July 19, 2017: Lazio -Triestina 3-0, Friendly
- Dag Jenkins
- Jul 19
- 6 min read
Leiva makes his Lazio debut in positive training match
The Brazilian's first appearance and a three-zero win make it a satisfactory afternoon for the Biancocelesti
The season so far
Lazio had finished 5th (EL) the previous season under Simone Inzaghi. The Biancocelesti had lost the first derby but triumphed 3-1 in the second. Other good results were Atalanta 4-3, Pescara 6-2 both away, Sampdoria 7-3 and Palermo 6-2 both at home. Lazio had also reached the Coppa Italia final beating Roma in the semi-final 4-3 on aggregate but then lost to Juventus 0-2. Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 26 goals (23 in A).
This season Inzaghi was still manager but there had been quite a few changes to the squad. The main new arrivals were: defenders Luiz Felipe (Salernitana - end of loan), Adam Marušić (Oostende), midfielders Davide Di Gennaro (free agent), Lucas Leiva (Liverpool) and later on Nani (Valencia - on loan with an option to buy), forwards Felipe Caicedo (Espanyol) and Pedro Neto (Braga - two-year loan with the obligation to buy).
Leaving amongst others were: midfielders Lucas Biglia (Milan) and Danilo Cataldi (Benevento - on loan). Forward Keita Baldé (Monaco) and defender Wesley Hoedt (Southampton) would also leave soon.
Today was Lazio's third friendly but first against a professional side. The previous two had been a 16-0 win over locals Auronzo and a 9-1 win against Top 11 Radio Club 103 (Cadore Top 11). There would then be further preparation games against SPAL, Bayer Leverkusen, Kufstein and Malaga.
Lazio's objective was to be match fit for their first big appointment of the season, the Supercoppa against Juventus on August 13 in Rome.
Serie A would start a week later on August 20, at home against SPAL.
Triestina were in Serie C. The previous season the Alabardati had finished 2nd in Serie D and then drew a playoff 1-1 against Virtus Verona and were promoted due to their better league finish. The manager was Antonio Andreucci and top scorer Carlos França with 25 goals (24 in league).
This season the manager was Giuseppe Sannino. The main new players were: defenders Oualid El Hasni (Étoile du Sahel), Lorenzo Libutti (Melfi), midfielders Davide Bariti (Ancona), Andrea Bracaletti (Feralpisaló), Filippo Porcari (Cremonese - on loan) plus forward Rachid Arma (Pordenone).
Triestina would start their 3rd tier league on September 3 at home to Reggiana. In Coppa Italia however they would start earlier, on July 29, against Arezzo away. They would also play in the Serie C Coppa Italia which would start on August 20.
This was the first step up in opponent quality for Lazio who would then go on to play top tier clubs before the Supercoppa final.
The match: Wednesday, July 19, 2017, Stadio Rodolfo Zandegiacomo, Auronzo di Cadore
A warm and sunny day in the Dolomites saw about 2,000 fans gather in the small Auronzo ground. The friendship between the two groups of organised fans was reinforced with a series of banners paraded round the field by the Ultras.
Lucas Leiva had just arrived from Liverpool and was on the bench with Marco Parolo and Jordan Lukaku who were still recovering from their injuries.
Lazio started on the front foot and Ciro Immobile was particularly active.
In the 15th minute Stefan de Vrij hit the crossbar with a header from a Luís Alberto free kick.
Triestina were not passive observers and attacked too but their forays were controlled well by the Lazio back line.
Ten minutes before the break Lazio scored. In the 36th minute Alessandro Murgia put in a cutting cross which Bastos headed in, 1-0.
Lazio made it two only four minutes later courtesy of a defensive blunder which Immobile pounced on and beat Samuele Perisan, 2-0.
The half ended with a long range shot by Ndzemdzela Langwa comfortably saved by Ivan Vargić.
In the second half the usual countless changes started with Lazio making four changes immediately and another six on the hour mark. The most interesting replacement was Lucas Leiva who came on for new captain Senad Lulic and placed himself deep in midfield in front of the defence.
Triestina only made one change at the break but made several more as the half went on. They had unfortunately already been forced into one in the first half when forward Davis Mensah went off injured.
Lazio continued to be in control and went close with Murgia and Patric before scoring again in the 74th minute. It was Patric Gabarrón again who skilfully brought down a long ball by Wallace and with a powerful strike beat Pierpaolo Boccanera.
Triestina tried to get a consolation goal in the last minutes but rarely threatened Guido Guerrieri. Final score: Lazio 3 Triestina 0.
