November 27, 2005: Empoli-Lazio 2-3

Dag Jenkins
2 hours ago
12 min read

Finally goals and an away win

Lazio go in front then fall behind but ultimately find a way to get the away victory

The season so far

The previous season Lazio had flirted with relegation but had managed to escape and ended up 13th. They had then even qualified for the Intertoto Cup, due to Livorno and Messina dropping out for various reasons.

This year saw the arrival of new manager Delio Rossi, who took derby and relegation battle hero Giuseppe Papadopulo's place.

The main players coming in were: defenders Manuel Belleri (Udinese), Guglielmo Stendardo (Perugia) and Emilson Cribari (Udinese on loan), midfielders Valon Behrami (Genoa), Gaby Mudingayi (Torino) and Fabio Firmani (Catania) plus forward Igli Tare (Bologna).

Over twenty players were leaving Lazio, but those worthy of note were Scudetto heroes Fernando Couto (Parma) and Paolo Negro (Siena) plus the Filippini twins (both to Palermo and then Treviso) and Giuliano Giannichedda (Juventus).

In the summer Lazio had taken part in the Intertoto Cup in an attempt to qualify for the UEFA Cup. They had first eliminated Tampere United 4-1 on aggregate but then lost in the semi-final to Olympique Marseille 1-4 on aggregate.

In the first league game of the season, on August 28, Lazio had defeated Messina thanks to a Goran Pandev goal in the first half. An underwhelming performance but a winning start at least.

The atmosphere surrounding the club however was heavy with the fan base unsatisfied with the owner Claudio Lotito's lack of ambition and investment in the transfer market.

Since then Lazio had won 3, drawn 4 (including derby 1-1) and lost 4. The Biancocelesti were 12th on 16 points. They had however not scored a single goal in the last three matches (two defeats and a draw).

Empoli were newly promoted as they had won Serie B under Mario Somma. The top scorer was Francesco Tavano with 19 league goals.

This season the manager was still Somma. The main new arrivals were defenders Andrea Coda (up from youth team), Richard Vanigli (Livorno), Andrea Raggi (Carrarese - back from loan) and Nicola Ascoli (Catanzaro), midfielders Sergio Bernardo Almirón (Udinese - via Verona), Davide Moro (Varese - back from loan) and Francesco Lodi (Vicenza - back from loan) plus forward Nicola Pozzi (Milan - via Pescara), Vittorio Serafini (Siena via Catania - on loan) and Christian Riganò (Fiorentina - on loan).

Leaving Empoli were goalkeeper Mario Cassano (Piacenza), and forward Massimo Cappellini (retiring after nine seasons and 231 league games).

The Tuscans had so far won 5 (including Roma 1-0 at home), drawn 2 and lost 5 (including first three and then most recent game). The Azzurri were currently 10th on 17 points, with Palermo and Udinese.

In Coppa Italia they were out after defeating Pizzighettone 2-1 at home and Crotone 3-2 away (a.e.t) but then losing to Parma at home on penalties.

A difficult game to predict today. Both sides came from defeats and were separated by only one point in the table. Lazio had also not won away from home for eight months.

The match: Sunday, November 27, 2005, Stadio Castellani, Empoli

Torrential rain and a muddy pitch welcomed Lazio to the small Tuscan town. There were only about 7,000 spectators and 2,000 of those had come from Rome.

Lazio only had midfielder Gaby Mudingayi missing while Empoli had no absences.

The first half hour was balanced even if Lazio had more chances. The Biancocelesti immediately had a goal scoring opportunity but in the 3rd minute Paolo Di Canio hesitated and lost the moment from a favourable position. Sebastiano Siviglia then had a header go just over the bar.

In the 16th minute Empoli had their big chance but Christian Riganó slipped in front of Angelo Peruzzi.

Then it was Lazio again but Di Canio could not get enough power on his shot and Berti saved with his feet.

Lazio took the lead just before the half hour mark. In the 28th minute Ousmane Dabo took a freekick which, helped by a Ciccio Tavano deflection in the wall, beat Gianluca Berti, 0-1.

Lazio then concentrated on maintaining the lead and prioritised possession over going for another goal. The hosts were dangerous after Peruzzi had dropped the slippery ball on a high cross but their subsequent two shots were walled by defenders.

