Milinkovic-Savic is enough
A goal by the Serb giant and a tactically astute game give Lazio three points in Sicilian capital
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 8th. The Biancocelesti had played 31 league games under Stefano Pioli and then the last 7 with Simone Inzaghi. They had reached the last 16 of Europa League (after failing to get through the CL preliminary round against Bayer Leverkusen) and the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia.
This year Marcelo Bielsa had been chosen but "El Loco" lived up to his name and resigned after only a few days due to divergences over transfer market issues. At this point Simone Inzaghi was called back.
The main new signings were goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha (Salernitana- end of loan), defenders Bastos (Rostov), Jordan Lukaku (Oostende), Wallace (Braga), midfielder Luís Alberto (Liverpool) and striker Ciro Immobile (Seville).
Leaving were goalkeeper Etrit Berisha (Atalanta - on loan), defenders Edson Braafheid (end of contract), Santiago Gentiletti (Genoa), Abdoulay Konko (end of contract), Mauricio (Spartak Moscow - on loan), midfielders Antonio Candreva (Inter), Ogenyi "Eddy" Onazi (Trabzonspor), Stefano Mauri (end of contract) and striker Miroslav Klose (retired). So, a few difficult players to replace.
The season had started with a 4-3 away win at Atalanta followed by a 0-1 home defeat by Juventus and a 1-1 away draw at Chievo Verona. Since then, Lazio had done well: won 6, drawn 3 and lost 1. The Biancocelesti were currently joint 4th with Atalanta on 25 points.
Palermo had finished 16th the previous season. The Rosanero had got through six different managers; Giuseppe Iachini (1-12 and 26-28), Davide Ballardini (13-19 and 33-38), Fabio Viviani (21), Giovanni Bosi (21-25), Giovanni Tedesco (22-24) and Walter Novellino (39-32), a chaotic state of affairs even for owner Maurizio Zamparini. They only stayed up by one point.
This season they had already changed manager once. From Davide Ballardini to Roberto De Zerbi after two matches (a home defeat to Sassuolo and a 1-1 away draw to Inter). Since then, they had won 1 (Atalanta 1-0 away), drawn 2 and lost 7 (including last six consecutive). Not a great moment for the Sicilians who were 19th on 6 points and 4 from safety.
In the Coppa Italia Palermo had won their third-round match 1-0 against Bari in August and would play Spezia next at home on November 30.
In the summer the Sicilian Eagles had signed defender Haitam Aleesami (IFK Göteborg), midfielder Slobodan Rajković (Darmstadt), Bruno Henrique (Corinthians), Alessandro Diamanti (Atalanta), Alessandro Gazzi (Torino) plus forwards Roland Sallai (Puskás Akadémia - on loan), Carlos Embalo (Brescia - back from loan) and Ilija Nestorovski (Inter Zaprešić).
The main players leaving were keeper Stefano Sorrentino (Chievo), defender Aljaž Struna (Carpi - on loan), Achraf Lazaar (Newcastle United), midfielders Enzo Maresca (Verona), Gaston Brugman (Pescara - end of loan) plus forwards Alberto Gilardino (Empoli), Franco Vazquez (Seville) and Uroš Durdević (Partizan Belgrade).
Two different states of minds for the opponents today. Lazio doing unexpectedly well and Palermo unexpectedly badly.
The match: Sunday, November 27, 2016, Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo
A mild and sunny November afternoon possibly attracted some locals to the nearby Mondello beach as there were less than 10,000 spectators present. It was also a 12.30 kick-off, the so-called "lunch-time" game...
Neither team had any major absences. Lazio played with a special logo on their shirts in favour of Norcia, the town in Umbria recently hit by an earthquake.
Lazio's attacking force advised Roberto De Zerbi to be more cautious than usual and he chose a 3-5-2 formation rather than his usual 4-3-3.
The Biancocelesti attacked immediately but a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic header was too central from a Balde Keita cross. Then Ciro Immobile tried a long range shot which went just wide to Josip Posavec' right.
In the 20th minute Lazio went even closer. On a Marco Parolo cross from the left Immobile, in the heart of the area, hammered a left-footed volley but it came back off the crossbar to Felipe Anderson just inside the box, the Brazilian's first-time shot was too central.
In the 31st minute Lazio scored. A clever ball by Felipe Anderson sent Dušan Basta to the right by-line where he crossed low towards the front post and Milinkovic-Savic anticipated the defenders and side footed into the net. Good move and Palermo 0 Lazio 1.
Palermo reacted but Ilija Nestorovski completely mishit the ball from a favourable position and Thomas Strakosha gathered comfortably.
Then it was Lazio again but Stefan Radu had a powerful left-footed strike parried by the keeper.
Palermo had their biggest chance just before halftime. Nestorovski attacked the front post on a low cross from the right, he anticipated the defenders and flicked the ball towards the far post but it went just wide. At the break Palermo 0 Lazio 1.
Apart from the late scare, a well-deserved lead for Lazio so far.
For the second half the Pink Eagles replaced a poor Alessandro Diamanti with Swedish Robin Quaison.
Palermo started with more conviction and Norwegian Aleesami had a shot from outside the box go a couple of metres wide.
It was Lazio however, who continued to have the better chances. Marco Parolo drilled a low right foot from just inside the area but Josip Posavec saved and chances followed for Immobile, Anderson and Keita but they were imprecise.
Ivaylo Chochev had a half chance with a header on a mishit volley by Haitam Aleesami but he could not coordinate himself in time and it went well high.
