August 10, 2013: Crystal Palace Lazio 0-1, Friendly
- Simon Basten
- Aug 10
- 11 min read
Good for an hour
Lazio dominate for an hour but then have to thank Marchetti
Also on this day: August 10, 2024: Cádiz Lazio 0-1. Lazio win at Cadiz with a Noslin goal in the second half. Can one be optimistic for the upcoming season?
The season so far
Optimism was high at the start of the 2013-14 season thanks to the great victory in Coppa Italia against Roma on May 26, 2013. The celebrations lasted the whole summer and fans were over the moon.
The summer transfer window was not exactly eye opening, but two important signings were made: Lucas Biglia, Argentinian midfielder from Anderlecht, and Felipe Anderson, Brazilian forward that Lazio believed could be one of the best players the Biancocelesti had ever signed, and Diego Novaretti, defender.
So far, the Biancocelesti had done their two-week training session at Auronzo di Cadore, near Belluno, from July 10 to 24 playing four friendlies. From August 5-9 they moved to Fiuggi, near Frosinone. The last two games were against Nice, which they won, and Panathinaikos, 0-0.
Today there was a game against Crystal Palace. Palace were back in the Premier League after eight years.
The match: Saturday, August 10, 2013, Selhurst Park, London
For this last friendly before the Supercoppa game against Juventus, Vladimir Petkovic tried what one could presume would be the starting line-up for that match, with Lucas Biglia, Cristian Ledesma and Hernanes in midfield, Antonio Candreva and Senad Lulic on the wings and only Miro Klose up front. With this formula Lazio dominated for an hour. They scored in the 12th minute with Klose ready to tap the ball in after Julian Speroni had saved a Candreva shot. And there could have been many more: there was an Abdoulay Konko shot, another tap in chance for Klose but this time he kicked it wide and a Lulic shot saved on the line by Dean Moxey.
In the second half in the 49th minute Biglia squandered a sitter and from then on it was all Palace. Three incredible chances were wasted by the Londoners, two saved by Federico Marchetti on Kevin Phillips and Dwight Gayle and one wasted by the latter.
A good test for Lazio, they played well for an hour. Are they ready to face Juventus? We will see in a week’s time.
Who played for Crystal Palace
Speroni, Ward (46' Dikgacoi), Gabbidon (46' Ramage), Delaney (77' Boateng), Moxey (74' Jerome Williams), Jedinak (69' Wynter), Garvan (46' O'Keefe), Jonny Williams (46' Bolasie), Dobbie (46' Grandin), Thomas (22' de Silva, 46' Gayle), Wilbraham (46' Phillips)
Substitute: Fitzsimons
Manager: Holloway
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Konko (64’ Cavanda), Biava (46’ Novaretti), Dias (46’ Cana), Radu, Ledesma (46’ Ederson), Biglia (64’ Onazi), Candreva (88’ Rozzi), Hernanes (77’ Gonzalez), Lulic, Klose (64’ Floccari)
Manager: Petkovic
Referee: Dowd
Goal: 12’ Klose
What happened next
The real focus of the summer transfers was the missed deal to sign the Turkish forward Burak Yilmaz from Galatasaray. Lazio had already tried in 2012 but the negotiations collapsed at the last minute because the Turkish club wanted a very high percentage on the future sale of the player. The talks re-opened in 2013 and all was agreed. Yilmaz was in Rome waiting to sign the contract. But at the last minute of the last hour of the mercato, his agent asked for a €2 million commission to be paid on the signing of the contract and not spread over its length, as done normally. President Claudio Lotito refused to be blackmailed and the deal fell through.
The fans were furious. The anti-Lotito sentiment, which had faded after the historic win against Roma, came back with all of its venom. It would mar the entire season.
In the final days of the transfer session Etrit Berisha, goalkeeper, and Brayan Perea, forward, were signed.
2013-14 had not started too well anyway as Lazio were thrashed in the Supercoppa by Juventus 4-0 with three goals in four minutes. The defence had been one of the strong points of the team, now it was a liability. At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were ninth, miles away from anything.
