot, Muslera parried and Modibo Diakité just anticipated Mohamed Sissoko's potential tap-in.
Lazio put their noses out again in the 38th minute but after an excellent Zarate move a low Stefano Mauri effort was well saved by Alex Manninger into corner.
The last chance was for future Lazio Antonio Candreva but his long-range shot had the power but not the precision. Half time Juventus 0 Lazio 0.
Lazio were relatively pleased with the proceedings so far. They were tight and concentrated at the back and had not run excessive risks on the Zebras' constant attacks.
The second half started at a slower pace. Juventus still attacked and Muslera denied another Candreva bullet but Diego however was the real danger man and he hit the post in the 54th minute with a low left foot.
Lazio then defended reasonably comfortably from Juventus' pressure and the game went a bit flat.
It woke with a bang in the 70th minute. Del Piero went around Diakité and then shot way off target before slipping. The referee and possibly only the referee in the whole stadium had seen a foul by the French defender. A highly doubtful (in all fairness invented) and generous penalty to say the least. Del Piero, nicknamed "Pinturicchio" (after the extremely talented Umbrian painter) by Gianni Agnelli, stepped up and sent the ball one way and Muslera the other. Juventus 1 Lazio 0.
Lazio immediately threw on a forward Tommaso Rocchi and took off a midfielder Ousmane Dabo. In the 76th minute the Biancocelesti also put on a more offensive minded Stephen Lichtsteiner in place of Fabio Firmani and Juventus covered up slightly more with defender Martín Cáceres for midfielder Felipe Melo.
Lazio's more attacking mindset paid off and they equalised in the 77th minute. Zarate put a good, precise, floating ball into the middle where Mauri pounced and volleyed past Manninger. Juventus 1 Lazio 1.
In their celebrations, Mauri and Rocchi accidentally clashed heads and the Lombard midfielder was forced off a few minutes later, replaced by defender Sebastiano Siviglia.
The game went quiet after Lazio's leveller. There was one more substitution in the 89th minute with Michele Pascucci coming on for Del Piero but Juventus had nothing more to give and Lazio were pleased with a point. Final score Juventus 1 Lazio 1.
The Juventus fans were certainly not pleased with the point or the current situation. At the end of the contest there were burnt banners in the curva plus whistles and hostile chants against the players and the directors.
For Lazio it was a welcomed away point. A solid defensive performance albeit against a Juventus in difficulty.
Lazio's table had not changed, they were still joint 17th with Livorno and two points above Catania but hopefully today's result would boost their morale.
Juventus caught up with Palermo, in joint 5th place on 34 points.
Who played for Juventus
Manninger, Grygera, Cannavaro, Chiellini, De Ceglie, Candreva, Felipe Melo (76' Cáceres), Sissoko, Diego, Amauri, Del Piero (89' Pascucci)
Substitutes: Chimenti, Legrottaglie, Zebina, Marrone, Giovinco
Manager: Zaccheroni
Who played for Lazio
Muslera, Stendardo, Diakité, Radu, Firmani (76' Lichtsteiner), Dabo (71' Rocchi), Baronio, Kolarov, Mauri (81' Siviglia), Cruz, Zarate
Manager: Ballardini
Referee: Saccani
Goals: 70' Del Piero (pen), 77' Mauri
What happened next
Lazio managed to avoid relegation and finished 12th.
Lazio lost the next game 0-1 at home to Catania and Ballardini was sacked and replaced by Edy Reja. Lazio beat Parma 2-0 away on his debut but then only picked up one point in the following four games.
Things then improved with wins at Cagliari and Siena at home, draws away to Milan and at home to Napoli and a win at Bologna away which gave the Biancocelesti some breathing space. More defeats followed but wins against Genoa and Livorno away and Udinese at home ultimately gave Lazio a more respectable position.
More good news came from city rivals Roma throwing away the Scudetto. The Giallorossi were top with four games to go but then lost 1-2 at home to Sampdoria and were overtaken by Inter. A huge relief for Lazio fans who famously lifted the banner "Oh noooo…" when Inter scored and beat Lazio a week later (by then Lazio were virtually safe).