Halftime came with Lazio one-nil up, by no means dominant but controlling the game with good ball circulation.

For the second half the hosts put on striker Nicola Pozzi and took off defender Andrea Raggi. They now played with an offensive 4-2-1-3.

The new set up and Lazio's passive approach gave the Azzurri belief and they were rewarded.

In the 55th minute Riccardo Bonetto equalised with a wonderful left-footed long-range effort into the top corner, 1-1.

Only three minutes later the Tuscans were in front. On a Bonetto cross Emílson Cribari handballed and Tavano perfectly put away the spot kick to give the hosts the lead, 2-1.

Empoli then made the mistake of not closing the game. They had several counterattacks but Tavano and Riganó mistakes plus Peruzzi kept Lazio in it with saves on both Tavano and Antonio Buscè.

Delio Rossi gradually changed Lazio's whole front line; in the 63rd minute Goran Pandev replaced Christian Manfredini, in the 67th Igli Tare came on for Di Canio and in the 76th César took Tommaso Rocchi's place.

The reshuffle paid off in the 77th minute when Tare equalised with a header from a Massimo Oddo cross from the right, 2-2. A decent header but Berti could have done better.

At this point Empoli took Tavano off and brought on defender Davide Moro. The hosts were denied the lead by Peruzzi as he brilliantly dived low to his right to keep out an Ighli Vannucchi powerful drive.

Lazio however now had confidence and desire on their side and went for a winner. They got it in the 80th minute with the best player on the field, Fabio Liverani. The Roman midfielder, with a Somalian mother who he had recently lost, took a freekick which again found a slight deflection and found the top left-hand corner, 2-3.

Ficini then complicated things further for the Empolesi by getting himself sent off for a second booking.

The hosts tried a comeback replacing Bonetto with forward Matteo Serafini in the 85th minute but Lazio returned to their effective ball possession and saw out the game. They could even have made it four but Tare's trickling shot after going around the keeper hit the post. Final score Empoli 2 Lazio 3.

Lazio had been clinical, played as a team and had a bit of luck on their side with two deflections on the goals. Along with Peruzzi, Liverani had been the standout player, on his return only 21 days after a meniscus operation. Lazio were now 10th, on 19 points with Roma.

Empoli had not taken advantage of the 15-20 minutes in the second half when the game was there for the taking and were punished. Empoli were now 12th, on 17 points

Who played for Empoli

Berti, Raggi (46' Pozzi), Coda, Pratali, Bonetto (85' Serafini), Buscè, Ficini, Almirón, Vannucchi, Tavano (78' Moro), Riganò

Substitutes: Balli, Lucchini, Gasparetto, Lodi

Manager: Somma

Who played for Lazio

Peruzzi, Oddo, Siviglia, Cribari, Zauri, Behrami, Dabo, Liverani, Manfredini (63' Pandev), Di Canio (67' Tare), Rocchi (76' César)

Substitutes: Sereni, Stendardo, Belleri, Baronio

Manager: Rossi

Referee: Tagliavento

Goals: 28' Dabo, 55' Bonetto, 58' Tavano (pen), 77' Tare, 80' Liverani

Red Card: 80' Ficini

What happened next

Lazio had a good season, at least on the pitch. In the next games they won 11, drew 10 (including Empoli 3-3) and lost 4 (including derby). They would have come 6th and qualified for the UEFA Cup had it not been for off field issues. Lazio were accused of being involved in the "Calciopoli" scandal and docked 30 points (initially the sentence was relegation), so ended up 16th. The scandal was basically alleged lobbying by certain clubs on the choice of referees. A pity as Lazio had performed well and had a surprisingly positive Serie A campaign.

In the Coppa Italia they first beat Cittadella 2-0 but were then eliminated by Inter 1-2 (Dejan Stankovic scored home and away) on aggregate in the quarterfinals. Top scorer was Tommaso Rocchi with 17 goals (16 in A).

Empoli finished 8th (helped by point-dockings to Juventus, Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina), in reality they would have finished 11th so still positive (14 points from relegation even without Calciopoli). They did go through a bad patch after today however and in January replaced Somma with Luigi Cagni and finally won their next match in early February. In the next 25 games following today's defeat they won 8 (including Inter 1-0 at home), drew 4 and lost 13. The top scorer was Tavano with 20 goals (19 in A).

