It doesn’t get any better than this
A last gasp goal by Klose sends Lazio fans into delirium
Also on this day: October 16, 1994: Lazio Napoli 5-1. In form Winter leads Lazio's thrashing of the Partenopei and it could have been far worse for the visitors. Manager of the day: Zdenek Zeman
The season so far
The 2010-11 season had been disappointing as Lazio failed to qualify for the Champions League playoff on goal difference, so, much to the surprise of fans and media, Claudio Lotito decided that it was time to cough up some money. There were many new arrivals: goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, right back Abdoulay Konko, midfielder Lorik Cana, defender Marius Stankevicius but, more importantly, left back Senad Lulic and the attacking duo Dijbril Cisse and Miroslav Klose. Saying arrivederci to Lazio were Sergio Floccari, on loan to Parma, Pasquale Foggia, loan to Sampdoria, and Mauro Zarate, on loan to Inter, whereas Mourad Meghni ended his contract by mutual consent. Farewell to Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus) and Mark Bresciano (Al-Nasr).
In the first game of the season Lazio demolished Rabotnicki in the Europa League playoff, but then struggled in the group stage with a draw at home against FC Vaslui and losing in Lisbon against Sporting.
In the first five games of Serie A Lazio had won two, drawn two and lost one. They were sixth on 8 points just like today’s rival, the cousins from across the Tiber.
The match: Sunday, October 16, 2011, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
In the last two seasons Lazio had never beaten Roma. The last win had been a 4-2 on April 11 2009. From then on only defeats. Manager Edy Reja had also never beaten the Giallorossi and during the week preceding the derby he had got a lot of slack from the Roma players. But Lazio now had Miro Klose.
At the beginning of the game it was all Roma. In the 5th minute Valdes José Angel crossed from the left but the Lazio defence managed to block. Konko cleared but he just passed the ball to Fernando Gago who immediately passed to Miralem Pjanic. The Bosnian sent the ball into the box, the Biancocelesti tried to cut the Giallorossi forwards out by applying the off side tactic but it did not work, Pablo Osvaldo was all alone in front of Federico Marchetti and scored. In celebration he showed a t-shirt underneath his jersey, copying what Francesco Totti had written on his in a derby a few years back, mocking the Biancocelesti.
In the 10th minute a shot by Simone Perrotta went just out and at that point Lazio decided that it was time to join the match and a minute later Cissé went off on the counter attack, ball towards the middle where Hernanes and Klose were arriving. The Brazilian passed to the German whose shot from inside the box went just wide. In the 24th Hernanes tried a shot from a long way out, again wide. In the 27th a colossal chance for the Giallorossi. A 3 against 3 counter attack allowed José Angel, on the left with no opponents, to cross into the box, Krkic Bojan arrived late, Marchetti tried to stop the ball and missed, Osvaldo fumbled and Giuseppe Biava kicked the ball into corner. Instead of a high cross Roma opted for a low pass and Krkic had another chance but his shot was saved by Marchetti.
At the end of the first half, Roma on top and Lazio in a spot of bother.
The Biancocelesti were a lot more aggressive in the second half and in the 51st minute Cristian Brocchi interrupted a Roma attack and went for the fast counter attack. Ball to Hernanes who passed it back to Brocchi running into the box. Simon Kjaer fouled him on entry. Penalty for Lazio and red card for the Dane. Hernanes took the spot kick and equalised. A completely different ball game now.
In the 54th minute, long ball to Klose from the right, the German just inside the box volleyed towards the goal, Maarten Stekelenburg saved into corner (not given by the referee). In the 70th minute corner for Lazio. Cristian Ledesma crossed inside the box, Klose headed the ball towards the goal but it hit the crossbar. A minute later another corner, this time taken by Hernanes who tried a shot at the goal but the Dutch keeper cleared. Roma were in great difficulty and Lazio smelt blood.
In the 80th minute Lesdema to Senad Lulic, low cross to the middle but Stefano Mauri’s attempt was too high. A minute later Mauri in the Roma half saw Cissé move towards the box and sent him a perfect high pass. Magnificent volley from the Frenchman, post!!! It would have been one of the greatest goals in Lazio history.
In the 89th minute Hernanes saw Lulic arriving on the left wing so ball to him. The Bosnian faked a cross, the Roma defender fell for it, and he tried a shot, Stekelenburg saved into corner.
Time was running out for Lazio. With thirty seconds to the final whistle, Hernanes was in the middle of the Roma half, ball to Francelino Matuzalem who, without looking, put a lovely ball into the box for Klose. The German stopped, shot and scored.
At the stadium it was pure mayhem. Reja, always very composed, went berserk. The players, substitutes and members of staff all jumped on top of Klose. In Rome pets were terrorised by owners shouting and windows got shattered by the cries of “gooooooaaaaaalllll”, Laziali all over the world celebrated. The Biancocelesti had turned the derby around and won.
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Konko, Biava, Dias, Radu (46’ Lulic), Gonzalez (60’ Mauri), Ledesma, Brocchi (75’ Matuzalem), Hernanes, Klose, Cisse
Manager: Reja
Who played for Roma
Stekelenburg, Rosi (38' Cassetti), Kjaer, Heinze, Josè Angel, Gago, De Rossi, Perrotta (53' Burdisso), Pjanic, Osvaldo, Bojan (74' Pizarro)
Substitutes: Curci, Lamela, Borini, Borriello
Manager: Luis Enrique
Referee: Tagliavento
Goals: 5’ Osvaldo, 51’ Hernanes (pen), 93’ Klose.
