Royal poker
The Biancocelesti demolish Udinese thanks to Mauri, Rocchi and Oddo
The season so far
Despite a UEFA Cup qualification at the end of the previous season, Lazio were unable to play due to the infamous refereeing scandal known as Calciopoli. They had also been docked 3 points for this season.
In the summer, Lazio said goodbye to Fabio Liverani, Ousmane Dabo and Paolo Di Canio who had not renewed their contracts. The new arrivals were Cristian Ledesma (Lecce), Pasquale Foggia (Milan on loan), Massimo Mutarelli (free transfer), Stephen Makinwa (Palermo), Modibo Diakité (Pescara) and Tommaso Berni (Ternana, loan).
The first games of the season had been in Coppa Italia. In the first round Lazio had beaten Rende 4-0, in the second they had drawn at Monza 1-1 but won on penalties, in the third they had lost to Messina 4-3 in extra time.
In the first two games of Serie A the Biancocelesti had been unlucky. They had lost to Milan away in the first game but had played well, and they had also lost to Palermo at home in the second. This match had seen the Palermo goalkeeper saving everything, even the impossible. They then had won the next three but in the last four games had only earned two points. Lazio were currently 13th.
The match: Sunday, November 12, 2006, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio started well and had a chance early on. Massimo Oddo from the right crossed into the box, the ball was a bit too long but Stefano Mauri managed to control it and shoot. He hit the post, ball back to Oddo who tried a shot but it was parried by Morgan De Sanctis. Udinese were dangerous on the counterattack with Vincenzo Iaquinta who, all alone in front of Angelo Peruzzi on the right of the Lazio area, tried a lob which went just wide. Lazio had another chance with Goran Pandev who domesticated a low cross from the right from Tommaso Rocchi, turned around and shot, but again De Sanctis saved.
In the 33rd minute Massimo Mutarelli stole a ball just over the halfway line, Mauri had all the time in the world to offer a wonder assist on the left to Rocchi who once in the box chipped the ball over the Udinese goalkeeper and into the net.
In the 41st minute there was a free kick for Lazio, quite far out but central. Oddo sent the ball in the box and Mauri headed it in. Lazio 2 Udinese 0.
Udinese in the second half did try to reduce the deficit but Peruzzi did not have to save a single shot in the entire game. In the 74th minute the Biancocelesti made it three. Pasquale Foggia took a corner, the Udinese defence cleared, ball went up in the air and fell exactly to where Mauri was, that is, just inside the box on the right. His magnificent volley beat De Sanctis. A truly great goal.
Four minutes later Felipe fouled Foggia from behind, second yellow card and farewell. Oddo took the free kick, fantastic curling shot, Lazio 4 Udinese 0.
In the 82nd minute, Rocchi got the ball, dribbled past one Udinese defender, and outran all the others. Once inside the area he chipped over the goalkeeper for his second of the afternoon.
Marvellous game from Lazio.
Who played for Lazio
Peruzzi, Oddo, Stendardo, Siviglia, Zauri, Firmani (81’ Baronio), Ledesma, Mutarelli, Mauri (90’ Makinwa), Pandev (70’ Foggia), Rocchi
Substitutes: Ballotta, Bonetto, Quadri, Tare
Manager: D. Rossi
Who played for Udinese
De Sanctis, Motta (40' Barreto), Coda, Zapata, Felipe, D. Zenoni, Obodo (67' De Martino), Pinzi, G. D'Agostino, Iaquinta, Asamoah (67' Montiel).
Substitutes: Paoletti, Dossena, Vargas, Siqueira.
Manager: Galeone.
Referee: Bergonzi
Goals: 33’ Rocchi, 41’ Mauri, 74’ Mauri, 78’ Oddo, 82’ Rocchi
What happened next
By the end of the first half of the season the Biancocelesti were 4th. In the winter transfer window, the club sold captain Massimo Oddo to Milan and loaned Pasquale Foggia to Reggina. In came Chilean midfielder Luis Jimenez on loan from Ternana.
Between mid-February and mid-April Lazio won eight consecutive games taking them from fifth place to third with an 8-point lead over fourth. This meant that not only did Lazio have a good chance of playing in Europe the following season, but it could even be in the Champions League. The Biancocelesti managed to qualify for the preliminary round of the top tier European football with two matches to go despite losing 4-3 against Inter. Lazio finished third ahead of Milan and behind Inter and Roma. They certainly took advantage of Milan’s 8-point deficit due to Calciopoli and Juventus having previously been relegated to Serie B, but for such a young, inexperienced team such as Lazio in 2006-07 this was an incredible feat.
Lazio ended up with 18 wins, 11 draws and 9 losses. Rocchi was the leading scorer with 16 goals and also one of the three who played most together with Pandev and Luciano Zauri (36 appearances).
