Derby enthusiasm conquers Florence
After defeating Roma, the Biancocelesti continue on the waves of enthusiasm and win against La Viola.
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 6th and won the Coppa Italia. This year however everything had changed. In the midst of a financial crisis new owner Claudio Lotito had cut costs, agreed a long-term deal with state debt collectors and set up a new look team.
For a start Roberto Mancini had left for Inter. A lot of the star players also said goodbye: Jaap Stam (Milan), Stefano Fiore and Bernardo Corradi (Valencia), Sinisa Mihajlovic and Giuseppe Favalli (Inter), Demetrio Albertini (Atalanta), Claudio Lopez (América -México) and Guerino Gottardi (retired).
Arriving at Lazio were players of a "slightly" different calibre, many unknown. Lotito became famous for signing nine players on one day. Some are best forgotten but the players worth mentioning were defender Sebastiano Siviglia (Parma), midfielders Antonio and Emanuele Filippini (Palermo) and forward Tommaso Rocchi (Empoli). One particularly welcome return for the fans was Paolo Di Canio after 15 years away. A move to appease the fans faced with difficult times ahead.
The new manager was former player Domenico Caso, assisted by club legend Cristiano Bergodi.
The season started with a 0-3 defeat by Milan in the Supercoppa final. In the league Lazio earned 7 points in the first 3 games, with two away wins, but then started struggling. In the next four games the Biancocelesti only managed to muster one point (away draw at Bergamo). Lazio then beat Messina 2-0 at home but after that only earned 6 points in the next 8 games.
After the defeat to Udinese, on December 19, Caso was sacked and replaced by Giuseppe Papadopulo, another former Lazio player. He faced a difficult task especially as his first game was the derby. Lazio however surprisingly thumped Roma 3-1 with goals by Di Canio, César and Rocchi.
Lazio were currently 15th on 20 points, four above the drop zone but with a more positive outlook.
In the UEFA Cup Lazio had got through the first round defeating Ukrainians Metalurh Donetsk 6-0 on aggregate. They were then in a group with Villareal, Middlesbrough, Egaleo and Partizan Belgrade. The Biancocelesti had drawn 1-1 at home to the Spaniards, lost 0-2 at Middlesbrough, drawn 2-2 at home to Partizan and away at Egaleo and been eliminated.
Their Coppa Italia campaign started in November with a 1-2 away defeat at Cagliari. The return leg would be on January 13 in Rome.
Fiorentina were newly promoted after their financial problems. The Viola had finished 6th in Serie B but won promotion in a playoff against Perugia who had finished 4th bottom in Serie A. The top-flight format was being enlarged from 18 teams to 20. The managers had been Alberto Cavasin (1-26) and then Emiliano Mondonico (27-46). Top scorer was Christian Riganò with 23 league goals.
This season the manager was originally Mondonico but he had been replaced by Sergio Buso after seven games. The Gigliati were currently in joint 9th position with Reggina on 22 points after 5 wins, 7 draws and 5 defeats.
In Coppa Italia the Viola had got through the summer group phase with 2 wins (Como and Verona both 3-0 at home) and a draw (Piacenza 0-0 away). They then eliminated Brescia on away goals and in November had beaten Parma 2-0 at home in the first leg of the last 16. The return game in Parma would be on January 12.
A balanced game was expected today but Lazio went up to Florence on the waves of enthusiasm after unexpectedly triumphing in the derby. It was also the 105th anniversary of their foundation, January 9 1900.
The match: Sunday, January 9, 2005, Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
A cold day in Florence with about 30,000 spectators.
Fiorentina were without midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and forward Giampaolo Pazzini. Lazio had defenders Luciano Zauri and Fernando Couto unavailable.
Lazio started better than the Viola. In the 4th minute César had a dangerous shot saved into corner by Cristiano Lupatelli.
Lazio looked more organised and balanced than Fiorentina but it was then the hosts who took the lead in the 21st minute. Christian Riganò chested the ball down and teed up Fabrizio Miccoli on the edge of the area who with a low strike to Angelo Peruzzi's right put the Gigliati ahead. Fiorentina 1 Lazio 0.
