Triumph made in China
Lazio beat Inter and win their third Super Coppa thanks to Matuzalém, Rocchi and some super Muslera saves.
The season so far
The previous season Lazio won the Coppa Italia beating Sampdoria on penalties in the final. They hence qualified for the Super Coppa where they would meet the mighty Inter who had easily won the scudetto.
Lazio had changed managers. The relationship between President Claudio Lotito and Manager Delio Rossi had worsened during the season so Lazio decided on a change: Davide Ballardini who had done well at Cagliari and Palermo came in.
Before the start there were problems with Goran Pandev, Cristian Ledesma and Lorenzo De Silvestri.
Lazio had spent quite a lot of money for their then standards to keep Pandev, but he refused to renew his contract. In the meantime, he claimed he was injured. He really wanted to go back to Inter and he pushed Lotito for a sale. The issue with Ledesma was similar. There were arguments over contract renewal and the Italo-Argentinian also had a deal with Inter waiting for him. De Silvestri too had an argument with Lotito over the renewal of his contract. All three were not allowed to train with the squad nor play with the team. De Silvestri would eventually be sold to Fiorentina, Pandev and Ledesma took Lazio to court in order to dissolve their current agreements.
So, Ballardini started the season without these three players but joining Lazio was Julio Cruz, the legendary Inter striker.
Lazio were the underdogs, there was little chance they could beat Inter.
The match: Saturday, August 8, 2009, Beijing National Stadium, Beijing
Lazio started well and a Francelino Matuzalém shot in the 3rd minute went just slightly high. In the 16th minute Diego Milito received the ball just inside the box on the far right, he passed it to the centre for Samuel Eto’o, easy save for Fernando Muslera. In the 20th minute Mauro Zarate took a shot at goal, brilliantly saved into corner by Julio Cesar. In the 32nd minute Sulley Muntari, thanks to a rebound, found himself all alone in front of the Lazio goalkeeper but his shot was too high. Four minutes later corner for Inter. Esteban Cambiasso sent the ball into the Lazio box, great header from Lucio but an even greater save by Muslera. The first half ended goalless.
In the second Inter continued to press Lazio and had a number of chances. In the 47th minute Muslera saved a Muntari shot, Lucio in the 51st sent the ball high with a header from a corner and two minutes later a Dejan Stankovic-Eto’o-Muntari combination allowed the Serb to shoot from a favourable position but the ball went wide. In the 56th a terrible pass back to Muslera from Modibo Diakité put Eto’o in front of the Lazio goalkeeper. After having dribbled past Muslera, the Cameroon champion sent the ball wide despite the open goal. Two minutes later Milito had a go from inside the box on the right but again Muslera saved
In the 62nd minute Lazio scored. Free kick from thirty metres almost dead centre, Aleksandar Kolarov went for the big shot, the ball first hit the wall, then another Inter player and arrived comfortably to Matuzalem. His volley was parried by Julio Cesar but it ricocheted off the Lazio player's face and went in. Inter 0 Lazio 1 completely against the run of play. It hurt Matuzalem, but no pain no gain!!! Great joy for the many Chinese Lazio supporters.
Four minutes later Lazio doubled. Stefano Mauri, just over the Inter half, sent a great ball to Tommaso Rocchi who stopped it with his chest and before Christian Chivu or Lucio could intervene sent a wonderful lob over Julio Cesar and into the net.
Inter were stunned but put their head down and attacked. In the 77th minute Mario Balotelli stole the ball off Ousmane Dabo and passed it to Eto’o in the box on the left, massive whack, nothing Muslera could do. Inter 1 Lazio 2.
Muslera saved a Milito shot in the 82nd minute and 180 seconds later the Argentine with a great shot just inside the box scored, but Eto’o, standing right in front of the Lazio goalkeeper, was in offside and the goal was disallowed. In the second minute of injury time a Balotelli free kick shaved the post and in the fourth a David Suazo header was parried into corner by Muslera.
Lazio won their third Super Coppa. Inter had loads of chances but Muslera was unbeatable. Tommaso Rocchi lifted the cup.
Who played for Inter
Julio Cesar, Zanetti, Lucio, Chivu, Maicon, Stankovic (69' Balotelli), Thiago Motta (69' Vieira), Cambiasso, Muntari (84' Suazo), Milito, Eto'o.
Substitutes: Toldo, Cordoba, Burdisso, Santon.
Manager: Mourinho
Who played for Lazio
Muslera, Lichtsteiner, Siviglia, Diakite, Kolarov, Brocchi, Baronio (52’ Dabo), Matuzalem (81’ Cribari), Mauri, Rocchi (71’ Cruz), Zarate
Manager: Ballardini
Referee: Morganti
Goals: 62’ Matuzalem, 66’ Rocchi, 77 Eto’o
What happened next
An excellent start to the season which continued with two wins in the first two games in Serie A. But for a third win Lazio would have to wait until December (Lazio Genoa 1-0). Ballardini was hated by the fans and not particularly loved by the players either. Lazio really missed the two rebel players but also Mauro Zarate was not performing well. He tended to ignore all his teammates and try to do everything himself, and obviously this was not working. By the end of the year Lazio were only three points above the relegation zone.
In the winter market transfer, Lotito made three fundamental signings: defenders Giuseppe Biava from Genoa and André Dias from São Paulo plus centre forward Sergio Floccari from Genoa. Floccari's impact was a breath of fresh air for the team and he scored three goals in his first two games for the club. Lazio ended the first part of the season in 15th place with a 5-point cushion on the drop zone.
But in the next four games Lazio managed just two draws and were now third from bottom. Bye bye Ballardini, welcome Edy Reja.
