Game, set and match
Marco Parolo scores four as Lazio demolish Pescara.
Also on this day: February 5, 1961, Bologna Lazio 1-1. Lazio play well, have numerous chances but then settle for a point against ten men. Player of the day: Adelmo Eufemi
The season so far
The previous year Lazio had arrived 8th. Manager Stefano Pioli had been sacked and Simone Inzaghi took his place for the last seven matches of the season. During the summer there had been an attempt to hire Marcelo Bielsa but two days after he signed the contract he backed out. The team was hence given to Inzaghi.
So far Lazio had performed well against lower level teams but less so against the big teams. The games against Juventus, Napoli, Inter and Milan had brought just one point, as if the team did not think it was worthy. The good news was that a new Lazio star was born: Ciro Immobile, who arrived from Sevilla in the summer, was scoring regularly and had become a fundamental asset. Also debuting in the first team was goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha who substituted an injured Federico Marchetti. Keita Balde was also having a very good season and scoring.
Other arrivals included defenders Bastos (Rostov), Jordan Lukaku (Ostend), Wallace (Braga) and midfielder Luis Alberto (Liverpool). Leaving Lazio were Etrit Berisha (Atalanta), Milan Bisevac (end of contract), Edson Braafheid (end of contract), Santiago Gentiletti (Genoa), Abdoulay Konko (end of contract), Mauricio (loan to Spartak Moscow), Antonio Candreva (Inter), Stefano Mauri (end of contract), Eddy Onazi (Trabzonspor), Miro Klose (retired) and Alessandro Matri (end of loan).
Inzaghi, in his first full year as manager, started with a 4-4-2 formation but during the course of the year moved to 3-5-2 and the sacrificial lamb was Felipe Anderson who had to change from being a winger with a right back behind him to having to take care of the entire wing by himself.
At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were fourth. They were currently fifth, but the objective of an Europa League qualification was well within reach.
The match: Sunday, February 5, 2017, Stadio Adriatico, Pescara
It was Marco Parolo’s day and the beginning of his show came after only ten minutes. A cross from the left by Keita Balde reached Felipe Anderson in the box on the far right. Felipetto’s cross was met by Parolo unmarked who comfortably headed the ball into the net.
Four minutes later Lazio doubled their lead again with Parolo. Marvellous long pass from Stefan de Vrij from Lazio’s half to Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the Pescara box, the Serb passed the ball into the centre to Keita Balde but his shot was deflected into corner. Lucas Biglia took the corner and Parolo headed the ball in.
Game over? No. In the 29th minute Gaston Brugman from the left crossed the ball towards the edge of the box, Parolo was incapable of clearing, ball to Grigoria Kastanos who from outside the box but in a central position sent a shot that Federico Marchetti saved but Ahmad Benali was ready for the tap in.
Pescara believed in a possible comeback and in the 36th minute Francesco Zampano dived into Stefan de Vrij in an attempt to trick the referee into giving a penalty and it worked. However, from the spotkick, former Roma Gianluca Caprari passed the ball lamely to Marchetti. The missed penalty did not stop Pescara who in the 41st minute equalised. Corner from the left, long ball to Brugman who volleyed it in. 2-2 at the end of the first half.
Nobody at Pescara expected what was about to happen in the second half. In the 49th minute, Felipe Anderson crossed from the right, Milinkovic-Savic controlled the ball and anticipated the goalkeeper. His shot hit the post but the ball got to Parolo, unmarked, a few centimetres from the goal line. His header gave Lazio the lead again.
Caprari had a chance but his shot was well saved by Marchetti. In the 57th minute Lazio made it four. Immobile stole the ball from Sulley Muntari in Lazio’s half. On the counter attack, Ciro passed it to Keita Balde but a Pescara defender managed to intercept only to involuntarily pass the ball back to the Lazio centre-forward. Immobile one- on-one the goalkeeper passed the ball to Keita unmarked who in front of an open goal made it 4-2 for Lazio.
In the 69th minute, after a great save by Albano Bizzari denying Parolo’s fourth, Lazio had a corner. Cross for de Vrij on the front post, the ball passed through the entire Pescara defence to Immobile who volleyed it in. 5-2.
In the 77th minute Senad Lulic on the left, a perfect cross for the upcoming Parolo who scored his fourth goal of the day.
A day to remember for Marco Parolo.
Who played for Pescara
Bizzarri, Zampano, Gyomber (69' Cerri), Stendardo, Biraghi (73' Crescenzi), Muntari (58' Mitrita), Brugman, Verre, Benali, Caprari, Kastanos.
Substitutes: Fiorillo, Maloku, Delli Carri, Vitturini, Bruno, Pepe, Cubas, Del Sole.
Manager: Oddo.
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Basta, de Vrij, Hoedt, Lukaku, Parolo, Biglia (78’ Murgia), Milinkovic-Savic, Felipe Anderson, Immobile (86’ Tounkara), Keita (65’ Lulic)
Substitutes: Strakosha, Vargic, Patric, Wallace, Bastos, Radu, Crecco, Luis Alberto, Djordjevic
Manager: S. Inzaghi
Referee: Giacomelli
Goals: 10’ Parolo, 14’ Parolo, 29’ Benali, 41’ Brugman, 49’ Parolo, 57’ Keita, 69’ Immobile, 77’ Parolo
What happened next
Back into Europe was the objective for the 2016-2017 season and back into Europe it would be, thanks to a good fifth place. It could have been fourth place but the team threw in the towel once European football was secured.
