March 26, 2006: Lazio Sampdoria 2-0

Simon Basten
Mar 25
4 min read

Europe in sight

An Oddo brace puts Lazio in an excellent position

Also on this day:

March 26, 1972, Lazio Arezzo 2-0. Chinaglia and Abbondanza secure Lazio victory over tough Arezzo.
March 26, 1922, Lazio Pro Roma 6-1. Lazio finally manage to score heavily now that Bernardini is placed at the centre of the attack.

The season so far

After a difficult first season under president Claudio Lotito, things began to be a little more organised in the 2005-06 season. A new experienced manager was chosen, Delio Rossi, and some interesting players were brought in: Valon Behrami, Guglielmo Stendardo and Gaby Mudingayi, all players that had done very well in Serie B the previous season. The Biancocelesti said goodbye to Roberto Muzzi, Paolo Negro, Giuliano Giannichedda and Fernando Couto plus many of the players bought at the last minute the previous year.

The Lazio official season started in mid-July with the Intertoto Cup. Lazio managed to participate because Messina were not interested in taking part. Lazio easily dismissed Tampere United in the quarterfinals but fell to Olympique Marseilles in the semis.

Lazio had European ambitions and their start in Serie A was a good one with four wins in the first seven games. Very strong at home but away from home they were unable to switch their defensive mentality to a more attacking one. This meant that Lazio suffered away from home and against the big teams and when things were not working team-wise, there was trouble.

After the first half of the season Lazio were eighth but the signing of Stefano Mauri in January was able to give the team what they needed on the left and also some extra inventiveness. In the second part of the campionato they had lost just two games and were currently eighth, just two points away from a UEFA Cup qualification.

The match: Sunday, March 26, 2006, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

The Biancocelesti had a problem in defence since Emilson Cribari had been suspended so Delio Rossi put Luciano Zauri as central defender and Manuel Belleri as left back. Lazio started well and in the second minute a Tommaso Rocchi shot was only just wide following a Fabio Liverani assist. In the 24th minute a Zenoni whack forced Angelo Peruzzi to make a great save.

The match did not offer much until the first minute of injury time when Stefano Mauri crossed from the right and Belleri headed the ball towards the goal. Only a marvellous save from Francesco Antonioli avoided Lazio from scoring. Giulio Falcone, accidently headbutted by Belleri, was forced off.

In the second half, after various attempts from both sides, the Biancocelesti scored. Massimo Oddo from outside the box tried a shot which was deflected by Angelo Palombo wrong footing his keeper. In the last minute of the match Marcello Castellini interrupted a Valon Behrami opportunity in the box with his hand. Penalty, which Oddo safely put past Antonioli.

Good win for Lazio, Europe in sight.

Who played for Lazio

Peruzzi, Oddo, Siviglia, Zauri, Belleri, Behrami, Mudingayi, Liverani, Mauri (79’ Manfredini), Di Canio (52’ Pandev), Rocchi

Substitutes: Ballotta, Stendardo, Giallombardo, Keller, Bonanni

Manager: D.Rossi

Who played for Sampdoria

Antonioli, Zenoni, Sala, Falcone (45' Gasbarroni), Castellini, Diana, Volpi, Palombo, Tonetto, Foti (46' Kutuzov), Flachi

Substitutes: Castellazzi, Pavan, Iuliano, Mingozzi, Dalla Bona

Manager: Novellino

Referee: Rosetti

Goals: 70’ Oddo, 90’ Oddo (pen)

What happened next

This consistency in the second half of the season brought with it a place in the UEFA Cup, secured with two games to go. Unfortunately, Lazio were then penalised 30 points for their “alleged” involvement in the Calciopoli scandal, so missed out on Europe in the end.

Zauri was the player with most appearances (45 including Coppa Italia and Intertoto) and Rocchi was the leading goal scorer (17).

Let's talk about Andrea Giallombardo

Andrea Giallombardo was born in Rome on August 19, 1980.

He started playing football in the Roma youth teams and in 1999 was loaned to Foggia in Serie C2 where he made 12 appearances. He then went on to play a couple of seasons with Viareggio always in the fourth tier where he scored his first professional goal. After 55 appearances he signed for Grosseto, did well, and attracted the attention of Catania who played in Serie B. He joined the Sicilians in August of 2003 playing 41 times. This paved the way for a further upgrade since in 2004 he signed with Livorno in Serie A.

After a season he was loaned to Lazio but he found very little playing time and made just 8 appearances all season. In the summer of 2006 he went back to Livorno but after six months, and even less playing time, he was loaned to Messina, still in Serie A. At the end of the season the Giallorossi were relegated and he signed for Ascoli in Serie B. He played for four seasons with 111 appearances.

In January 2011 he moved back to Grosseto where he stayed for a season and a half before returning to Ascoli. His last years of professional football were with Latina and Gubbio on loan from Parma. He retired after playing a season with Città di Palombara near Rome.

Giallombardo was a left back. His stay at Lazio was marred by a complicated relationship with manager Delio Rossi who rarely played him.