Second half Lazio Tsunami in Florence
Three goals after the break sweep away the Viola
Also on this day:
The season so far
Lazio had finished 6th (Europa League) the previous season, in Simone Inzaghi's last year as manager. Top scorer as usual was Ciro Immobile with 25 (20 in A). Lazio had also reached the last 16 of the Champions League but lost 2-6 on aggregate to Bayern Munich.
Initially it seemed Inzaghi would stay on but in the meantime, unknown to Lazio, made an agreement with Inter and left unexpectedly. Therefore, this season Lazio had a new manager, Maurizio Sarri, with a new style of play.
The summer market had seen a few changes. Arriving were defender Elseid Hysaj (free agent), midfielders Toma Bašić (Bordeaux), Felipe Anderson (returning from West Ham), Luka Romero (Mallorca), Mattia Zaccagni (Verona) and forward Pedro (Roma…).
Leaving were defender Wesley Hoedt (Southampton, end of loan), Mohamed Fares (Genoa-on loan), midfielders Senad Lulic and Marco Parolo both retiring, Andreas Pereira (Manchester United-end of loan) plus forward Joaquín Correa (Inter).
So, a welcome return, that of Felipetto Anderson, but also some sad goodbyes, legendary Senad Lulic but also popular Marco Parolo.
Lazio were currently joint 7th, with today's opponents Fiorentina, on 36 points. The Biancocelesti had started well with two wins but then been inconsistent. Some good wins (including the derby 3-2, Inter 3-1 at home) were balanced by bad defeats (including Bologna 0-3, Verona 1-4, Napoli 0-4, all away). Lazio had won 10, drawn 6 and lost 7.
In Coppa Italia Lazio had eliminated Udinese 1-0 at home after extra-time and would play Milan next away in a few days’ time on February 9.
In the Europa League Lazio had qualified for the playoffs to be played on February 17 and 24 against Porto. In the group stage they finished 2nd after 2 wins (Lokomotiv Moscow home and away), 3 draws (Olympique Marseille home and away, Galatasaray at home) and 1 defeat (Galatasaray away, courtesy of a huge Thomas Strakosha howler).
Fiorentina had finished 13th the previous season under two different managers: Giuseppe Iachini (1-7), Cesare Prandelli (8-28) and then Iachini again (29-38). The Viola had lost in Rome against Lazio but won 2-0 in Florence. Top scorer was Dušan Vlahovic with 21 league goals.
This Season the manager was Vincenzo Italiano. The transfer market had brought; defenders Matija Nastasić (Schalke 04), Alvaro Odriozola (Real Madrid - on loan), midfielders Marco Benassi (Verona - back from loan), Alfred Duncan (Cagliari - back from loan), Yousef Maleh (Venezia - back from loan), Riccardo Saponara (Spezia - back from loan), Lucas Torreira (Arsenal - on loan) plus forwards Nicolás Gonzalez (Stuttgart) and Riccardo Sottil (Cagliari - back from loan). In the recent January session Fiorentina had added; midfielder Jonathan Ikoné (Lille) plus forwards Arthur Cabral (Basel) and Krzysztof Piątek (Hertha Berlin - on loan).
Leaving Florence were: keeper Alban Lafont (Nantes), defenders Martin Cáceres (end of contract), Federico Ceccherini (Verona), Germán Pezzella (Betis Sevilla), midfielders Valentin Eysseric (Kasimpaşa), Borja Valero (end of contract) plus forwards Christian Kouamé (Anderlecht - on loan) and Franck Ribéry (end of contract). In January midfielder Erick Pulgar (Galatasaray - on loan) and forward Dušan Vlahovic (Juventus) had also left.
Fiorentina were currently 7th with Lazio on 36 points. The Viola had won 11, drawn 3 and lost 9 (including Lazio 0-1). All or nothing usually for Fiorentina so far with some big wins (Cagliari 3-0, Spezia 3-0, Milan 4-3, Salernitana 4-0, Genoa 6-0) but also some heavy defeats (Udinese 0-4 at home, Torino 0-4 away).
In Coppa Italia the Viola had first beaten Cosenza 4-0, Benevento 2-1, both at home and then Napoli 5-2 away (a.e.t). Next up would be Atalanta away on February 10.
Back to Serie A, there was an important European slot clash today in Florence.
The match: Saturday, February 5, 2022, Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
A mild Saturday evening attracted about 30,000 to the Franchi, possibly one of the worst stadiums in Italy to watch a football match, at least from the more popular ends.
