August 3, 2019: Paderborn Lazio 2-4

Dag Jenkins
Aug 3
7 min read

Second win in two days

Lazio defeat Bundesliga newcomers only 24 hours after victory against Premier League opposition

Also on this day: August 3, 2004: Cardiff City Lazio 2-3. Lazio's superior quality comes out as they come from behind to beat battling Cardiff City.

The season so far

Lazio were in pre-season training and would try improving on the disappointing 8th place of the previous year. A year which had however ended on a triumphal note with the victory in the Coppa Italia final against Atalanta in May (2-0).

This season in had come Slovak defender Denis Vavro (F.C Copenhagen), Spanish winger Jony (Malaga), midfielder Manuel Lazzari (SPAL) plus young Dutch forward Bobby Adekanye (former Liverpool).

Lazio had bid farewell to well-serving Dušan Basta (retiring) and also to defenders Wallace (Braga) and Romulo (Genoa-end of loan) plus midfielder Milan Badelj (Fiorentina). In hindsight they had also made the mistake of letting promising young Portuguese Pedro Neto slip through their fingers, selling him to Wolves.

So far Lazio had played six friendlies; Auronzo 18-0, Top 11 Radio Club 12-0, Triestina 5-2, Entella 5-0, Mantova 4-0 and Bournemouth 4-3. Serie A would start on August 25.

Today's opponents Paderborn had just been promoted to the German Bundesliga under manager Steffan Baumgart. Top scorer was Phillip Klement with 18 goals (11 in league).

This season the promotion manager had been confirmed. The main new signings were: goalkeeper Jannik Huth (Mainz), defenders Laurent Jans (Metz-on loan), Luca Kilian (Borussia Dortmund II), midfielders Abdelhamid Sabiri (Huddersfield Town), Gerrit Holtmann (Mainz - on loan), Cauly (Duisburg) and forward Streli Mamba (Energie Cottbus).

The main players leaving were: midfielders Philipp Klement (Stuttgart), Tobias Schwede (Magdeburg) and forward Bernard Tekpetey (Schalke 04).

The main objective for the "Die des flusses Pader" this year was to stay up in the Bundesliga which would start on August 17 away to Bayer Leverkusen. The North Rhine-Westphalians first game however was on August 11 in the German Cup away to Rödinghausen.

The match: Saturday, August 3, 2019, Benteler-Arena, Paderborn

A 4 p.m kick-off attracted about 6,000 spectators to the small Benteler Arena (capacity 15,000).

Lazio had played Bournemouth the day before so only three players were confirmed (Thomas Strakosha, Denis Vavro and Francesco Acerbi) while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was back in midfield and Bobby Adekanye, Felipe Caicedo and Jony played up front. The only real absence was Lucas Leiva injured.

The Germans started well and pushed forward in the early stages. The blue & blacks had a chance cleared off the line after a Strakosha hesitation.

Lazio absorbed the hosts' enthusiasm and gradually grew into the game. Milinkovic-Savic went close and then in the 19th minute the Biancocelesti scored. Bastos crossed from the right and Caicedo fired in the defence's short clearance, 0-1.

The Germans looked flustered and in the 33rd minute Lazio doubled their lead. The goalkeeper picked up a back pass with his hands so the Romans were awarded an indirect freekick inside the area. Danilo Cataldi blasted the ball past Huth, 0-2.

A few minutes before halftime Lazio scored again but it was thanks to a blunder by defender Jans who clumsily put the ball in his own net, 0-3.

Halftime came with Lazio cruising despite their weakened line-up.

The Westphalians made two changes during the break while Lazio remained unchanged.

The second half started slowly but came to life in the 58th minute when Antwi-Adjei beat Strakosha to pull one back for "Die des flusses Pader".

At this point the hosts made three more changes and ten minutes later Lazio made nine in one go. The players coming on included Senad Lulic, Marco Parolo, Luís Alberto, Joaquin Correa and Ciro Immobile.

The game continued to be pedestrian and more substitutions followed but in the 88th minute the Pader scored again. Strakosha did well to get to a Souza strike but the ball then went in anyway, 2-3.

Any risk of Lazio blemishing their 100% winning record so far disappeared a minute later. Manuel Lazzari crossed to "El Tucu" Correa brilliantly backheeled to Lulic who made it 2-4.

A good win for Lazio only 24 hours after having beaten a Premiership side. Lazio rested the main players for 70 minutes but managed to get the better of a Bundesliga team albeit newly promoted.

The positive notes came from Cataldi and Caicedo in particular while Jony had disappointed and still looked a bit overweight.

Who played for Paderborn

Huth, Jans (85' Dörfler), Hünemeier (85' Rumpf), Strohdiek (59' Kilian), Holtmann (59' Schwede), Pröger (46' Souza), Vasiliades (85' Bilogrevic), Gjasula (59' Kapic), Antwi-Adjei (71' Hilßner), Shelton (71' Ritter), Mamba (46' Zolinski)

Substitutes: Ratajczak, Brüggemeier

Manager: Baumgart

Who played for Lazio

Strakosha (69' Guerrieri), Vavro (69' Lazzari), Acerbi (69' Parolo), Bastos (69' Radu), Patric, Milinkovic-Savic (81' Berisha), Cataldi (69' Badelj), André Anderson (69' Luís Alberto), Jony (69' Lulic), Adekanye (69' Correa), Caicedo (69' Immobile)

Substitutes: Alia, Wallace

Manager: Inzaghi

Referee: Watsdritzki

Goals: 19' Caicedo, 33' Cataldi, 41' Jans (og), 58' Antwi-Adjei, 88' Souza, 89' Lulic

What happened next

Lazio had a mixed start to Serie A, winning 3, drawing 2 (including derby 1-1) and losing 2. Then came the home game against Atalanta with the Biancocelesti 0-3 down at halftime but then three goals in the last twenty minutes earned them a draw. It was a turning point in the season.