Lazio had also been kicked out of the Coppa Italia in the quarter-finals by Napoli and the Europa League adventure saw Lazio go through to the knockout phase but they had then been eliminated by Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad.
Manager Vladimir Petković was unable to steer the Lazio ship in the right direction. Not only. He signed a contract to be the new head coach of the Swiss national team at the end of his deal with Lazio in 2014. Lotito took this opportunity to sack him before Christmas and call back Edy Reja to try to get Lazio back on course.
The change seemed to solve things. Lazio were back and in the first six games under Reja came 12 points which included beating Inter and drawing against Roma.
There was further chaos at fan level however when Lotito was forced to sell Hernanes in the winter transfer window. The Brazilian had refused to renew his contract which was to expire in 2015. Inter had decided to exercise the buyout clause and so he left for Milan. It was a last second move, and the club did not have the time to invest the money for a decent replacement. The fans were even more furious.
Lazio stayed on the verge of a European qualification for most of the season but two decisive draws, both 3-3, against Torino and Verona put an end to any hopes.
Too many celebrations and too many players not performing as well as they should made any type of comeback impossible. The anti-Lotito climate certainly did not help matters.
Antonio Candreva was the player with most appearances (44) and with the most goals (12).
What happened in Serie A 2013-14
The previous scudetto had been won by Juventus ahead of Napoli and Milan. At the end of the first half of the season, Juve were already top with a five-point lead over Lazio and seven ahead of Napoli. The Bianconeri had been unstoppable throughout the season.
There were a lot of transfers. Juve signed Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente, Napoli lost Edinson Cavani but signed Pepe Reina, Dries Mertens, José Maria Callajon and Gonzalo Higuain, Fiorentina got Mario Gomez, Milan saw the return of Kaka, Inter bought Mauro Icardi, Roma sold Marquinhos, Daniel Osvaldo and Erik Lamela and signed Medhi Benatia, Maicon and Gervinho. Lazio added Felipe Anderson and Lucas Biglia.
Juve were obviously favourites, but Napoli and Roma also seemed ready to fight for the scudetto.
This season for the first time in Serie A history there would be five derbies: Turin, Milan, Rome, Genoa and Verona.
August-September
Roma won the first six games of the season and raced to the top followed by Napoli and Juventus. The Bianconeri crushed Lazio 4-1, won the derby and drew away with Inter, Napoli won away to Milan, the Giallorossi won the derby and Genoa won theirs.
Milan were involved in the Champions League play-off where they beat PSV Eindhoven 4-1 on aggregate. Fiorentina played the play-off round in Europa League against Grasshopper and qualified on away goals.
In the first match of the group phase Juventus drew away with Copenhagen, Napoli beat Borussia Dortmund and Milan beat Celtic.
In the first games of the Europa League Group Stage Fiorentina beat Pacos de Ferreira 3-0 at home, Lazio won against Legia Warsaw.
In the third round of the Coppa Italia Genoa, Cagliari and Torino were eliminated by Spezia, after a penalty shoot-out, Frosinone (after extra time) and Pescara respectively.
Roma 18, Napoli 16, Juventus 16, Inter 14, Fiorentina 11, Lazio 10, Verona 10, Livorno 8, Milan 8, Torino 8, Cagliari 7, Udinese 7, Atalanta 6, Parma 6, Genoa 4, Catania 4, Chievo 4, Bologna 3, Sampdoria 2, Sassuolo 2
October
Roma continued to win and stayed top. They beat Inter away and Napoli at home. Juve won against Milan who were having a bad start.
In the Champions League Group stage, Juventus drew at home with Galatasaray and lost away to Real Madrid, Napoli lost at Arsenal but won away to Olympique Marseille whilst Milan drew with Ajax and Barcelona.
In Europa League, Fiorentina beat both Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk as well as Panduril Targu Jiu, Lazio drew with Trabzonspor and Apollon Limassol.
