Three derby wins in a row
Lazio come from behind and triumph despite late scare
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 4th (Europa League) under Edy Reja. The highlights were beating Roma 2-1 twice, Milan 2-0 and Inter 3-1. Top scorer was Miro Klose with 15 goals (12 in A).
The main novelty for Lazio this season was the arrival of Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic, an elegant polyglot of Bosnian origin. Apart from Petkovic, Lazio had Brazilian Ederson (free transfer) in midfield, plus defensive giant Michael Ciani (Bordeaux). Sergio Floccari, Mauro Zarate and Luis Pedro Cavanda retuned from their loans.
Leaving were defenders Javier Garrido (Norwich City-on loan) and Guglielmo Stendardo (back to Atalanta where he had been playing on loan).
So far in Serie A Lazio were 5th on 19 points. The Biancocelesti had won 6 (including Milan 3-2 at home), drawn 1 and lost 4. Unfortunately, the most recent game had been a 0-4 collapse away at Catania.
In the Europa League Lazio had started in August eliminating Slovenians Mura 5-1 on aggregate. Currently in the group phase they had won 2 (Maribor 1-0 and Panathinaikos 3-0 at home) and drawn 2 (Tottenham 0-0 and Panathinaikos 1-1, both away). Next up Tottenham at home on November 22.
Today however was a league game and what better than the derby to restore some pride after the Sicilian humiliation.
The previous season Roma had finished 7th under Spaniard Luis Enrique. Roma lost both derbies 1-2. Top scorer was Pablo Daniel Osvaldo with 11 league goals.
This season the manager was Zdeněk Zeman, who had returned to the Giallorossi after thirteen years. The main new players coming in were keeper Mauro Goicoechea (Danubio - on loan), defender Federico Balzaretti (Palermo), Leandro Castán (Corinthians), Dodò (Corinthians), Marquinhos (Corinthians), Iván Piris (Săo Paulo - on loan), midfielders Alessandro Florenzi (Crotone), Michael Bradley (Chievo), Panagiotis Tachtsidis (Verona) plus forwards Mattia Destro (Genoa - on loan).
Leaving Roma were keeper Gianluca Curci (Bologna - on loan), defenders Marco Cassetti (Udinese then Watford), Cicinho (Sport Recife), Gabriel Heinze (Newell's Old Boys), José Angel (Real Sociedad - on loan), Juan (Internacional), Simon Kjaer (Wolfsburg), Aleandro Rosi (Parma), midfielders Fernando Gago (Real Madrid - end of loan then Valencia), Fabio Simplicio (Cerezo Osaka) plus forward Borjan Krkić (Milan - on loan).
So far in Serie A the Giallorossi were in 6th place on 17 points, so two behind Lazio. The Lupi had won 5 (including Inter 3-1 away), drawn 2 and lost 4. Their most recent result was a 4-1 home win against Palermo.
Lazio were hoping to make it three derbies in a row and Zeman on the Roma bench brought back sweet memories (4 derbies wins in one season, 97-98). Roma meanwhile hoped to kill two birds with one stone, win the derby and overtake Lazio in the table.
The match: Sunday, November 11, 2012, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A wet, dark November afternoon gathered about 50,000 at the Olimpico. Many people, especially families, tended to stay away from derbies in fear of crowd trouble (in fact there were the usual clashes outside the ground).
Lazio had no big absences, only Luis Pedro Cavanda and Ederson were missing. Roma too had more or less a full squad to choose from, only keeper Martin Stekelenburg and forward Mattia Destro were unavailable.
It was so dark that floodlights were necessary. After only five minutes however there was a blackout and the game was suspended for three minutes. The Lazio fans spent the pause ironically chanting for Lotito to pay the electric bill.
When the derby restarted Roma began well. They pushed forward and scored in the 8th minute. From a Francesco Totti corner, Erik Lamela got rid of Senad Lulic with a slight push and headed in without even having to jump. Lazio 0 Roma 1.
At this point Roma pulled back and Lazio had the intelligence not to try the passing game on such a heavy pitch. Instead, they pumped balls forward towards the Roma area and won several freekicks. On one, crossed into the area by Hernanes, Abdoulay Konko shaved the post with a header.
