Legendary
Lazio win the Coppa Italia derby final in a legendary match with a goal by Senad Lulic.
The season so far
Here we will be speaking just about the Coppa Italia also because compared to this win, the rest of the season is less interesting!!!
Lazio had started the Coppa Italia campaign on December 19 with a seemingly easy game against Siena. Manager Vladimir Petković had put in a bunch of reserves but not only were Lazio playing dismally but in the second half even fell behind.. Fortunately with only a few seconds left in the game, Michael Ciani headed in a perfect Pedro Cavanda cross and Lazio took the game to extra time. In the penalty shootout Juan Pablo Carrizo became the second hero of the day saving two penalties and Lazio progressed in the tournament.
In the quarterfinals Lazio played against Catania who had beaten Parma on penalties in the previous round. After hitting the post with Mariano Izco early on, Catania crumbled and the Biancocelesti won 3-0 with a goal from Stefan Radu and a Hernanes double.
The semi final was a complicated affair and Lazio faced Juventus who had beaten Milan 2-1 in extra time in the quarters. The first leg was away and following an evenly sided first half, Juventus had gone ahead in the second with a Federico Peluso header. The former Lazio player had jumped Senad Lulic's back to score and the goal should not have been given. At this point Federico Marchetti became unbeatable with one of the most incredible saves in the history of football. Arturo Vidal’s headed lob had gone over Marchetti but he managed to jump back and claw the ball out of the goal. The Chilean had previously hit the woodwork and Juventus were dominating particularly on the counter attack. With five minutes to go, a corner for Lazio was capitalised by Stefano Mauri and Lazio made it 1-1.
The return match saw the craziest last minutes of a football game ever. Juventus obviously needed to win but nothing much happened in the first half. Lazio scored in the 53rd minute thanks to a magnificent Alvaro “El Tata” Gonzalez header from a great Cristian Ledesma cross. Juventus piled on pressure and Lazio pulled back to defend. The referee awarded six minutes of injury time, way too many for what had happened on the pitch. In the 92nd minute cross into the Lazio box, Giuseppe Biava headed the ball backwards but it became an assist for Vidal who, thanks also to a sleeping Radu, put the ball past Marchetti. Hence there would be the need for extra time. But let’s just wait a second. A Mauri shot was deflected into corner. The Lazio skipper took the corner, the ball was deflected by Sebastian Giovinco and fell perfectly to Sergio Floccari who headed to make it 2-1 for Lazio. All over? Almost. While the Lazio players were already mentally out of the game, Mirko Vucinic put a ball past the Lazio defence for Giovinco who was unmarked in front of Marchetti. The Lazio goalkeeper was able to parry the Juve player’s shot and the ball travelled across the box to the other side. Claudio Marchisio had an open goal golden opportunity but his shot was wide. A miracle. Game over and Lazio in the final.
Final against who? The other semi final was between Inter, who had beaten Bologna in the quarter finals 3-2 after extra time, and the second team of Rome who had won in Florence 1-0, again in extra time. After beating Inter at home 2-1, Roma had also won 3-2 away.
This meant that the final was going to be the Rome derby. A first in the history of the city.
The match: Sunday, May 26, 2013, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
People were scared of going to the game because they predicted violence. It took a while for the tickets to be sold and actually I did have second thoughts on whether to go to the game or not. In the end I went, because the tension of watching it at home would have been too much. The police made sure there would be absolutely no contact between the fans and the area surrounding the Olimpico was divided into two, just like in the stadium.
This was a game where the winner took it all: the Cup, City supremacy, Europa League qualification. To say it was a tense match for all of the people involved, fans and players alike, would be stating the obvious.
It was not a packed stadium, 50,000 spectators, and some areas of the Tribuna Tevere and Monte Mario were empty.
Lazio had a chance almost immediately. Lulic shot from outside the box, Bogdan Lobont parried, then Miro Klose was unable to tap the ball in from a very difficult position. In the 10th minute Roma’s first chance. Erik Lamela to Michael Bradley who in the box on the right attempted a shot that went wide. In the 35th minute Radu crossed into the box from the left, Klose rose above all the Roma defenders but headed the ball centrally and Lobont was able to parry. In the 45th minute Marquinhos crossed from the left but it was slightly too high for Mattia Destro who was not able to make decent contact with the ball. That was the end of the first half.
