July 27, 2004: Vissel Kobe Lazio 0-4, Friendly
- Dag Jenkins
- Jul 27, 2025
- 7 min read
Japanese tour ends on a high
Lazio cruise to easy win in "Nippon"
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 6th and won the Coppa Italia. This year however everything had changed. In the midst of a financial crisis new owner Claudio Lotito had cut costs, agreed a long-term deal with state debt collectors and set up a new look team.
For a start Roberto Mancini had left for Inter. A lot of the star players also said goodbye: Jaap Stam (Milan), Stefano Fiore and Bernardo Corradi (Valencia), Sinisa Mihajlovic and Giuseppe Favalli (Inter), Demetrio Albertini (Atalanta), Claudio Lopez (América -México) and Guerino Gottardi (retired).
Arriving at Lazio were players of a "slightly" different calibre, many unknown. Lotito became famous for signing nine players on one day. Some are best forgotten but the players worth mentioning were defender Sebastiano Siviglia (Parma), midfielders Antonio and Emanuele Filippini (Palermo) and forward Tommaso Rocchi (Empoli). One particularly welcome return for the fans was Paolo Di Canio after 15 years away. A move to appease the fans faced with difficult times ahead.
The new manager was former player Domenico Caso, assisted by club legend Cristiano Bergodi.
In late July of course, many of these players had not even arrived yet so the group included several U19 players.
This was Lazio's third friendly of their Japanese tour. The Biancocelesti had drawn 2-2 with Vegalta and then beaten the Vegalta U19s 4-1.
Vissel Kobe are from the town of Kobe, in the Bay of Osaka in central Japan. They were formed in 1966 as the Kawasaki Steel Soccer Club and in 1994 moved to Kobe and became Vissel. Their best result had been a 10th place in the Japan League Division 1 in 1999. In 2003-04 the "Ushi" (Cows) had finished 13th under Hiroshi Soejima.
This season the new manager was Ivan Hašek from the Czech Republic. He had previously coached Sparta Prague (winning 2 league titles) and Strasbourg.
Vissel Kobe's most famous player was Kazuyoshi Miura who had previously also played for Santos in Brazil and Genoa in Serie A (scoring in a derby).
The match: Tuesday, July 27, 2004, Misaki Park Stadium, Kobe
The game was played in the modern Misaki Park Stadium, also known as the Wing Stadium, in Kobe. The ground holds about 30,000 spectators and there was a good crowd today.
The stadium was used in the 2002 World Cup and would later be used in the Rugby World Cup in 2019.
Lazio had a decent starting line-up but lacked alternatives on the bench.
The difference in quality between the two sides was immediately clear.
Lazio were in control for the first twenty minutes then decided to step up a gear. In the 25th minute the Biancocelesti took the lead when Goran Pandev crossed from the by-line and Roberto Muzzi headed past Fure, 1-0.
Lazio’s second came seven minutes later when, following a precise Fabio Liverani assist, Pandev celebrated his 21st birthday in style by lobbing the keeper to make it 2-0.
Lazio continued to create chances but tried to entertain the crowd too much and despite some spectacular moves did not score again until the 61st minute when Christian Manfredini was on target with a precise left foot.
In the 75th minute came the only negative note so far when Roberto Delgado, who had replaced Muzzi in the 60th minute, limped off injured and was in turn substituted by Claudio De Sousa.
In the 84th minute Lazio got their fourth goal. Cesar freed himself with a clever dummy and hit a powerful right foot past Fure, 4-0.
There was still time for Miura to make a brief appearance in the 89th minute.
A positive training game for Lazio. Massimo Oddo won the 'Man of the Match' award but Pandev and César had also been excellent.
Lazio would fly back to Italy the following day before moving to Britain (friendlies with Cardiff City and Manchester City). The next destination would then be Spain for the "Carranza" trophy to be played in Cadiz between August 13 and 15, where Lazio's opponents were Valencia. The Biancocelesti's first really important game would be the Supercoppa final against Milan on August 21 at San Siro. Serie A would start on September 12.
Who played for Vissel Kobe
Fure, Komoto, Tsichiya (89' Miura), Kitamoto, Roger, Sugawara, Mori, Kojima, Niwa, (67' Watada), Park, Fujimoto, Bando (63' Kishida)
Substitutes: Iwamaru, Sugawara, Saeki, Yabuta
Manager: Hasek
Who played for Lazio
Sereni, Oddo, Negro, D. Baggio, Zauri, Manfredini, Liverani (46' Dabo), Giannichedda (83' Angeletti), César (85' Melara), Muzzi (60' Delgado, 75' De Sousa), Pandev
Substitutes: Casazza, Sannibale
Manager: Caso
Referee: Sunawaka
Goals: 25' Muzzi, 32' Pandev, 61' Manfredini, 84' César
What happened next
Lazio, despite strengthening the squad in late August, had a difficult season and flirted with relegation but ultimately finished 13th.
In the Supercoppa in August Lazio lost 0-3 to Milan with an Andrij Shevchenko hat-trick.
