July 27 2024: Hansa Rostock-Lazio 0-3, friendly
- Dag Jenkins
- 2 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Strikers on target on Bay of Mecklenburg
Three goals by their forwards give Lazio comfortable win
The season so far
Lazio had finished 7th the previous season (Europa League). The manager was initially Maurizio Sarri but he resigned after the 28th fixture. His assistant Giovanni Martusciello filled in for one game and then from the 30th fixture Igor Tudor took over.
Lazio had been involved in the Champions League and reached the last 16 but were eliminated by Bayern Munich 1-3 on aggregate despite a famous 1-0 win against the Bavarians in Rome.
This season the manager was Marco Baroni. The main new players were; defenders Samuel Gigot (Olympique Marseille) and Nuno Tavares (Arsenal), midfielders Gaetano Castrovilli (free agent- he would leave in January) and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru (Hatayspor) plus forwards Boulaye Dia (Salernitana), Tijjani Noslin (Verona) and Loum Tchaouna (Salernitana). Not a lot to get the fans excited.
In January three new players were added including Danish defender Oliver Provstgaard (Vejle), midfielder Reda Belayane (Verona) and forward Arijon Ibrahimovic (Bayern Munich).
Leaving the capital were; defender Nicolò Casale (Bologna after the start of Serie A), midfielders Danilo Cataldi (soon to Fiorentina-on loan), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), Felipe Anderson (Palmeiras) and Luis Alberto (Al-Duhail) plus legendary forward Ciro Immobile (Beşiktaş). Lazio had definitely not strengthened themselves in the transfer market... far from it.
Serie A would start on August 18, the Europa League on September 25 and the Coppa Italia on December 5.
Today was Lazio's 4th pre-season friendly; Auronzo 23-0, Trapani 3-1 and Triestina 1-1.
Hansa Rostock, founded in 1965, are from Rostock, a town of about 200,000 inhabitants in former East Germany. The town itself is situated on the River Warnow and spreads for about twenty kilometres up to the Baltic Sea (it is hence an important port).
Prior to unification they won one league title (1990-91) and one domestic cup (1990-91). They have since spent ten seasons in the Bundesliga 1 but not since 2007-08. Their best position was 6th twice, in 1996 and 1998. Their most famous player is possibly René Scneider who won the European Championship with Germany in 1996.
The "Hanseaten" were currently in 3. Liga. In the previous season they had finished 17th in Bundesliga 2 and were relegated.
On a curious note Hansa Rostock, according to a survey, are surprisingly the 4th most supported club in Germany with a fan-base of 3.8 million (after Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04).
Hansa Rostock's league campaign would start on August 3 against Vf B Stuttgart II.
Today was their fifth pre-season friendly: FC Anker Wismar 6-0, Randers FC 0-3, VSG Altglienicke 1-1 and Eintracht Braunschweig 1-2.
Lazio were obviously favourites today but the Germans would no doubt be fitter and sharper.
The match: Saturday, July 27, 2024, Ostseestadion, Rostock
The game was played at 3 p.m in front of a good sized crowd. There were few empty seats in the 29,000 capacity ground built in 1954 but last renovated in 2001. The venue was named Ostsee, literally the Baltic Sea.
Lazio were missing defenders Alessio Romagnoli and Mario Gila, midfielder Gaetano Castrovilli and forward Tijjani Noslin but fielded a strong line-up.
The hosts started strongly and were aggressive for at least 30 minutes. They were more physical than technical however and despite their energetic approach they created no real threats to Ivan Provedel. The only problems were self inflicted by the Romans and due to imprecisions while trying to play the ball out from the back.
Lazio absorbed the pressure and then struck just before halftime. In the 44th minute Matias Vecino fed Mattéo Guendouzi on the left wing , the Frenchman crossed to the far post where Taty Castellanos headed back across goal where Mattia Zaccagni bent low and nodded in from close range, 0-1.
For the second half Lazio took off Provedel, Adam Marusic and Vecino and brought on Christos Mandas, Luca Pellegrini and Danilo Cataldi.
Lazio doubled their lead soon after the break. In the 50th minute Nicolò Rovella sent a long ball forward to Gustav Isaksen on the right, the Dane passed to Guendouzi who put the ball into the box where Castellanos turned the ball low into the corner of the net, 0-2.
The Germans, having played their main cards in the first half were unable to cause Lazio too many problems. In the 56th minute the Hansa changed three players; off went Nils Fröling, Kevin Schumacher and Adrien Lebeau and on came Dario Gebuhr, David Kinsombi and Sveinn Aron Guđjohnsen.
Lazio controlled the game and five minutes later replaced Isaksen with Frenchman Loum Tchaouna and Zaccagni with Pedro. In the 68th minute the Biancocelesti also made changes in midfield and took off Guendouzi for Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Rovella for Daniel Akpa Akpro.
Three minutes later, in the 71st, Lazio made it three. It was a good one-touch move involving Patric, Dele-Bashiru, a Tchaouna-Castellanos one-two and finished off by the French U-21 midfielder, 0-3. A quality move and what Baroni was looking for, fast and vertical one touch football.
