May 2, 2021: Lazio Genoa 4-3
- Lazio Stories
- May 2
- 9 min read
Unnecessary risk
Lazio dominated but almost let the win go in the final minutes
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had come fourth securing a Champions League qualification for the first time since 2007. At one point there were even scudetto hopes, but the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic and the forced stoppage took away the exceptional state of form Lazio were in so they had to settle for fourth place.
This season there were high hopes to maintain the position obtained the previous year and to do well in CL. In the summer transfer window new players arrived: Pepe Reina (free agent), Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (Salernitana), Gonzalo Escalante (free agent), Mohamed Fares (Spal), Andreas Pereira (on loan from Manchester United), Vedat Muriqi (Fenerbahçe) and the return of Wesley Hoedt on loan from Southampton. Leaving Lazio were Jordan Lukaku (loan to Antwerp), André Anderson (loan to Salernitana), Jony (loan to Osasuna), Bobby Adekanye (loan to Cadiz), Valon Berisha (Stade Reims), Riccardo Kishna and Ivan Vargic who had not renewed their contracts.
The summer was characterised by the possible arrival of David Silva, splendid Spanish midfielder who had not renewed his contract with Manchester City. The first contacts between the player's agent, his brother Nandez Jimenez, started on July 27. The first offer arrived on August 4: three-year contract, 10 billion euros gross, apartment in central Rome and the use of a private jet. Jimenez arrived in Rome on August 7 to fine tune the details and all was decided. David Silva would be playing for Lazio.
Slight problem. He had not signed the contract yet. Lazio sent the documentation and waited. The agent literally disappeared and Silva continued to train with Man City. Sporting director Igli Tare tried to reach out to the player and his entourage but to no avail. The club decided to issue an ultimatum for August 16. Still no news. On the 17th Jimenez contacted Lazio to say that the deal was off and a few hours later Silva signed for Real Sociedad.
What happened? David Silva’s agent used Lazio to get a better deal with Real Sociedad. As a consequence, with the fans fuming at Tare for not having closed the deal, the club got anxious and signed Muriqi paying him way too much. But Igli needed to send a sign to calm things down. A big mistake.
At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were sixth with Napoli and had four consecutive victories, including a 3-0 in the derby. The wins on the trot (including beating Atalanta in Bergamo) became six before falling to Inter. They were still sixth and a Champions League qualification was rather far away.
In the Champions League it was a different story. In their first game against Erling Haaland’s Borussia Dortmund, Lazio put on a marvellous display and won 3-1. With two wins and four draws they obtained second place, but had then been eliminated by Bayern Munich in the round of 16.
The match: Sunday May 2, 2021, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio started well and in the 6th minute had a chance after Manuel Lazzari created havoc in the box, the ball reached Ciro Immobile but his shot was parried into corner by Mattia Perin. Five minutes later a Senad Lulic header went wide after a good run down the right wing by Lazzari. Immobile threatened again but shaved the post after another Lazzari foray and then Sergej Milinkovic-Savic went close with a shot from outside the penalty area on the left in the 18th minute.
In the 30th minute the Biancocelesti scored. Milinkovic-Savic to Luis Alberto in the box, ball to Joaquin Correa who dribbled one defender but not Ivan Radovanovic who tried to clear, however the ball took a deflection off the Argentinian’s foot and ended up in the net.
In the 43rd minute penalty for Lazio. Luis Alberto found Immobile in the box where he was fouled by Radovanovic. King Ciro took the spot kick and made no mistake.
Genoa reacted and nearly scored with Milan Badelj in the 45th minute but Pepe Reina made a great save to deny the former Lazio midfielder.
In the 47th minute Paolo Ghiglione went off on the right and went into the box. He crossed low and Adam Marusic in an attempt to anticipate Gianluca Scamacca put the ball into his own net.
A minute later Correa to Immobile inside the box, ball to Luis Alberto who with a splendid curling shot made it 3-1.
The trio were again protagonists in the 56th minute. Immobile on the counter attack, ball to Luis Alberto who passed to Correa just inside the penalty area on the left. The Argentinian moved slightly towards the centre and with a clinical shot beat Perin.
Immobile almost made it five in the 69th minute when Lazzari set him up in the box but his shot was slowed down by Nicolò Rovella and Perin saved.
