Oxygen for Lazio
Lazio beat Siena 2-0 and start to see light at the end of the tunnel
Also on this day: March 24, 1985, Lazio Roma 1-1. The usual Rome derby: a draw and fights between players. Player of the day: Francesco Fonte
The season so far
Despite winning the Coppa Italia the previous season, the relationship between President Claudio Lotito and Manager Delio Rossi had worsened during the year so Lazio decided on a new manager, Davide Ballardini who had done well at Cagliari and Palermo.
Before the start of the season there were problems with Goran Pandev, Cristian Ledesma and Lorenzo De Silvestri.
Lazio had spent quite a lot of money for their then standards to keep Pandev, 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. The issue with Ledesma was similar. There were arguments over the renewal of the contract and the Italo-Argentinian also had a contract with Inter waiting for him. De Silvestri also had an argument with Lotito over the renewal of his contract. All three were not allowed to train with the team nor play with the squad. De Silvestri would eventually be sold to Fiorentina, Pandev and Ledesma took Lazio to court in order to dissolve their current contracts.
So, Ballardini started the season without these three players but joining Lazio were Francelino Matuzalém from Real Saragozza and Julio Cruz, the legendary Inter striker.
The season started early with Lazio playing the Super Coppa in Beijing on August 8 against Inter. On paper Inter should have destroyed Lazio, but the Biancocelesti managed to win thanks to goals by Matuzalem and Tommaso Rocchi.
An excellent start to the season which continued with two wins in the first two games. But for a third win Lazio would have to wait until December (Lazio Genoa 1-0). Ballardini was hated by the fans and not particularly loved by the players either. Lazio really missed the two rebel players but also Mauro Zarate was not performing well. He tended to ignore all of his teammates and try to do everything himself, and obviously this was not working. By the end of the year Lazio were only three points above the relegation zone.
In the winter market transfer, Lotito made three fundamental signings: defenders Giuseppe Biava from Genoa and André Dias from São Paulo plus centre forward Sergio Floccari from Genoa. Floccari's impact was a breath of fresh air for the team and he scored three goals in his first two matches for the club. Lazio ended the first part of the season in 15th place with a 5-point cushion on the drop zone.
But in the next four games Lazio managed just two draws and were now third from bottom. Bye bye Ballardini, welcome Edy Reja.
In the meantime, Pandev had won his case against Lazio and joined Inter as a free agent. Ledesma instead lost his. With the arrival of Reja, all was forgiven and Ledesma was back on the pitch.
In Reja’s first match, Lazio won at Parma but things then precipitated with just one point in the next four games. In the match before today’s, at Cagliari, Lazio managed to win and now had a four-point lead over the relegation zone. Another victory would be vital.
The match: Wednesday, March 24, 2010, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio started very well and scored almost immediately. In the 6th minute Stefano Mauri from the left crossed into the box. Rocchi tried a header but missed, the ball got to Stephan Lichtsteiner who was quick to volley it in.
Three minutes later Cristian Brocchi put a great ball into the box but Gianluca Curci anticipated Mauri at the last possible moment. Mauro Zarate also had a chance but his shot was well saved by the Siena goalkeeper. Around the half hour Brocchi to Rocchi all alone in front of Curci but the Lazio centre forward shot at the goalkeeper.
Siena were completely absent from the match. Their first real attempt came with an innocuous Emanuele Calaio header in the 65th minute.
In the 71st minute Cruz substituted Zarate, and ran towards the Siena goal since there was a corner for Lazio. Mauri took the corner, Cruz first headed the ball in the air, then, back to the goal, attempted a bicycle kick. Ball in the far corner and 2-0 for Lazio. A few minutes later Mauri hit the crossbar.
Game over and vital points for Lazio.
Who played for Lazio
Muslera, Kolarov, Stendardo, Radu, Lichtsteiner, Dias, Mauri, Ledesma (90’ Baronio), Brocchi, Rocchi (81’ Foggia), Zarate (71’ Cruz)
Substitutes: Berni, Diakité, Hitzlsperger, Del Nero
Manager: Reja
Who played for Siena
Curci, Cribari, Del Grosso (54' Calaiò), Pratali (46' Reginaldo), Odibe, Vergassola, Rosi, Tziolis, Larrondo (82' Fini), Ghezzal, Maccarone.
Substitutes: Pegolo, Terzi, Jarolim, Codrea.
Manager: Malesani.