Lazio were now on top and in the 32nd minute a Hernanes freekick went just over the bar.
On another freekick in the 35th minute Lazio equalised. From over 25 metres out Antonio Candreva tried his luck and hammered a medium height central shot towards goal. The Roma keeper, underestimating the slippery conditions, put his hands towards the ball but only managed to punch it into the back of the net. The shot had power but it was definitely a goalkeeper error. Lazio 1 Roma 1.
Lazio now looked sharper and dynamic. In the 41st minute Candreva ran forward for forty metres and set up Miroslav Klose but the German's finish was slightly high.
Lazio's second goal came anyway in the 43rd minute. Hernanes beat Lamela and tried a shot which was heading off target but slowed down on the wet pitch, Klose pounced on it and beat Mauro Goicoechea. Lazio 2 Roma 1.
Things got even better for Lazio just before halftime when Daniele De Rossi lost his head and punched Stefano Mauri. All this happened miles off the ball and Rocchi had no choice but to send the midfielder from Ostia off. Halftime Lazio 2 Roma 1.
One goal up and Roma in ten men, things were looking good for Lazio. It was however a deserved lead so far.
For the second half Zdeněk Zeman made a disputable substitution taking off Lamela, rather than 37-year-old Totti, for midfielder Panagoitis Tachtsidis.
Lazio took advantage of the extra man immediately. On a long ball from Cristian Ledesma, Ivan Piris messed up his header and the ball fell to Mauri who controlled it with his left and blasted it in with his right. Lazio 3 Roma 1.
At this point Lazio were cruising and went close to scoring again but Hernanes' strike went just wide.
On the hour mark Lazio made their first change bringing on a more defensive Stefan Radu for Senad Lulic. Roma responded three minutes later, taking off Alessandro Florenzi and putting on Brazilian midfielder Marquinho.
In the 65th minute Candreva had a good shot saved by Goicoechea. In the 66th Roma showed their faces in the Lazio area but Daniel Osvaldo unmarked put his header over the bar.
Then it was all Lazio again. In the 67th minute Ledesma pulled a shot wide and in the 68th the Roma keeper saved on Hernanes.
In the 71st minute off went Totti, not helped by age and the heavy pitch, replaced by Miralem Pjanic. Lazio replied in the 75th minute by taking off an exhausted Hernanes for Cristian Brocchi.
Without their ageing captain Roma became quicker and attacked more, also helped by Lazio's decision to pull too far back. Vladimir Petkovic was furious but the approach continued.
Roma had a Marquinho shot over the bar and in the 81st minute Federico Marchetti saved low on another effort by the Brazilian.
In the 83rd minute Candreva was forced off with cramps and replaced by defender Lorik Cana.
This made Lazio even more defensive but two goals up against ten men with seven minutes to go things seemed under control.
This sense of tranquillity changed in the 85th when Mauri naively handballed in midfield and got his second booking of the afternoon.
Still no need to panic but that changed completely on the subsequent free kick. It was from midfield 45 metres out but Pjanic' long shot deceived a badly positioned Marchetti and somehow went over him and into the back of the net. Lazio 3 Roma 2.
Now Lazio were worried. Four minutes to go plus injury time with a one goal lead and no longer with the extra man.
The last minutes plus the four added on were extremely tense. In the 94th minute Roma almost salvaged a point. A Pablo Daniel Osvaldo volley, from a Michael Bradley assist, went very close to the left post. Final score Lazio 3 Roma 2.
Another derby triumph for Lazio who had well deserved the win and should have won by more goals. The Biancocelesti survived a self-inflicted late scare and could go and party under the Curva Nord.
Lazio were still 5th but now five points above the "cousins" who were now 7th.
