Last gasp Behrami winner gives Lazio derby glory
The perfect script for a derby and all fans dream as a 92nd minute goal gives Lazio victory over eternal city rivals
Also on this day: March 19, 1995, Lazio Genoa 4-0. An impressive attacking display enables the Biancocelesti to easily brush off the Rossoblu. Player of the day: Leonardo Colucci
The season so far
The previous season had been excellent for Lazio with a 3rd place and a Champions League preliminary qualification.
This season Manager Delio Rossi had been confirmed and there had been no major upheavals to the squad. The main signing, Argentine goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo, would have to remain at River Plate for another year due to bureaucratic problems. Another South-American keeper had been brought in to fill the gap with Uruguayan Fernando Muslera arriving from Nacional Montevideo. Other new entries were defenders Alexsandar Kolarov (OFK Belgrade) and Lionel Scaloni (Real Santander), midfielders Simone del Nero (Brescia) and Mourad Meghni (Bologna).
In the winter market Lazio had welcomed defenders Stefan Radu (Dinamo Bucharest) and David Rozehnal (Newcastle United), midfielder Ousmane Dabo (Manchester City) and striker Rolando Bianchi (Manchester City - loan).
Sadly goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi was retiring after a fantastic career. Fellow keeper Matteo Sereni was also leaving (Torino). Heading off were also midfielders Pasquale Foggia (Cagliari - loan) and LuÃs Jimenez (Ternana - end of loan) and striker Simone Inzaghi (Atalanta - loan). In the winter Lionel Scaloni went to Spain (Mallorca), defender Guglielmo Stendardo to Juventus on loan and striker Stephen Makinwa to Reggina, again on loan.
Lazio's season had started off well getting into the Champions League proper (Dinamo Bucharest 1-1, 3-1) but then not continued so positively. They had not got through the CL group stage with Olympiakos (1-1, 1-2), Werder Bremen (1-2, 2-1) and Real Madrid (2-2, 1-3).
In Serie A they drew the first three and then got their first win after five matches (Cagliari 3-1). They had lost the first derby 3-2 and the previous week had drawn away 2-2 with Udinese. Lazio were currently in 11th position after 8 wins, 10 draws and 10 defeats. The Biancocelesti top scorers were Tommaso Rocchi and Goran Pandev both with 10.
In the Coppa Italia Lazio were through to the Semi-finals where they would play Inter home and away in April- May. The Biancocelesti had eliminated Napoli (2-1, 1-1) and Fiorentina (2-1, 2-1).
Lazio's season had sadly been marked by tragedy on November 11. On an away trip to Inter a Lazio fan, 26-year-old Gabriele Sandri, had been shot to death by a policeman. The lethal bullet had been fired from a distance of about 50 metres while Sandri was asleep in the back of a car in a motorway cafe car park in Tuscany (Gabriele was a well-known dj in the capital). It later transpired the police thought there was a robbery going on. The Inter-Lazio game was called off and there were fan revolts all over Italy in protest about the tragedy. The policeman, Luigi Spaccarotella, would later be condemned for wilful homicide.
Today's and eternal rivals Roma were a strong team in this period. With manager Luciano Spalletti, the previous season the Giallorossi had finished 2nd in the league, reached the quarterfinals of Champions League and won the Coppa Italia.
They had made some changes to their squad to try and bridge the small gap from the top. Three new defenders had arrived: Cicinho (Real Madrid), Marco Andreolli and Juan (Bayer Leverkusen). In midfield they had added Matteo Brighi (Chievo - end of loan) and Ludovic Giuly (Barcelona) while in attack they welcomed Mauro Esposito (Cagliari - on loan).
Leaving Trigoria were defender Cristian Chivu (Inter) and three strikers; Stefano Okaka (Modena - loan), Shabani Nonda (Galatasaray) and scudetto legend Vincenzo Montella (back to Sampdoria - loan). In the winter session two more players had left: disappointing Samuel Kuffour (Ajax- loan) and newly arrived Marco Andreolli (Vicenza - loan).
This season was going well for Roma. In August they had won the Supercoppa Italiana beating Inter 1-0. In the league they were again in the title race with Inter. They lay in second place after 18 wins, 7 draws and 3 defeats. The week before they had beaten Milan 2-1. Their top scorer so far was Francesco Totti with 13.
They were also doing well in the Champions League. The "Lupi" had got through the group stage of Dynamo Kiev, Manchester United and Sporting Lisbon after 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat. Roma had then eliminated Real Madrid in the Round of 16 thanks to two 2-1 victories. They would now have to play Manchester United in the quarter finals in early April. In the Coppa Italia Roma were in the semi-final and would play Catania home and away in April-May.
So, a high-flying Roma outfit and a struggling Lazio arrived at today’s derby clash. Roma were clear favourites but as they say "Il derby è una partita a sé" (The derby is a game in itself).