Roma 30, Napoli 25, Juventus 25, Inter 19, Verona 19, Fiorentina 18, Lazio 15, Udinese 13, Atalanta 13, Milan 12, Parma 12, Torino 11, Genoa 11, Cagliari 10, Livorno 9, Sampdoria 9, Bologna 9, Catania 6, Sassuolo 6, Chievo 4
November
Roma were finally held to a draw the 11th fixture at Torino. They then drew twice more and Juve, who beat Napoli, overtook them. Chievo won the Verona derby. Milan were having a terrible start to the season and were very far behind.
In the Champions League Juventus drew at home with Real Madrid and then beat Copenhagen in Turin. Real Madrid were way ahead, Juventus second on 6 points with Galatasaray and Copenhagen on 4. To qualify as second, they had to avoid losing in Istanbul. Napoli beat OM but lost away to Borussia Dortmund. A difficult situation since Arsenal were first with 12 points, Napoli and Dortmund second on 9. Napoli had to win against Arsenal and score lots of goals to qualify for the next round. Milan lost to Barcelona but beat Celtic away. They were second with one point more than Ajax hence in the last game against the Dutch they needed at least a draw to qualify second.
In Europa League Fiorentina beat Panduril Targu Jiu and drew with Pacos de Ferreira and were comfortably through to the next round. Lazio beat Apollon Limassol and Legia Warsaw. They had to beat Trabzonspor at home in the next game to secure first place.
Juventus 34, Roma 33, Napoli 28, Inter 26, Fiorentina 24, Verona 22, Genoa 18, Lazio 17, Parma 16, Atalanta 16, Udinese 16, Torino 15, Milan 14, Cagliari 14, Sassuolo 13, Livorno 12, Bologna 11, Sampdoria 10, Chievo 9, Catania 9
December
Juventus said goodbye to the rest of the field and went off alone. Inter won the derby but lost away to Napoli. At the bottom things were looking complicated for Catania, but Chievo, Bologna, Sassuolo and Livorno could not be satisfied with their placings either.
In the Champions League, Juve lost away to Galatasaray and finished third, hence would be competing in the Europa League, Napoli were also third in their group despite beating Arsenal 2-0. Milan instead drew with Ajax at home and qualified for the next round.
In Europa League Fiorentina beat Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk taking first place in their group. Lazio drew with Trabzonspor and came second.
In the Coppa Italia Round of 16, Juventus eliminated Avellino 3-0. The other games would be played in January.
Juventus 46, Roma 41, Napoli 36, Fiorentina 33, Inter 31, Verona 29, Torino 25, Parma 20, Genoa 20, Lazio 20, Udinese 20, Cagliari 20, Milan 19, Sampdoria 18, Atalanta 18, Chievo 15, Bologna 15, Sassuolo 14, Livorno 13, Catania 10
January
In the first game of 2014, Juventus crushed Roma 3-0 extending their lead. They were later held to a draw at the Olimpico against Lazio, who in the meantime beat Inter 1-0, and the Bianconeri's lead went to +6.
In Coppa Italia, Fiorentina, Roma, Udinese (vs Inter), Lazio, Siena, Milan and Napoli joined Juventus in the quarter finals. Then Roma, Udinese, Fiorentina and Napoli qualified for the semis.
Juventus 56, Roma 50, Napoli 44, Fiorentina 41, Inter 33, Torino 32, Parma 32, Verona 32, Milan 28, Lazio 28, Genoa 27, Atalanta 24, Sampdoria 22, Cagliari 21, Udinese 20, Chievo 18, Bologna 18, Sassuolo 17, Livorno 16, Catania 14
February
Juventus extended the lead to +9 but Roma had a game in hand. The Bianconeri beat Inter. The Genoa derby this time went to Sampdoria, Juve won the Turin one, whilst the Rome derby ended in a goalless draw.
In the Champions League, Milan lost at home to Atlético Madrid 1-0. Qualification would be very difficult.
The Coppa Italia final would be between Fiorentina, who had eliminated Udinese 3-2 on aggregate, and Napoli who had beaten Roma 5-3 again on aggregate.