The game now changed with Fiorentina far more confident. They almost doubled their lead twice with Enzo Maresca in the 30th and 32nd minutes but Peruzzi denied the future Chelsea manager.
Then against the run of play Lazio equalised. In the 33rd minute Antonio Filippini put Paolo Di Canio in front of the keeper and he chipped him with a clever touch. There were however huge doubts over his position which seemed offside. The goal was given though and Lazio were level.
Fiorentina then attacked for most of the remainder of the half with an abundance of crosses for Riganò and a deflected Mirko Savini shot which shaved the post. Halftime Fiorentina 1 Lazio 1.
After halftime Peruzzi did not reappear, obviously injured, and was replaced by Matteo Sereni.
Lazio came back on with renewed energy but again it was Fiorentina who went closer to scoring when Miccoli hit the crossbar. Lazio however responded with a Tommaso Rocchi effort from near the penalty spot which went wide to the right by a whisker.
In the 60th minute Lazio replaced Di Canio with Goran Pandev. It was the right move as a minute later the Macedonian scored. A Pandev-Liverani one-two put him in front of the keeper but between two defenders, however he did well and curled a low left foot past Lupatelli. Fiorentina 1 Lazio 2.
The Viola reacted but the Lazio defence controlled their most dangerous player Miccoli well.
In the 69th minute the home side brought on an out and out striker Javier Portillo for midfielder Jaime Valdes.
Lazio controlled and in the 82nd minute struck again. Savini lost the ball in midfield and Pandev charged forward on the right before moving towards the centre and setting up Ousmane Dabo at the edge of the box, the Frenchman placed a surgical low right foot in the bottom left hand corner. Fiorentina 1 Lazio 3. Lazio home and dry? No.
In the 85th minute Miccoli confirmed to be the main danger man and pulled one back. Riganò headed across goal where the Salentino hammered a right foot under the crossbar from close range. Again, as in Lazio's leveller, there were strong suspicions of offside, both by the striker and by another Viola player obstructing Sereni's view, but the flag stayed down. Fiorentina 2 Lazio 3.
Lazio reacted by taking off forward Rocchi and putting on midfielder Christian Manfredini.
The last minutes were thrilling with both sides almost scoring. First César put in a perfect low cross for Pandev in front of goal but, challenged by a defender, he could not get enough power on his shot and the keeper saved. Fiorentina then shaved the post with a powerful Maresca drive from the edge of the box. The triple whistle was met with huge celebrations by the Lazio players and the thousands of travelling fans. Final score Fiorentina 2 Lazio 3.
A second consecutive win for Lazio after the memorable derby win. The team had battled hard and César and Pandev in particular had been outstanding. Things were suddenly looking up and Lazio climbed to joint 10th with Reggina, overtaking Fiorentina on 22. The relegation zone was now a more comforting seven points away.
Who played for Fiorentina
Lupatelli, Ujfalusi, Viali, Savini, Maggio, Maresca, Obodo, Chiellini, Miccoli, Valdes (69' Portillo), Riganò
Substitutes: Roccati, Delli Carri, Helguera, Di Livio, Piangerelli, Fantini
Manager: Buso
Who played for Lazio
Peruzzi (46' Sereni), Oddo, Siviglia, Giannichedda, E. Filippini, A. Filippini, Dabo, Liverani, César, Di Canio (60' Pandev), Rocchi (85' Manfredini)
Manager: Papadopulo
Referee: Rizzoli
Goals: 21' Miccoli, 33' Di Canio, 61' Pandev, 82' Dabo, 85' Miccoli
What happened next
The enthusiasm did not last long as Lazio then slumped to four defeats (Palermo, Sampdoria, Reggina, Milan) and a draw (Brescia) but then three consecutive wins (Atalanta, Chievo and Parma) gave them some oxygen. Some more bad results followed but ultimately wins against Livorno at home and Bologna away and draws against Roma, Fiorentina and Palermo took Lazio to an agonised survival. Lazio finished 13th and top scorer was Rocchi with 17 goals (13 in A). Lazio then even qualified for the Intertoto Cup due to Livorno and Messina dropping out for various reasons.
