March 8, 2009: Napoli Lazio 0-2
- Simon Basten
- Mar 8
- 7 min read
Volcanic Rocchi
A Rocchi brace gives Lazio important win
The season so far
The previous season had been a disappointing one. Lazio had managed to reach the Champions League group stage but were predictably knocked out despite putting on brave performances. The team was not structured to play at such a high-level and as a consequence suffered the stress and fatigue that such a competition brings. President Claudio Lotito had not invested much for the campaign so the Biancocelesti struggled all year ending up 12th.
It looked like the President had learnt his lesson and in this year’s transfer window a lot of interesting players had arrived: goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo, exciting forward Mauro Zarate, promising right back Stephan Lichtsteiner and experienced midfielder Francelino Matuzalem. Saying goodbye to Rome were Riccardo Bonetto, Gaby Mudingayi and Luciano Zauri.
In the campionato it was not a good year. Lazio went top after six games but then fell back. However, after the first part of the season they were only four points from the holy fourth place which allowed a Champions League qualification but now it was eight points away and the Biancocelesti were 7th in the company of Cagliari.
In Coppa Italia it was a different ball game. Lazio opened the campaign at the end of August in the third round by beating, not without initial difficulty, Benevento who were playing in Serie C. A Goran Pandev brace plus goals from Mourad Meghni, Christian Manfredini and an own goal secured access to the next round.
In October Lazio had to face Atalanta and won comfortably 2-0 (Cristian Ledesma and Pandev), setting up a fifth round against Milan in San Siro. A difficult game which Lazio played very well and had a number of chances before Andriy Shevchenko scored his umpteenth goal against his favourite victim. All seemed lost but Lazio managed to equalise in the dying minutes thanks to a Zarate penalty. In the second minute of extra time Pandev was lethal and Lazio went on to the quarterfinals against Torino, this time at home.
In a two-faced game, Lazio fell behind in the first half, but came back in the second and scored three goals (again Pandev plus Stefano Mauri and Tommaso Rocchi).
In the semi-final Lazio had to play against Juventus, this time over two games. In the first leg at the Olimpico, Juventus were the obvious favourites and went one up in the first half. But Lazio put up a fight and created a number of unexpected headaches for the Bianconeri. Pandev equalised and Rocchi then gave Lazio the advantage. The return match would be played on April 22.
The match: Sunday, March 8, 2009, Stadio San Paolo, Naples
It was Lazio who took control of the match early on, even threatening Nicolas Navarro’s goal a couple of times. But the first real scoring chance belonged to the Neapolitans: in the 6th minute, a long pass from Michele Pazienza, a clever first-time touch by Marek Hamsik, and a left-footed shot on the run by Ezequiel Lavezzi forced Fernando Muslera into a brilliant save.
Lazio dropped back into defence and Napoli grew in confidence, though they made too many mistakes in the final pass. In the 16th minute, the Neapolitans came close again: a cross from Pazienza found Marcelo Zalayeta unmarked, but he headed over the bar. Lazio responded in the 22nd minute: Aleksandar Kolarov made a run down the left and played the ball inside to Mauro Zarate, who missed it, then Cristian Brocchi slid in but sent it into the side netting. In the 36th minute, Napoli threatened once more: a cross from Mariano Bogliacino on the left was met by Zalayeta, whose header again went over the crossbar. Just before halftime, Matteo Contini committed a bad foul, elbowing Zarate hard in the neck, but referee Saccani did not intervene.
In the second half, Napoli started strongly. Lazio struggled, were pinned back in their own area, and were unable to counterattack. Coach Delio Rossi tried to change things by bringing on Tommaso Rocchi for Zarate. It proved decisive: in the 57th minute, the substitute burst forward on the counterattack, perfectly set up by Pasquale Foggia with his very first touch, catching the Napoli defence badly out of position, and beat Navarro with a right-footed shot on the run.
Napoli refused to give in and pushed forward desperately in the search of an equaliser, but for the San Paolo crowd the cold shower came in the 64th minute. After a free kick from the left taken by Cristian Ledesma and deflected by the wall, Rocchi found space, controlled the ball, and slotted it home with a left-footed shot just inside the post.
The home fans began to whistle their own players. Lazio calmly managed the game, kept possession, and still threatened on the counter. Then it was celebration time, with three more points taking them to 41 in the standings. It was Lazio’s third consecutive 2–0 victory.
Who played for Napoli
Navarro, Santacroce (66' Maggio), Cannavaro, Contini, Aronica, Pazienza (73' Russotto), Blasi, Bogliacino, Hamsik, Lavezzi, Zalayeta (71' Denis)
Substitutes: Bucci, Rinaudo, Montervino, Pià
Manager: Reja
Who played for Lazio
Muslera, Lichtsteiner, Siviglia,Cribari, Kolarov, Brocchi, Ledesma, Matuzalem (71' De Silvestri), Foggia (63' Mauri), Pandev, Zarate (56' Rocchi)
Substitutes: Carrizo, Radu, Rozehnal, Manfredini
Manager: D.Rossi
Referee: Saccani
Goals: 57’ Rocchi, 65’ Rocchi
What happened next
Lazio ended up 10th in Serie A but the was glory.
