March 25, 2012: Lazio - Cagliari 1-0
- Dag Jenkins
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
Modibo moment
Lazio clinch win with a late goal by their big French defender
The season so far
Lazio had narrowly missed out on Champions League the previous season with 5th place behind Udinese.
This year Edy Reja had been confirmed but there had been a few changes to the squad.
The main novelty was in goal, as Lazio had bought Federico Marchetti from Cagliari while Fernando Muslera went to Galatasaray, in Turkey. The other main new arrivals were defenders Abdoulay Konko (Genoa) and Lorik Cana (Galatasaray), midfielder Senad Lulic (Young Boys, a name to watch out for… Lulic that is), forwards Djibril Cissé (Panathinaikos) and above all Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich).
The other main player leaving was defender Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus) while others were midfielders Pasquale Foggia (Sampdoria - on loan with clause to buy), Christian Manfredini (end of contract - Sambonifacese) plus forwards Sergio Floccari (Parma - on loan with clause to buy) and Mauro Zarate (Inter - on loan with clause to buy).
In the January window keeper Juan Pablo Carrizo (Catania - on loan), defenders Guglielmo Stendardo (Atalanta - on loan) and Luis Pedro Cavanda (Bari - on loan), midfielders Giuseppe Sculli (Genoa - on loan) and forward Djibril Cissé (QPR) had left.
In Serie A the opening fixture on August 28 had been postponed to December 21 due to a players' strike over collective contractual issues so the first game of the season was at San Siro against Milan and ended 2-2.
Lazio were having a positive season despite some heavy unexpected losses. Since their debut Lazio had won 14 (including both derbies 2-1 and Milan 2-0 at home), drawn 5 and lost 8 (including Palermo 1-5, Siena 0-4 and most recently Catania 0-1, all away). The Biancocelesti were in 3rd position, on 48 points.
In the Europa League preliminary round against Rabotnički, from North Macedonia, Lazio had strolled to a 9-1 aggregate win. They then came second in the group stage after 2 wins (Zurich 1-0 and Sporting Lisbon 2-0, both at home), 3 draws (Zurich 1-1 and Vaslui 0-0 away and Vaslui 2-2 at home) and 1 defeat (Sporting Lisbon 1-2 away). This meant Lazio had to meet Atlético Madrid, coming down from Champions League, in a playoff on February 16 and 23. The Colchoneros won 4-1 on aggregate.
In Coppa Italia, Lazio had eliminated Verona 3-2 at home but then been knocked out by Milan 1-3 away.
Cagliari had finished 14th the previous season. The manager was initially Pierpaolo Bisoli, but he was replaced by Roberto Donadoni after the 12th fixture. The Sardinians had lost 1-2 to Lazio in Rome but won 1-0 at home. The top scorer was Alessandro Matri with 11 league goals.
This season the manager was originally Massimo Ficcadenti. He had been sacked after fixture 11 and Davide Ballardini took over, but after fixture 27 Ficcadenti was called back. The main new signings were goalkeeper Vlada Avramov (Fiorentina), midfielders Albin Ekdal (Bologna) and Sebastian Eriksson (IFK Göteborg) plus forwards Moestafa El Kabir (Mjällby - on loan), Víctor Ibarbo (Atlético Nacional-Medellín), Joaquín Larrivey (Vélez Sarsfield - back from loan) and Thiago Ribeiro (Cruzeiro). In January the Rossoblu had added; midfielder Daniele Dessena (Sampdoria) and forward Mauricio Pinilla (Palermo).
Leaving the island were goalkeeper Federico Marchetti (Lazio), midfielder Andrea Lazzari (Fiorentina), Simone Missiroli (Reggina -e nd of loan), Simon Laner (Albinoleffe - end of loan) plus forwards Robert Acquafresca (Bologna) and Daniele Ragatzu (Gubbio - on loan). In January Cagliari had let go of midfielder Davide Biondini (Genoa, after 184 games).
Cagliari were currently joint 12th, with Atalanta on 34 points (8 above drop zone, Lecce on 26). The Rossoblu had won 8 (including Roma 2-1 away and 4-2 at home), drawn 10 (including Juventus 1-1 away and lost 10 (including Lazio 0-3 at home). Their most recent game was a 3-0 home win against Cesena.
In the Coppa Italia, Cagliari had beaten Albinoleffe 5-1 at home but then lost 1-2 at home to Siena and were eliminated.
Lazio needed the three points today for their Champions League hopes. Cagliari were in a relatively comfortable position but could not relax completely yet.
The match: Sunday, March 25, 2012, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
A classic Sunday 3 p.m. kick-off and a decent afternoon with some sun attracted about 30,000 to the Olimpico.