Lazio then won 13 out of the next 15 games, the other 2 were draws (including derby 1-1 again). On December 7 the Biancocelesti also defeated league leaders Juventus 3-1 at home and officially joined the title race.

On December 22 Lazio again defeated Juventus 3-1 in Riyadh to lift the Italian Supercoppa.

In early March the Biancocelesti were still pushing Juventus for top spot in the league, only one point behind the leaders, when disaster struck, not only for Lazio but for the entire world. The outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic interrupted the league for 4 months. On Saturday February 29, 2020, Lazio beat Bologna 2-0 at the Olimpico and then didn't play again until 24 June.

The season restarted in empty stadiums but Lazio's magic had gone. The fact of having to play 3 matches a week was never going to work for Lazio's limited numbered squad. They had an almost perfectly oiled machine but only in 12-13 players, without strength in depth compared to rivals Juventus, Inter or even Atalanta. The fast and furious oncoming of games soon took its toll and Lazio faded and tired, ending up 4^th. The top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 39 goals (36 in A).

This still meant a Champions League qualification after 13 years but Lazio will forever be left thinking about what could have been. Up until March Lazio had seemed unstoppable and gone from strength to strength while Juventus were winning games but not playing great football and often struggled. The general consensus was that Lazio were the best team that season and would have fought for the Scudetto until the end. Alas it was not to be and Lazio's dream was brutally shattered by global events.

In Europa League the Biancocelesti were eliminated in the group phase after 2 wins (Rennes 2-1 and Cluj 1-0 at home) and 4 defeats (Cluj 1-2 away, Celtic 1-2 home and away, Rennes 0-2 away).

In Coppa Italia Lazio went out to Napoli 0-1 away in the quarter finals.

It was in Serie A that Lazio will have eternal regrets.

Paderborn were relegated in 18th place. The top scorer was Steli Bamba with 6 goals (5 in league). They have been in the 2. Bundesliga ever since, with 9th, 7th, 6th, 7th and 4th places.

Let's talk about André Anderson

André Anderson Pomillo Lima da Silva Costa, known as André Anderson, was born in Maracaí on September 23, 1999.

He was born in Maracaí but grew up in Pedrinhas Paulista both in the Săo Paulo province. He was a São Paulo fan and had a trial with the "Tricolor Paulista" but as his family were living in the Santos area and could not afford to move he started playing in the Santos youth sector. He started with the 5-a-side team but then moved to play 11-a-side for eight years. In 2015 he turned professional but never made his debut so he then rejected the "Peixe" contract renewal offer.

In 2018 at 17 he joined Lazio's youth academy. He was immediately loaned to Salernitana (also owned by Claudio Lotito) in Serie B. The Granata were coached by Stefano Colantuono, then former Lazio Angelo Gregucci and finally Leonardo Menichini and only avoided relegation via the play-outs beating Venezia on penalties. Anderson played 18 league games with 2 goals (Palermo, Lecce). His teammates included Lazio connections; Djavan Anderson, Joseph Minala and Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro.

In 2019-20 returned to Lazio. The Biancocelesti, under Simone Inzaghi, were fighting for the Scudetto until Covid-19 and lock down shattered their dream and they eventually ended up 4th but with a Champions League qualification. Lazio won the Supercoppa however. defeating Juventus 3-1 in December. Anderson played 6 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.

In 2020-21 he was loaned back to Salernitana in Serie B. "Sua Maesta" finished 2nd and promoted under Fabrizio Castori. Anderson played 28 league games with 5 goals (Ascoli, Venezia x2, Empoli, Pescara). The squad included Lazio connections: Marius Adamonis, Riza Durmisi, Sofian Kiyine and Cristiano Lombardi.

In 2021-22 Anderson was back at Lazio. The manager was now Maurizio Sarri and the Biancocelesti finished 5th (EL). Anderson stayed until April playing 4 league games.

In April 2022 he finally joined São Paulo on loan. He stayed until June 2023, making 10 league appearances and 2 in the Copa do Brasil.

For the 2023-24 season he was back at Lazio and stayed until June 2025. However, despite being in the squad he never played again, neither under Sarri, Giovanni Martusciello, Igor Tudor nor Marco Baroni.

In June 2025 his contract expired and he is now a free agent.

Anderson played for the Brazil U18s in 2016 but as he has Italian origins he also had the option to play for Italy and in 2019 played 6 games for Italy U20s with 1 goal (Portugal).

Anderson is an attacking midfielder and has talent. In Brazil he was nicknamed "O Artilheiro" (a common one for goal scorers). In Europe however, he struggled to impose his talent. He helped Salernitana to promotion and played 11 games for Lazio but never managed to become a regular. He did win a trophy with the Biancocelesti, the Supercoppa triumph in Riyadh against Juventus.