In Coppa Italia Lazio beat Cagliari 3-2 but went out on away goals.
A problematic first season under new owner Claudio Lotito but things could have gone even worse.
Fiorentina finished 16th. After another two games Buso was sacked and replaced by Dino Zoff. Fiorentina continued to struggle and ended up third bottom on 42 points with Bologna and Parma. The game in Rome against Lazio ended up 1-1 (with controversy for a Zauri handball on the goal line). The Viola only stayed up due to the "classifica avulsa", a calculation of the points earned by the teams on the same points in the matches between themselves in the league (Fiorentina had earned 4 points against both Parma and Bologna). A narrow escape. Top scorer was Fabrizio Miccoli with 12 league goals.
In Coppa Italia Fiorentina won 3-0 in Parma but then went out to Roma on penalties in the quarter finals.
The Scudetto was won by Juventus but it was then taken away from them in the summer of 2006 due to their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal. The title was left unawarded while Serie B awaited Atalanta, Brescia and Bologna.
Let’s talk about Claudio De Sousa
Claudio De Sousa was born in Rome on August 10, 1985. His father is from Angola and his mother Italian.
He was formed in the Lazio youth setup before joining Roman club Lodigiani in 2001.
The Biancorossi were in Serie C1 but were relegated. He then stayed another season and a half in C2. In total he played 30 games with 1 goal.
In January 2004 he joined Lazio. The manager was Roberto Mancini but De Sousa did not make any appearances. Lazio finished 6th and won the Coppa Italia.
De Sousa stayed on the following season. The manager was first Domenico Caso and then from early January another former player, Giuseppe Papadopulo. De Sousa made his debut against Milan at home on September 24. He played 4 league games with 1 goal (Messina in 2-0 home win). Lazio finished 13th and the highlight was defeating Roma 3-1 on January 6.
He then left Lazio and joined Torino in Serie B. The manager was Gianni De Biasi and De Sousa played 11 league games with 1 goal (Brescia). Torino won promotion but De Sousa had left in January. His teammates at Toro included Lazio connections, Roberto Muzzi (2003-05) and Nikola Lazetić (2003).
In January he left for Catanzaro on loan in Serie B. The manager was first Lazio legend Bruno Giordano and then Franco Cittadino for the last five games. The Giallorossi were relegated and De Sousa played 14 league games with 2 goals (Ternana, Cesena).
In the summer of 2006 he returned to Torino in Serie A. He however made no appearances under first Alberto Zaccheroni and then Gianni De Biasi. Toro finished 16th. His teammates included Lazio connections Beppe Pancaro (1997-2003), Stefano Fiore (2001-04) plus Muzzi and Lazetić were still there.
De Sousa's career then continued at lower level football. He spent a year at Ancona on loan in C1 (25 games, 3 goals), one at Pescara in Serie D (1 game), a season and a half at Murata in San Marino at amateur level (33 games, 23 goals), a season with Chieti in Serie D (36 games, 19 goals), one with L'Aquila in Serie C (35 games, 11 goals), one at Como in Serie C (36 games, 4 goals), one back at L'Aquila in Serie C (35 games, 5 goals), a season with Racing Roma in Serie C (37 games, 17 goals), 4 months with Racing Fondi in Serie C (18 games, 3 goals), 6 months at Viterbese Castrense in Serie C (20 games, 2 goals), a season with Aprilia Racing in Serie D (15 games, 3 goals), two seasons with Ostia Mare in Serie D (30 games, 8 goals) and finally a season with Tivoli at regional level (1 game, 2 goals).
At 37 he retired.
De Sousa was a forward. At 1.83 and 77 kilos he was a strong player, fast and skilful and was usually played at centre-forward but he could also play in other attacking roles. He was nicknamed “la Pantera" (Panther).
He never fulfilled his early promise at Lazio where he made his debut in Serie A at 19. His moment of glory at Lazio was scoring at the Olimpico against Messina and at the final whistle Paolo Di Canio took him under the Curva Nord to soak up the applause. He then had a chance at Torino but spent most of his career at lower levels between the 3rd and 4th tiers.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Europa League |
2004-05 | 5 (1) | 4 | 1 |
Sources
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