May 8, 2016: Carpi Lazio 1-3

Simon Basten
11 hours ago
6 min read

Carpi miss, Lazio win

Two penalty misses for Carpi, three goals for Lazio

The season so far

The previous season had seen Lazio arrive third and qualify for the Champions League playoff. It was a great year and the Biancocelesti played really well so there was hope that it could be repeated.

The summer transfer window however, was not what the fans had hoped for. A few of the older players were let go, so Lazio said goodbye to Cristian Ledesma, Lorik Cana, Diego Novaretti and Michael Ciani plus the younger ones who had disappointed such as Pedro Cavanda and Brayan Perea. In came Wesley Hoedt, Riccardo Kishna, Patric and a young Serb, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

The first game of the season was in August, the Supercoppa against Juventus, played in Shanghai. No contest and Lazio were beaten 2-0 on an appalling pitch. The Biancocelesti’s form was pretty terrible but the focus was on the Champions League playoff against Bayer Leverkusen.

In front of a packed Olimpico, Lazio played really well in the first leg and won 1-0. They could/should have scored more but some players were still a bit behind physically. The problem was that Miroslav Klose got injured in the first half and at that time Lazio did not have a centre forward who could replace him. The return match against Bayer Leverkusen was a defensive nightmare. Manager Stefano Pioli decided to “experiment” a 3-4-3 formation instead of the classic 4-4-2. As a consequence, Lazio lost 3-0 so they were relegated to the Europa League.

Things went relatively well there and Lazio went through to the second round after winning their group against Dnipro, Saint Etienne and Rosenborg. The Biancocelesti were however eliminated in Coppa Italia. After beating Udinese, they lost to Juventus again in the quarter-finals.

One could see immediately that Lazio were having problems and they were not playing as well as 2014-15. Narrow wins and heavy defeats (4-0 against Chievo, 5-0 against Napoli), players who were not performing as well as the previous year (Felipe Anderson for example) or other fundamental pieces that Lazio lost through injury (Stefan de Vrij) all led to a disappointing season so far. At the end of the first half of the season Lazio were 9th. They had lost the derby, at home to Milan and away to Juventus. The only positive result was a win away against Inter. Champions League qualification was twelve points away and Europa League four.

The beginning of the second half of the season followed in the footsteps of the first. To make matters worse was the incredible elimination from the Europa League. Lazio had played really well in Europe and after the group stage had to play against Galatasaray in February. 1-1 away and a comfortable 3-1 win at home. Next up was Sparta Prague. There was optimism after drawing the away leg 1-1. And then the debacle that nobody expected. Lazio lost 3-0 at home. A collapse.

The inconsistency and bad form of some of the players came to a culmination with the 4-1 loss in the derby two weeks later. Lazio actually did not play too badly and were unlucky, hitting the woodwork twice when they were 2-1 down.

President Claudio Lotito decided that it was time for a change and sacked Pioli. Simone Inzaghi, former player of the 2000 scudetto, had already been helped considerably by Lazio in his career as a manager. The club really believed in his abilities and had given him various youth teams in order to gain experience. The time was ripe for the big jump and he took over.

A European football qualification for next season was practically impossible but at least they tried and there was an improvement.

Today’s game was practically useful only to assess the future of some of the players.

The match: Stadio Alberto Braglia, Modena, Sunday, May 8, 2016

Carpi started well and in the 7th minute after a Wesley Hoedt mistake, Jerry Mbakogu passed to Issac Cofie outside of the box, Federico Marchetti parried.

After a probable handball ignored by the ref on an Antonio Candreva shot, in the 12th minute Mbakogu slipped in front of Hoedt and a ridiculous penalty was given to Carpi. The forward took the spot kick but Marchetti saved.

In the 18th minute Senad Lulic hit the crossbar and five minutes later Lazio scored. On a corner taken by Lucas Biglia, Mauricio tried a header which was blocked, Marco Parolo shot towards the goal but Raffaele Bianco saved on the line, ball back to Parolo who tried a volley but again Bianco saved, at this point in came Milan Bisevac and it was 1-0 for the Biancocelesti.

In the 32nd minute Lazio went two up. Miro Klose to Felipe Anderson on the right, low cross and Candreva had the simplest of chances and did not miss.