The match: Wednesday, March 19, 2008, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
This was the 100th derby played at the Stadio Olimpico and had an unusual experimental 21.15 kick-off time. There was a crowd of 55,000 on a mild Roman evening.
Before the game both team captains, Tommaso Rocchi and Francesco Totti, honoured Gabriele Sandri's memory by laying a bouquet of flowers under the Curva Nord, where the fans to this day display the image of the unlucky young Lazio fan, murdered by a policeman while following his team on an away trip. Gabriele's father, Giorgio, was also present in the most passionate Lazio sector.
The line-ups were more or less as expected. Lazio played Pandev- Rocchi- Bianchi up front while Roma chose Mirko Vucinic and Alberto Aquilani over Mancini and David Pizarro to feed Totti in attack. Roma had the advantage of knowing Inter had drawn in the afternoon so with a win could reduce the margin from the Nerazzurri to only four points.
Lazio started off brighter and in the 7th minute a Kolarov freekick was saved onto the crossbar by Doni. Lazio were on top and had further half chances with Rocchi and Bianchi. The Biancolesti were tactically well positioned and Roma, despite gradually gaining territorial supremacy, had great difficulty creating any danger.
That was until the 31st minute and even then it was completely fortuitous. A strong Valon Behrami clearance went only as far as Rodrigo Taddei, just beyond the penalty spot, and came back off his shoulder freakishly spinning over Marco Ballotta to give Roma the lead. A goal of such luck rarely seen on football pitches. Roma are known as "La Magica" to their fans but this was taking tricks a bit too far. Mind you it would be an ideal way to win a derby.
Lazio were hit but not sunk and reacted well to the setback. They went on the attack, put Roma under pressure and equalised after 44 minutes. A good team move involving six players was finished off by Pandev after Doni had parried a Kolarov low cross, 1-1 just before halftime and well deserved.
At the beginning of the second half Roma almost immediately took back the lead after only eleven seconds when a Simone Perrotta shot shaved the post. Lazio went just as close a minute later with a Pandev shot set up by Rocchi. In the 9th minute Kolarov struck the outside of the post with a low curling freekick.
In the 57th minute Lazio went ahead. Kolarov beat a defender on the left and put in a perfect cross for Bianchi who was pulled down by Juan. Rocchi took an awful penalty but it somehow beat Doni, Lazio 2-Roma1.
The lead did not last long and after five minutes the Giallorossi equalised. A long ball from midfield was contested by Emilson Cribari and Vucinic and fell to Perrotta who with a crisp low right foot beat Ballotta. Roma's celebrations were contained, certainly a rarity, but Perrotta immediately picked up the ball from the net and sprinted back to the centre circle. They really had to win this to stay in contention for the Scudetto. So 62 minutes gone and it was all square at 2-2.
The last half hour was a very tense affair. There were six substitutions: for Lazio on came Massimo Mutarelli, Gaby Mudingayi and Stefano Mauri, so more muscular while for Roma Christian Panucci, Giuly and Mancini, so more offensive. In fact it was Roma who had the clearest chance in the 82nd minute but Totti was selfish and "didn't see" an unmarked Vucinic.
Roma were made to pay in the dying minutes. In the 92nd minute, so already into the 6 minutes of injury time, a Pandev cross was met by Mauri who stretched out and put it back across goal, it reached Behrami on the other side and the Swiss midfielder, from close range, hammered the ball into the roof of the net. He continued his run towards the Curva Nord where the fans were in heaven and was soon joined by a surprisingly speedy Delio Rossi and the whole squad. Final score Lazio 3 Roma 2.
An injury time winner after trailing in a derby would be fantastic but at the same time to basically cut out the rival "Cousins" from the title race was even better.
A derby to remember for Lazio, mind you like all winning derbies. They are big events when any self-respecting fan can recall exactly where he or she was (if not at the ground) and with whom. Personally I remember I was in Tunisia with my sister (who fortunately has no club possessing her soul and is not infected with the football disease). After a hard day of sightseeing and what with the late kick off I was already in bed (but obviously not asleep) when the result came through via SMS (pre- smart phones, for me anyway). Luckily, I had a bottle of Tunisian wine in my backpack so it was a debauched derby celebration with a few glasses of rouge in an El Nefta hotel room bed for me. Priceless.