In the 80th minute Danilo Cataldi tackled Badelj in the box and for the ref it was a penalty. Scamacca reduced the deficit. A minute later Badelj to Eldor Shomurodov who beat Reina for the 4-3.
Lazio managed to hold on and take the three points. But they had to learn not to let their guard down in the final minutes. The match was virtually over and they let Genoa in the door.
Who played for Lazio
Reina, Marusic, Hoedt, Radu, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic (82' Akpa Akpro), Leiva (57' Cataldi), Luis Alberto (82' Pereira), Lulic (67' Fares), Correa (82' Parolo), Immobile
Manager: S. Inzaghi
Who played for Genoa
Perin, Biraschi, Radovanovic (46' Pjaca), Masiello, Goldaniga, Strootman (52' Rovella), Badelj, Zajc (46' Ghiglione), Zappacosta (69' Cassata), Destro (46' Scamacca), Shomurodov
Manager: Ballardini
Referee: Giacomelli
Goals: 30' Correa, 43' Immobile (pen), 47' Marusic (og), 48' Luis Alberto, 56' Correa, 80' Scamacca (pen), 81' Shomurodov
What happened next
The season was characterised by great games, on a par with the previous season, and matches where Lazio were completely absent. So often the team would make three steps forward one week and two back the week after. And these steps back were often against “weaker teams”.
Why were there problems? There were probably four reasons.
Lazio, for the first time in many many years, were in the Champions League. This sapped some of the strength out of the team.
The second problem was that the players signed in the summer were not doing well and the much-needed reinforcements came in areas where there was no need (€20 million for Vedat Muriqi) instead of where they were desperately needed (defence).
Simone Inzaghi was making many mistakes. He chose Mohamed Fares and the return of Wesley Hoedt in the transfer window and they were just not good enough; he kept insisting on playing Joaquin Correa who was the shadow of the previous season; kept Luis Alberto on the pitch for 90 minutes on his off days and substituted him early in the second half on his good days; had problems in reading the games and therefore often blundered substitutions. The management of Thomas Strakosha was also terrible and ruined not only the player but also his relationship with the club.
The last problem was Covid. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Lazio had lost themselves. Before Covid they were on top of their game, since, they were struggling.
The Biancocelesti failed to qualify for the Champions League but at least made it to the Europa League.
The player with most appearances this season was Marusic with 46 games and the top scorer was obviously Immobile with 25 goals.
Let’s talk about Davide Ballardini
Davide Ballardini was manager at Lazio in the 2009-10 season, winning the Italian Supercoppa.
He was born in Ravenna, on January 6, 1964.
He had a playing career, with Cesena for seven years and Faenza for one, but not of any particular significance, although he did win a Primavera scudetto (U19s) with Cesena in 1982. More important were probably the coaches he crossed paths with in the Cesena set up: Arrigo Sacchi and Osvaldo Bagnoli.
Ballardini went into coaching at a young age. At 24, in 1988, he joined the Bologna youth sector and stayed five years. There followed three years with Cesena, three with Ravenna, three with Milan and two with Parma all at youth level.
In 2004-05 came his first head coach position, at Sambenedettese in Serie C1. "La Samb" finished 4th and then lost in the semi-final of the playoffs.
In 2005, after three fixtures, he was taken on by Cagliari in Serie A but was sacked after nine winless games.
In July 2006 he signed for Pescara in Serie B. He was sacked after six winless league games.
On December 27, 2007 he returned to Cagliari in Serie A, taking over from Nedo Sonetti. He had the task of trying to keep the Sardinians up which he did in style with a 14th place. He then resigned at the end of the season.
On September 4, 2008, After only one game he was called to replace Stefano Colantuono at Palermo in Serie A. The Rosanero finished a good 8th and set a new club record of 17 wins in a season (including Roma, Juventus away, Milan, Napoli and Lazio).
The following year he arrived in Rome, at Lazio. He replaced Delio Rossi, who had just left after winning the Coppa Italia. Consequently Ballardini's first big match was a massive one, the Italian Supercoppa. It was played in the Bird's Nest in Beijing, China, on August 8, 2009 against Jose Mourinho's Inter. Lazio, against all odds and with a dose of luck, managed to win 2-1 with goals by Francelino Matuzalem and Tommaso Rocchi while Samuel Eto'o pulled one back for Inter. So, a dream start for Ballardini with silverware to show for it.