In the 40th minute another penalty for the home side. Mauricio touched the ball with his hand while embracing Mbakogu and Rocchi indicated the spot kick. The Nigerian forward went again to take the penalty but practically passed the ball to Marchetti.

In the beginning of the second half wonderful shot from Kevin Lasagna but the ball hit the crossbar. Lazio made it three in the 72nd minute. Eddy Onazi crossed from the left, Filip Djordjevic dummied and Klose scored.

In the 84th minute Biglia was sent off and Carpi doubled the efforts to reduce the deficit. Simone Verdi took a free kick from the right, the ball hit the crossbar and fell perfectly for Mbakogu who this time made no mistake.

In the final minutes Djordjevic was also sent off. Despite the nine men, Lazio brought back the three points.

Who played for Carpi

Belec; Letizia, Poli, Romagnoli, Gagliolo; Pasciuti (76' Verdi), Cofie (46' Lasagna), Bianco (66' Crimi), Di Gaudio; Lollo; Mbakogu

Substitutes: Colombi, Zaccardo, Sabelli, Suagher, Porcari, Martinho, Daprelà, De Guzman, Mancosu

Manager: Castori

Who played for Lazio

Marchetti; Basta, Bisevac, Hoedt (15' Mauricio), Konko; Parolo, Biglia, Lulic; Candreva (68' Djordjevic), Klose, Felipe Anderson (50' Onazi)

Substitutes: Guerrieri, Matosevic, Patric, Cataldi, Milinkovic-Savic, Mauri

Manager: Inzaghi

Referee: Rocchi

Goals: 23' Bisevac, 32' Candreva, 73' Klose, 84' Mbakogu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkiQ-eNzJm8

What happened next

Lazio finished eighth and said goodbye to Miro Klose who played his last game at the Olimpico the following weekend scoring his final goal. Lazio had no intention of renewing his contract and it did not seem that he was interested in continuing.

The player with most appearances was Felipe Anderson (47) and top scorer was Candreva with 12 goals.

Let’s talk about Milan Bisevac

Milan Bisevac was born on August 31, 1983, in Kosovska Mitrovica in Northern Kosovo.

He started playing professional football in 2001 for BASK Belgrade in the third division where he established himself in the starting eleven. In 2003 he signed for FK Bezanija and after half a season joined FK Zeleznik in the Serbian-Montenegro top tier.

In 2004 he was sold to Red Star Belgrade where he stayed for two and a half seasons with 59 league appearances and 3 goals. In his second season, he won the title and the national cup playing all the matches. In the summer of 2006 he signed for Lens in Ligue 1 but remained another six months in Serbia for family reasons. He stayed in the north of France for a season and a half, at the end of which Lens were relegated to Ligue 2. After 45 games with one goal, he moved to Valenciennes. He stayed there for three seasons totalling 103 league appearances and four goals. He was also captain.

In 2011 he signed for Paris Saint Germain. He began in the starting eleven but with the arrival of Diego Lugano lost his place. When Carlo Ancelotti arrived as new manager, he occasionally played as right back, not exactly his cup of tea. At the end of the season and after 21 appearances with one goal, he left for Olympique Lyons. He stayed there for three and a half seasons. In 2015 he suffered a serious injury which left him out for quite a while. When he recovered for the 2015-16 season, the manager Hubert Fournier did not take him into consideration and he made just 8 appearances. At this point he ended his contract by mutual consent and signed for Lazio.

The Biancocelesti had been going through a rough patch that season and had lost their star defender Stefan de Vrij due to injury almost immediately. They needed a replacement who could settle into the team without too much difficulty.

Bisevac stayed just six months in Rome and made 15 appearances with one goal. It was not a good season and manager Stefano Pioli was sacked. At the end of the season Bisevac and Lazio parted ways.

In 2016 he signed for Metz and stayed for two years. His last year of active football was with Dudelange in Luxembourg but he played just seven matches. In 2019 he signed for FC Swift Hesperange but never played for them in official games. He then played in the French amateur leagues with RS Magny and CSJ Augny.

At International level he was runner-up with the Serbia and Montenegro national Under 21 team in the 2004 UEFA European Championship (beaten by Italy). He was also part of the squad that played in the 2004 Olympic Games. He won 19 caps for Serbia.

With Lazio he did not do too badly, but it was a poor season and perhaps he arrived a little bit past his prime.