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Konko, Biava, Dias, Lulic (60' Radu), Candreva (83' Cana), A. González, Ledesma, Hernanes (75' Brocchi), Mauri, Klose
Manager: Petkovic
Who played for Roma
Goicoechea, Piris, Burdisso, Marquinhos, Balzaretti, Bradley, De Rossi, Florenzi (63' Marquinho), Lamela (46' Tachtsidis), Osvaldo, Totti (71' Pjanic)
Substitutes: Švedkauskas, Taddei, Dodò, Castan, Romagnoli, Perrotta, Lopez
Manager: Zeman
Referee: Rocchi
Goals: 9' Lamela, 35' Candreva, 43' Klose, 46' Mauri, 86' Pjanic
Red Cards: 45' +3 De Rossi, 85' Mauri
What happened next
Lazio then went on a good run until late January. They won 6 (including Inter 3-1 at home) and drew 3 (including Juventus 0-0 away) and pushed up to joint second place. Then the Biancocelesti lost 0-1 at home to bête noire Chievo and faded. They ended up 7th and even got overtaken by Roma in the last game of the season. The second derby ended up 1-1 while top scorer was Miroslav Klose with 16 goals (15 in A).
In the Europa League Lazio then drew 0-0 with Tottenham and beat Maribor 4-1 away to qualify for the round of 32. They then eliminated Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-3 and Stuttgart 5-1 on aggregate. In the Europa League, Lazio beat Stuttgart 5-1 on aggregate. Next, they played Fenerbahçe in the quarters and were beaten 1-3 on aggregate but also by a shocking Scottish referee in Istanbul.
In Coppa Italia it was a very different story. The Biancocelesti eliminated Siena on penalties, Catania 3-0 at home and Juventus 3-2 on aggregate to qualify for a historic cup final against bitter city rivals.
On the 26th May, Lazio triumphed 1-0 with a Senad Lulic goal in the 71st minute (one can still see the number graffitied around town).
An average season became an epic one thanks to the derby win which will be remembered forever on both sides of the Tiber.
Roma sacked Zeman after 23 games and in came Aurelio Andreazzoli. The Giallorossi ended up 6th but any satisfaction they may have felt was blown away by the events on May 26. A trauma maybe even stronger than the 1984 home European Cup final defeat to Liverpool on penalties or the 2-3 home defeat in 1986 to already relegated Lecce which lost them the Scudetto.
The 2012-13 Scudetto was won by Juventus for their 29th title. Second tier football awaited Palermo, Siena and Pescara. The Tuscans now play in amateur leagues.
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 Vladimir Petković
Vladimir Petkovic was born in Sarajevo, on 15 August, 1963.
He is Bosnian but also has Swiss and Croatian Citizenship (he is of Croatian origin). The Swiss connection is due to the fact that in 1987 he moved there.
He started his football career in Yugoslavia for Igman Iliddža and then in 1978, Sarajevo. In 1981 he made his debut but only played 8 league games over three seasons. He then spent a season each with Rudar Ljubija from Prijedor in Bosnia (15 games, 7 goals), back to Sarajevo (2 games), Koper in Slovenia (14 games, 4 goals), Sarajevo again (17 games, 3 goals).
In 1987, as mentioned, he moved to Switzerland and joined first F.C Chur in the second division and then in 1988 Sion (6 games) in the first division. He then spent a year at Martigny (31 games, 8 goals), three seasons back at F.C Chur (87 games, 19 goals), three seasons at Bellinzona (63 games, 8 goals), a season at Locarno (32 games, 3 goals), another season at Bellinzona (player manager) and one at Buochs before retiring in 1999 at 36.
As a player he was a midfielder and was technical for his height (1.90) but never played at top levels. He was what Italians call "un giocatore onesto" (an average player).
His career as a manager would be more high flying. He started off in Switzerland with Bellinzona in 1997 as mentioned and finished 8th in the First League (3rd tier). Between 1999 and 2004 he coached Malcantone Agno where, in 2003, he won the First League and promotion to the Challenge League. The following year he took The White V's to 4th place, going close to another promotion.
In 2004 he became manager of AC Lugano (a merger between Malcantone Agno and FC Lugano) in the Challenge League and finished 8th.
In 2005 he went back to Bellinzona for three seasons. In the first ACB came 9th, then 2nd (lost playoff to Aarau) and in the third won promotion to the Super League, in a playoff against San Gallo. In his last season they also reached the Swiss Cup Final but lost to Basel.