Who played for Lazio
Ballotta, De Silvestri (66' Mutarelli), Siviglia, Cribari, Kolarov, Dabo (83' Mudingayi), Ledesma, Behrami, Pandev, Rocchi, Bianchi (72' Mauri)
Manager: D.Rossi
Who played for Roma
Doni, Cicinho, Mexes, Juan, Cassetti (88' Panucci), De Rossi, Aquilani, Taddei (66' Giuly), Perrotta, Vucinic (84' Mancini), Totti
Substitutes: Curci, Tonetto, Brighi, Pizarro
Manager: Spalletti
Referee: Morganti
Goals: 31' Taddei, 44' Pandev, 57' Rocchi (pen), 62' Perrotta, 92' Behrami
What happened next
The derby triumph proved to be a flash in the pan for Lazio. They would not win another game for almost two months. They lost 4 and drew 3 before finally winning 2-0 away at Genoa on May 11.They then won the next, and last game of the season, at home to Napoli and thus finished in 12th position after 11 wins, 13 draws and 14 defeats. The top scorers were Rocchi and Pandev with 19 (the North Macedonian getting 14 in Serie A).
In Coppa Italia Lazio were then knocked out by Inter in the semis; a promising 0-0 away was then followed by a 2-0 home defeat at the Olimpico.
All in all, a disappointing season for Lazio. The highlights being the access to the Champions League group stage and above all today's last gasp victory over fierce rivals Roma.
Roma themselves finished the league strongly but it was not enough. The Giallorossi would not lose another league game with 6 wins and 3 draws but had to settle for second place behind Champions Inter. The final gap was only three points so Laziali had the satisfaction of knowing the derby victory on San Giuseppe (also Fathers day in Italy) had contributed to the outcome. Roma ended up on 82 points after 24 wins, 10 draws and 4 defeats. Their top scorer was Totti with 18 (14 in Serie A).
In the Champions League the "Lupi" were defeated twice by Manchester United in the quarter finals; 0-2 in Rome and 0-1 in Manchester).
Roma did get some satisfaction in the Coppa Italia. In the semi-final Catania were beaten 2-1 on aggregate and then Roma sank Inter 2-1 in the final at the Olimpico.
The scudetto, as mentioned, was won by Roberto Mancini's Inter while at the opposite end Empoli, Parma and Livorno slipped down to Serie B.
Lazio 2007-08
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Serie A | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 47 |
Coppa Italia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Champions League | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
Total | 52 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 66 |
Top five appearances
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League |
Rocchi | 48 | 36 | 4 | 8 |
Pandev | 44 | 32 | 5 | 7 |
Ledesma | 43 | 32 | 4 | 7 |
Cribari | 42 | 31 | 5 | 6 |
Ballotta | 39 | 29 | 2 | 8 |
Top goal scorers
Player | Total | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League |
Rocchi | 19 | 14 | 1 | 4 |
Pandev | 19 | 14 | - | 5 |
Bianchi | 4 | 4 | - | - |
Let's talk about Valon Behrami
Valon Behrami was born in Titova Mitrovica (Kosovo), on April 19,1985. He is Swiss but of Albanian origin.
When Behrami was five his family moved to Stabio, in the Italian speaking Ticino region of Switzerland. In 1995 his family were almost sent back to Kosovo but Valon's athletics club gathered enough signatures to convince the authorities to let them stay on.
He started his youth career with local clubs Stabio, Chiasso and then Lugano. The latter became his first professional club and in 2002-03 he made two appearances in the Swiss second division.
Despite his lack of experience he was snapped up on a fifty- fifty deal by Italian clubs Genoa and Udinese. He went to play for Genoa where he played 24 games in Serie B. The following year Udinese sold their half to Genoa but Behrami went to play for Verona again in Serie B. He had a good season playing 33 games and scoring 3 goals.
In 2005 he joined Lazio. Initially the Romans only bought 50% but then in January 2006 became sole owners. At Lazio he found manager Delio Rossi and they had a good season coming 6th. It was all however frustrated by the club's implication in the Calciopoli scandal for which Lazio were docked 30 points, ending up 16th and losing their UEFA Cup place. Behrami played 26 league games with 2 goals (Fiorentina, Empoli) and 2 in Coppa Italia.
His second year with the Biancocelesti was an extremely positive one with a 3rd place and a Champions League preliminary qualification. Behrami played 17 Serie A games with 1 goal (Udinese). From January onwards, with the departure of Massimo Oddo to Milan, he also started to adapt from midfielder to full-back.
In 2007-08 he played 22 league games with 1 goal (Roma...more about that soon), 5 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Fiorentina) and 5 in the Champions League. His goal against Roma is legendary. In a derby where the Giallorossi were in contention for the title, Lazio struggling in mid-table and with the match on 2-2 in injury time, Behrami fired home a 92nd minute winner thus eternally engraving his name in Lazio history.
In the summer of 2008 he was off to the Premier League. He signed for West-Ham United in England. At first, he threatened to use the FIFA article 17 (could free a player under contract by paying a fee) but then agreed to be sold to the Hammers for 6.5 million Euros.
