Lazio continue winning
After beating Atalanta, the Biancocelesti comfortably thrash Palermo
The season so far
Edy Reja had left after the end of the previous season and Lazio had given the keys to the squad to Vladimor Petkovic, a Swiss National of Bosnian origin, who had had a successful managerial career in Switzerland. Lazio had added Ederson and Michael Ciani in the summer.
So far Lazio had played three games: the two Europa League play-off games against Mura 05 (won 5-1 on aggregate) and the first game of Serie A which the Biancocelesti had won in Bergamo. Today was the first game at the Olimpico.
The match: Sunday, September 2, 2012, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Palermo pressed Lazio really high forcing the Biancocelesti on the defensive. Neither team were dangerous until the 29th minute when Fabrizio Miccoli found a gap in the Lazio defence for Nicolas Bertolo but Senad Lulic managed to block any possible danger. Three minutes later Antonio Candreva took a corner and crossed onto the front post. The ball was not cleared and Abdoulay Konko tried his luck. His shot beat the goalkeeper but not Mauro Cetto who saved on the line.
In the 39th minute Alvaro Gonzalez on the right put a good ball in the box which Miro Klose volleyed into the net for Lazio’s first goal of the evening.
The Biancocelesti were more confident now and early in the second half Giuseppe Biava had a chance but his header was parried by the Palermo goalkeeper. In the 56th minute they doubled their score when Candreva, 25 metres from goal and under the pouring rain, sent a missile towards the Palermo goal that Samir Ujkani could do nothing about.
The Rosaneri did have a chance to reduce the deficit on the half hour of the second half when Paulo Dybala crossed into the middle of the box, Konko deflected the ball, André Dias and Lulic went into a panic and were unable to clear properly, Josip Ilicic tried a shot which Luca Marchetti managed to parry with considerable difficulty and Konko cleared.
In the 82nd minute Lazio made it three. Lulic crossed inside the penalty area, Klose chesting the ball down, dummied Steve Von Bergen, and comfortably put the ball in the back of the net. It looked so easy for the German champion.
Two wins on the trot, excellent start to the season
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Konko, Biava, Dias, Lulic, Ledesma, A. Gonzalez, Candreva, Hernanes (86’ Scaloni), Mauri (80’ Onazi), Klose (89’ Kozak)
Manager: Petkovic
Who played for Palermo
Ujkani, E. Pisano, Cetto, Von Bergen, Garcia, Giorgi (51' Rios), Barreto, Kurtic (58' Hernandez), Bertolo, Ilicic, Miccoli (58' Dybala)
Substitutes: Benussi, Munoz, Milanovic, Labrin, Morganella, N. Viola, Donati, Sanseverino, Budan
Manager: Sannino
Referee: Celi
Goals: 39’ Klose, 56’ Candreva, 82’ Klose
What happened next
Lazio started the season promisingly and by the end of the first half were second. The Champions League looked possible. But in the next 19 games the Biancocelesti won just six times so top tier Europe was not going to be a possibility. They finished seventh.
In the Europa League Lazio did very well. After beating Mura in the playoff in August, Lazio topped their group (Tottenham, Panathinaikos and Maribor the opponents), and later eliminated Borussia Mönchengladbach and Stuttgart. They faced Fenerbahçe in the quarterfinals but they lost in Turkey following a horrendous refereeing display and were not able to overcome the deficit in the return match.
The glory came with the Coppa Italia. In the fourth round Lazio had beaten Siena in the penalty shootout after Ciani saved the campaign with a last second equaliser and Juan Pablo Carrizo stopped two penalties. Things went smoother in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Catania.
In the semi-finals Lazio had to face Juventus. In the first leg in Turin Lazio managed to draw 1-1 thanks to a number of miracles from goalkeeper Federico Marchetti and another last gasp goal from Stefano Mauri. In the return match, Lazio scored with Alvaro Gonzalez in the beginning of the second half and it looked as if the Biancocelesti had secured the final. But a Stefan Radu mistake in the second minute of injury time gave Juventus the equaliser. Extra time was on the cards but a Sergio Floccari header with one minute to go gave Lazio the ticket for the final. A ticket which was about to be thrown away as Juventus had an open goal chance in the 95th minute but Claudio Marchisio kicked the ball wide.