Lazio had a few absences: defender André Dias, midfielder Francelino Matuzalém and forward Miroslav Klose.
Cagliari were without suspended defender Michele Canini who was replaced by Lorenzo Ariaudo.
The first half was a bland affair. Lazio attacked but without conviction and Cagliari defended diligently and tried to unleash speedy Colombian Victor Ibarbo on the counterattack.
Tommaso Rocchi tried his luck with a back heel towards goal, but it was intercepted involuntarily by Francesco Pisano with his hand. No penalty in those days.
Ibarbo had one dangerous run when he even went round Federico Marchetti but then stumbled and shot over the bar before falling into the keeper.
Lazio's only shots were by Cristian Brocchi but were off target.
Lazio were too imprecise with too many wrong passes. Towards the end of the half the Biancocelesti kept Cagliari in their own area but played with long, high balls when they were playing without a tall striker as a target. Halftime Lazio 0 Cagliari 0.
For the second period Reja decided to take off Stefano Mauri, who was having an off day anyway, and bring on big forward Libor Kozak.
The second half continued as the end of the first, but Lazio were too slow and predictable as well as messing up simple passes and crosses.
As the minutes passed, and seeing Lazio's state, the Islanders started to gradually believe they could possibly try and take more than a point away from the capital.
In the 62nd minute the Rossoblu took off Ibarbo and put on Thiago Ribeiro while a minute later Lazio replaced Rocchi with Uruguayan Emiliano Alfaro.
Lazio plodded on while Cagliari waited for an opening to pounce on the break.
On the hour mark Brocchi crossed towards the area where Pisano mishit the ball, and it fortuitously reached Alfaro who turned but shot weakly and Michael Agazzi blocked.
In the 78th minute the Sardinians changed Andrea Cossu for Nenê and two minutes later the Romans tried Antonio Candreva instead of Hernanes.
In the last fifteen minutes Lazio really pushed hard. The result however was endless freekicks in the Cagliari half and five bookings for the visitors in six minutes.
Just as it seemed Cagliari's tactics had thwarted the home side they scored. In the 88th minute, on yet another freekick pumped into the box by Cristian Ledesma, big defender Modibo Diakitè rose up and headed past Agazzi, 1-0.
In the same moment Napoli let their lead against Catania slip away as the Sicilians levelled at 2-2. Double celebrations at the Olimpico.
The game in Rome however was not over yet. Cagliari pegged Lazio back and attacked furiously but on their only real chance Marchetti dived well to deny Swedish midfielder Albin Ekdal.
In the fourth and last minute of added time Candreva almost made it two on the counterattack but his shot came back off the post. Final score: Lazio 1 Cagliari 0.
Lazio had not been at their best but had ultimately found a way to win. A deserved win however at the end of the day as Cagliari were extremely organised but had rarely threatened Marchetti. Lazio had not exactly queued up to score but had pushed forward, albeit confusedly, for the whole game.
Lazio were still 3rd, on 51 points, but now three ahead of Napoli and Udinese who had both drawn and seven ahead of Roma who had lost.
Cagliari were joint 13th, on 34 points with Genoa (six ahead of Lecce in 18th).
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Konko, Diakité, Biava, Radu, Gonzalez, Ledesma, Brocchi, Mauri (46' Kozak), Hernanes (80' Candreva), Rocchi (63' Alfaro)
Who played for Cagliari
Agazzi, Pisano, Ariaudo, Astori, Agostini, Ekdal, Conti, Nainggolan, Cossu (78' Nenè), Ibarbo (62' Ribeiro), Pinilla
Substitutes: Avramov, Bovi, Perico, Gozzi, Larrivey
Manager: Ficcadenti
Referee: Peruzzo
Goal: 88' Diakité
What happened next
Lazio finished 4th but missed out on Champions League again to Udinese. The Biancocelesti qualified for the Europa League. In the remaining 9 games the Biancocelesti won 3 (including Napoli and Inter 3-1 at home), drew 2 and lost 4 (including the decisive match against Udinese 0-2 away). After a promising start to the season Lazio had faded.
The highlight of the season was obviously doing the double on city rivals Roma. The top scorer was Miro Klose with 15 goals (12 in A).
Cagliari finished 15th, on 43 points (seven above relegation zone). The Castedddu then won 2, drew 3 (including Inter 2-2 at home) and lost 4. The top scorer was Larrivey with 10 total goals while only in Serie A it was Pinilla with 8.
With Juventus Champions in Serie A for the 28th time, at the other end Cesena, Novara and Lecce trudged down to Serie B.