His three years with the Claret and Blue East Londoners were positive but hindered by injuries. In March 2009 he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee. He was out of action for a year and then again for a month in November 2010. He played 63 games for West-Ham (58 in the league) and scored 5 goals.
In 2010-11 he returned to Serie A and joined Fiorentina. In Florence he was managed by Serbian former Lazio Sinisa Mihajlovic and the Viola finished 9th. Behrami made 17 league appearances.
The following year under three different managers (Mihajlovic, Delio Rossi and Vincenzo Guerini) Fiorentina finished 13th. Behrami played 31 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia
In 2012-13 the Kosovan- Swiss headed south and joined Napoli. The Partenopei, under manager Walter Mazzarri, had a good season finishing second behind Juventus and qualifying for the Champions League. Behrami himself played 33 league games, 3 in the Europa League and 1 in the Italian Supercoppa final (lost to Juventus on penalties).
In his second year under the Vesuvius he played 21 league games, 3 in Coppa Italia, 6 in Champions League and 3 in Europa League. Under Rafa Benitez the Azzurri came 3rd, qualifying for CL, and won the Coppa Italia (Fiorentina 3-1), in yet another tragic night for Italian football (a Napoli fan Ciro Esposito was killed by a Roma Ultrà before the game causing chaos and a delayed kick-off).
In 2014 Behrami went for a new experience in the Bundesliga and joined Hamburger SV. He stayed one year, playing 22 league games and 1 in the German Cup. "Die Rothosen" (The Red Shorts) had a poor season narrowly escaping relegation (play off against Karlsruher SC) and he moved on again.
In 2015 he returned to the Premier League and joined newly promoted Watford. In his first season he played 21 league games and 1 cup game. In his second year with the Hornets he was reunited with former Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri. He made 27 league appearances and the Golden Boys managed to stay up in 17th place.
In 2017 he decided to return to Italy. He finally played for Udinese who had co-owned him 14 years earlier. He stayed in Friuli for two years. In the first he played 20 league games under three different managers; Luigi Del Neri, Massimo Oddo and Igor Tudor. After many years he also scored a goal (Genoa). In his second year more managerial upheaval, Julio Velásquez, Davide Nicola and then Igor Tudor and he played 19 league games and scored 1 goal (Cagliari). Unfortunately his season ended early as he fractured his leg in a game against Milan on April 4. Udinese finished a decent 12th.
Behrami then returned to his homeland and joined Sion in Switzerland. His Swiss adventure however lasted only 4 games and in October the contract was terminated by mutual consent.
In January he was back in Serie A with his original Italian club, Genoa. In the "Città della Lanterna" (The City of the Lighthouse) he was also reunited with former Udinese coach Davide Nicola. His second stint with the "Grifone" lasted two years and he played 36 more games in Serie A.
In January 2022, with Genoa heavily involved in a relegation battle they would eventually lose, he left for Brescia in Serie B. He would play 5 more professional games for the "Rondinelle" (Little Swallows) before announcing his retirement.
He also had a good International career. He played 83 times for Switzerland with 2 goals. He made his debut at 20 and scored the decisive 2006 World Cup qualification goal against Turkey. In the actual finals in Germany he would play only two minutes due to injury. He took part in Euro 2008 and Euro 2016 plus the World Cups of 2010, 2014 and 2018 thus becoming the first Swiss player to take part in four World Cups. His national career with the Red Crosses ended when former Lazio manager Vladimir Petkovic became coach and left Behrami out.
Behrami is one of the few top or former top football players who is married to an even more famous partner. In 2018 he married Lara Gut, the Swiss Alpine skier who has won 3 Olympic medals (including a gold), 7 World Championship medals (2 golds), 35 races in the World Cup and been on the podium 66 times. Let's not get competitive here, especially between husband and wife, but Behrami won 1 Coppa Italia in his whole career...
Jokes aside, Behrami was a good and extremely versatile player. At 1.86 for 76 kilos he was a born sportsman. He started his career as a winger but later adapted to central midfielder and full back. He was, especially at Lazio and in his early career, exceptionally athletic and dynamic. In his years at Lazio he looked as if he could run all day and also as if he enjoyed it. A natural athlete with medium level skill, always in demand in modern football. Behrami had a varied career and had the intelligence to adapt his position and way of playing to his age and injury problems.
At Lazio in his three years he was a hardworking, reliable and popular player. He will obviously always be remembered for his epic 92nd minute derby winner and his sprint under the Curva Nord gesturing "Testa e Cuore" (Head and Heart), two things Behrami possessed in abundance.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
2005-06 | 28 (2) | 26 (2) | 2 | - |
2006-07 | 17 (1) | 17 (1) | - | - |
2007-08 | 32 (2) | 22 (1) | 5 (1) | 5 |
Total | 77 (5) | 65 (4) | 7 (1) | 5 |
Sources