In August 2009 he took over at Young Boys, from Berne. From the sixth game onwards he replaced Martin Andermatt. In the first season YB came 2nd as they did in the following season while in the third he was replaced in May.
Petković then left Switzerland and went for a Turkish experience. He signed for Samsunspor in the Super League. His adventure on the Black Sea with "Kirmizi Şimşekler" (The Red Lightning) was not a success and in January after 22 matches (W4, D7 and L11) he was replaced.
In May he returned to work in Switzerland for Sion in the Super League. In 4 matches he won 1 and lost 3 and Sion finished 9th.
In 2012 came a surprise move. Lazio owner Claudio Lotito announced that the new coach was the relatively unknown (maybe take away the relatively… at least in Italy) Vladimir Petkovic. He signed a two-year contract and on 6 June was presented to the media.
Lazio started well in the league and after half the fixture list the Biancocelesti were 2nd. They had also won the derby 3-2, beaten Inter home and away, Milan and drawn away at Juventus. In the second half however they faded and ended up 7th, drawing the second derby 1-1. They reached the quarterfinals of the Europa League but were beaten by Fenerbahçe in controversial circumstances (one of worst refereeing performances I have ever seen against Lazio).
The Coppa Italia was a different and happier story. Lazio eliminated Siena on penalties (1-1 with 95th minute Michaël Ciani equaliser), Catania 3-0, Juventus 3-2 on aggregate and set up a historic Cup Final against arch rivals Roma.
The rest has become legend. Senad Lulic scored in the 71st minute (a number etched in Roman history for eternity) and gave Lazio an epic win over their hated "Cugini" rivals. Petkovic became a hero for life on the Biancoceleste side of town.
The following season was less successful. Lazio lost the Supercoppa final to Juventus 0-4. In Serie A after 17 matches Lazio were 10th on 20 points and had lost a derby. The Bosnian had already signed for Switzerland's national side anyway, from July 2014 onwards, so Lotito decided to replace him with Edy Reja. For the record Lazio finished 9th.
So, Petkovic started his Swiss national coach adventure which, seeing his background, was an offer he could not refuse. In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil the Red Crosses reached the Round of 16 but were beaten in extra-time by Argentina with an Angel Di Maria goal in the 118th minute.
Switzerland then qualified for Euro 2016. They managed to make the last 16 after 3 draws (Albania, Romania, France) but then lost to Poland on penalties.
They also qualified for the Russian World Cup of 2018. In the group phase they drew 1-1 with Brazil, beat Serbia 2-1 and drew 2-2 with Costa Rica but were again eliminated in the last 16, this time by Sweden 0-1.
In 2019 Switzerland qualified for the final four of the UEFA Nations League but lost to Portugal 1-3 and England on penalties, so finishing 4th.
They qualified for Euro 2020 (played in 2021 due to Covid 19). They got through the group phase (Italy 0-3, Wales 1-1 and Turkey 2-1), then surprisingly knocked out France on penalties (after a 3-3 draw) but were eventually eliminated by Spain on penalties (after a 1-1 draw). It was Switzerland's best ever result in a European Championship. At this point Petkovic left the position to Murat Yakin.
In 2021 he signed for Bordeaux in France. He lasted 24 games (W5, D8, L12) with the Girondins before being replaced by David Guion. "Les Marines et Blancs" were eventually relegated to Ligue 2. He is currently head coach of Algeria.
Petković is a manager who likes attacking football. His tactical preferences are 3-4-3, 5-4-1 and 4-1-4-1 (usually used at Lazio). He is known for his tactical adaptability and for being an innovator, always looking to find new solutions, also with the help of technology. He is a man of culture and is nicknamed "The Doctor", as he also speaks six languages. He is calm, well spoken and elegant making him highly respected in the football world.
He will certainly always be respected at Lazio. Respected and loved for his role in the unforgettable Coppa Italia triumph of 2013. The image of Petkovic holding Olympia (Lazio's Eagle mascot) under the delirious Curva Nord will never be cancelled. Grazie Vladimir.
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