Lazio cruise on straights
A convincing win for Lazio. An inspired Mauri helps Lazio cruise to a comfortable victory
Also on this day:
The season so far
It was Delio Rossi's second year in charge and the main new players of note were defensive midfielders Cristian Ledesma and Massimo Mutarelli plus attacking midfielder Pasquale Foggia. Meanwhile, Lazio had lost midfielders Ousmane Dabo and Fabio Liverani and above all charismatic leader Paolo Di Canio.
The season for Lazio started with a 3 point penalisation (reduced from an original 11) due to the previous year's calciopoli scandal in which they had been docked 30 points thus losing their UEFA Cup place.
Lazio had lost the first two games (Milan and Palermo) and were having an up and down start with disappointing draws (Empoli, Reggina, Cagliari), a few victories (Atalanta, Chievo, Udinese, Torino) and more bruising defeats (Catania, Sampdoria).
Messina had only stayed up the previous season thanks to Juventus being docked a massive 76 points for their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal. This year Messina aimed to survive “on the pitch” rather than in the courts and their eight points in the first four matches got them off to a promising start.
By the time Lazio arrived in Sicily however Messina had started to struggle after a string of poor results.
The match: Sunday, November 19, 2006, Messina, Stadio San Filippo
A one-sided affair dominated by Lazio whose only fault was leaving it late to finally put the contest to bed.
Lazio took the lead after 11 minutes with a Stefano Mauri free kick which took a deflection off the wall. Mauri was a key figure throughout and helped by Gaby Mudingayi and Mutarelli controlled the tempo. Lazio had several more chances with Emílson Cribari, Mutarelli, Mudingayi and Mauri all going close. For Messina an isolated effort by centre-forward Christian Riganò went over the bar.
In the second half Messina unexpectedly drew level, courtesy of a non -existent penalty. Riganò used an old trick and tripped himself up kicking his left foot with his right one but the referee was deceived by Lazio defender Guglielmo Stendardo's hand brushing ever so slightly on Rigano's back. Anyway, as it was, Messina equalised in the 56th minute.
Lazio's response to this injustice was furious and only three minutes later they were ahead again through a neat Goran Pandev goal. A Mauri dummy and skilful dribbling by the North Macedonian put him in a position to score with a dinky shot over the keeper.
Lazio then continued to dictate the proceedings and finally closed out the game with two late goals by Mauri (man of the match) and Nigerian forward Stephen Makinwa. In the 82nd minute, after a Luciano Zauri-Mauri one-two, the inspired Lazio midfielder's shot was parried by the keeper but fell again to Mauri who, with his second attempt, hammered it home. At this point Lazio were rampant and two minutes later Pandev put Makinwa through and the Nigerian, after fending off the last defender, chipped the keeper to make it 4-1.
A comfortable win for the “Eagles” who now found themselves not far off the 4th place position and the promised land of Champions League.
Who played for Messina
Stirati, Zoro, Morello, Iuliano, Parisi, De Vezze, C.Coppola (64' Lavecchio), Cordova, S.Masiello (70' Iliev), Di Napoli (80' Floccari), Riganò
Substitutes: Caglioni, Rea, Sullo, Ogasawara
Manager: Giordano
Who played for Lazio
Peruzzi, Oddo, Stendardo, Cribari, Zauri, Mudingayi (86' Firmani), Ledesma, Mutarelli, Mauri, Pandev (84' Foggia), Makinwa (90' Tare)
Manager: D. Rossi
Referee: Ayroldi
Goals: 11' Mauri, 56' Rigano (pen), 59' Pandev, 82' Mauri, 84' Makinwa
What happened next
Lazio had an excellent season, at one point winning eight consecutive games, rewarding themselves with 3rd position and a place in Champions League.
Messina meanwhile did not improve and finished the season rock bottom resulting in a melancholic slump down to Serie B.
Let's talk about Angelo Peruzzi
Peruzzi was born in Blera (Viterbo), not far from Rome, on 15 February, 1970.
He started his senior career at Roma with 16 appearances. He was then loaned to Verona for the 1988-89 season. He returned to Roma but in 1990 he failed a doping test due to an appetite suppression substance. He was banned for one year and it was only in 1991 that his career was revived, when he signed for the mighty Juventus.
At Juve he won 3 Serie A titles and a Champions League. He played 208 times for the “Old lady” before following manager Claudio Lippi to Inter for the 1999-2000 season.
In 2000 he joined Italian Champions Lazio where he played for 7 successful years winning a Super Coppa in 2000 and Coppa Italia in 2004.
At International level he played 31 times for the “Azzurri”. His career with the national side was hindered by injuries and the emergence of rising star Gianluigi Buffon, he was however in the World Cup winning squad of 2006.
Peruzzi is considered one of the greatest Italian keepers of all time. He was powerful and athletic with explosive reactivity but at the same time agile, despite his sturdy physique.
At Lazio he was well loved, as a local lad, for his technical ability and not least for his affable, kind and down to earth character. He was affectionately known as “Er Cinghialone” (the big wild boar) both for his sheer size and for his love of hunting. In times of difficulty Peruzzi would often invite the whole squad up to Blera to bond and re-focus over a hearty country meal.
After his playing days he worked for the National team staff before returning to Lazio as a sort of intermediary between the club and the players.
His love affair with Lazio finally ended in 2021 after disagreements with the club hierarchy, owner Claudio Lotito and sporting director Igli Tare.
Angelo Peruzzi played 226 games for Lazio: 192 in Serie A, 3 in Coppa Italia, 22 in Champions League, 7 in the UEFA Cup and 2 in Super Coppa finals.
Appearances for Lazio
Season | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | UEFA Cup | Super Coppa |
2000-01 | 37 | 29 | | 7 | | 1 |
2001-02 | 37 | 27 | 2 | 8 | | |
2002-03 | 36 | 30 | | | 6 | |
2003-04 | 33 | 27 | | 7 | | |
2004-05 | 24 | 21 | 1 | | 1 | 1 |
2005-06 | 30 | 30 | | | | |
2006-07 | 28 | 28 | | | | |
Total | 226 | 192 | 3 | 22 | 7 | 2 |
Sources
Comments