Lazio end season with a win
Hitzlsperger, Floccari and Brocchi give Lazio an end of season satisfaction
Also on this day: May 15, 2019, Atalanta Lazio 0-2 Coppa Italia Final. Milinkovic-Savic and Correa bring Lazio cup glory and their 7th Coppa Italia. Player of the day: Joaquin Correa
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), midfielders Roberto Baronio (Brescia- back from loan), Eliseu (Malaga) and Fabio Firmani (Al-Waslp-back from loan) plus striker Julio Cruz (Inter). So not a memorable incoming player market.
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.
Goran Pandev and Christian Ledesma were out of favour and excluded from the squad over contractual issues.
Lazio's season had started in a dreamlike fashion. On August 8 in Beijing, the Biancocelesti had defeated José Mourinho's Inter 2-1 to lift the Italian Supercoppa for the third time. Goals by Francelino Matuzalém and Tommaso Rocchi sank the seemingly invincible Nerazzurri (they would soon win the "Triplete").
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 so badly. 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. More defeats followed and only one win before Ballardini was finally sacked after a 0-1 home defeat to Catania on February 7. Lazio were 18th, on 22 points and in the Serie B zone, one point behind Catania 17th and safe.
In had come Edy Reja and Lazio won their first match 2-0 away at Parma and Cristian Ledesma was put back in the squad. A week later however, Lazio lost 1-3 away at Palermo. They then drew 1-1 at home to Fiorentina, lost 1-2 away to Sampdoria and 0-2 at home to Bari. The situation was worrying, Lazio were 17th only two points above Livorno who were 18th and in the last relegation slot.
Luckily then Lazio picked up and earned 7 points in three games (Cagliari 2-0 away, Siena 2-0 at home and Milan 1-1 away). There followed 3 wins, a draw and 2 defeats (including derby 1-2). Lazio were now joint 14th, with Cagliari and were safe.
A stressful situation had been salvaged, now there was one last home game to finish a disappointing season well.
In the Europa League, Lazio had won the playoff in August, 3-1 against Swedish Elfsborg but had then been eliminated in the group phase. The Biancocelesti won 2 (Levski Sofia 4-0 away and Villarreal 2-1 at home) and lost 4 (Salzburg 1-2 home and away, Villarreal 1-4 away and Levski Sofia 0-1 at home).
In the Coppa Italia Lazio had beaten Palermo 2-0 but then lost 2-3 away to Fiorentina.
Udinese had finished 7th the previous season, under manager Pasquale Marino. The Bianconeri had also reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup beating Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund on the way but then lost to Werder Bremen 4-6 on aggregate.
This season Marino had started, been replaced in December by Gianni De Biasi but then returned in February. The main new arrivals were defender Juan Cuadrado (Independiente Medellín), midfielders Paolo Sammarco (Sampdoria-on loan) and Francesco Lodi (Empoli) plus forward and former Lazio, Bernardo Corradi (Reggina).
Leaving were midfielders Giampiero Pinzi (Chievo-on loan, he would be back) and forward Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli).
Udinese had not repeated last season's campaign. They were currently joint 12th, one point above Lazio. The Bianconeri had won 11 (including Milan 1-0, Roma 2-1, Juventus 3-0, all at home), drawn 11 (including Lazio 1-1) and lost 15. Top scorer was Totò Di Natale with 28 league goals.
In Coppa Italia they had reached the semi-finals, eliminating Lumezzane at home and Milan away but then lost 1-2 on aggregate to Roma.
So, an end of season game with not much to say for either side.
The match: Saturday, May 15, 2010, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
There were about 30,000 present for this Saturday game, the last of the season, on a cold rainy evening. The ones present mainly directed their chants at the club owner, Claudio Lotito, and they were far from friendly.
Before the game Ousmane Dabo did a lap of honour to say goodbye to the fans as he was retiring (he then played a few games in the States). A popular player who had also scored the winning penalty in the previous year's cup final triumph.
There were a lot of absences on both sides.
For Lazio: Fernando Muslera, Aleksandar Kolarov, Stefan Radu, Stefano Mauri, Pasquale Foggia, Ousmane Dabo and Francelino Matuzalém.