Juventus finished in 7th place and qualified for the Europa League. Over the next 17 games the Bianconeri won 6, drew 3 and lost 8. An uncharacteristically poor season for the Zebras. Top scorer was Alessandro Del Piero with 11 goals (9 in A).
The Scudetto was won by Inter who won the famous "Triplete" (Treble) under José Mourinho. The Nerazzurri won the Champions League defeating Bayern Munich 2-0 in Madrid and the Coppa Italia beating Roma 1-0 at the Olimpico. The Biscione however had not won the Italian Supercoppa….
Let's talk about Alessio Luciani
Alessio Luciani was born in Rieti (Lazio) on January 16, 1990.
He played for Lazio's youth teams and then the primavera (U19s). In 2007-08 Lazio qualified for the Champions League under Delio Rossi and Luciani was included in the player list to meet the youth player quota, his number was 43.
In the league he then made his official debut in the 2009-10 season. On October 4, with only a few minutes remaining, he came on in Fiorentina-Lazio in a 0-0 draw. It would remain his only appearance but he officially won the Supercoppa on August 8 in Beijing when Lazio surprisingly beat Mourinho's Inter.
In the summer of 2010 he went on loan to Lumezzane (Brescia) in Lega Pro Prima Divisione (third tier). He stayed two years, under Davide Nicola the Rossoblu finished 6th and 8th.
In 2012 Luciani returned to Lazio but was immediately sent out on loan to Salernitana in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione (4th tier). He stayed two seasons in Salerno. In the first the Amaranto were promoted under former Lazio player Carlo Perrone and Luciani played 24 league games with 1 goal. In the second season the Campani finished 9th. The three managers were all Lazio connections: Stefano Sanderra (current Lazio U19s coach), Carlo Perrone (1977-81, 1982-83) and finally Angelo Gregucci (1986-93). Luciani played 20 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.
In 2014-15 he spent a season with Gubbio in Lega Pro 1. He played 37 league games, first under Leonardo Arcuri and then Marco Bonura. The Umbrian Lupi (Wolves) finished 16th and were relegated after the play-outs (Savona 2-3 on aggregate)
In 2015-16 he played for Monopoli in Lega Pro 1. The Gabbiano (Seagull) finished 14th but stayed up after the playouts (Ischia 4-2 on aggregate).
In the summer of 2016 he signed for Arezzo where he settled and stayed for five seasons. The Aretini were in Lega Pro 1 and finished 4th under Stefano Sottili, losing in the playoffs and so remaining in the new Serie C format. The Amaranto then finished 16th, 4th, 9th and 20th (relegated to D). His managers included Claudio Bellucci, Massimo Pavane, Alessandro Dal Canto, Daniele Di Donato, Alessandro Potenza and Andrea Camplone. Luciano played regularly in Arezzo and was a consolidated first team player.
In 2021 he left Tuscany and joined Reggiana where he stayed two seasons. The Granata were in Serie C and finished 2nd but then lost in the playoffs to Feralpisalò 1-3 on aggregate. Luciani played 37 games including the playoffs under manager Aimo Diana. The following season the "Regia" finished 1st and won promotion under Diana. Luciani played 25 league games plus 1 in Coppa Italia.
In 2023 he moved south to Puglia and joined Taranto. The Rossoblu, under manager Ezio Capuano, were in Serie C, finished 5th and then lost in the playoffs to Vicenza 0-1 on aggregate. Luciani played 23 league games plus 4 in the playoffs.
He currently plays for Feralpisalò (Salò and Lonato del Garda-Brescia) in Serie C.
Luciani is a right full-back. He never made it at top level but he did play a game for Lazio in Serie A and was in the squad that won the 2009 Supercoppa. He then had a good 3rd tier career and won a promotion to Serie B with Reggiana in 2023.
At 34 he is still playing in Serie C.
Lazio Career
Season | Serie A appearances |
2009-10 | 1 |
Sources
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