Fiorentina were without defender Álvaro Odriozola who was suspended while Lucas Torreira and Lucas Quarta Gonzalez were just back from South-American trips plus they were still getting over Dušan Vlahovic' departure to hated Juventus.
Lazio had an absence too as central defender Francesco Acerbi was unavailable.
The first quarter of an hour saw both sides evaluating each other without any real goal scoring chances.
The first came in the 20th minute and it was for the Viola. Cristiano Biraghi put a perfect cross in from the left and Arthur Cabral headed the ball down low but Thomas Strakosha did well to react quickly and parry it away.
In the 27th minute Torreira tried an ambitious volley from outside the area but it went over the bar.
Lazio gradually grew into the game. In the 34th minute on a counterattack Luis Alberto arrived at the edge of the box and slid the ball sideways to Ciro Immobile who ran into the area but his low shot was too central and Pietro Terraciano saved.
In the 36th minute the Biancocelesti had a double chance. First Pedro on the right side of the area, set up by Luis Alberto, blasted a strike which Terraciano parried and then on the rebound Mattia Zaccagni hammered the ball over the bar from a favourable position.
The first half ended 0-0. Fiorentina had started better but Lazio had finished strongly.
In the second half Lazio continued where they had left off and in the 52nd minute took the lead. Zaccagni on the left wing, with the outside of his foot, put a superb ball straight across the box into the front post where Sergej Milinkovic-Savic got between the defenders and put the ball behind Terraciano. Fiorentina 0 Lazio 1.
In the 59th minute both sides made replacements; Fiorentina took off Alfred Duncan and José Callejon for Gaetano Castrovilli and Nicolás González while Lazio substituted Lucas Leiva with Danilo Cataldi and Pedro with Felipe Anderson.
A controversial moment came in the 64th minute. Luiz Felipe was judged to have obstructed Castrovilli just inside the box on the left. Daniele Orsato pointed to the penalty spot but after checking it on the sideline screen he changed his mind. He made the right decision as the future Lazio midfielder had run into the Lazio defender.
In the 68th minute Albanian Elseid Hysaj came on for Manuel Lazzari at full-back.
A minute later Lazio made it two. In the 69th minute, on a long ball out of Lazio's defence, a Nikola Milenkovic mistake in midfield gave Immobile an open road towards goal, he sprinted forward for about thirty metres and just inside the area curled a low shot into the right-hand corner. Fiorentina 0 Lazio 2.
Lazio were now cruising. In the 76th minute the Gigliati tried to increase their fire power by bringing on Krzysztof Piątek for Cabral while Lazio took off Luis Alberto and brought on a more defensive midfielder Toma Basic.
Five minutes later the game was practically over. Zaccagni put Immobile through on goal again, the striker surged forward again, went round the keeper on the left and shot with his left, the ball was probably going in but was then helped on its way by a desperate lunge by Biraghi. Fiorentina 0 Lazio 3.
In the 85th minute Fiorentina were reduced to ten men when Uruguayan midfielder Torreira got his marching orders for a second yellow card.
There was still time for one last substitution for the hosts as Moroccan Sofyan Amrabat came on for Riccardo Sottil and one last opportunity for Lazio. In the 88th minute Felipe Anderson teed up Basic in front of goal but Terraciano saved and on the rebound the Croatian midfielder fired wide. Final score Fiorentina 0 Lazio 3.
An excellent away win for Lazio. Their superior quality with Luis Alberto and Zaccagni as assist men and Milinkovic-Savic and Immobile as the finishers had annihilated Fiorentina.
Lazio were now joint 6th with Roma on 39 points. Fiorentina slipped down to 8th on 36 points.
Who played for Fiorentina
Terracciano, Venuti, Nastasic, Milenkovic, Biraghi, Bonaventura (76' Ikonè), Torreira, Duncan (59' Castrovilli), Callejon (59' Gonzalez), Cabral (76' Piatek), Sottil (88' Amrabat)
Substitutes: Dragowski, Martinez Quarta, Igor, Saponara, Maleh, Terzic, Kokorin
Manager: Italiano
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Lazzari (68' Hysaj), Luiz Felipe, Patric, Marusic, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva (59' Cataldi), Luis Alberto (76' Basic), Pedro (59' F. Anderson), Immobile, Zaccagni
Manager: Sarri
Referee: Orsato
Goals: 52' Milinkovic-Savic, 70' Immobile, 81' Biraghi (og)
Red Card: 85' Torreira (F)
What happened next
Lazio finished 5th and qualified for the Europa League. In the remaining games the Biancocelesti won 7, drew 4 and lost 3 (including derby). Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 32 goals (27 in A).