Lazio controlled and threatened on the counterattack. In the 87th minute Cristiano Lombardi, who had replaced Keita in the 81st minute, burst past Gonzalez to have a one-on-one with the keeper, so he had no other option than to pull him down and was given his marching orders.
Against ten men Lazio suffered more than they had all match, but this was due to Palermo's last desperate attempts with hopeful balls thrown into the Lazio area. Apart from a few scrambles however, Lazio ran no real risks. Palermo 0 Lazio 1.
A clinical win by Lazio against a team in clear difficulty. Palermo were whistled off by their own fans and another change of manager seemed more than likely.
Lazio were still joint 4th as all the top 5 had won apart from leaders Juventus who had surprisingly lost 1-3 away at Genoa.
Palermo were now joint bottom with Crotone but still 4 points from safety.
Who played for Palermo
Posavec, Goldaniga (80' Lo Faso), Gonzalez, Andjelkovic, Morganella, Bruno Henrique (55' Buoy), Jajalo, Chocev, Aleesami, Diamanti (46' Quaison), Nestorovski
Substitutes: Fulignati, Guddo, Hiljemark, Rispoli, Gazzi, Sallai, Vitiello, Cionek, Pezzella
Manager: De Zerbi
Who played for Lazio
Strakosha, Basta, Wallace, Radu, Lulic (65' Lukaku), Parolo, Biglia, Milinkovic-Savic, F. Anderson (68' Djordjevic), Immobile, Keita (81' Lombardi)
Manager: S. Inzaghi
Referee: Guida
Goal: 31' Milinkovic-Savic
Red Card: 87' Gonzalez (P)
What happened next
A week later Lazio lost the derby 0-2 but then went on to have a decent season finishing 5th and qualified for the Europa League. The Biancocelesti ended up with 21 wins (including Samp 7-3, Palermo and Pescara both 6-2), 7 draws and 10 defeats. The highlight in the league was defeating Roma 3-1 in the return derby despite a scandalous penalty for the Giallorossi (the famous Strootman theatrical simulation).
In the Coppa Italia they reached the final after eliminating Genoa 4-2, Inter 2-1 away and Roma 4-3 on aggregate. They were then defeated 0-2 by Juventus.
Top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 26 goals (23 in league).
Palermo sacked De Zerbi after today's defeat and then got through another three managers: Eugenio Corini (15-21), Diego López (22-31) and Diego Bortoluzzi (32-38). The Rosanero were unsurprisingly relegated with a 19th place finish. The Sicilians only won 5 more games all season, drew 5 and lost 15. Top scorer was Nestorovski with 11 league goals.
In the Coppa Italia Palermo lost to Spezia on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Palermo have not made it back to Serie A. They even spent two seasons in Serie C but since 2022 have been back in Serie B.
The 2016-17 Scudetto was won by Juventus for their 33rd title. Palermo went down with Empoli and Pescara (the Tuscans are back in A while the Abruzzesi are in C).
Let’s talk about: Ivan Vargić
Ivan Vargić was born in Osijek in Croatia on March 15, 1987.
His youth career was spent first at Dakovo and then Osijek.
In 2006-07 Osijek sent him on loan to Vukovar in the Croatian Second Division where he played 33 games (30 in league).
In 2007-08 he was back at Osijek in the top flight but never made any appearances.
In August 2008 he went for his first foreign experience when he joined Honka in the Finnish top flight. He only stayed until December and never made his debut.
He returned to Osijek and stayed until February 2013. He made 36 league appearances, 10 in the Croatian Cup and 4 in the Europa League. The "Bijelo-Plavi" finished 7th, 6th, 8th, 8th and 7th.
In February 2013 he joined Rijeka and stayed three and a half seasons. He played 95 league games, 13 in the Croatian Cup and 23 in the Europa League. The "Nevera s Kvarnera" finished 3nd and then runners-up three times. In 2014 however they won the Croatian Cup and the Super Cup beating Dinamo Zagreb in both matches.
In 2016 Vargić joined Lazio. The manager was Simone Inzaghi and initially Vargic was supposed to be second choice behind Federico Marchetti but when the Italian got injured the Croat found himself leapfrogged by Albanian Thomas Strakosha. In the end Vargić only played 1 league game, a 1-3 home defeat to Inter on May 21. Lazio finished 5th (Europa League) and were losing finalists in the Coppa Italia.
The following year Vargić stayed in Rome. Still under Inzaghi, Lazio finished 5th again. The Biancocelesti triumphed in the Supercoppa Italiana defeating Juventus 3-2. Vargić made no league appearances but played twice in the Europa League (Lazio reached quarterfinals).
In 2018-19 he spent a year on loan with Anorthosis in Cyprus. He played 10 league games and 1 in the domestic cup. The "Old Lady" finished 7th.
In 2019-20 he was back at Lazio but only until February, just before lockdown for Coronavirus. He made no more appearances.
From February 2020 until July, he played for Koper in the Slovenian second flight but only played 1 league game. At 33 he then retired.
Vargic won 3 caps for Croatia in friendlies versus Argentina, Russia and Northern Ireland.
Vargic was a goalkeeper. A tall and imposing one at 1.92 and 93 kilos.
His best years were with Rijeka in his homeland where he played regularly and won two cups.
At Lazio he stayed two and a half years but never really got his chance, only playing a total of 3 games. He did however win an Italian Supercoppa in 2017.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Europa League |
2016-17 | 1 | 1 | - |
2017-18 | 2 | - | 2 |
Total | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Sources
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