In the second half the teams lost shape and there was more space for action even if not really dangerous. Lazio lost Ledesma through injury and in the 54th minute he was substituted by Mauri. The ball went from one penalty box to the other, exciting to see for the neutral spectator. I can imagine, for me it was torture.
In the 67th minute Lulic went off on the left and crossed. Mauri volleyed the ball across the box but Klose could not quite get there in time to make contact. In the 70th minute Daniele De Rossi made a long pass over the Lazio defence for Marquinho who crossed the ball from the by line towards Destro in the box. The Roma centre forward received the ball back to the goal, he turned around and was marked by Biava who lost his footing for a second allowing Destro to shoot. Marchetti saved.
What happened in the famous 71st minute? Free kick for Lazio. Eddy Onazi to Antonio Candreva on the right inside the Roma half, ball back to Abdoulay Konko who passed it to Mauri who immediately gave it to Candreva and ran into an open space 5 metres from the edge of the box. Candreva understood what Mauri wanted to do, passed him the ball and ran forward. The Lazio skipper waited for Candreva to get into the right position and passed it to the winger who in the meantime had accelerated and beaten Federico Balzaretti. As soon as Candreva saw the possibility of a cross and Lulic on the other side of the box, in came the low pass. Lobont got a hand to it thus cutting out a Marquinhos clearance. The ball arrived to Lulic, open goal, 1-0.
Delirium, tears of joy, hugs with strangers. The Lazio fans went crazy. But there were still at least another 20 minutes to go.
Roma had an immediate chance to equalise. Free kick in the 73rd minute, Francesco Totti, completely absent from the game until this point, crossed in the box, nobody intervened, the ball bounced in front of Marchetti who at the last possible second realised that it was going in. The Lazio goalkeeper managed to push the ball onto the crossbar and catch it as it fell down.
Roma sent in Pablo Osvaldo and Dodo for Balzaretti and Marquinho (Roma confusingly had both defender Marquinhos and midfielder Marquinho on the field) but despite having most of the possession, never created any chances. In the final minutes Lazio substituted Hernanes and Onazi with Gonzalez and Ciani. Mauri had the chance to make it two in the third minute of injury time on a counterattack, but his shot was saved by Lobont.
Lazio won. Roma are dead.
Who played for Roma
Lobont, Marquinhos, Burdisso, Castan, Balzaretti (76' Osvaldo), De Rossi, Bradley, Lamela, Totti, Marquinho (83' Dodò), Destro.
Substitutes: Goicoechea, Svedkauskas, Taddei, Piris, Florenzi, Romagnoli, Tachtsidis, Perrotta, Lopez, Pjanic.
Manager: Andreazzoli.
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Konko, Biava, Cana, Radu, Candreva, Onazi (92’ Ciani), Ledesma (54’ Mauri), Hernanes (85’ Gonzalez), Lulic, Klose.
Manager: Petkovic
Referee: Orsato
Goal: 71’ Lulic
What happened next
The players stayed on the pitch for hours after the game, the fans stayed in the stadium for even longer. In the evening an open bus paraded at Ponte Milvio for the lap of honour. A few days later, Lazio fans celebrated a mock Roma funeral, particularly apt after a famous pro-Roma radio program claimed that Roma were dead.
On June 6, fans crowded the Spanish Steps and Christian Brocchi raised the cup to the sky for a magnificent photo shoot.
And Roma? Captain Francesco Totti has yet to speak about the game, ten years on, and the fans were left empty, like Piazza di Spagna during lockdown or like the Curva Sud five minutes after the end of the game.