In Simone Inzaghi’s first full year as manager Lazio played well, with some very spectacular matches. He started with a 4-4-2 formation but during the course of the year moved to 3-5-2 and the sacrificial lamb was Felipe Anderson who had to change from being a winger with a right back behind him to having to take care of the entire wing by himself.
The team however tended to put in pretty dismal performances against the stronger teams. Just two points in eight games. Lazio were good, with an amazing attack and a solid midfield. This allowed big wins such as 6-2 at Pescara and against Palermo and a 7-3 against Sampdoria. Perhaps a stronger belief in themselves could have brought more points.
Lazio managed to reach the final of the Coppa Italia but were beaten 2-0 by Juventus. A spectacular double derby against Roma in the semi-final gave Lazio a good chance to bring home a trophy but that was not to be.
Immobile was the leading scorer for Serie A with 23 goals, his second win, first with Lazio.
This was the last season with Lazio for Biglia and Keita. In the following years neither would repeat the standards reached with Lazio.
Lazio 2016-17
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored |
Serie A | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 74 |
Coppa Italia | 5 | 3 | - | 2 | 10 |
Total | 43 | 24 | 7 | 12 | 84 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Felipe Anderson | 41 | 36 | 5 |
Immobile | 41 | 36 | 5 |
Milinkovic-Savic | 39 | 34 | 5 |
Parolo | 38 | 34 | 4 |
Lulic | 35 | 31 | 4 |
Top five goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
Immobile | 26 | 23 | 3 |
Keita Balde | 16 | 16 | - |
Milinkovic-Savic | 7 | 4 | 3 |
Felipe Anderson | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Parolo | 5 | 5 | - |
Biglia | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Let’s talk about: Marco Parolo
Marco Parolo was born in Gallarate (Milan), on 25 January, 1985.
He started his professional career at Como in C1 in 2004. At the end of the season Como were relegated and folded so Parolo moved on to Chievo Verona from where he was immediately loaned to Pistoiese (C1) for two seasons. In 2007 he returned to Chievo only to be loaned to Foligno (C1) for €500. In 2008 he again returned to Chievo this time for €50,000 but then sold to city rivals Verona, only to return to Chievo for virtually nothing at the end of the season.
Parolo's coming and going, to and from Chievo, finally came to an end in 2009 when he was loaned out to Cesena in Serie B. It was in Romagna he got his breakthrough winning promotion and at the end of the season was actually bought by the club. Parolo made his Serie A debut against Roma on 28 August 2010. Parolo performed well for Cesena and even got a call up by the National "Azzurri".
In 2012 he was loaned to Parma in Serie A. He played two solid seasons in Emilia and attracted Lazio's interest. In 2014 he was bought by Lazio for €4.5 million.
Parolo had an excellent career in Rome. He was a first team choice for seven seasons. He rarely missed a game due to suspension or injury and despite playing in a holding role in midfield often got himself in goal scoring positions. In one away game at Pescara in 2017 he actually scored 4 times!
Parolo played a total of 265 games for Lazio (211 in Serie A, 21 in Coppa Italia, 7 in Champions League, 24 in Europa League and two Super Coppa finals) with 39 goals (27 in Serie A, 3 in Coppa Italia, 2 in Champions League and 7 in Europa League).
At International level he won 36 caps over a 7-year period.
Parolo retired from Lazio, and football in 2021, at the age of 36.
Parolo was a physical, reliable, hard-working, box to box midfielder. He was not a particularly quick player but had good timing, positioning and at 1.83 metres was useful in the air. He had defensive qualities as well as powerful, accurate shooting abilities. His number 16 shirt could be seen in all areas of the field. He was versatile and could be deployed in various positions including right-sided winger or wing back or even as central defender on some occasions.
At Lazio Parolo won the Coppa Italia in 2019 (Atalanta) and 2 Italian Supercups in 2017 and 2019 (both against Juventus). He will be remembered positively in the capital; he was a regular for seven years and stood out for his work rate enriched by several important goals. He was respected on and off the pitch as an exemplary professional and was almost old style; no tattoos, trendy haircuts or expensive jewellery. To be a footballer he was considered to be of above average culture and was always intelligent and articulate in interviews. He is now using these skills in punditry working for DAZN TV on Serie A matches.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2014-15 | 40 (11) | 34 (10) | 6 (1) | - | - | - |
2015-16 | 40 (6) | 31 (3) | - | 2 | 7 (3) | - |
2016-17 | 38 (5) | 34 (5) | 4 | - | - | - |
2017-18 | 43 (6) | 31 (4) | 3 | - | 8 (2) | 1 |
2018-19 | 42 (6) | 34 (4) | 4 | - | 4 (2) | - |
2019-20 | 37 (2) | 29 (1) | 2 (1) | - | 5 | 1 |
2020-21 | 25 (3) | 18 | 2 (1) | 5 (2) | - | - |
Total | 265 (39) | 211 (27) | 21 (3) | 7 (2) | 24 (7) | 2 |
Sources