Lazio send Reggina to Serie B
A Zarate goal is the final nail in the coffin for the Calabrians
Also on this day: May 20, 1923, Ideale Bari Lazio 0-3. The Biancocelesti sweep away Ideale Bari and go top. Player of the day: Augusto Parboni
The season so far
The previous season had been a disappointing one. Lazio had managed to reach the Champions League group stage but were predictably knocked out despite putting on brave performances. The team was not structured to play at such a high-level and as a consequence suffered the stress and fatigue that such a competition brings. President Claudio Lotito had not invested much for the campaign so the Biancocelesti struggled all year ending up 12th.
It looked like the President had learnt his lesson and in this year’s transfer window a lot of interesting players had arrived: goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo, exciting forward Mauro Zarate, promising right back Stephan Lichtsteiner and experienced midfielder Francelino Matuzalem. Saying goodbye to Rome were Riccardo Bonetto, Gaby Mudingayi and Luciano Zauri.
In campionato it was not a good year. Lazio went top after six games but then fell back. However, after the first part of the season they were only four points from the holy fourth place which allowed a Champions League qualification, but then they collapsed and won only 4 games in the second half of the year. They nevertheless did manage to beat Roma 4-2.
In Coppa Italia it was a different ball game. Lazio opened the campaign at the end of August in the third round by beating, not without initial difficulty, Benevento who were playing in Serie C. A Goran Pandev double plus goals from Mourad Meghni, Christian Manfredini and an own goal secured access to the next round.
In October Lazio had to face Atalanta and won comfortably 2-0 (Cristian Ledesma and Pandev), setting up a fifth round against Milan in San Siro. A difficult game where Lazio played very well and had a number of chances before Andriy Shevchenko scored his umpteenth goal against his favourite victim. All seemed lost but Lazio managed to equalise in the dying minutes thanks to a Zarate penalty. In the second minute of extra time Pandev was lethal and Lazio went on to the quarterfinals against Torino, this time at home.
In a two-faced game, Lazio fell behind in the first half, but came back in the second and scored three goals (again Pandev plus Stefano Mauri and Tommaso Rocchi).
In the semi-final Lazio had to play against Juventus, this time over two games. In the first at the Olimpico, Juventus were the obvious favourites and went one up in the first half. But Lazio put up a fight and created a number of unexpected headaches for the Bianconeri. Pandev equalised and Rocchi then gave Lazio the advantage. In Turin Lazio went ahead 2-0 thanks to Zarate and Aleksandar Kolarov and reached the final.
Lazio and Sampdoria were the surprise finalists, and despite the fact that the Biancocelesti had the home advantage, there was no clear favourite. Zarate gave Lazio an early lead but Giampaolo Pazzini equalised on the half hour. There were chances for both teams, but the game finished 1-1. The result did not change in extra time, so the 2008-09 Coppa Italia was to be decided on a penalty shootout.
Fernando Muslera saved the first penalty and it looked as if Lazio had won it. But Rocchi hit the woodwork with the second and the teams were still level after the first five. After Muslera saved Hugo Campagnaro’s spot kick, Ousmane Dabo then gave Lazio their fifth Coppa Italia and a European Cup qualification for the 2009-10 season.
Two more games to the end of the year. Today was the final match of the season at the Olimpico. The match had been brought forward to Wednesday due to the upcoming Champions League final on the 27th.
The match: Wednesday, May 20, 2009, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Reggina needed to win if they wanted to stay in Serie A, Lazio did not have much more to ask from the season. As a consequence, they went into the game more relaxed. In the beginning Antonino Barillà tried a shot, well saved by Juan Pablo Carrizo. In the 25th minute Lazio scored. Dabo sent a splendid ball to Zarate in the box, the Argentinian did not control it perfectly but when he did, he managed to beat Christian Puggioni with a precise right footed shot. Towards the end of the half, Franco Brienza had a chance but instead of passing to Francesco Cozza who was in a much better goal scoring position, once he dribbled past Carrizo he tried a shot that was deflected into corner by Modibo Diakité. On the counter attack Pandev found himself unmarked in front of the goalkeeper but his lob was slightly too high.
During the two halves, Lazio celebrated the Coppa Italia win and paraded the cup with the fans.
In the second half Lazio played it cool and did not put in much effort. Just a free kick from Ledesma which shaved the crossbar. Towards the end, Reggina had a couple of chances with Brienza, saved by Carrizo, and Fabio Ceravolo, deflected by Diakité. But it was not enough and the Calabrians were relegated.
Who played for Lazio
Carrizo, De Silvestri, Rozehnal, Diakité, Kolarov, Lichtsteiner, Dabo (58’ Meghni), Ledesma, Foggia (48’ Mendicino), Zarate (65’ Kozak), Pandev
Manager: D.Rossi
Who played for Reggina
Puggioni, Lanzaro, Valdez, Cirillo, Vigiani (55' Ceravolo), Barreto, Carmona, Cozza (67' Adejo), Costa (50' Corradi), Barillà, Brienza
Substitutes: Marino, Viola, Alvarez, Hallfredsson
Manager: Orlandi
Referee: Gervasoni
Goal: 25’ Zarate
What happened next
In the final game Lazio lost 2-0 against Juventus. They ended up 10th, but at least thanks to the Coppa Italia win, it would be Europa League next season.
Ledesma and Zarate were the players with most appearances (41), the Argentinian scored the most goals (16).
Lazio 2008-09
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 15 | 5 | 18 | 48 |
Coppa Italia | 7 | 6 | 1 | - | 17 |
Total | 45 | 21 | 6 | 18 | 63 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Ledesma | 41 | 34 | 7 |
Zarate | 41 | 36 | 5 |
Foggia | 40 | 33 | 7 |
Lictsteiner | 39 | 33 | 6 |
Pandev | 37 | 31 | 6 |
Top goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Zarate | 16 | 13 | 3 |
Pandev | 15 | 9 | 6 |
Rocchi | 11 | 9 | 2 |
Let's talk about Ettore Mendicino
Ettore Mendicino was born in Milan on February 11, 1990. He was a product of the Lazio youth sector and a very highly rated forward in his youth. He debuted in Serie A on February 8, 2009, in an away game in Florence. He made four appearances that season.
In 2009 he was loaned to Crotone and this was the start of a number of annual loans to clubs of Serie B and C. After Crotone came Ascoli, then six months in Gubbio, six in Taranto and another half a season at Como. In 2013 he was loaned out again to Salernitana and he stayed two years winning a Serie C Coppa Italia. He did well at Salerno, scoring 14 goals in 54 appearances.
In 2015 he signed for Robur Siena but after six months he was loaned to Arezzo. He came back to Tuscany and played another half season before signing for Cosenza. In January 2018 he moved to Monza in the third tier and after another six months signed for Monopoli. He managed to stay a whole season but in January 2020 he was loaned to Rimini for another six months. In the following seasons he played for Paganese, Sambenedettese and Ravenna.
At this point he stopped playing. He went back to study and produced a podcast series “Fuori dal Podio” (away from the podium) where he interviews people that used to be sport professionals but somehow along the line changed their plans.
Mendicino has also one cap for Italy’s Under-21.
Ettore Medicino was an interesting player but was not lucky in that he was hardly ever allowed to settle down for more than one year in a single club. Difficult to find consistency in this way.
Lazio career
Season | Total Appearances Serie A |
2008-09 | 4 |
Sources
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