For Udinese: Samir Handanovic, Dušan Basta, Aleksandar Luković, Gaetano D'Agostino, Paolo Sammarco, Gökhan Inler and Simone Pepe.
Udinese started off trying to take the game to Lazio. In the 16th minute however, slightly against the run of play, Lazio scored. A cracking long range shot by Thomas Hitzlsperger took a light deflection off former Lazio youth player Maurizio Domizzi and beat 19-year-old Venezuelan debutant Romo. Lazio 1 Udinese 0.
Lazio looked in control and always seemed to have an extra man in midfield. In the 20th minute Hitzlsperger almost got his brace but fired high. On the half hour however, the visitors equalised with their most dangerous player. Totò Di Natale got in between Lazio's central defenders and beat Tommaso Berni with a low and well angled right foot. Lazio 1 Udinese 1.
In the 36th minute Rocchi was through but, from a difficult angle, his shot came off the keeper and spun up and out just wide of the far post. The game was suddenly more open but that changed in the 37th minute. Chilean Mauricio Isla was booked for a foul on Cristian Brocchi and then went overboard protesting right up in the referee's face who was provoked into sending him for an early shower.
Marino at this point reshuffled his team into a 3-4-2 with Juan Cuadrado coming on for striker Antonio Floro Flores. Lazio did not take long to take advantage of the extra man. In the 45th minute Sergio Floccari scored with a wonderful curling shot from the edge of the box. Lazio 2 Udinese 1.
In the second half Lazio came on aggressively, looking to close the contest immediately. They did just that in the 52nd minute when Brocchi cut in from the right and with a low left foot beat Romo. Lazio 3 Udinese 1.
Lazio continued to attack but in the 64th minute risked letting Udinese back into it. Di Natale surged forward on the break and squared to Alexis Sanchez but the Chilean, with an open goal, fired over the bar. A goal easier to score than to miss, not this time.
Lazio then dominated and had several more chances especially with Floccari who was keen to beat his record of 12 league goals in a season but Romo showed he had talent and denied the Calabrese striker. One save in particular was difficult, as Floccari had only the keeper to beat.
The game slowly subsided in intensity and ended Lazio 3 Udinese 1.
A deserved win for Lazio, helped by Isla's moment of folly. It is always nice to end the season with a win. Now Lazio had to build on these performances and try and have a better season next year.
Who played for Lazio
Berni, Biava, Dias, Siviglia, Scaloni, Brocchi (88' Baronio), Ledesma, Hitzlsperger, Del Nero (74' Diakité), Rocchi (66' Zarate), Floccari
Manager: Reja
Who played for Udinese
Romo, Ferronetti, Zapata (71' Siqueira), Domizzi, Pasquale, Sanchez, Isla, Asamoah, Pepe (79' Lodi), Di Natale, Floro Flores (42' Cuadrado)
Substitutes: Bucuroiu, Chara Lerma, Obodo, Corradi
Manager: Marino
Referee: Guida
Goals: 16' Hitzlsperger, 30' Di Natale, 45' Floccari, 52' Brocchi
Red card: 37' Isla
What happened next
Lazio finished 12th. A decent position in the end considering in February Lazio had been in the drop zone and in mid-March only two points above it. A poor season however, only enlightened by the victory in the Supercoppa against Inter (soon to beat Bayern Munich and lift the Champions League). Top scorer was Tommaso Rocchi with 10 in total while in the league it was Sergio Floccari with 9 (plus 4 with Genoa).
Udinese finished 15th but had Di Natale top Serie A scorer with 29 league goals. Some of their players would go on to better things: Samir Handanovic (Inter), Dusan Basta (Lazio), Juan Cuadrado (Juventus, Inter), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus, Inter), Guilherme Siqueira (Atlético Madrid), Gökhan Inler (Napoli and league title with Leicester City), Simone Pepe (Juventus), Mauricio Isla (Juventus), Cristian Zapata (Milan) and Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Olympique Marseille, Inter).
Serie A was won by Inter for their 18th title. Lazio's rivals who had not survived were Atalanta, Siena and Livorno.