In the Europa League, Juventus eliminated Trabzonspor 4-0 on aggregate, Fiorentina did the same against Esbjerg (4-2), Napoli beat Swansea City 3-1 on aggregate but Lazio lost 4-3 to Ludogorets Razgard.
Juventus 66, Roma 57*, Napoli 51, Fiorentina 45, Inter 40, Verona 39, Parma 37*, Torino 36, Milan 35, Lazio 35, Genoa 32, Udinese 28, Sampdoria 28, Atalanta 28, Cagliari 25, Chievo 21, Bologna 21, Livorno 20, Catania 19, Sassuolo 17
* one game in hand
March
As Roma fell back a bit Juventus pulled away and went to +11, despite losing to Napoli in the 31st fixture. The Bianconeri beat Milan away, Roma and Inter drew, Napoli beat the Giallorossi. Below Catania and Sassuolo were in deep trouble, a long way away from Serie A survival.
In the Champions League Milan lost 4-1 to Atlético Madrid and were eliminated. In the Europa League Round of 16, Napoli were eliminated by Porto 3-2 on aggregate, whilst Juventus eliminated Fiorentina 2-1.
Juventus 81, Roma 70*, Napoli 64, Fiorentina 52, Inter 49, Parma 47*, Atalanta 46, Lazio 45, Verona 43, Torino 42, Milan 42, Sampdoria 41, Genoa 39, Udinese 38, Cagliari 32, Chievo 27, Bologna 26, Livorno 25, Sassuolo 21, Catania 20
* one game in hand
April
With three games left Juventus had an 8-point lead and the scudetto was virtually theirs even if one could say that there had been no real threat throughout the season. Roma were certain of second place and Napoli almost of third. Fiorentina were in pole position for the Europa League as were Inter. For the last place, it was a battle between Torino, Lazio, Verona, Parma and Milan. Below, Catania were virtually in Serie B, with the remaining two places to be battled out by Chievo, Bologna, Sassuolo and Livorno.
In Europa League Juventus proceed to the semi-finals eliminating Lyon 3-1 on aggregate. In the first leg of the latter they lost to Benfica away 2-1.
Juventus 93, Roma 85, Napoli 69, Fiorentina 61, Inter 57, Torino 52, Lazio 52, Verona 52, Parma 51, Milan 51, Atalanta 47, Sampdoria 44, Genoa 40, Cagliari 39, Udinese 39, Chievo 30, Bologna 28, Sassuolo 28, Livorno 25, Catania 23
May
Juventus became champions with two games to spare. For the final Europa League place with one game left Torino were on 56 points, Parma 55, Milan and Verona 54, Lazio on 53. In the last game Parma, Milan (who had won the derby) and Lazio won, Torino drew and Verona lost, hence it would be Parma to play the Europa League. Below, in the penultimate game, Bologna lost at home to Catania and were relegated together with the Sicilians and Livorno.
Juventus were unable to reach the final of the Europa League. The Bianconeri only managed a goalless draw against Benfica and were eliminated.
The Coppa Italia Final was marred by violence between supporters before the game. The police, totally unprepared for what happened, did not see it coming. One Napoli fan was shot and two others injured when a Roma supporter decided to use his firearm against a group of Napoli supporters. Ciro Esposito died 53 days after. The game started with a 45-minute delay after an “agreement” between the police and Neapolitan fans. Napoli then beat Fiorentina 3-1.
So, for the next season Juventus, Roma and Napoli would play the Champions League, Fiorentina, Inter and Parma the Europa League. However, Parma were not given the OK from UEFA and were replaced by Torino.
The top scorer was Ciro Immobile (Torino). Coming up from Serie B were Palermo, Empoli and Cesena.
Final Table: Juventus 102, Roma 85, Napoli 78, Fiorentina 65, Inter 60, Parma 58, Torino 57, Milan 57, Lazio 56, Verona 54, Atalanta 50, Sampdoria 45, Udinese 44, Genoa 44, Cagliari 39, Chievo 36, Sassuolo 34, Catania 32, Bologna 29, Livorno 25.
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