August 13, 2009: Lazio -Osasuna 1-1 (5-4 on pens)
- Dag Jenkins
- Aug 13
- 10 min read
Cup parade ends with penalty shoot out win
On a night of celebrations Lazio draw with visitors from Navarra but win in spot kick lottery
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season had been Delio Rossi's last and ended on a triumphal note winning the Coppa Italia.
This year Lazio had chosen Davide Ballardini as their new manager. With the change in the dug out there came several changes to the squad. In the summer Lazio had brought in goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri, defender and future Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni (Mallorca-back from loan), midfielders Roberto Baronio (Brescia- back from loan), Eliseu (Malaga) and Fabio Firmani (Al-Waslp-back from loan) plus striker Julio Cruz (Inter).
In the winter, two good defenders would be signed, Giuseppe Biava (Genoa) and André Dias (São Paulo) alongside midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger (Stuttgart) and striker Sergio Floccari (Genoa).
In the summer obviously some players had also left. Hugely disappointing goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo (who had been welcomed as the new messiah) went to Zaragoza on loan and David Rozehnal was sold to SV Hamburger. Homegrown talent and Lazio fan, Lorenzo De Silvestri went to Fiorentina while versatile Luciano Zauri and striker Libor Kozak were loaned to Sampdoria and Brescia.
Out of contract Goran Pandev, after some fine years and final controversies, would go to Inter in the January winter session while defender Emílson Cribari headed to Siena on loan and Eliseu, after a poor few months, was sent to Saragozza on loan.
Lazio's season had started in a dreamlike fashion. On August 8 in Beijing, the Biancocelesti had defeated José Mourinho's winning Inter 2-1 to lift the Italian Supercoppa for the third time. Goals by Francelino Matuzalém and Tommaso Rocchi sank the seemingly invincible Nerazzurri.
Today was Lazio's 6th summer friendly and the first since the Chinese triumph. Previously Lazio had played Auronzo 10-0, Universitatea Craiova 1-1, SPAL 2-1, Triestina 2-2 and spal Cordovado 13-0.
It was Lazio's debut in front of their home fans and officially was for the "Trofeo Sky".
Lazio would start Serie A on August 23 while their European campaign would begin on August 20 against Elfsborg (with the return leg in Sweden on 27 August).
Osasuna (Strength /Vigour in Basque) from Pamplona had finished 15th in the top Spanish flight the previous year. The manager was first José Ángel Ziganda until October and then José Antonio Camacho. Their best results were defeating Real Madrid 2-1 at home and Barcelona 1-0 away.
This season Camacho was staying on. Los Rojillos' best players were Ricardo in goal, César Azpilicueta and Juan Francisco Juanfran in defence and Carlos Aranda and Walter Pandiani in attack. The Spanish league would start on August 29.
A stern test for Lazio this evening against a decent Liga side.
The match: Thursday, August 13, 2009, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A hot and sticky evening saw about 15,000 gather at the Olimpico. The date had been criticised by some as Rome was currently deserted due to the upcoming "Ferragosto" holiday.
Lazio were without the three "dissidents" Goran Pandev (in Macedonia), Lorenzo De Silvestri (injured anyway) and Cristian Ledesma (in the stands), in a battle with the club over contractual issues. Tommaso Rocchi was on the bench while midfielder Stefano Mauri was absent completely.
The two recent cups, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa were paraded in front of the fans before kick-off.
There was then a minute's silence before the game in memory of Daniel Jarque, the Espanyol captain who had died suddenly on August 8 at only 26 and also for Lazio legend Orlando Rozzoni (1959-61, 1962-64 and 1965-66) who had passed away on the same day.
The game was clearly a friendly from the start as both sides took it easy.
Lazio had problems creating anything remotely dangerous and were outnumbered in midfield by the Navarros who also looked quicker.
The game was plodding along without incident until it was awoken in the 23rd minute when the visitors scored. Juanfran raced past Aleksandar Kolarov and with the outside of his left foot placed a precise shot past Alvaro Bizzarri, 0-1.
Lazio were in difficulty as Pasquale Foggia was subdued and new signing Eliseu was nowhere to be seen. Luckily for Lazio, Mauro Zarate was lively and had a dangerous shot well saved by Ricardo.
In the 36th minute "Maurito" equalised. Cristian Brocchi did well on the right and teed up the Argentinian who beat Ricardo with a low strike, 1-1.
For the second half manager Davide Ballardini made four changes immediately and also placed Foggia and Zarate slightly further back with Julio Cruz still up front, more of 4-3-2-1 than a 4-3-3.
Lazio improved in the second period and attacked more. Zarate continued to be the best player but Foggia also stirred and Brocchi was tireless in midfield.
In the 61st minute Lazio made two more substitutions and another two minutes later. The most important change was Supercoppa hero Fernando Muslera coming on in goal for Bizzarri.