Back in Serie A, Lazio began well with two wins (Atalanta, Chievo) but then after losing at home to Juventus they faltered and went winless for 13 games. They then won two, drew one and lost two before a final fatal home defeat to Catania which cost Ballardini his job. His time at Lazio was not helped by the exclusion from the squad of players such as Cristian Ledesma and Goran Pandev. He was then replaced by Edy Reja and Lazio finished 12th.
Under Ballardini Lazio were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia, in the quarterfinals by Fiorentina 2-3, and the Europa League. In Europe they had qualified for the group stage by eliminating Elfsborg 3-1 on aggregate but then went out against Salzburg (1-2, 1-2) , Villarreal (2-1, 1-4) and Levski Sofia (4-0, 0-1).
In 2010-11 he became manager of Genoa in Serie A, taking over from Gianpiero Gasperini after ten matches. The "Grifone" finished the season in 10th position after 14 wins (including Roma 4-3), 9 draws and 15 defeats (including Lazio 4-2).
In 2011-12 he was back in Sardinia with Cagliari. He took over from Massimo Ficcadenti from the 12th game to the 27th and then was in turn replaced by Ficcadenti. In his 16 games in charge "Casteddu" won 4 (including Roma 4-2), drew 6 (including Juventus away 1-1) and lost 6. Cagliari in the end came 15th.
On January 21, 2013 he returned to Liguria and Genoa, replacing Luigi Del Neri. He managed to keep Genoa up in 17th place, with 4 wins (including Lazio), 9 draws and 4 defeats. In the summer he was awarded a fair play award for having stopped play to get attention to a Roma player down injured.
In January 2014 he replaced Stefano Pioli after 18 games at Bologna. He was unsuccessful in saving the "Felsinei" from relegation in 20th place.
In 2015-16 he was back in Sicily with Palermo. A farcical season with six different managers. Ballardini was in charge from the 13th to the 19th game (W 1, D 1, L 5) and again from the 33rd to the 38th game (W 3, D 2, L 1). The Rosanero came 16th.
In 2017-18 he was back with Genoa for a third time again taking over, this time from Ivan Jurić after 12 games and a derby defeat. In the end the Rossoblu came 12th, after 11 wins (including Lazio away 2-1 and Inter), 8 draws and 19 defeats.
He then took a pause but returned to Genoa for a fourth time in 2020 and again took charge during the season, from Rolando Maran after 13 games. The "Vecchio Balordo" (The Old Fool) finished 11th, after 10 wins, 12 draws (including Lazio 1-1) and 16 defeats (including Lazio 3-4).
He continued with the "Grifone" in the 2021-22 season but was sacked after only 12 games in which Genoa earned a meagre nine points. Genoa then tried another three managers but were ultimately relegated.
In January 2023 he replaced Massimiliano Alvini at Cremonese in Serie A after 18 games. Cremonese improved but in the end could not avoid relegation. The Grigiorossi finished 19th, after 5 wins (including Roma), 12 draws and 21 defeats (including Lazio 0-4, 2-3). They fared better in the Coppa Italia where they reached the semi-finals. After eliminating Ternana, Modena, Napoli and Roma, the "Violini" were knocked out by Fiorentina 0-2 on aggregate. Despite the relegation he stayed but was fired in mid September. Hours after the sacking, he signed for Sassuolo who were third from bottom in Serie A. He could not save them as they were relegated to Serie B after 11 years in the top tier. After two years of inactivity, in February 2026 he became the new manager of Avellino in Serie B.
As a manager, Ballardini is a self-proclaimed "Sacchiano" (an admirer of Arrigo Sacchi's style of play). He tends to favour the 4-3-1-2 formation and his teams are usually well organized and have a recognizable game plan. He has had a decent career especially saving clubs from relegation.
At Lazio, despite a perfect start and lifting the Supercoppa he was not a success. He never really settled into the Lazio world and often came across as slightly arrogant and superior (never taking his sunglasses off did not help). He never built strong bonds with the players. The relationship with the fans never took off either and he is not received well when he returns to Rome as an opponent. To his credit, however, he did bring Lazio a cup to their trophy cabinet.
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