Lazio put one foot in quarterfinals with German blitz
Lazio show authority and composure despite a weakened team and with a goal per half, set themselves in good stead for the return match
Also on this day: March 7, 1971, Lazio Bologna 2-2. Despite going two goals up Lazio draw with Bologna. Player of the day: Mario Tomy
The season so far
The main novelty for Lazio this season was the arrival of Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic. The elegant polyglot, of Bosnian origin, had got off to a reasonable start.
Apart from Petkovic, Lazio had added Brazilian Ederson (Olympique Lyon) in midfield, plus defensive giant Michael Ciani (Bordeaux). In January striker and fan favourite Tommaso Rocchi had left for Inter after nine wonderful years in Rome (and 105 goals) and Brazilian Francelino Matuzalem had joined Genoa.
In Serie A, after an excellent first half of the fixture list with 12 wins (including derby 3-2), 3 draws and 4 defeats, Lazio were starting to falter. In the last eight games Lazio had won 2, drawn 2 and lost 4.
In Coppa Italia, things had gone better, and in January the Biancocelesti had qualified for the final. In a double legged semi-final, they got the better of Juventus first drawing 1-1 in Turin (Stefano Mauri) and then winning 2-1 in Rome (Alvaro Gonzalez and a dramatic 93rd minute Sergio Floccari strike). The final was planned for the 26th of May at the Stadio Olimpico against either Roma or Inter (first leg 2-1 to Roma- second leg on April 17).
In today's cup, the Europa League, Lazio were as yet unbeaten. Their campaign had started as early as August in a play-off against Mura (Slovenia), Lazio won 2-0 away (Hernanes, Miro Klose) and 3-1 at home (Libor Kozák 2, Mauro Zárate).
In the subsequent group stage, Lazio had drawn twice with Tottenham (both 0-0), beaten Maribor (Slovenia) twice (1-0 at home - Ederson - and 4-1 away - Kozak, Stefan Radu, Floccari 2) and earned 4 points out of 6 against Panathinaikos (1-1 away - own goal - and 3-0 at home- Kozak 2, Floccari).
In the last 32 Lazio had eliminated Borussia Moenchengladbach (3-3 away - Floccari, Kozak 2 and 2-0 at home - Antonio Candreva, Gonzalez).
This journey led to Stuttgart and the Mercedes-Benz Arena, on a cold March evening in Germany.
Stuttgart had qualified for the tournament with a 6th place finish in the Bundesliga under manager Bruno Labbadia. Top scorer was Martin Hanik with 17 league goals.
This season the Swabians were struggling, especially in the league. They were in lower mid-table and five days earlier had lost 2-1 at Bayer Leverkusen. They had won 8, drawn 5 and lost 11 (including 6-1 Bayern and 5 consecutive games between December 15 and February 9). They had however just qualified for the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) semi-final, to be played in April.
The Germans main stars were strikers Martin Harnik and Vedad Ibšević and defender Antonio Rudiger (future Roma, Chelsea and Real Madrid). There were also two Italian connections in defender Cristian Molinaro (former Juventus) and Lazio fan and youth sector product Federico Macheda (on loan from Lazio).
The match: Thursday, March 7, 2013, VfB Arena, Stuttgart
A crowd of about 30,000 turned up at the VfB Arena and about 1,000 were from Rome.
Lazio put out a line-up missing many of their top players but the 'reserves' had done well in Europe so far.
The first big chance of the match fell to the Germans. In the 16th minute a superb header by Japanese forward Shinji Okazaki was saved equally well by Federico Marchetti.
Lazio reacted and with their first dangerous attack they took the lead. In the 21st minute Ederson, taking advantage of some indecisive defending, scored with a low left footed strike. The locals were in disarray and there was no response by 'Die Roten' to the setback.
On the half hour mark Lorik Cana almost made it two with a header going just wide from a corner. It was followed in the 41st by another header this time by Ederson but the ball hit the ground before bouncing over the bar.
Towards the end of the first half 'Die Schwaben' finally showed some signs of life and pushed forward more. They almost equalised, again with the lively Okazaki who shot wide from close range. His attacking partner Macheda on the other hand had been very subdued. Half time score Stuttgart 0 Lazio 1.
Just before the interval German manager Bruno Labbadia had tried to remedy Stuttgart's lack of danger by replacing Alexandru Maxim with Tamas Hajnal and just after the break put on Martin Harnik for William Kvist. It was, however, Lazio who scored again.