Juventus came top but were stripped of their title due to the Calciopoli scandal and relegated to Serie B. The Scudetto was then handed to 3rd placed Inter while Juventus went down with Lecce and Treviso.

Lets talk about Ousmane Dabo

Ousmane Dabo was born in Laval, on February 8, 1977. His mother is French and his father Senegalese so he holds both passports. His father Moussa played for Laval, amongst other clubs, in the 1970's.

Ousmane started playing football for local Forcé and then in 1985 moved to Laval's academy. He stayed five years and then joined Rennes' youth sector.

In 1995 he made his debut with the "Rouges et Noirs" in the French top flight (then still Division 1) and over the following three seasons played 45 games and scored 2 goals. The Bretons finished 8th, 16th and 14th.

In August 1998 he made the big step to Inter in Serie A. The Nerazzurri were initially coached by Gigi Simoni and then from the 12th fixture by Mircea Lucescu; more coaches followed but Dabo by then had already left. He only stayed until January, playing 5 league games and 3 in the Coppa Italia. For the record Inter finished 8th.

In January 1999 he joined Vicenza on loan. The "Berici" were struggling in Serie A under Franco Colomba. In February he was replaced by future Lazio Edy Reja. The Biancorossi failed to avoid relegation. Dabo played 13 league games, putting in good performances and earned himself a return to Inter.

His second spell at Inter was again short lived. The manager was Marcello Lippi and Dabo played 8 league games and 2 in Coppa italia before leaving in January and signing for Parma (who now co-owned him with Inter).

At Parma things went well. Under manager Alberto Malesani the Ducali had already won the Italian Supercoppa beating Milan 2-1 at the Meazza. From his arrival Dabo played 16 league games plus a playoff and a game in the UEFA Cup. The Parmigiani finished joint 5th with Inter but then lost the CL playoff against the Nerazzurri 1-3. At Parma he played alongside past and future Lazio players Marco Di Vaio, Diego Fuser, Dino Baggio and Hernan Crespo.

In August 2000 he returned to France on loan and joined Monaco. The club from Monte Carlo were coached by Claude Puel and Dabo played 16 league games, 2 in the domestic cups with 1 goal and 4 games in the Champions League. In January however he was back in Italy. Monaco eventually finished 11th.

In January 2001 he returned to Vicenza on loan; Reja was still there as manager and Dabo played 17 league games with 1 goal (Milan in a 2-0 win). Unfortunately, the "Lane" were relegated with a 16th place finish.

In 2001 he was sold to Atalanta. The manager was Giovanni Vavassori and the "Dea" finished 9th in Serie A. Dabo played 21 league games and 3 in the Coppa Italia. The following year Vavassori stayed on but in April was replaced by Giancarlo Finardi and the "Orobici" struggled and were relegated. Their best results were beating Roma twice and a 3-3 away draw to Milan. Dabo played 31 league games with 4 goals (Modena, Brescia, Modena again and Chievo) and 2 games in the relegation playoffs (lost to Reggina 1-2 on aggregate) plus 1 in the Coppa Italia. In Bergamo he played alongside Lazio connections; Luciano Zauri and Rolando Bianchi.

In 2003 Dabo joined Lazio. The Roman club were starting to struggle financially but still had some good players: Angelo Peruzzi, Jaap Stam, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Dejan Stankovic, Claudio López just to mention a few and the manager was Roberto Mancini. The Biancocelesti had a decent Serie A campaign finishing 6th but triumphed in the Coppa Italia defeating Juventus 4-2 on aggregate. Dabo played 19 league games, 4 in Coppa Italia and 1 in the Champions League.

The following year was a difficult one. New owner Claudio Lotito had taken over a club full of debts and the squad changed drastically. The new manager was Domenico Caso but he was replaced by Giuseppe Papadopulo in January. Lazio eventually avoided relegation and also won an epic derby 3-1 with Di Canio scoring again, 16 years after his first derby goal as a young lad. Dabo had a positive season with 29 league games with 1 goal (Fiorentina), 6 in the Coppa Italia plus the Supercoppa (lost 0-3 to Milan).