In Coppa Italia Lazio then got thrashed 0-4 by Milan while in Europa League they put up a good fight against Porto but lost 3-4 on aggregate.
Fiorentina finished 7th and qualified for the Conference League. In the remaining fixtures the Viola won 7 (including Juventus 2-0 at home), drew 2 and lost 4. Top scorer was still former player Vlahovic with 20 goals (17 in A), followed by Nico Gonzalez with 8 (7 in A).
In Coppa Italia Fiorentina won 3-2 in Bergamo but then lost in the semi-final 1-2 on aggregate to Juventus.
The Serie A champions were Milan for the 19th time. Serie B awaited Venezia, Genoa and Cagliari (they are all currently back in the top flight)
Let's talk about Toma Bašić
Toma Bašić was born in Zagreb on November 25, 1996.
His first clubs as a boy were Dubrava and then NK Zagreb.
In 2014 he signed for Hajduk Split but was sent out on loan to Rudeš in the Croatian second tier. He played 25 games and scored 2 goals.
The following season he returned to Hajduk and made his debut on August 10 against Lokomotiv Zagreb. His first goal came against his former club NK Zagreb on May 14. In his first year he played 4 league games and 1 in the domestic cup.
From the 2015-16 season he started to play more regularly and over the next two years played 67 league games with 8 goals, 6 games in the Croatian Cup with 2 goals and 6 games in Europe. In his time with the "Splitski Bili" (The Whites of Split) finished 3rd three times.
In August 2018, after playing 3 more games for the Hajduci he joined Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1. He stayed three seasons playing a total of 82 games with 9 goals. "Les Marines et Blancs" finished 14th, and twice 12th. His managers were Gustavo Poyet (for one game), Éric Bedouet, Paulo Sousa (for a season and a half) and Jean-Louis Gasset.
In August 2021, after playing 3 league games for the Girondins he moved to Italy and signed for Lazio. The Biancocelesti had a new manager Maurizio Sarri and finished 5th. Bašić played 29 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia and 8 in the Europa League with 1 goal (Lokomotiv Moscow).
The following year Lazio finished 2nd and Bašić played 25 league games with 1 goal (Sassuolo in a 2-0 win), 1 game in Coppa Italia and 6 in Europe (4 EL, 2 Conference League).
In his third year at Lazio, he fell out of favour and only played 1 game in Coppa Italia before leaving on loan in January.
So in January 2024 he joined Salernitana in Serie A. When he arrived the Granata were on their second manager Filippo Inzaghi who had taken over from Bašić' former boss Paulo Sousa. By the end of the season, he would have two more, former Lazio player Fabio Liverani (25-29) and then Stefano Colantuono (30-38). The Ippocampi (Seahorses) from Salerno were unsurprisingly relegated in 20th place. Bašić played 15 league games. His teammates included former Lazio, Antonio Candreva (2012-16) and future Lazio, Boulaye Dia and Loum Tchaouna.
He was not kept on by Salernitana so returned to Lazio. He was not part of current manager Marco Baroni's plans initially so was out of the squad. He turned down a few solutions and a few fell through but then in early February was surprisingly included in the Serie A list due to a lack of midfielders in the squad.
Bašić has 2 caps for Croatia and he also represented the "Vatreni" at U19 (8 games) and U21 levels (8 games with 2 goals).
Bašić is a central midfielder. At 1.89 and 78 kilos he is a strong player. He is a good tackler with decent technique and a powerful shot. On the down side he is not particularly quick or mobile, nor creative or imaginative in his play and at times lacks initiative.
At Lazio in his first two seasons he held his own albeit without any great high points. He then was not included in Lazio’s plans until, as mentioned, early February 2025 when, due to having only two holding midfielders for three competitions, he was reinstated at least for the league.
On a curious note, he has a twin brother Jakov who plays for Zorja in Ukraine.
Lazio Career
Season | Total Played (Goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Conference League |
2021-22 | 37 (1) | 29 | 1 | 7 (1) | - |
2022-23 | 32 (1) | 25 (1) | 1 | 4 | 2 |
2023-24 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - |
Total | 70 (2) | 54 (1) | 3 | 11 (1) | 2 |
Sources
Comments