In Serie A Lazio started well with 7 points in the first 3 games but then ran into trouble and Caso was sacked in December just before the Christmas break with the Biancocelesti in 15th place and only four points from relegation (W4, D5, L7). The new manager was Giuseppe Papadopulo and on his debut on January 6 Lazio triumphed in the derby 3-1 (Di Canio scoring again after his goal in 1989). Lazio then won 6, drew 6 (including derby 0-0) and lost 9. The top scorer was Tommaso Rocchi with 17 goals (13 in A).
In the Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti were knocked out by Cagliari on away goals (1-2 in Sardinia, 3-2 in Rome a.e.t).
In the UEFA Cup Lazio had got through the first round defeating Ukrainians Metalurh Donetsk 6-0 on aggregate. They were then in a group with Villareal, Middlesbrough, Egaleo and Partizan Belgrade. The Biancocelesti had drawn 1-1 at home to the Spaniards, lost 0-2 at Middlesbrough, drawn 2-2 both at home to Partizan and away at Egaleo. With 3 draws and a defeat they had been eliminated.
A problematic year but predictable with so much change and a clear reduction in squad quality. Fortunately, things would improve and Delio Rossi was on his way.
Vissel Kobe finished 18th and were relegated to JL 2 (Hašek was sacked during the season and in came Hiroshi Kato). They then came straight back up and have since won the J1 League twice (2023, 2024), the domestic Emperors Cup twice (2019, 2024) and the Japanese Super Cup (2020).
Kazuyoshi Miura is still playing at 58… for Atletico Suzuka (on loan from Yokohama FC).
Let’s talk about Fabrizio Melara
Fabrizio Melara was born in Civitavecchia (Rome) on May 6, 1986.
At 12 he joined the Lazio academy and in 2000-01 won a Scudetto with the Giovanissimi (U15s).
In 2003-2004 he was added to the Lazio first team squad list and was an unused substitute three times in Serie A.
He made his debut on November 4 2004 in an away UEFA Cup game at Middlesborough lost 0-2. This would remain his only appearance for the Biancocelesti.
In 2005 he joined Salernitana in C1 and played 3 league games. He stayed until January when he moved to Sambenedettese also in C1 where he played 8 league games and the Rossoblu finished 15th. One of his teammates was former Lazio, Emanuele Concetti (Scudetto winner in 2000).
In 2006-07 Melara played for Rieti in C2. He played 34 league games with 2 goals and the Sabini finished 16th and relegated.
In 2007-08 he spent a season with Massese in C1. He played 23 league games and the Zebre finished 12th (then relegated for financial irregularities). One of his three managers in Tuscany was former Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini.
In 2008 he moved to Pro Patria in Lega Pro 1 (3rd tier) and stayed for two seasons. He played a total of 62 games with 5 goals and the Tigrotti finished 2nd (lost playoff) and 16th (relegated after playout). One of his teammates was former Lazio, Domenico Cristiano.
In 2010 Melara joined SPAL (Ferrara) in Lega Pro 1 (3rd tier). The Estensi finished 9th and Melara played 29 league games. His teammates included former Lazio Manuel Belleri. The following season he stayed in Ferrara but only until January, playing another 20 league games and scoring 1 goal. The Biancoazzurri eventually finished 15th and relegated.
In January 2012 he signed for Reggina in Serie B and stayed two half seasons, playing 33 games with 2 goals. His managers included former Lazio Angelo Gregucci. The Amaranto finished 10th and 17th.
In January 2013 he joined Carpi on loan for 6 months. The Falcons were in Lega Pro 1 and finished 3rd and were promoted after the playoffs (Lecce 2-1 on aggregate in the final). Melara played 14 matches with 1 goal under manager Fabio Brini.
In 2013 he signed for Lecce in Lega Pro 1 but only stayed until January. He played 16 games and the Giallorossi eventually finished 3rd.
In January 2014 he joined Benevento and stayed three full and two half seasons. He played 91 games and scored 11 goals. The first half season and the following two were in Lega Pro 1 but culminated in first place and promotion to Serie B, under Gaetano Autieri. The "Stregoni" (Sorcerers) then got promoted to Serie A in 2017 under Marco Baroni via the playoffs after finishing 5th. In 2017-18 in Serie A Melara left in January without having played a game. At Benevento he won a league, two promotions and was captain in 2014-15.
In January 2018 he stayed in Campania but moved to Castellammare di Stabia-Naples and joined Juve Stabia in Serie C. He stayed two and a half seasons, winning the league and promotion in 2019, under Fabio Caserta. Melara played a total of 52 games with 2 goals (although only 10 in the last season). One of his managers was Napoli and Juventus legend Ciro Ferrara. One of his teammates in his last season was a future Lazio keeper Ivan Provedel.
In 2020 he moved back to the Lazio region and joined Atletico Terme Fiuggi in Serie D. He played 11 league games.
He then continued playing at amateur level with two seasons at Santa Marinella, a small seaside town near Rome and Parioli (a district of Rome).
In his youth he was considered a prospect and played 3 times for Italy U16s with 1 goal, 6 times for the U17s and 2 times for the U18s.
Lazio Career
Season | Total UEFA Cup Appearances |
2004-05 | 1 |
Sources
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