The final would be against Roma who had eliminated Inter in the other semi-final. This was going to be the first derby in a final. Whoever won would have their names in the history books.
Lazio won the Cup thanks to a goal from Senad Lulic in the now famous 71st minute. Among the most important wins in the history of the club, it gave the players eternal glory, Lulic is now worshipped like a Saint, and Lazio qualified for the following season’s Europa League. One of the best seasons ever.
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 Antonio Candreva
Antonio Candreva is a really exciting player. After an initial part of career where none of his managers really knew what to do with him, Edy Reja put him on the right wing and both Lazio and the Nazionale benefited immensely. Unfortunately, he made a number of bad decisions in his career and has never really expressed his full potential.
Antonio Candreva was born in Rome on February 28 1987. After playing for the local Roman team Tor de’ Cenci, he joined Rome’s third team Lodigiani and later Monterotondo. He got his first professional contract with Ternana in 2004. He stayed in Umbria for three years until he signed for Udinese in 2007. He did not play much, so for the next season he was loaned to Livorno and gave a massive contribution to their promotion up to Serie A. In January 2010 Udinese loaned him to Juventus but he did not make an impact. For the 2010-11 season he played for Parma and for the first part of the 2011-2012 season for Cesena.
In February, Igli Tare brought him to Lazio on loan. Having said nice things about Roma in the past, he was initially ostracised by the Lazio fans, but made peace with everyone when he scored his first goal against Napoli. He became a fundamental asset for Lazio and in 2013 won the famous Coppa Italia against Roma. His was the crucial cross that led to the legendary goal by Senad Lulic.
He was one of the few players who played a decent season in Vladimir Petkovic’s second dismal year as manager and thrived enormously under Stefano Pioli, at least in the first year. Lazio came third and almost got a Champions League direct qualification. That Lazio team was spectacular, the fans had not seen such a high level of football since Roberto Mancini’s Lazio.
Pioli’s second year was very disappointing and the good vibes between Candreva and the club disintegrated. The issue was the captaincy. The previous year the Lazio captain was Stefano Mauri and Cristian Ledesma the vice. But in 2015 Pioli decided to change. Candreva expected to be captain, but the manager decided to reward Lucas Biglia. Candreva refused the vice -captaincy, which went to Miroslav Klose. The winger never played well again. One could see a mile off that he was not in it anymore, he did not have the right mental attitude. Thousands of useless crosses in the penalty box for no-one, much to the fans dismay, and this is something he would also be criticised for at his next club.
The time was right for a change and Lazio sold him to Inter in the summer of 2016 getting quite good money for him. However, despite being reasonably appreciated, he would never again reach the heights of his Lazio stint. He played regularly in his four years on the Nerazzurro side of Milan, with the exception of the 2018-19 season.
In 2020 he moved to Sampdoria and stayed there for two years playing 76 games with 12 goals. In 2022-23 he signed for Salernitana. His contract was not renewed at the end of the 2023-24 season.
He played 192 games for Lazio (151 in Serie A, 10 in Coppa Italia, 2 in Champions League, 30 in Europa League and 2 in the Supercoppa Final) and scored 45 times (41 in Serie A, once in Coppa Italia and three in the Europa League).
He has 54 caps with Italy and 7 goals. He participated in the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.
Lazio career
Season | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Jan-Jun 2012 | 17 (3) | 15 (3) | - | - | 2 | - |
2012-13 | 49 (7) | 35 (6) | 3 | - | 11 (1) | - |
2013-14 | 44 (12) | 37 (12) | 1 | - | 5 | 1 |
2014-15 | 38 (11) | 34 (10) | 4 (1) | - | - | - |
2015-16 | 44 (12) | 30 (10) | 2 | 2 | 9 (2) | 1 |
Total | 192 (45) | 151 (41) | 10 (1) | 2 | 27 (3) | 2 |
Sources
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