More substitutions followed; three for the "Ostseestädter" and one for Lazio as in the 79th minute Matteo Cancellieri replaced Castellanos.
The game had said what it had to say but there was still time for young Greek keeper Mandas to make a good save on Alexander Rossipal. Final score 0-3.
A good training game albeit against a 3rd tier team. Lazio were showing signs of improvement and three goals by the forwards was always a good sign. Baroni's style of play was more vertical than the players had been used to but it seemed to be starting to take shape.
Lazio would now continue their preparation with games against Frosinone, Southampton and Cadiz.
For Rostock it was already time to start their league campaign.
Who played for Hansa Rostock
Uphoff, Rossbach, Neidhart, Harenbrock (74' Schuster), Fröling (56' Gebuhr), Schumacher (56' Kinsombi), Lebeau (56' Gudjohnsen), Gürleyen, Rossipal, Pfanne (74' Dietze), Krohn (81' Dirkner)
Substitutes: Hagemoser, Lang, Koster, Wagner, Zamzow
Manager: Hollerbach
Who played for Lazio
Provedel (46' Mandas), Lazzari, Casale, Patric, Marusic (46' Pellegrini), Vecino (46' Cataldi), Rovella (68' Akpa Akpro), Guendouzi (68' Dele-Bashiru), Isaksen (61' Tchaouna), Castellanos (79' Cancellieri), Zaccagni (61' Pedro)
Substitutes: Furlanetto, Hysaj, Basic, Ruggeri
Manager: Baroni
Referee: Dankert
Goals: 44' Zaccagni, 50' Castellanos, 71' Tchaouna
What happened next
Lazio's season started well but then faded.
In Serie A they ended up 7th and so missed out on Europe for the first time in many years.
In this year's European campaign things began wonderfully and Lazio came top of the 36-team table (W6, D1, L1). They then eliminated Viktoria Plzen but then later lost to Bodo-Glimt on penalties in the quarter-finals.
In Coppa Italia the Biancocelesti went out against Inter 0-2 in the quarter-final.
The highlights of the season apart from the good European run were beating future Italian champions Napoli both away in the league and at home in Coppa Italia. Other good results in Serie A were away wins at Como 5-1, Milan 2-1 and Atalanta 1-0. Not enough however to salvage the season.
Marco Baroni would leave at the end of the season and Maurizio Sarri returned for the 2025-26 season.
Hansa Rostock finished 5th in the Liga 3 and are still in the 3rd tier of German football.
Let's talk about Taty Castellanos
Valentín Mariano José Castellanos Giménez, known as Taty, was born on October 3, 1998, in Mendoza, Argentina.
He started with the youth academies of Banco Nacion, Club Muriado and finally Universidad de Chile.
In 2017 he played a cup game for Universidad de Chile but was then loaned to Torque in Uruguay. He played 30 games for the team from Montevideo and scored 5 goals, all in the top flight.
In July 2018 he moved to USA and signed for New York City FC. He stayed four years making 134 appearances with 59 goals. He won a MLS in 2021 and was top scorer with 22 goals.
His prolificacy attracted the attention of some European clubs and in 2022 he joined Girona in the Spanish Liga. He played 37 games and scored 14 goals (13 in Liga) and the Catalans finished a decent 10th. His four goals in a 4-2 win against Real Madrid earned him further newspaper headlines.
In 2023 he signed for Lazio. In his first season, under Maurizio Sarri (1-28), Giovanni Martusciello (29) and Igor Tudor (30-38) he played 46 games and scored 6 goals (4 in A). Lazio finished 7th.
In his second year things went better for him personally. He played 40 games under Marco Baroni and scored 14 goals (10 in A). Lazio finished 7th again and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League (out on a penalty shoot-out in which Taty missed the last one).
In his third he only stayed until January. Under Maurizio Sarri again he played 12 games with 2 goals.
In the winter market session he moved to the Premier League and joined West-Ham United. He made 16 appearances and scored 5 goals (4 in league). The Hammers struggled and ended up relegated to the Championship.
Castellanos has 2 caps for Argentina dating back to 2024.
Castellanos is a centre-forward who likes link up play as well as finishing. He is a skilful player and despite not being particularly tall is good in the air.
At Lazio he had his moments but in general was not a great success. He looked the part with the perfect footballer hair cut and the swagger but did not often deliver. In a way he spent too much time participating in the moves and not enough actually in the area. He had good technique though and scored some spectacular goals, such as the bicycle kick away at Genoa.
In my personal opinion I thought he would make a better beach soccer player.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League |
2023-24 | 46 (6) | 35 (4) | 4 (2) | 7 | - |
2024-25 | 40 (14) | 29 (10) | - | - | 11 (4) |
Jul-Dec 2025 | 12 (2) | 11 (2) | 1 | - | - |
Total | 98 (22) | 75 (16) | 5 (2) | 7 | 11 (4) |
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