Referee: Bergonzi
Goals: 6’ Lichtsteiner, 72’ Cruz
What happened next
After the game against Siena, Lazio really improved. They won at Bologna after being 2-0 down, lost an unfortunate derby, but beat Genoa away the week after. With three games to go to the end of the season Lazio needed only three points to secure survival in Serie A. And they took them at Livorno with a game to go.
Prior to this game there was the match against Inter. Apparently, Roma supporters thought that Lazio had a genuine chance to beat the nerazzurri who were fighting for the scudetto with the giallorossi. All Lazio fans knew that there would be no contest against the strongest team in Serie A, and that was exactly what happened. But for the media and Roma fans, Lazio let Inter win. A ridiculous accusation that many still claim to this day, forgetting that the nerazzurri won the Champions League a month later, and therefore Lazio really did not stand a chance.
Stephan Lichtsteiner and Stefano Mauri were the players with most appearances (43), Rocchi was the leading goal scorer (10).
Lazio 2009-10
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 39 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
Europa League | 8 | 3 | - | 5 | 12 |
Super Coppa | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
Total | 49 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 57 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Lichtsteiner | 43 | 33 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
Mauri | 43 | 34 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
Muslera | 42 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Kolarov | 41 | 33 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
Zarate | 41 | 31 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Rocchi | 10 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Floccari | 9 | 8 | 1 | - | - |
Zarate | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | - |
Kolarov | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - |
Mauri | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | - |
Cruz | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | - |
Let's talk about Stephan Lichtsteiner
Stephan Lichtsteiner was born at Adligenswil near Lucerne in Switzerland on January 16, 1984. He began his career in the youth teams of his hometown and then from 1996 with Lucerne. In 2001 he made his professional debut with Grasshoppers Zurich and in the following year he became a first team regular and won the league title.
In 2005 he signed for Lille and became one of the best right backs in Ligue 1. He stayed with the French club for three years before signing for Lazio in 2008.
With the Biancocelesti he established himself as a good right back, not exactly the best crosser of the ball, but a reliable player. The fans called him Forrest Gump because he never stopped running. In his first season he scored his first goal for Lazio in the derby and then was one of the decisive players in the Coppa Italia final against Sampdoria. The match had ended 1-1 and went to penalties. Despite not having taken a penalty since he was a boy, when manager Delio Rossi told him that he was going to be the sixth player to take a penalty he did not bat an eyelid and had no problem in scoring. Lazio won the Cup. In August Lazio beat Inter in Beijing for the Super Coppa final.
Lazio’s second year was a little bit problematic, but Lichtsteiner scored a couple of important goals and Lazio avoided relegation. In his third and final year in Rome Lazio qualified for Europa League.
He played a total of 117 games for Lazio, 100 in Serie A with 3 goals, 9 in Coppa Italia, 7 in Europa League and one Super Coppa final.
In 2011 Lazio sold him to Juventus for €10 million. Fans were not exactly tearful when he went to Turin and thought that Juve had spent too much for a good player but not all that exceptional. The fans were wrong.
In Juventus the timid Swiss player learnt how to cross the ball, became a true champion and one of the pillars of the team. He won seven league titles in a row, four doubles (scudetto and Coppa Italia) and three Super Coppa’s (two against Lazio). He played in the Champions League final in 2015 (lost to Barcelona in Berlin) and was on the bench when Juventus lost the 2017 final against Real Madrid in Cardiff. He played a total of 258 games for the Bianconeri with 15 goals.
In the Super Coppa final 2013 Lichesteiner’s gesture after scoring was not exactly appreciated by his former fans who have since booed him every time he came back to the Olimpico.
In 2018 he joined Arsenal as a free agent but did not play much and was pretty much ignored by Manager Unai Emery. Arsenal reached the final of the Europa League but lost to Chelsea.
In 2019 he signed for Augusta in the Bundesliga and helped the team avoid relegation. At the end of the season he quit football.
Lichtsteiner played 108 times for his country (8 goals), the fifth all time for number of caps. He played in Euro 2008, the 2010 and 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.
Once he stopped playing he became manager. In 2021 he was assistant coach for Under 16s for Kriens and the Swiss Under 18s. In 2022 he joined Basel as defensive coach for all of the youth teams.
Lazio career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2008-09 | 39 (1) | 33 (1) | 6 | - | - |
2009-10 | 43 (2) | 33 (2) | 2 | 7 | 1 |
2010-11 | 35 | 34 | 1 | - | - |
Total | 117 (3) | 100 (3) | 9 | 7 | 1 |
Sources
Comments