July 24, 2013: Lazio Spezia 3-0, Friendly
- Simon Basten
- Jul 24
- 7 min read
Rozzi shines
The young forward scores a brace in the final friendly at Auronzo di Cadore
Also on this day: July 24, 2010: Lazio Vicenza 2-1, Friendly. The Biancocelesti improving in their first real test during the summer preseason training
The season so far
Optimism was high at the start of the 2013-14 season thanks to the great victory in Coppa Italia against Roma on May 26, 2013. The celebrations lasted the whole summer and fans were over the moon.
The summer transfer window was not exactly eye opening, but two important signings were made: Lucas Biglia, Argentinian midfielder from Anderlecht, and Felipe Anderson, Brazilian forward who Lazio believed could be one of the best players ever signed. Also arriving was Diego Novaretti, defender.
So far, the Biancocelesti had done their two-week training session at Auronzo di Cadore, near Belluno, from July 10 to 24. Today was the last day and the last of the first four preseason friendlies.
The match: Wednesday, July 24, 2013, Stadio Rodolfo Zandegiacomo, Auronzo di Cadore
The final game of preseason training is always a risk as the players are tired after a lot of work and cannot wait to go back home. As a consequence, the game was not exactly a classic and in the first half was rather boring.
Lazio missed a penalty in the 30th minute with Stefano Mauri and ten minutes later Ederson scored on a Miro Klose assist. The Brazilian seemed to be the best news of the day, in great form, if he continued like this he would certainly be an asset for the Biancocelesti this season.
In the second half there was the usual massive turnover of players and Antonio Rozzi rose to the occasion with two goals. The first in the 54th minute thanks to a great pass from Mauri which allowed the young forward to be alone in front of the keeper. He dribbled past him and scored. The second, in the 79th minute, was a simple tap in from close range.
Of the new players, only Diego Novaretti and Lucas Biglia played in the second half. The midfielder, despite lacking in fitness, showed quality.
Who played for Lazio
Bizzarri (63' Strakosha), Konko (63' Cavanda), Biava (46' Cana), Dias (46' Novaretti), Radu (46' Ciani), Ledesma (46' Biglia), Onazi (46' Rozzi), Ederson (72' Crecco), Mauri (63' Keita), Lulic (72' Cataldi), Klose (63' Kozak)
Substitutes: Guerrieri, Stankevicius, Vinicius, Felipe Anderson, Tounkara
Manager: Petkovic
Who played for Spezia
Guarna (46' Russo), Baldanzeddu, Lisuzzo, Ceccarelli, Migliore, Sammarco, Bovo (77' Lollo), Moretti (46' Porcari), Sansovini (63' Ferrari), Ebagua, Henty (46' Culina)
Substitutes: Vozar, Ciurria, Ashong, Albarracin, Ceccaroni, Faye, Kaplon
Manager: Stroppa
Referee: Aversano
Goals: 40’ Ederson, 54’ Rozzi, 79’ Rozzi
What happened next
The real focus of the summer transfers was the missed deal to sign the Turkish forward Burak Yilmaz from Galatasaray. Lazio had already tried in 2012 but the negotiations had collapsed at the last minute because the Turkish club wanted a very high percentage on the future sale of the player. The talks re-opened in 2013 and all was agreed. Yilmaz was in Rome waiting to sign the contract. But at the last minute of the last hour of the mercato, his agent asked for a €2 million commission to be paid on the signing of the contract and not spread over its length, as done normally. President Claudio Lotito refused to be blackmailed and the deal fell through.
The fans were furious. The anti-Lotito sentiment, which had faded after the historic win against Roma, came back with all of its venom. It would mar the entire season.
In the final days of the transfer session Etrit Berisha, goalkeeper, and Brayan Perea, forward, were signed.
2013-14 had not started too well anyway as Lazio were thrashed in the Supercoppa by Juventus 4-0 with three goals in four minutes. The defence had been one of the strong points of the team, now it was a liability. At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were ninth, miles away from anything.
Lazio had also been kicked out of the Coppa Italia in the quarter-finals by Napoli while the Europa League adventure saw Lazio go through to the knockout phase but they had then been eliminated by Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad.
Manager Vladimir Petković was unable to steer the Lazio ship in the right direction. Not only. He signed a contract to be the new head coach of the Swiss national team at the end of his deal with Lazio in 2014. Lotito took this opportunity to sack him before Christmas and call back Edy Reja to try to get Lazio back on course.
The change seemed to solve things. Lazio were back and in the first six games under Reja came 12 points and included beating Inter and drawing against Roma.