From the 62nd minute onwards the Spaniards also started to make the first of their five changes. Lazio made their last in the 71st minute when Mourad Meghni replaced Foggia.
Lazio tried harder to get a winner but Osasuna defended well and resisted thus taking the game to penalties.
The penalty shoot-out then went Lazio's way despite missing two spot kicks as Muslera saved two and one hit the post.
It had been more of a celebration than a match but there had been some football and the four bookings, three for Osasuna and Stefan Radu for Lazio, showed it had been a bit more than a kick around.
In a week things would get serious for Lazio and presumably Mauri would be back and possibly Rocchi although Zarate and Cruz had paired up well tonight.
Who played for Lazio
Bizzarri (61' Muslera), Scaloni (46' Lichsteiner), Siviglia (46' Diakitè), Cribari, Kolarov (46' Radu), Foggia (71' Meghni), Brocchi (61' Dabo), Baronio, Eliseu (46' Del Nero), Zarate, Cruz (63' Matuzalem)
Substitutes: Rocchi
Manager: Ballardini
Who played for Osasuna
Ricardo, Azpilicueta, Flano (81' Josetxo), Sergio, Calleja (88' Galan), Juanfran, Rupert (72' Vadocz), Punal, Esparza (62' Monreal), Pandiani, Aranda (72' Dady)
Substitutes: Roberto, Portillo, Oier, Alan Baro, Dani Palacios, Zabal
Manager: Camacho
Referee: Trefoloni
Goals: 23' Juanfran, 36' Zarate
Penalties
O-Punal (scored) 1-0
L-Lichsteiner (scored) 1-1
O- Juanfran (scored) 2-1
L- Zarate (missed, post) 2-1
O- Pandiani (scored) 3-1
L- Dabo (scored) 3-2
O- Galan (missed, post) 3-2
L- Radu (missed, crossbar) 3-2
O-Dady (missed, saved) 3-2
L- Meghni (scored) 3-3
O-Vadocz (missed, saved) 3-3
L- Baronio (scored) 4-3
What happened next
Lazio had a poor season and finished 12th. For long periods however they were involved in the relegation battle. They started well with two wins but then in the next 20 games they only won 2, drew 10 and lost 8 (including derby 0-1). They were 4th bottom and only two points from relegation (Catania)
On February 7 Lazio lost 0-1 at home to Catania and were in the bottom three. At this point Ballardini was sacked and replaced by Edy Reja. Lazio beat Parma 2-0 away on his debut but then only picked up one point in the following four games. Meanwhile Ledesma was back in the squad.
Things then improved with wins at Cagliari and Siena at home, draws away to Milan and at home to Napoli and a win at Bologna away which gave the Biancocelesti some breathing space. More defeats followed but wins against Genoa and Livorno away and Udinese at home ultimately gave Lazio a more respectable position. Top scorer was Rocchi with 10 goals while only in A it was Floccari with 8.
More good news came from city rivals Roma throwing away the Scudetto. The Giallorossi were top with four games to go but then lost 1-2 at home to Sampdoria and were overtaken by Inter. A huge relief for Lazio fans who famously lifted the banner "Oh noooo…" when Inter scored and beat Lazio a week later (by then Lazio were virtually safe).
In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti reached the quarterfinals but lost 2-3 away to Fiorentina. To get there they had defeated Palermo 2-0 at home.
In Europe they got past Elfsborg 3-1 on aggregate. They were then eliminated in the group phase after 2 wins (Villarreal 2-1 and Levski Sofia 4-0 away) and 4 defeats (Salzburg 1-2 home and away, Villarreal 1-4 away and Levski Sofia 0-1 at home). An awful campaign but Lazio had other priorities.
The Scudetto was won by Inter who won the famous "Triplete" (Treble) under José Mourinho. The Nerazzurri won the Champions League defeating Bayern Munich 2-0 in Madrid and the Coppa Italia beating Roma 1-0 at the Olimpico. The Biscione however at least had not won the Italian Supercoppa….
Osasuna finished 12th in the league. They won 11, drew 10 and lost 17. Their best result was defeating Atlético Madrid 3-0 at home while they held both Barcelona and Real Madrid to draws at El Sadar. Top scorer was Pandiani with 11 league goals.
Let's talk about Mauro Zárate
Mauro Zárate was born in Buenos Aires, on March 13, 1987. He is known as Zárate Kid.
He was destined to become a footballer as it ran in the family. His Chilean grandfather had played and Mauro's father Sergio had played for Independiente. Zarate also has four brothers and three played football (one, Sergio, had a brief spell with Ancona).
He started his career in the Vélez Sarsfield youth sector and then went on to play for the first team. Between 2003 and 2007 he played 75 league games with 22 goals. The "El Fortín" won the Clausura tournament in 2005.
In June 2007 he made a surprise move to Al-Sadd. The Qatari club paid 20 million dollars for him. However he did not settle in Doha and only played 6 games with 4 goals.