In the 56th minute, Nigerian Eddy Onazi picked up the ball in midfield and like a bullet went straight towards goal gliding past several opponents on his way. He reached the area and with only the keeper to beat chipped him with a delicate touch. A brilliant solo effort, Stuttgart 0 Lazio 2.
In the 64th minute, Petkovic replaced the more offensive, and tiring, midfielder Ederson with the more defensive Cristian Ledesma.
Stuttgart from now on piled men forward but were rarely dangerous. There were several scrambles in Lazio's area and Okazaki went close with a shot that went wide.
With twenty minutes to go Petkovic put more fresh legs on, quantity for quality, he replaced Hernanes with Alvaro Gonzalez. It was Lazio, though, that in the end had more chances to score again with Antonio Candreva and Senad Lulic on the counter foot.
Stuttgart got more and more desperate and with lucidity and energy fading, were no longer able to threaten Marchetti. Final score Stuttgart 0 Lazio 2.
An excellent away win for Lazio who played with confidence and character, never really risking much at the back. Stuttgart proved to be no world beaters but were still a Bundesliga team. Things were looking good for the return match in Rome in a week's time.
Who played for Stuttgart
Ulreich, Sakai, Tasci, Rüdiger, Boka, Kvist (55' Harnik), Gentner, Maxim (41' Hajnal), Okazaki, Traorė, Macheda (93' Holzhauser)
Substitutes: Ziegler, Felipe Lopes, Molinaro, Hoogland
Manager: Labbadia
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Pereirinha, Cana, Ciani, Radu, Candreva, Onazi, Hernanes (71' Gonzalez), Lulic, Ederson (64' Ledesma), Kozak (84' Floccari)
Manager: Petkovic
Referee: Tudor (Romania)
Goals: 21' Ederson 56' Onazi
What happened next
The return match in Rome on March 14 was played in an empty stadium as the usual minority of racists had ruined it for the majority, leading to a UEFA ban on spectators.
Lazio repeated their away victory and also won the ‘home’ game 3-1 with a hat-trick by Libor Kozak and a goal by Hajnal for the Germans.
Lazio then played Turkish side Fenerbahçe in the quarter finals. In Istanbul they lost 2-0 but in all my years watching Lazio I have rarely seen such a biased referee against them.
In the first half the match was balanced and Lazio seemed in control. At the start of the second half it was as if the Scottish referee Callum had been given instructions to blow everything against Lazio, it became almost impossible to play. If UEFA wanted Lazio out of Europe they did a good job. Lazio’s Onazi was sent off in the 48th minute, the yellow cards for innocuous offenses started flying, intimidatory behaviour by the referee and finally his masterpieces of an invented penalty and non-existent freekick for the second goal condemned Lazio to a 2-0 defeat. I have seen many scandalous refereeing performances against Lazio and even some in their favour but this was possibly the worst as it seemed so premeditated.
As it was, Lazio did not manage to overturn the score in Rome drawing 1-1 (64' Lulic, 73' Caner Erkin) and were eliminated.
In serie A Lazio finished a disappointing 7th after a poor second half of the season. Lazio won 18 games, drew 7 and lost 13 (6 in the last 12 matches). The top scorer was Miro Klose with 16 goals (15 in Serie A).
All this however was forgotten on the 26th of May. A day gone down in history, when the “cousins” Roma were beaten in the first ever Derby Cup Final. A goal by now club legend Senad Lulic in the 71st minute gave Lazio eternal glory and bragging rights over hated enemies Roma. So, despite a mediocre season in the league it ended up being one of Lazio’s best ever. By winning the Coppa Italia they also qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
Celebrations went on all summer in Rome and all over the region. The derby of all derbies had been won. The 2012-2013 season became a “mythical” one.
Stuttgart recovered slightly in the Bundesliga and ended up 12th with 12 wins, 7 draws and 15 defeats. They reached the final of the German Cup in Berlin but were defeated 3-2 by Bayern Munich, despite two goals by Harnik. Their top goal scorer was Vedad Ibšević with 24 goals (15 in Bundesliga).