There was further chaos at fan level when Lotito was forced to sell Hernanes in the winter transfer window. The Brazilian had refused to renew his contract which was to expire in 2015. Inter decided to exercise the buyout clause and he left for Milan. It was a last second move, and the club did not have the time to invest the money for a better player. The fans were even more furious.
Lazio stayed on the brink of a European qualification for most of the season but two decisive draws, both 3-3, against Torino and Verona put an end to any hopes.
Too many celebrations and too many players not performing as well as they should made any type of comeback impossible. The anti-Lotito climate certainly did not help matters.
Antonio Candreva was the player with most appearances (44) and with the most goals (12).
Let’s talk about Ederson
Ederson Honorato Campos, known as Ederson, was born in Parapuã, on January 13, 1986.
At 15 he started playing for the RS Futebol youth sector and in January 2004 was loaned to Internacional. He played three matches and the team from Porto Alegre won the Gaucho league. He was then loaned to Juventude (Caixas do Sul) where he played five games and scored his first goal.
In January 2005 his big European opportunity came up. At 19 he was loaned to Nice in Ligue 1, in France. He made his league debut on February 5 against Metz as a substitute and two weeks later scored his first goal, a shot from 45 metres out against Monaco.
The following season he played 20 matches and scored two goals but it was in the 2006-07 season that he really started to shine. He made 30 appearances and scored 6 goals, his performances began to attract the attention of some big clubs. He stayed on with “Les Aiglons” (The Eaglets) for one more season playing 36 games with 7 goals. At Nice he played a total of 100 games and scored 18 goals.
In January 2008 he had signed for French champions Olympique Lyonnais but first finished the season with Nice. So, in June he went to Lyon and on August 10 made his league debut against Toulouse. He took part in the Champions League campaigns, reaching the semi-final in 2010 (knocked out by Bayern Munich) and winning the French Cup in 2012.
After four years with “Les Gones” (The Kids) of Lyon, 115 total appearances and 11 goals, he signed for Lazio.
He arrived at Lazio in the summer of 2012. His debut for the Biancocelesti was on September 16 in an away game in Verona against Chievo. In his first season in Rome, under manager Vladimir Petkovic, he played 15 league games with 1 goal (Siena) and 8 Europa League games with 2 goals (Maribor, Stuttgart). He was on the bench on the unforgettable 26th of May when Lazio lifted the trophy beating historic city rivals Roma in the final of Coppa Italia.
In his second year, he again played 15 games in Serie A with 1 goal (Catania), 1 game in Coppa Italia, 5 in Europa League and 1 in the Italian Supercoppa. He and Lazio started the season with Petkovic and finished with Edy Reja.
His last year in Rome was plagued by injuries and he only played 4 league games with 1 goal (Cagliari) and 1 game in Coppa Italia. Lazio had a great season under Stefano Pioli coming 3rd and qualifying for the Champions League preliminary round and playing another Cup Final (lost to Juventus 2-1 in extra time, after Filip Djordjevic had hit two posts with one shot).
In the summer of 2015 Ederson left Lazio and Europe and returned to his homeland to play for Flamengo. In three years for the ‘Rubro-Negro’ he played only 21 league games with 4 goals and 16 in various cup games. In 2017 they won the Carioca league. As at his time at Lazio he was hampered by knee problems and later also recovered from testicular cancer (as Francesco Acerbi and Abidal). Flamengo was his last club and he stayed three seasons (37 games, 4 goals) but then due to persistent physical problems, he retired at 32.
As a teenager, Ederson played 6 games for Brazil U-17s and scored 2 goals, winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2003. With the major Brazilian national team, he won one cap. The match was a friendly against the United States in 2010 but Ederson was forced off injured after only a few minutes. An event which can sum up his career, talented enough to be called up by the 'Seleção' but physically fragile.
Ederson was a skilful midfielder. He was 1.81 and well-built and this strength combined with his technical ability made him potentially an excellent player. He was however, as mentioned, injury prone and lacked continuity. At Lazio he showed flashes of his talent but never really imposed himself as a regular first team choice. He had probably already reached the peak of his career in France and at Lazio he never really fulfilled his potential. His top performances and goals were few and far between. He played a total of 50 games for the Biancocelesti with 5 goals. He will not be remembered as one of their better midfielders but, in his favour in the history books, he was in the squad that gave Lazio eternal glory on the 26th May 2013. Ederson was lucky enough to have a front row seat.
Lazio Career
Sources
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