The Coppa Italia was won by Napoli (Juventus 2-0) while Chelsea won the Champions League (Bayern Munich on penalties).
Let's talk about Modibo Diakité
Modibo Diakité was born in Bourg-la-Reine, France, on March 2, 1987. He is French of Malian parents.
He arrived in Italy at a young age brought by Sampdoria's youth sector. He then played for Pescara "Primavera" (U19s) and made his debut for the "Abruzzesi" on May 13, 2006, in a Serie B game against Catania. It would be his only match for the "Delfini" (The Dolphins).
In the summer of 2006, he was signed by Lazio for 300,000 Euros. He at first joined the Primavera team but soon went up to the first team. He made his debut under Delio Rossi and played 3 league games.
In 2007-08 he was also a reserve and played 1 game in Serie A. It was in 2008-09 that he started getting some playing time. He played 9 league games with 1 goal (Udinese) and 2 in Coppa Italia (which Lazio won).
On August 8, 2009, in Beijing, he played the whole game in Lazio's 2-1 Supercoppa triumph over Inter. He then played 19 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia and 6 in the Europa League, first under Davide Ballardini and then Edy Reja. The January signings of André Dias and Giuseppe Biava limited his games in the second part of the season.
The following year, again with Reja as manager, he made 8 league appearances and 2 in Coppa Italia.
The 2011-12 season was his best with the Biancocelesti. He played 25 league games with 1 goal (winner against Cagliari), 2 in Coppa Italia and 9 in the Europa League. Lazio came 4th in Serie A and won both derbies.
In 2012 Lazio changed manager and replaced Reja with Vladimir Petkovic. The Bosnian relied mainly on André Dias, Giuseppe Biava and then Lorik Cana and new arrival Michael Ciani so Diakité fell behind in the pecking order and was put out of the squad. He would play only 1 game in Coppa Italia but as they say every little bit helps and Lazio went on to lift the cup beating Roma 1-0 with a Lulic goal on the unforgettable 26th of May.
In the summer of 2013 he moved to the Premier League in England and signed for Sunderland. His adventure with the Black Cats only lasted until January. He played 7 league games and 1 cup game before heading back to Italy.
In the winter market session of 2014 he joined Fiorentina on loan. In Florence with "La Viola" he played 9 Serie A games and 2 in Coppa Italia. Under Vincenzo Montella the "Gigliati" had a good season arriving 4th and were losing finalists in the Coppa Italia.
He then spent 4 months in Spain with Deportivo La Coruña but only played 3 times and then 4 months with Cagliari in Serie A, where he played 9 games.
In the summer of 2015 he joined Frosinone, near Rome, in Serie A. He played 18 league games with 1 goal (Genoa) and 1 game in Coppa Italia but in February was on the move again and the "Ciocari" eventually got relegated.
Diakite however was already at Sampdoria where he played 8 league games in a second spell in Liguria.
In January 2017 he signed for Ternana in Serie B. He played 15 games with 1 goal but in October as a free agent he moved to Bari. The " Galletti" (The Cockerels) however were in deep trouble and were excluded from Italian football (they are now back in Serie B) so Diakité returned to Umbria and Ternana playing another 36 times with 2 goals for the "Rossoverdi".
In 2022 he came back to Rome and joined Roma City, a newly formed club, in Serie D. In recent years he has played for LUISS and Parioli. He is currently playing for Tivoli.
Diakité is a physically strong player (personally I always thought he would have made a good rugby union player). At 1.93 he is a powerful centre-back but he can also play at right full-back. He is obviously good in the air and is known for his ball-winning abilities. He is not particularly technical and although he did improve it was not enough to establish himself as a regular at top level football.
At Lazio he had only one season where he played regularly and in the others he was usually a second choice. He was popular at Lazio, for his sheer size, name, cartoon like face and for his crazy solo attacks when he would suddenly surge forward taking on the entire opposition, "è partito Modibo" (Modibo's off) was often heard at the Olimpico. "Partire" in Italian means leave but also to lose it, as in go crazy… Modibo's excursions were a bit of both.
He won silverware at Lazio, two Italian Cups (2009, 2013) and an Italian Super Cup (2009). He played 90 games for the Biancocelesti and scored 2 goals.
Lazio career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2006-07 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - |
2007-08 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
2008-09 | 11 (1) | 9 (1) | 2 | - | - |
2009-10 | 28 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
2010-11 | 10 | 8 | 2 | - | - |
2011-12 | 36 (1) | 25 (1) | 2 | 9 | - |
2012-13 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - |
Total | 90 (2) | 65 (2) | 9 | 15 | 1 |
Sources
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