Lazio 2006-07
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 59 |
Coppa Italia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
Total | 41 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 67 |
Top Five Appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
39 | 36 | 3 | |
Rocchi | 39 | 36 | 3 |
Zauri | 39 | 36 | 3 |
Ledesma | 36 | 33 | 3 |
Siviglia | 34 | 32 | 2 |
Top Five Goal Scorers
Let's talk about Cristian Ledesma
Cristian Daniel Ledesma was born in Buenos Aires on September 24, 1982. He started playing football in the youth teams of Boca Juniors. During an International match played by the team in Switzerland he was noticed by Lecce Sports Director Pantaleo Corvino who immediately signed him in the summer of 2001.
At Lecce he started playing for the Primavera but soon debuted in Serie A. On March 10, 2002, he made his first professional appearance in a game lost to Atalanta. That year the Giallorossi were relegated. During the next season in Serie B he gradually became a regular first team player under Delio Rossi and Lecce were promoted. What followed were two positive seasons where the Salentini managed to avoid relegation without too many problems. However in 2005-06 they could not. Many players were as a consequence sold, including Ledesma.
Lazio for quite a number of years had Fabio Liverani as playmaker. He was not a speedy player but he could open up defences with perfect passes. In 2005-06 Lazio reached a UEFA Cup qualification but Liverani had decided not to renew his contract and moved on to Fiorentina. The Biancocelesti were therefore looking for a replacement and seeing that Ledesma had played under Delio Rossi at Lecce, he was the obvious choice.
His impact with the big city was difficult and for the first games he did not play well. He was not Liverani, being slightly more defensive, so the team and fans also had to get used to the new kid in town. All Ledesma’s difficulties disappeared on Sunday December 10, 2006 in the 44th minute of the derby. Massimo Mutarelli on the right passed to Tommaso Rocchi, one-two and ball on the wing to Massimo Oddo. The Lazio right back almost lost it but at the last second managed to pass to Ledesma. A surface to air ball left the Argentinian's left foot and went into the top left hand corner. A magnificent goal, like the famous goal scored by Franco Nanni back in 1972. Lazio won the game 3-0, and Ledesma became a hero. That year the Biancocelesti qualified for the Champions League preliminary round.
Ledesma became a fundamental piece of the Rossi team culminating in the Coppa Italia win against Sampdoria in 2009. He was even captain and together with Rocchi lifted the cup. He was not however part of the squad that won the Super Coppa in August in Beijing.
In the summer of 2009, Ledesma, Goran Pandev and Lorenzo De Silvestri sat down with President Claudio Lotito to talk about contract renewals. All three had arguments with the President. Pandev wanted to be sold to Inter, Lotito refused so the Macedonian took the club to court. Ledesma also had an offer from Inter so he too tried to get out of his contract. De Silvestri was sold to Fiorentina.
Ledesma did not play for six months. Pandev won his case, the Argentinian did not. When manager Davide Ballardini was sacked following dismal results, new head coach Edy Reja demanded to have carte blanche in choosing players. Ledesma was back in and Lazio, not without difficulty, avoided relegation. He then signed a contract extension and all was resolved.
Ledesma was part of the historic team that won the Coppa Italia against Roma in 2013. In the final he suffered an injury and had to be substituted. During the celebrations he hobbled towards Curva Nord to celebrate, helped by historic team manager Maurizio Manzini. In September 2014 he became the all time tenth player for appearances with Lazio. That year he played less but made a good contribution to the cause helping the Biancocelesti to reach 3rd place and the Champions League playoff. In the end he made 318 appearances for Lazio with 14 goals.
During the next four years he played with Santos (4 appearances), Panathinaikos (15), Ternana (19), Lugano (26) and Pro Piacenza (14). At the end of the 2018-19 season he retired.
Ledesma has one cap for Italy. He played 45 minutes in a friendly against Romania.
After retirement he tried management in lower Lazio regional teams but without a lot of success. In 2022 he coached the Frosinone under 17s and in 2022 the Ascoli under 17s. He even played eight-a-side football for the Biancocelesti in 2021
Cristian Ledesma is a piece of Lazio and well loved by fans. He will always be remembered for the big whack in the derby of 2006 and the two Coppa Italias won, especially the derby final.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2006-07 | 36 (2) | 33 (2) | 3 | - | - | - |
2007-08 | 43 (3) | 32 (3) | 4 | 7 | - | - |
2008-09 | 41 (3) | 34 (2) | 7 (1) | - | - | - |
2009-10 | 13 | 13 | - | - | - | - |
2010-11 | 36 (1) | 34 (1) | 2 | - | - | - |
2011-12 | 47 (3) | 37 (3) | 2 | - | 8 | - |
2012-13 | 52 (1) | 36 (1) | 5 | - | 11 | - |
2013-14 | 34 | 27 | 1 | - | 5 | 1 |
2014-15 | 16 (1) | 13 | 3 (1) | - | - | - |
Total | 318 (14) | 259 (12) | 27 (2) | 7 | 24 | 1 |
Sources
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