The 2005-06 season saw the arrival of Delio Rossi and Lazio had a better season on the pitch finishing 6th. Unfortunately, they were then docked 30 points for their alleged involvement in the Calciopoli scandal so were demoted to 16th place. Dabo played 31 league games with 2 goals (Empoli, Siena) and 4 games in the Coppa Italia.

In 2006-07 Dabo joined Manchester City but this was before the days of champagne and roses. The manager was Stuart "Psycho" Pearce and the Citizens finished 14th with Dabo playing 13 league games and 4 in the FA Cup. He played with former Lazio Bernardo Corradi. The following season former Lazio Sven-Goran Eriksson took over and Felipe Caicedo arrived but Dabo only played 1 game, in the League Cup, before returning to Lazio in January 2008. The Mancunian Sky Blues then finished 9th under the Swede.

Back at Lazio Dabo found manager Delio Rossi, who had taken over in 2005. From his arrival in January Dabo played 13 league games and 2 in the Coppa Italia. Lazio finished 12th, were knocked out in the group stage in CL (Real Madrid 2-2, 1-3, Werder Bremen 2-1, 1-2 and Olympiakos 1-1, 1-2) and reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia (Inter 0-2 on aggregate). Lazio did however get the satisfaction of beating Roma 3-2 in March with a 92nd minute Behrami winner.

In 2008-09 Lazio finished 10th again winning the return derby this time 4-2. Dabo played 21 league games with 1 goal (Genoa). It was in Coppa Italia that Lazio and Dabo lived their finest hour. The Biancocelesti eliminated Benevento 5-1, Atalanta 2-0, Milan 2-1, Torino 3-1 and Juventus 4-2 on aggregate to set up a final against Sampdoria. The game ended up 1-1 and went to penalties with Dabo scoring the last spot kick to give Lazio a 7-6 victory and Cup glory. His second domestic cup with the "Aquile".

The following year, with Delio Rossi gone, Davide Ballardini arrived. The season started off in the best way possible for Lazio and Dabo. The Biancocelesti beat José Mourinho's 'Triplete' winning Inter in the Italian Supercoppa played in Beijing. Lazio won 2-1 with goals by Matuzalém and Rocchi. The season then went downhill and Ballardini was sacked in February and replaced by Edy Reja with Lazio struggling and already out of the Europa League. They picked up and finished 12th with Dabo playing 12 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia and 4 in the Europa League. This was his last season with Lazio.

In February 2011 he joined the New England Revolution in the U.S Major League but due to injuries only played 3 games. He then retired at 34.

At international level he earned 3 caps for France and won a Confederations Cup in 2003.

Since retiring he has been working in punditry for Sky Sport and Fox Sports.

On a curious note his cousin Bryan is also a professional footballer and his career has included spells in Italy for Fiorentina, SPAL and Benevento.

Ousmane Dabo was a central midfielder. At 1.84 and 84 kilos he was a solid presence in the centre of the park. The Frenchman was a hard player but clean. He was a good tackler, had playmaking skills and had a powerful shot which he probably could have taken more advantage of. He was not a quick player but had good positioning and technique which made up for it.

At Lazio he was very popular. He arrived in difficult times but always got stuck in and "sudato per la maglia" as they say here (literally sweated for the jersey). He had two successful spells, considering the enormous financial difficulties the club were going through. He played 138 games and scored 4 goals. He won 3 trophies, the Coppa Italia twice (2004, 2009) and the Supercoppa (2009). His winning penalty in the 2009 Coppa Italia final, along with Fernando Muslera's saves, will live forever in Lazio's history.

Lazio Career

Season	Toal games (goals)	Serie A	Coppa Italia	Champions League	Europa League	Super Coppa
2003-04	24	19	4	1	-	-
2004-05	37 (1)	29 (1)	1	-	6	1
2005-06	35 (2)	31 (2)	4	-	-	-
Jan-Jun 2008	15	13	2	-	-	-
2008-09	26 (1)	21 (1)	5	-	-	-
2009-10	18	12	1	-	4	1
Total	155 (4)	112 (4)	14	1	9	2