July 26, 2008: Padova Lazio 0-3, Friendly
- Simon Basten
- Jul 26
- 6 min read
Much better
After having lost the previous game, this one went much better thanks to Mauri and Pandev
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season had been a disappointing one. Lazio had managed to reach the Champions League group stage but were predictably knocked out despite putting on brave performances. The team was not structured to play at such a high-level and as a consequence suffered the stress and fatigue that such a competition brings. President Claudio Lotito had not invested much for the campaign so the Biancocelesti struggled all year ending up 12th.
It looked like the President had learnt his lesson and in this year’s transfer window a lot of interesting players had arrived: goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo, exciting forward Mauro Zarate, promising right back Stephan Lichtsteiner and experienced midfielder Francelino Matuzalem. Saying goodbye to Rome were Riccardo Bonetto, Gaby Mudingayi and Luciano Zauri.
Lazio were in the pre-season training at Auronzo di Cadore. They had already played a few games, surprisingly losing their last one against Rimini from Serie B. Today they were playing against Padova who would be playing in Serie C.
The match: Saturday, July 26, 2008, Stadio Rodolfo Zandegiacomo, Auronzo di Cadore
Delio Rossi today tried something new: a 3-4-2-1 formation. And it seemed to have worked well. Lazio played a great first 20 minutes then fatigue stepped in, but less than the previous game against Rimini. The three at the back did have problems but the midfield, strengthened by Stefano Mauri and Goran Pandev did well in attack, not giving their opponents any reference points. In the second half, and with all the substitutions, Rossi turned to a more conventional 4-3-3.
Mauri scored in the 18th minute with a great goal. Pandev passed him a high ball, he stopped with his chest then lobbed it over the keeper. In the 47th minute, it was Mauri to give a great assist to the North Macedonian who made it two. The duo then created Stephen Makinwa’s goal in the 55th minute. Padova did have a couple of chances in the first half to score with Andrea Rabito and Massimiliano Varricchio.
Much better performance.
Who played for Lazio
First half: Carrizo, Diakité, Rozehnal, Radu, Lictsteiner, Matuzalem, Ledesma, Manfredini, Pandev, Mauri, Zarate
Second half: Carrizo (53’ Muslera), Belleri, Rozehnal, Diakité (63’ Tuia), Radu (73’ Faraoni), Dabo, Ledesma (75’ Cinelli), Meghni, Pandev, Makinwa, Mauri (56’ Mendicino)
Substitutes: Degrè
Manager: Rossi
Who played for Padova
Facchin, Carbone (84' Lazzarini), Faisca, Giovannini (76' Donadoni), Bianchi, Bovo (61' Gentile), Pederzoli (77' Mazzocco), Crovari (70' Baccolo), Baù (82' Raimondi), Varricchio, Rabito (68' Muzzi)
Substitutes: Niero, Petrassi, Zanè, Di Nardo
Manager: Sabatini
Referee: Tommasi
Goals: 18’ Mauri, 47’ Pandev, 55’ Makinwa
What happened next
In the campionato it was not a good year. Lazio went top after six games but then fell back. However, after the first part of the season they were only four points from the holy fourth place which allowed a Champions League qualification, but then they collapsed and won only 4 games in the second half of the year. They nevertheless did manage to beat Roma 4-2.
But there was glory in Coppa Italia.
In October Lazio had to face Atalanta and won comfortably 2-0 (Cristian Ledesma and Pandev), setting up a fifth round against Milan in San Siro. A difficult game where Lazio played very well and had a number of chances before Andriy Shevchenko scored his umpteenth goal against his favourite victim. All seemed lost but the Biancocelesti managed to equalise in the dying minutes thanks to a Zarate penalty. In the second minute of extra time Pandev was lethal and Lazio went on to the quarterfinals against Torino, this time at home.
In a two-faced game, the Biancocelesti fell behind in the first half, but came back in the second and scored three goals (again Pandev plus Stefano Mauri and Tommaso Rocchi).
In the semi-final Lazio had to play against Juventus, this time over two games. In the first at the Olimpico, Juventus were the obvious favourites and went one up in the first half. But the Biancocelesti put up a good fight and created a number of unexpected headaches for the Bianconeri. Pandev equalised and Rocchi gave Lazio the advantage for the match in Turin. In the return leg Juventus came into the match not fully focused and Lazio took advantage, scoring with Zarate first and Aleksandar Kolarov in the second half. At that point the contest was over. Juventus would have had to score four goals. They managed one.
Lazio were in the final. They faced Sampdoria who, after beating Inter 3-0 at home, in the return match managed to keep the Nerazzurri's onslaught to a minimum and only lost 1-0.
The final was played at the Olimpico in front of a capacity crowd and in the presence of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. Zarate gave Lazio the lead early on but Giampaolo Pazzini equalised on the half hour. There were chances for both teams, but the game ended 1-1. The result did not change in extra time, so the 2008-09 Coppa Italia was to be decided on a penalty shootout.
Muslera saved the first penalty and it looked as if Lazio had won it. But Rocchi hit the woodwork with the second and the teams were still level after the first five. After Muslera saved Hugo Campagnaro’s spot kick, Ousmane Dabo then gave Lazio their fifth Coppa Italia and a Europa League qualification (first edition of former UEFA Cup) for the 2009-10 season.
A magnificent victory and the first silverware for President Lotito.
Let’s talk about Alessandro Tuia
Alessandro Tuia was born on June 8, 1990 in Civita Castellana near Viterbo. A defender with excellent prospects, he joined the Lazio academy young and worked his way up to the first team. He was included in the B list of the Champions League 2007-08 by Delio Rossi and debuted in Serie A on May 31, 2009, in the away match against Juventus.
Both he and Davide Faraoni were supposed to be the future of the Biancocelesti as far as defence was concerned and the club in 2009 loaned him to Monza in the third tier for a couple of seasons where he made 44 appearances with 2 goals.
Back at Lazio in 2011 he then signed for Foligno in Lega Pro where he stayed a year. He then moved to Salernitana, again via Lazio, where he stayed six years. In 2014 he was officially owned by the Campania club. With the Granata he achieved two promotions (from Lega Pro 2 to Lega Pro 1 in 2013-13, and a promotion to Serie B in 2014-15). He made a total of 144 appearances with 2 goals.
In 2018 he joined Benevento. He stayed three years and was part of the record-breaking team under Pippo Inzaghi which crushed all opposition in 2019-2020 securing promotion to Serie A. They were unable to stay in the top tier however and after three years, 55 appearances and 4 goals he moved to Lecce in Serie B. Here he won another promotion to Serie A in 2021-22. He rarely played in 2022-23 and his contract was not renewed. In 2023 he signed for Cremonese but hardly ever played.
In 2024 he joined Osijek in the Croatian top tier. He played 19 games with one goal.
Alessandro Tuia was supposed to follow the footsteps of Alessandro Nesta but it was not to be. He has however had a long and successful career even if not at the highest level.
Lazio Career
Sources
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