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 Tommaso Berni
Tommaso Berni was born in Florence on March 6, 1983.
His first professional club at youth level was Fiorentina but at 15 he joined Inter's football academy.
In 2000-01 he joined the Nerazzuri's first team squad but never played.
In 2001 he moved to England and joined Wimbledon in the First Division (2nd tier). He stayed two seasons but only played 3 games in the domestic cups. In the league The Dons finished 8th and 10th.
In 2003 he returned to Italy and signed for Ternana in Serie B. He stayed three seasons and the Rossoverdi finished 7th, 9th and 20th (relegated). Berni played 82 league games and 5 in Coppa Italia. His managers included Mario Beretta, Bruno Bolchi, Claudio Tobia, Fabio Brini and former Lazio player and manager, Domenico Caso. His teammates included Antonio Candreva (Lazio, 2012-16), Luis Jiménez (Lazio, 2007), Emanuele Pesaresi (2000-01).
In 2006 he joined Lazio. The manager was Delio Rossi and in three seasons Berni played 2 league games. The number one keeper was first Angelo Peruzzi, then Marco Ballotta and finally Juan Pablo Carrizo with Fernando Muslera as back up.
In January 2009 he was loaned to Salernitana in Serie B. The Granata got through four managers, were docked six points and were eventually relegated. Berni played 16 league games.
In the summer of 2009, he returned to Lazio. The manager was now Davide Ballardini and Lazio in August immediately won the Super Coppa beating Inter 2-1 in China. The season however was poor and, in February, Ballardini was replaced by Edy Reja. Lazio eventually climbed up to 12th place. Berni played 2 league games as Lazio had Fernando Muslera as first choice keeper and Albano Bizzarri as back up.
The following season, under Reja, he again played 2 league games plus 3 in Coppa Italia. Lazio finished 5th (Europa League). Muslera played 36 league games.
In 2011-12 he spent a season in Portugal with Sporting Braga. The Arsenalistas finished 3rd in Primeira Liga, under Leonardo Jardim. Berni played 1 league game and 4 in the domestic cups.
In 2012-13 he was back in Italy with Sampdoria in Serie A. First under Ciro Ferrara (1-17) and then former Lazio, Delio Rossi, the Blucerchiati finished 14th. Berni played 3 league games. The first keeper was Sergio Romero. One of his teammates was former Lazio, Lorenzo De Silvestri (1999-2009).
In 2013 Berni joined Torino in Serie A. He did not get one game under future Italy manager, Gian Piero Ventura and Toro finished 7th (Europa League). The main keeper was Daniele Padelli and the squad included future Lazio legend, Ciro Immobile.
In 2014 Berni signed for Inter where he stayed for the next six seasons as 3rd keeper. The main keepers were Samir Handanovic (undisputed first choice), Juan Pablo Carrizo, Ionuț Radu, then in 2017 Daniele Padelli arrived while Carrizo and Radu left. The fact is Berni never even played one minute let alone a game. He had obviously taken that into account when he moved back to Inter. His managers included Walter Mazzarri, Roberto Mancini, Frank de Boer, Stefano Pioli and Luciano Spalletti. The squad included Lazio connections: Hernanes (2010-14), Antonio Candreva (2012-16) and Stefan de Vrij (2014-18).
In 2020 Berni retired at 37.
He had been a promising keeper in his youth as his games for various Italy selections prove. He played for Italy U15's (2 games), U16's (2 games), U17's (4 games), U19's (7 games), U20's (9 games) and U21's (3 games).
So ended a career without much playing time. He only really played regularly with Ternana and then on his short loan period with Salernitana. He played a total of 128 professional games in almost twenty years.
At Lazio he stayed four and a half seasons in two different spells. He played 6 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia. In these he did fine but it was not enough to push him up in the pecking order. He won a Super Coppa with Lazio in 2009.
His career puts us in front of the eternal dilemma, especially for goalkeepers, is it better to play regularly for lesser clubs or be second or third choice for more glamorous clubs but play little or not at all?
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
2006-07 | 2 | 2 | - |
2009-10 | 2 | 2 | - |
2010-11 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Total | 9 | 6 | 3 |
Sources
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