In January 2008 he moved to Birmingham City, on loan, in the Premier League. He made 14 appearances with 4 goals but his positive performances were not enough to avoid the Blues relegation.
In July 2008 he joined Lazio in Serie A, initially on loan but with an option to buy, agreement at 17 million Euros. He made a dream debut for Lazio scoring a brace against Cagliari. He had a good first season under Delio Rossi, playing 41 games and scoring 16 goals (13 in the league). He scored in a 4-2 derby triumph and his goals helped Lazio lift the Coppa Italia. He scored against Juventus in the semi-final, both home and away, and again in the final (plus in the penalty shoot-out).
In his second year he played regularly, getting 42 games but scored less. In Serie A he netted only 3 times (Parma home and away, Palermo) and another 4 in Europa League (Elfsborg, Levski Sofia, Villarreal home and away). It was a difficult season for Lazio. After a dream start winning the Italian Supercoppa, 2-1 against Mourinho's Inter, things started going badly. After 25 games manager Davide Ballardini was replaced by Edy Reja with Lazio in the relegation battle but then they finally managed to avoid the drop.
The following year Edy Reja stayed on and Zarate started scoring more. He played 35 league games with 9 goals (Chievo, Napoli, Inter, Juve, Cesena, Catania, Inter, Lecce x 2) and 1 game in Coppa Italia. Lazio finished a positive 5th qualifying for the Europa League.
After three seasons with Lazio, Zárate went to Inter on loan with an option to buy the following year. In his contract he also had a clause of 15,000 Euros per assist. His time in Milan however was not a success, he played a total of 32 games but only scored 3 goals (2 in Serie A and 1 in CL). Inter decided not to sign him at the end of the season and he returned to Lazio.
At Lazio he found a new manager, Vladimir Petkovic. Zarate had only played 7 games (1 in Serie A) with 1 goal (Mura in EL ) when his relationship with the club soured. In December Zárate refused the call up for the game against Inter and was permanently excluded from the squad. There followed a court case and he never played for Lazio again.
In the summer of 2013 he returned to Argentina and re-joined Vélez Sarsfield. He stayed a year and rediscovered his goal scoring abilities with 19 goals in 36 games (in all competitions). He won the Argentine Super Cup beating Arsenal de Sarandi and was top scorer in the league with 13 goals.
In 2014 he was back in Europe. He joined West-Ham United in the Premier League. He signed a three-year contract with the Hammers but after only 8 appearances and 2 goals, in January 2015, he went across London to Queens Park Rangers. The team from Shepherds Bush however were relegated and, after only 4 goalless games, Zarate returned to Upton Park, but he would not stay long. In January 2015, after another 21 games with 5 goals for the Claret and Blues, he returned to Serie A.
He played two half seasons for Fiorentina playing a total of 26 games with 7 goals.
In January 2017 he was back in England and signed for Watford in the Premier League. His period with the Hornets was unlucky and in only his third game he suffered a serious knee injury which ended his season.
In 2017 he joined Al-Nassr (Cristiano Ronaldo's current club in Saudi Arabia) on loan. They were coached by Italian Cesare Prandelli. Zarate played 8 games with 3 goals.
In January 2018 he returned to Argentina for good. First at old club Vélez Sarsfield (13 games-8 goals) and then at Boca Juniors for three seasons (87 games-20 goals). With Boca he won the league in 2019-20 and the Supercopa Argentina in 2018.
In 2021 he had a brief spell in Brazil with América-MG (16 games- 1 goal) and the Juventude before returning to Argentina in May 2022 and joining Platense. He then had a brief spell with Cosenza in Serie B and a final five months with Danubio in Uruguay before retiring at 36.
At international level he won an U20s World Cup in Canada in 2007.
Mauro Zárate was an extremely skilful player. He was versatile and could play in various forward roles and even behind the strikers. He possessed exceptional dribbling abilities (which he sometimes abused) and could shoot with both feet. With his talent he could have done more with his career and his peak was probably at Lazio.
At Lazio at one point he looked outstanding. In his first year especially it seemed he was or could become one of the best players in Europe. Some of his goals were superb, in particular his curling shots after dazzling dribbling movements. At Lazio he was immensely popular and known as Maurito, before things went wrong. However, his curler against Roma, his goals in the Coppa Italia and his penalty in the final shoot out can never be canceled. He has admitted since that he should never have left Lazio but he did and has left regrets here too but also some great moments.
Lazio career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2008-09 | 41 (16) | 36 (13) | 5 (3) | - | - |
2009-10 | 42 (8) | 32 (3) | 2 (1) | 7 (4) | 1 |
2010-11 | 36 (9) | 35 (9) | 1 | - | - |
2012-13 | 7 (1) | 1 | - | 6 (1) | - |
Total | 126 (34) | 104 (25) | 8 (4) | 13 (5) | 1 |
Sources
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