Lazio Coppa Italia 2012-2013
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored |
Coppa Italia | 5 | 3 | 2 | - | 8 |
Appearances and goals
Player | Appearances | Goals |
Cana | 5 | - |
Ciani | 5 | 1 |
Hernanes | 5 | 2 |
Ledesma | 5 | - |
Lulic | 5 | 1 |
Biava | 4 | - |
Floccari | 4 | 1 |
Gonzalez | 4 | 1 |
Mauri | 4 | 1 |
Radu | 4 | 1 |
Brocchi | 3 | - |
Candreva | 3 | - |
Cavanda | 3 | - |
Konko | 3 | - |
Marchetti | 3 | - |
Klose | 2 | - |
Onazi | 2 | - |
Bizzarri | 1 | - |
Carrizo | 1 | - |
Diakité | 1 | - |
Dias | 1 | - |
Kozak | 1 | - |
Rozzi | 1 | - |
Let's talk about Senad Lulic
Senad Lulic’s goal in the Coppa Italia derby made him a legend. But even without that goal he must be considered one of the best players ever to wear the Lazio jersey. A spectacular left winger, Lulic played in all positions on the left flank, attack, midfield, defence, but was also the dominator of the whole left wing in a 3-5-2 formation. He could shoot, cross, defend and scored some great goals in his ten years with Lazio. He always played on the left even if he was right footed.
Our legend was born in Mostar in Bosnia on January 18, 1986. His football career began in the youth teams of Coira in Switzerland in 1988 and debuted professionally in the 2003-04 season in the third tier of the Swiss League. In the summer of 2006 he signed for Bellinzona in the Challenge League where he stayed for two seasons. In his second year he helped the club get promoted to the Super League and participated in the Swiss Cup final.
In 2008 he signed for Grasshoppers where he played for two years before moving to Young Boys in 2010-11.
In 2011 he moved to Rome to play for Lazio. He stayed for ten years, playing under Edy Reja, Petković, Stefano Pioli and Simone Inzaghi, winning the Coppa Italia twice (2013 and 2019) and the Supercoppa twice (2017, 2019). He appeared in 371 games (282 in Serie A, 28 in Coppa Italia, 4 in Champions League, 54 in Europa League and three Super Coppa finals) scoring 34 goals (28 in Serie A, 3 in Coppa Italia, 2 in Europa League and one in Supercoppa).
His name will be forever remembered for his goal in the Coppa Italia final against Roma, but one must also point out the crucial goal in the Supercoppa of 2019 (Juve 1- Lazio 3). He is fifth in all time appearances behind Stefan Radu, Giuseppe Favalli, Giuseppe Wilson and Paolo Negro. He is second in International appearances for Lazio behind Paolo Negro and joint tenth in appearances in the Italian Cups.
He was part of the teams that reached third place in 2014-15, fourth places in 2011-12 and 2019-20. Just before the outbreak of COVID he suffered a severe injury to left ankle which kept him out of the game for a year. When he came back, he was obviously not the same classy player, but he did show glimpses of his former self. However, since it was his last year of contract and due to his age, the club decided not to renew. He looked for a team for a year but then called it quits in May 2022.
He played 57 times for Bosnia and Herzegovina (4 goals) and participated in the World Cup of 2014, the country’s first major competition.
The numbers speak for themselves. Senad Lulic is part of our Lazio heritage.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Super Coppa |
2011-12 | 38 (4) | 27 (4) | 2 | - | 9 | - |
2012-13 | 50 (3) | 33 (1) | 5 (1) | - | 12 (1) | - |
2013-14 | 37 (7) | 30 (7) | 1 | - | 5 | 1 |
2014-15 | 29 (4) | 25 (3) | 4 (1) | - | - | - |
2015-16 | 39 (3) | 30 (3) | 1 | 2 | 6 | - |
2016-17 | 35 (3) | 31 (3) | 4 | - | - | - |
2017-18 | 50 (5) | 35 (3) | 4 (1) | - | 10 (1) | 1 |
2018-19 | 46 (4) | 35 (4) | 4 | - | 7 | - |
2019-20 | 27 (1) | 20 | 1 | - | 5 | 1 (1) |
2020-21 | 20 | 16 | 2 | 2 | - | - |
Total | 371 (34) | 282 (28) | 28 (3) | 4 | 54 (2) | 3 (1) |
Sources