What happened next
At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were fifth. Champions League qualification, always the goal, was five points away and held as usual by Udinese. The Biancocelesti were around fourth place for most of the winter (they were even second at one point) and slipped behind on the 19th game. They were in third place from February until three games to the end of the Campionato. On April 29, after losing at Udine, fatal yet again for Lazio’s objectives, they were caught up in third place by Napoli, Udinese and Inter. A draw at home against Siena the next game meant that it would have to be Europa League. It was really within their reach but too many faux pas to have that consistency necessary to reach third place. So in the end it was fourth place that, due to Napoli winning the Coppa Italia, meant that Lazio would have to face a play off in the summer to reach the 2012-13 Europa League group stage.
Lazio miraculously managed to go through the knock stage of the Europa League only to be eliminated by a much stronger Atletico Madrid. In Coppa Italia after struggling to get past Verona in the fourth round they were eliminated by Milan in the quarterfinals.
Klose gave a good contribution to the cause with 15 goals (top scorer for the season, 12 goals in Serie A and 3 in Europa League), but Cisse struggled and was sold to QPR after only six months. To note that in the winter transfer window Lazio signed Antonio Candreva on loan for six months with an option to buy half at the end of the season.
Ledesma was the player with most appearances in the season with 47 games overall: 37 in Serie A, 2 in Coppa Italia and 8 in Europa League.
Lazio 2011-12
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 56 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Europa League | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
Total | 50 | 23 | 11 | 16 | 77 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
Ledesma | 47 | 37 | 2 | 8 |
Hernanes | 42 | 31 | 2 | 9 |
Gonzalez | 40 | 31 | 2 | 7 |
Marchetti | 39 | 31 | 1 | 7 |
Lulic | 38 | 27 | 2 | 9 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
Klose | 15 | 12 | - | 3 |
Hernanes | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
Rocchi | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
Cisse | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Kozak | 5 | 4 | - | 1 |
Mauri | 5 | 4 | - | 1 |
Sculli | 5 | 2 | - | 3 |
Let’s talk about: Cristian Brocchi
Cristian Brocchi was born on January 30 1976 in Milan. He started playing football in the youth teams of AC Milan and he debuted as a professional with Pro Sesto in Serie C1 where he was sent on loan. He stayed there for two years before being sent, again on loan, to Lumezzane in C1. In 1998 he signed for Verona, following a specific request from manager Cesare Prandelli. He did very well, so well that Verona were promoted to Serie B thanks to his contribution (32 appearances and 6 goals). Verona did very well in their next season in Serie A too, arriving ninth, one of the best years since they won the 1984-85 scudetto.
In the summer of 2000 Brocchi signed for Inter. It was not a good year and he was out for three months due to injury. For the rest of the season he started from the bench. The Neroazzurri were not happy with him and they sold him to Milan. In his second stint, he stayed four years, not really playing that much (87 appearances with 4 goals) but he won a scudetto in 2003-04, a Coppa Italia and a Champions League in 2002-03, a UEFA Super Cup in 2003 and a Super Coppa in 2004.
Wanting to play more, in 2006-06 he was loaned to Fiorentina and he did, resulting in 39 appearances with three goals. In Florence he was back with his old manager Prandelli. At the end of the season he returned to Milan. Despite the strong competition in two years he played 74 games, won another Champions League in 2006-07 and a FIFA Club World Cup in 2007.
In 2008 he signed for Lazio. With the Biancocelesti he made 128 appearances with three goals and won the Coppa Italia twice (2008-09 and 2012-13) and a Super Coppa in 2009.
He gave a good contribution to the cause and his experience was very important for the growth of the team and club. Unfortunately, his professional career was cut short due to a very nasty foul by Francelino Matuzalem on February 3 in Genoa-Lazio. Despite a successful operation he could not continue playing. He had already had a serious injury previously in a match against Juventus, so at 37 he called it a day. His final act however was glorious. Lazio had won the Coppa Italia beating Roma in the final. On June 6 2013 fans gathered on the Spanish Steps in Rome and Brocchi lifted the Cup for a wonderful photo shoot.
Brocchi has one cap for Italy. He played a friendly against Turkey on November 15, 2006.
Once he stopped playing, he became a manager. He started with the Milan youth teams and in 2016 took on the first team after Sinisa Mihajlovic was fired. He was manager for six games in Serie A and the final of Coppa Italia which Milan lost to Juventus.
In 2016 he was called to manage Brescia in Serie B. In the first half of the season the Rondinelle did very well but in the second half, after seven defeats in nine games, Brocchi was sacked and replaced by Gigi Cagni.
In 2017 he became assistant to Fabio Capello at Jiangsu Suning. He stayed a year, until Capello resigned.
In October Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani asked him to become manager at Monza in Serie C. After a fifth place in the first year, in his second Monza were promoted to Serie B. They managed to reach the promotion playoffs but were eliminated by Cittadella in the semi-final.
In 2021 he was chosen as manager of Vicenza in place of Domenico Di Carlo. The Vicentini were last in Serie B and he was unable to set the sail straight and was sacked in April.
He was very much loved by the Lazio fans. One could always count on Brocchi. He was not Hernanes, but a solid, reliable player who could play on the wing and at midfield. And if Monza did so well in the 2022-23 season, it was also thanks to the foundations laid by Brocchi as manager.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2008-09 | 34 | 31 | 3 | - | - |
2009-10 | 33 (2) | 27 (2) | 2 | 3 | 1 |
2010-11 | 32 | 30 | 2 | - | - |
2011-12 | 18 (1) | 15 | - | 3 (1) | - |
2012-13 | 11 | 8 | 3 | - | - |
Total | 128 (3) | 111 (2) | 10 | 6 (1) | 1 |
Sources
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