In the return match of Coppa Italia in Turin Lazio went ahead 2-0 thanks to Zarate and Aleksandar Kolarov and reached the final.
Lazio and Sampdoria were the surprise finalists, and despite the fact that the Biancocelesti had the home advantage, there was no clear favourite. Zarate gave Lazio an early lead but Giampaolo Pazzini equalised on the half hour. There were chances for both teams, but the game finished 1-1. The result did not change in extra time, so the 2008-09 Coppa Italia was to be decided on a penalty shootout.
Fernando Muslera saved the first penalty and it looked good for Lazio. But Rocchi then hit the woodwork with the second and the teams were still level after the first five. After Muslera saved Hugo Campagnaro’s spot kick, Ousmane Dabo then gave Lazio their fifth Coppa Italia and a European Cup qualification for the 2009-10 season.
Ledesma and Zarate were the players with most appearances (41), the Argentinian scored the most goals (16).
Let’s talk about Tommaso Rocchi
Tommaso Rocchi was one of the first players signed by President Claudio Lotito and became a club legend winning two trophies.
Rocchi was born in Venice on September 19, 1977. He started his career in the Venezia youth teams but once he turned 16 he moved to Juventus. With the Bianconeri he won the Primavera Championship 1993-94 and the year after he was included in the first team squad but he never played.
He was loaned to Pro Patria in Serie C2 in 1996 and stayed a year playing regularly (26 appearances with 6 goals).
For the 1997-98 season he moved up to C1 with Fermana but after a few months left for Saronno in C1 where he scored 10 goals.
In 1998 he signed with Como in C1 where he stayed for two years appearing in 69 games and scoring 25 goals.
The next year he signed for Treviso in Serie B and despite a good contribution of 8 goals could not avoid them from relegation to Serie C.
He was however spotted by Empoli who signed him for the 2001-02 season in Serie B. His 11 goals contributed to the Azzurri's promotion and he stayed in Tuscany for another two years in Serie A. He switched from being at the centre of the attack to helping out his attacking partner but still was able to score 17 goals in Serie A including a hat-trick against Juventus.
In August 2004 he signed for Lazio. He stayed in Rome eight and a half years, becoming a fan favourite and captain. He took Lazio to an incredible Champions League qualification in 2006-07, a Coppa Italia triumph in 2009 and a Supercoppa victory against Inter, who would go on to win the "triplete" (scudetto, Coppa Italia and Champions League).
It was a Lazio in a reconstruction phase following the disastrous financial situation of the early 2000s. President Claudio Lotito was in charge and Rocchi became a point of reference for the team and the club. He formed a marvellous attacking partnership with Goran Pandev. Rocchi is not particularly tall (1.77 metres) but was very fast, had a great sense of position and even gave a hand in defence.
He played 292 games for Lazio (243 in Serie A, 20 in Coppa Italia, 8 in Champions League, 17 in Europa League, 3 in the Intertoto Cup and one Supercoppa Final) and scored 105 goals (82 in Serie A, 10 in Coppa Italia, 4 in Champions League, 7 in Europa League, 1 in Intertoto and 1 in the Supercoppa).
In January 2013 he signed for Inter for six months where he scored 3 league goals and in November moved to Padova in Serie B for the rest of the season and scored 5 goals. His last two years of active football were played in Hungary first with Haladas in the top flight and then with Tatabánya in the third flight. He then retired in 2016.
Rocchi earned three caps for Italy and also played in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 scoring in the second game against South Korea before an injury took him out of the competition.
In the summer of 2016 he started his career as a manager with Lazio youth teams and also did a little punditry for Lazio Style Radio. In 2025 he became U19 coach at Guidonia Montecelio.
Tommaso Rocchi is one of Lazio’s greats. He is in sixth place for the most goals scored for the club, sixth for goals in the Italian championships and fourth for goals in Serie A behind Ciro Immobile, Silvio Piola, Beppe Signori and above Giorgio Chinaglia. Great company to be in.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Intertoto Cup | Super Coppa |
2004-05 | 41 (17) | 35 (13) | 1 (2) | - | 5 (2) | - | - |
2005-06 | 41 (17) | 37 (16) | 1 | - | - | 3 (1) | - |
2006-07 | 39 (19) | 36 (16) | 3 (3) | - | - | - | - |
2007-08 | 48 (19) | 36 (14) | 4 (1) | 8 (4) | - | - | - |
2008-09 | 32 (11) | 27 (9) | 5 (2) | - | - | - | - |
2009-10 | 40 (10) | 32 (6) | 2 (1) | - | 5 (2) | - | 1 (1) |
2010-11 | 19 (3) | 17 (3) | 2 | - | - | - | - |
2011-12 | 29 (9) | 20 (5) | 2 (1) | - | 7 (3) | - | - |
2012-Jan 2013 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - |
Total | 292 (105) | 243 (82) | 20 (10) | 8 (4) | 17 (7) | 3 (1) | 1 (1) |
Sources
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