A routine win for Lazio against third tier opposition but there had been some good things to take note of; Luís Alberto looked at the top of his game already, Immobile looked keen and sharp and the fans had seen Lucas Leiva in a Lazio jersey for the first time.
Next up were the friendlies against SPAL (in Auronzo), Bayer Leverkusen and Kufstein (both in Austria) and Malaga away and then the big Supercoppa game against Juventus.
Who played for Lazio
Vargic (46' Guerrieri), Bastos (59' Luiz Felipe), de Vrij (46' Hoedt), Radu (46' Wallace), Basta (46' Patric), Murgia (59' Crecco), Luís Alberto (59' Oikonomidis), Lulic (46' Leiva), Marusic (59' Lombardi), Felipe Anderson (59' Palombi), Immobile (59' Djordjevic)
Manager: S. Inzaghi
Who played for Triestina
Perisan (46' Boccanera), Dell'Amico (73' Cesana), Brandmayr, Aquaro, Pizzul, Bracaletti (82' Erman), Meduri (57' Zazzi), Celestri, Nadarevic (49' Ennali), Mensah (35' Luangwa, 86' Crevatin), Franca (65' Colavecchio)
Substitutes: Mori
Manager: Sannino
Referee: Zufferli
Goals: 36' Bastos, 40' Immobile, 74' Patric
What happened next
The season started in fantastic style. On August 13, Lazio defeated Juventus 3-2 to win the Supercoppa Italiana. Lazio went 2-0 up with two Immobile goals but Paulo Dybala responded with a late brace of his own before Alessandro Murgia got Lazio’s winner in the 93rd minute. Lazio lifted their 4th Supercoppa.
In Serie A Lazio finished 5th (EL) and narrowly missed out on Champions League. They lost the decisive last game 2-3 at home to Inter and were overtaken for 4th place by the Nerazzurri. In total Lazio won 21, drew 9 and lost 8. The highlights were defeating Milan 4-1, Sassuolo 6-1, Benevento 6-2 and Chievo 5-1 at home and Juventus 2-1, Benevento 5-1, SPAL 5-2 and Fiorentina 4-3 away. Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 41 goals (29 in A). He was top Serie A scorer alongside Inter's Mauro Icardi.
In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti reached the semi-finals. They eliminated Cittadella 4-1 and Fiorentina 1-0 at home but then lost to Milan on penalties after two goalless draws.
In the Europa League, Lazio reached the quarterfinals. In the first group stage they won 4 (Zulte Waregem 2-0, Nice 1-0 at home, Vitesse 3-2 and Nice 3-1 away), drew 1 (Vitesse 1-1 at home) and lost 1 (Zulte Waregem 2-3 away in the last game). The Biancocelesti then knocked out FSCB (Steaua Bucharest) 5-2 and Dynamo Kyiv 4-2 on aggregate. In the quarter finals they played Red Bull Salzburg, won the first home leg 4-2 but then collapsed in Austria losing 1-4 and conceding three goals in four minutes (72', 74' and 76') after leading through an Immobile goal. Another huge disappointment.
So, all in all a season of what could have been, in Serie A, Coppa Italia and Europe.
Triestina finished 11th in Serie C. Sannino was replaced by Nicola Princivalli after 25 games while top scorer was Rachid Arma with 8 league goals.
Serie A was won by Juventus for their 34th title while Benevento, Verona and Crotone went down to Serie B. Juventus also clinched the double by winning the Coppa Italia too (Milan 4-0). The Europa League was won by Atlético Madrid (Olympique Marseille 3-0).
Let’s talk about Abukar Mohamed
Abukar Mohamed was born in Mogadiscio (Somalia) on January 1, 1999. When he was 3 years old his family moved to Tampere in Finland.
His first club was TPV (Tampeeren Pallo-Veikot). In 2014-15 he played 13 league games for the U19s with 1 goal. In 2016 he played for Turun Palloseura known as TPS (Turku) and made 21 appearances with 1 goal.
On January 31 2017 he was signed by Lazio. He was given the 99 shirt, enlisted in the first team squad but played for the U19s. He played two seasons for the Primavera and in July 2019 was loaned to Ukranians Karpaty Lviv. He only made 1 league appearance.
He returned to Lazio and this time given the number 66 shirt but was not included in the lists for Serie A or Champions League.
His contract then expired on June 30, 2021. In the 2023-24 season he played for FC Lasten in the Finnish fourth tier.
He is a Finnish citizen and played 8 times for the U17s, 17 times for the U19s and 2 for the U21s.
At Lazio he played for the U19s and was on the bench in a few summer friendlies but never made his debut.
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