November 2, 2008: Lazio Catania 1-0
- Lazio Stories
- Nov 2, 2025
- 9 min read
Foggia Strikes Late to Seal Lazio Victory
Lazio press throughout before substitute Foggia finally breaks down Zenga’s Catania.
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.
Lazio started the season beating Benevento in Coppa Italia 5-1. They then beat Atalanta 1-0 and qualified for the Round of 16.
In Serie A they were currently sixth, just four points behind leaders Napoli and Udinese.
The match: Sunday, November 2, 2008, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Lazio coach Delio Rossi stuck with his usual 4-3-3 formation: Juan Pablo Carrizo in goal, a back four of Stefan Lichtsteiner, Sebastiano Siviglia, David Rozehnal and Stefan Radu; Cristian Brocchi, Cristian Ledesma and Stefano Mauri in midfield; and an attacking trio of Goran Pandev, Tommaso Rocchi and Mauro Zarate. Walter Zenga’s Catania responded with Albano Bizzarri between the posts, Rocco Sabato, Gennaro Sardo, Lorenzo Stovini and Matias Silvestre in defence, Pablo Ledesma, Ezequiel Carboni and Marco Biagianti across midfield, and Giuseppe Mascara playing just behind Mariano Izco and Gianvito Plasmati.
Lazio started strongly, with Pandev forcing Bizzarri into a sharp save after only two minutes. Zarate tried his luck from distance in the 10th minute, but again the Catania keeper was untroubled. The home side pressed high and looked more dangerous going forward, while the visitors sat deep and relied on counterattacks that lacked cutting edge. In the 22nd minute Mauri was denied by desperate defending after a corner.
Mascara went close with a dipping effort three minutes later, though it sailed wide, and just before the break Rocchi had the ball in the net only for the flag to go up. Mauri also went close with a sliding finish that lacked power. The sides went into halftime on level terms after a fairly balanced first period.
After the restart, Rossi was forced to withdraw Rocchi, still short of full fitness, and introduced Mourad Meghni. Zarate squandered a golden opportunity in the 56th minute, heading wide from point-blank range. The game settled into a cagey rhythm, with both defences well organized. On 67 minutes, Mauri’s free-kick created space for Zarate, but the striker failed to control the ball.
Zenga looked to inject more pace by bringing on Japanese forward Takayuki Morimoto for Plasmati, while Rossi turned to Pasquale Foggia in place of a tiring Brocchi. Ledesma tried his luck from long range in the 75th minute, but his shot rolled harmlessly wide. Then, with nine minutes to go, Zarate burst down the right and teed up Pandev, who shot straight at Bizzarri from close range.
Finally, in the 85th minute, Lazio found the breakthrough. Zarate slipped a clever pass through to Foggia, who took a touch inside the box and coolly slotted past Bizzarri. Moments later, Foggia returned the favour, setting up Zarate, but the Argentine’s shot was well saved.
The goal proved decisive as Lazio claimed a valuable 1–0 victory, their sixth win of the campaign, while Catania suffered their third defeat of the season.
Who played for Lazio
Carrizo, Lichtsteiner, Siviglia, Rozehnal, Radu, Brocchi (70’ Foggia), Ledesma, Mauri, Zarate, Pandev (83’ S.Inzaghi), Rocchi (46’ Meghni)
Manager: D.Rossi
Who played for Catania
Bizzarri, Sardo, Silvestre, Stovini, Sabato, Izco (87' Martinez), P.Ledesma, Carboni, Biagianti (85' Baiocco), Mascara, Plasmati (69' Morimoto)
Substitutes: Kosicky, Paolucci, Silvestri, Terlizzi
Manager: Zenga
Referee: Gava
Goal: 85’ Foggia
What happened next
In 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 then they collapsed and won only 4 games in the second half of the year. They nevertheless did manage to beat Roma 4-2.
But there was glory in Coppa Italia.
The Round of 16 against Milan in San Siro was a difficult game where 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 the Biancocelesti 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, the Biancocelesti 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 at the Olimpico, Juventus were the obvious favourites and went one up in the first half. But the Biancocelesti put up a good fight and created a number of unexpected headaches for the Bianconeri. Pandev equalised and Rocchi gave Lazio the advantage for the return match in Turin. In the return leg Juventus came into the match not fully focused and Lazio took advantage, scoring with Zarate first and Aleksandar Kolarov in the second half. At that point the contest was over. Juventus would have had to score four goals. They managed one.
Lazio were in the final. They faced Sampdoria who, after beating Inter 3-0 at home, in the return match managed to keep the Nerazzurri's onslaught to a minimum and only lost 1-0.
The final was played at the Olimpico in front of a capacity crowd and in the presence of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. Zarate gave Lazio the lead early on but Giampaolo Pazzini equalised on the half hour. There were chances for both teams, but the game ended 1-1. The result did not change in extra time, so the 2008-09 Coppa Italia was to be decided on a penalty shootout.
Muslera saved the first penalty and it looked as if Lazio had won it. But Rocchi 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.
A magnificent victory and the first silverware for President Lotito.
Let’s talk about Pasquale Foggia
Pasquale Foggia was born in Naples, on June 3, 1983.
He started playing football locally with Banco di Napoli. At 14 he was spotted by Padova and then in 1999 joined Milan's youth sector. A curious fact is that in the transaction Roberto De Zerbi (Marseille's current manager) went the other way and joined Padova.
In 2000 he moved to Treviso in Serie B. He played 16 games with one goal but the Biancocelesti from Veneto were relegated. The following two years he played in C1, making 54 league appearances with 12 goals plus 2 games in Coppa Italia. In his last season Treviso won the league and were promoted back to Serie B.