Lazio 2012-13
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 51 |
Coppa Italia | 5 | 3 | 2 | - | 8 |
Europa League | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 25 |
Total | 57 | 29 | 14 | 14 | 84 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
Hernanes | 53 | 34 | 5 | 14 |
Ledesma | 52 | 36 | 5 | 11 |
Lulic | 50 | 33 | 5 | 12 |
Candreva | 49 | 35 | 3 | 11 |
Gonzalez | 49 | 34 | 4 | 11 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
Klose | 16 | 15 | - | 1 |
Hernanes | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 |
Floccari | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
Kozak | 10 | - | - | 10 |
Candreva | 7 | 6 | - | 1 |
Let's talk about Ederson Honorato Campos
Ederson was born in Parapuã (San Paolo) Brazil, on January 13, 1986.
At 15 he started playing for the RS Futebol youth sector and in January 2004 was loaned to Internacional. He played three matches and the team from Porto Alegre won the Gaucho league. He was then loaned to Juventude (Caixas do Sul) where he played five games and scored his first goal.
In January 2005 his big European opportunity came up. At 19 he was loaned to Nice in Ligue 1, in France. He made his league debut on February 5 against Metz as a substitute and two weeks later scored his first goal, a shot from 45 metres out against Monaco.
The following season he played 20 matches and scored two goals but it was in the 2006-07 season that he really started to shine. He made 30 appearances and scored 6 goals, his performances began to attract the attention of some big clubs. He stayed on with “Les Aiglons” (The Eaglets) for one more season playing 36 games with 7 goals.
In January 2008 he signed for French champions Olympique Lyonnais but first finished the season with Nice. So, in June he went to Lyon and on August 10 made his league debut against Toulouse. He took part in the Champions League campaigns, reaching the semi-final in 2010 (knocked out by Bayern Munich) and winning the French Cup in 2012.
After four years with “Les Gones” (The Kids) of Lyon, 82 appearances and 11 goals, he signed for Lazio.
He arrived at Lazio in the summer of 2012. His debut for the Biancocelesti was on September 16 in an away game in Verona against Chievo. In his first season in Rome, under manager Vladimir Petkovic, he played 15 league games with 1 goal (Siena) and 8 Europa League games with 2 goals (Maribor, Stuttgart). He was on the bench on the unforgettable 26th of May when Lazio lifted the trophy beating historic city rivals Roma in the final of Coppa Italia.
In his second year, he again played 15 games in Serie A with 1 goal (Catania), 1 game in Coppa Italia, 5 in Europa League and 1 in the Italian Supercoppa. He and Lazio started the season with Petkovic and finished with Edy Reja.
His last year in Rome was plagued with injuries and he only played 4 league games with 1 goal (Cagliari) and 1 game in Coppa Italia. Lazio had a great season under Stefano Pioli coming 3rd and qualifying for the Champions League preliminary round and another Cup Final (lost to Juventus 2-1 in extra time, after Filip Djordjevic had hit two posts with one shot).
In the summer of 2015 Ederson left Lazio and Europe and returned to his homeland to play for Flamengo. In three years for the ‘Rubro-Negro’ he played only 21 league games with 4 goals and 16 in various cup games. In 2017 they won the Carioca league. As at his time at Lazio he was hampered by knee problems and later also recovered from testicular cancer (as Francesco Acerbi and Abidal). Flamengo was his last club and due to persistent physical problems, he retired at 32.
As a teenager, Ederson played 6 games for Brazil U-17's and scored 2 goals, winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2003. With the major Brazilian national team, he won one cap. The match was a friendly against the United States in 2010 but Ederson was forced off injured after only a few minutes. An event which can sum up his career, talented enough to be called up by the 'Seleção' but physically fragile.
Ederson was a skilful midfielder. He was 1.81 and well-built and this strength combined with his technical ability made him potentially an excellent player. He was however, as mentioned, injury prone and lacked continuity. At Lazio he showed flashes of his talent but never really imposed himself as a regular first team choice. He had probably already reached the peak of his career in France and at Lazio he never really fulfilled his potential. His top performances and goals were few and far between. He played a total of 50 games for the Biancocelesti with 5 goals. He will not be remembered as one of their better midfielders but, in his favour in the history books, he was in the squad that gave Lazio eternal glory on the 26th May 2013. Ederson was lucky enough to have a front row seat.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2012-13 | 23 (3) | 15 (1) | - | 8 (2) | - |
2013-14 | 22 (1) | 15 (1) | 1 | 5 | 1 |
2014-15 | 5 (1) | 4 (1) | 1 | - | - |
Total | 50 (5) | 34 (3) | 2 | 13 (2) | 1 |
Sources
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