In the meantime, Pandev had won his case against Lazio and joined Inter as a free agent. Ledesma instead lost his. With the arrival of Reja, all was forgiven and Ledesma was back on the pitch.
In Reja’s first match, Lazio won at Parma but things then precipitated with just one point in the next four games. Then Lazio managed to win away at Cagliari and also beat Siena the week later in a key clash.
After the game against Siena, Lazio really improved. They won at Bologna after being 2-0 down, lost an unlucky derby, but beat Genoa away the week after. With three games to go to the end of the season Lazio needed only three points to secure survival in Serie A. And they took them at Livorno with a game to go.
Prior to this match there was the game against Inter. Apparently, Roma supporters thought that Lazio had a genuine chance to beat the Nerazzurri who were fighting for the scudetto with the Giallorossi. All Lazio fans knew that there would be no contest against the strongest team in Serie A, and that was exactly what happened. But for the media and Roma fans, Lazio let Inter win. A ridiculous accusation that many still claim to this day, forgetting that the Nerazzurri would then win the Champions League a month later, and therefore Lazio really did not stand a chance.
Stephan Lichsteiner and Stefano Mauri were the players with most appearances (43), Rocchi was the leading goal scorer (10).
Lazio 2009-10
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 39 |
Coppa Italia | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
Europa League | 8 | 3 | - | 5 | 12 |
Super Coppa | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 |
Total | 49 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 57 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Lichtsteiner | 43 | 33 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
Mauri | 43 | 34 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
Muslera | 42 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Kolarov | 41 | 33 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
Zarate | 41 | 31 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
Rocchi | 10 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Floccari | 9 | 8 | 1 | - | - |
Zarate | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | - |
Kolarov | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - |
Mauri | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | - |
Cruz | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | - |
Let's talk about Tommaso Rocchi
Tommaso Rocchi was one of the first players signed by President Claudio Lotito and became a club legend winning two trophies.
Rocchi was born in Venice on September 19, 1977. He started his career in the Venezia youth teams but once he turned 16 he moved to Juventus. With the Bianconeri he won the Primavera Championship 1993-94 and the year after he was included in the roster of the first team but he never played. He was loaned to Pro Patria in Serie C2 in 1996 and stayed a year playing regularly (26 appearances with 6 goals). For the 1997-98 season he moved up to C1 with Fermana but after a few months left for Saronno. He scored 10 goals. In 1998 he signed with Como where he stayed for two years appearing in 69 games and scoring 25 goals. The next year he signed for Treviso in Serie B and despite a good contribution could not avoid them from relegation to Serie C. He however was noticed by Empoli who signed him for the 2001-02 season in Serie B. His 11 goals contributed to the Empolesi’s promotion and he stayed in Tuscany for another two years in Serie A. He moved from being at the centre of the attack to helping out his attacking partner but still was able to score 17 goals in Serie A including a hat trick against Juve.
In August 2004 he signed for Lazio. He stayed in Rome eight and a half years, becoming a fan favourite and captain. He took Lazio to an incredible Champions League qualification in 2006-07, a Coppa Italia triumph in 2009 and a Super Coppa victory against Inter, who would go on to win the "triplete" (scudetto, Coppa Italia and Champions League). It was a Lazio that was rebuilding following the disastrous financial situation of the early 2000s. President Claudio Lotito was in charge and Rocchi became a point of reference for the team and the club. He formed a marvellous attacking partnership with Goran Pandev. Rocchi is not particularly tall (1.77 metres) but was very fast, had a great sense of position and even gave a hand in defence. He played 293 games for Lazio (244 in Serie A, 20 in Coppa Italia, 8 in Champions League, 17 in Europa League, 3 in the Intertoto Cup and one Super Coppa Final) and scored 105 goals (82 in Serie A, 10 in Coppa Italia, 4 in Champions League, 7 in Europa League, 1 in Intertoto and 1 in the Super Coppa).
In January 2013 he signed for Inter for six months and in November moved to Padova in Serie B for the rest of the season. His last two years of active football were played in Hungary first with Haladas and then with Tatabanya.
Rocchi earned three caps for Italy and also played in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 scoring in the second game against South Korea before an injury took him out of the competition.
In the summer of 2016 he started his career as a manager with Lazio youth teams and also did a little punditry for Lazio Style Radio.
Tommaso Rocchi is one of Lazio’s greats. He is in sixth place for the most goals scored for the club, sixth for goals in the Italian championships and fourth for goals in Serie A behind Ciro Immobile, Silvio Piola, Beppe Signori and above Giorgio Chinaglia. Great company to be in.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Intertoto Cup | Super Coppa |
2004-05 | 41 (17) | 35 (13) | 1 (2) | - | 5 (2) | - | - |
2005-06 | 41 (17) | 37 (16) | 1 | - | - | 3 (1) | - |
2006-07 | 39 (19) | 36 (16) | 3 (3) | - | - | - | - |
2007-08 | 48 (19) | 36 (14) | 4 (1) | 8 (4) | - | - | - |
2008-09 | 32 (11) | 27 (9) | 5 (2) | - | - | - | - |
2009-10 | 40 (10) | 32 (6) | 2 (1) | - | 5 (2) | - | 1 (1) |
2010-11 | 20 (3) | 18 (3) | 2 | - | - | - | - |
2011-12 | 29 (9) | 20 (5) | 2 (1) | - | 7 (3) | - | - |
2012-Jan 2013 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - |
Total | 293 (105) | 244 (82) | 20 (10) | 8 (4) | 17 (7) | 3 (1) | 1 (1) |
Sources