Foggia however was off to Serie A. In 2003 he joined Empoli, coached by Daniele Baldini and then after seven games by Attilio Perotti. Foggia played 19 league games with 1 goal (Parma) and 2 games in Coppa Italia. The Tuscans were relegated to Serie B despite having Tommaso Rocchi and Antonio Di Natale up front and Emilson Cribari in defence.
The following season after 9 league matches and 2 in Coppa Italia with Empoli he moved to Crotone in Serie B. In Calabria he played 15 league games with 1 goal under former Lazio Andrea Agostinelli. The Sharks finished 16th.
In 2005 he was back in Serie A with Ascoli. He had an excellent season under Massimo Silva. He played 34 league games with 4 goals and 2 games in Coppa Italia. The Woodpeckers finished 10th. The Ascoli president was curiously called Roberto Benigni (no relation to Tuscan actor/comedian).
In 2006 he arrived in the capital on loan (he was still owned by Milan). Lazio had Delio Rossi as manager and Foggia played 11 league games with 1 goal (Ascoli). In January however he was loaned to Reggina in Serie A. Here he was coached by Walter Mazzarri and played 15 league games with 4 goals (Fiorentina, Lazio, Catania, Ascoli again). The Amaranto finished 14th. Meanwhile, for the record, Lazio came 3rd (CL preliminary) and beat Reggina 3-2 in the game Foggia scored.
In 2007-08 he played a year on loan with Cagliari (he was now owned by Lazio). He had a good season in Sardinia despite playing under three different managers; Marco Gianpaolo (1-11), Nedo Sonetti (12-17) and Davide Ballardini (18-38). Foggia played 33 league games with 5 goals (Napoli, Juve x2, Siena, Sampdoria) plus a game in Coppa Italia. "Casteddu" finished 14th.
In 2008-09 he was back at Lazio and had his best season. Under Delio Rossi he played 33 league games with 3 goals (Cagliari, Catania, Lecce) plus 7 games in Coppa Italia. He put on a great performance in the derby with two assists in a 4-2 triumph. Lazio also won the Coppa Italia (Sampdoria on penalties after 1-1 draw) and Foggia played 80 minutes of the final.
In 2009-10 he played less, first under Davide Ballardini (1-24) and then Edy Reja (24-38). He made 16 league appearances, 1 in Coppa Italia, 5 in the Europa League with 2 goals (Salzburg home and away) and was on the bench in the Italian Supercoppa final (2-1 surprise win over Inter in Beijing). The Biancocelesti finished 12th.
In 2010-11, still under Reja, he only played 9 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia. Lazio finished 5th (EL qualification).
In 2011-12 he went to Sampdoria on loan in Serie B. He played first under Gianluca Atzori (1-15) and then Giuseppe Iachini (16-42 + playoffs). Sampdoria finished 6th but were then promoted through the playoffs (Sassuolo 3-2 on aggregate and Varese 4-2 on aggregate). Foggia played 31 league games with 3 goals (Albinoleffe, Ascoli again..., Grosseto) plus 3 games in the playoffs.
In 2012 he came back to Lazio but was excluded from the squad by manager Vladimir Petkovic. He therefore made no appearances at all in any competition.
In 2013 he went for the Arab Emirates experience and joined Dubai Club but the contract was cancelled on August 14 and a day later he signed for Salernitana in Lega Pro 1 (third tier). He played 22 league games with 1 goal and 5 in the Lega Pro Coppa Italia (won by Salernitana beating Monza 2-1 on aggregate). The "Ippocampi" were his last team as he then retired at 31.
Foggia had an international career too. He played 11 games for Italy U-16s (with one goal), 1 game for the U-17s, 7 games for the U-20s, 4 for the U-21s. He also earned 3 full Italian caps with one goal against Northern Ireland in a friendly. His other 2 caps came against Georgia (Euro 2008 qualifiers) and South Africa (friendly).
Since retiring he has stayed in the football world. In January 2017 he was sporting director of Racing Roma (amateurs from Ardea near Rome). In June 2017 he took charge of Benevento's youth sector, a year later he was made sporting director and the "Stregoni" (The Witch Doctors) were promoted to Serie A. In February 2023 he was dismissed along with coach, Fabio Cannavaro, following the club's poor results in Serie B. In July 2024 he became sporting director at Pescara and in his first year they were promoted to Serie B.
He has an amateur football team, ASD Pasquale Foggia, which he founded in 2009 in his hometown of Naples.
Foggia also featured in a film while still playing. In 2011 in a film directed by Nicola Barnaba called "Una cella in due" (Two in a cell).
Foggia was a midfielder. At 1.67 metres tall and 67 kilos he based his game on his agility and speed. He could play both behind the forwards and as a classic winger. He was left footed and extremely talented with exceptional dribbling abilities which he sometimes abused. His nickname for these characteristics was "Il Folletto" (The Leprechaun).
At Lazio he is remembered fondly. He won two trophies, the 2009 Coppa Italia and the 2009 Supercoppa. He will probably be best remembered for his winning goal versus Catania in the dying minutes, but especially for his role in the 4-2 winning derby of 2009. He set up two goals in a game in which all his dribbling repertoire worked to perfection and humiliated the Roma defence. His jovial character and role of dj also helped in celebration time and to keep the team morale up in times of difficulty.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
2006-Jan 2007 | 11 (1) | 11 (1) | - | - |
2008-09 | 40 (3) | 33 (3) | 7 | - |
2009-10 | 22 (2) | 16 | 1 | 5 (2) |
2010-11 | 11 | 9 | 2 | - |
Total | 84 (6) | 69 (4) | 10 | 5 (2) |
Sources
Lazio Wiki
Lazio Stories
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