October 7, 2012: Pescara-Lazio 0-3
- Dag Jenkins
- Oct 7
- 10 min read
Updated: Oct 12
Eagles fly high over Adriatic
Three goals in the first half give Lazio comfortable win
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season Lazio had finished 4th (Europa League) under Edy Reja. The highlights were beating Roma 2-1 twice, Milan 2-0 and Inter 3-1. Top scorer was Miro Klose with 15 goals (12 in A).
The main novelty for Lazio this season was the arrival of Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic, an elegant polyglot of Bosnian origin. Apart from Petkovic, Lazio had Brazilian Ederson (free transfer) in midfield, plus defensive giant Michael Ciani (Bordeaux). Sergio Floccari, Mauro Zarate and Luis Pedro Cavanda retuned from their loans.
Leaving were defenders Javier Garrido (Norwich City-on loan) and Guglielmo Stendardo (back to Atalanta where he had been playing on loan).
So far in Serie A Lazio had played 6 games and had won 4 (Atalanta 1-0 away on debut, Palermo 3-0 and Siena 2-1 at home, Chievo 3-1 away) and lost 2 (Genoa 0-1 at home and Napoli 0-3 away). Lazio were currently joint 3rd with Inter on 12 points.
In the Europa League the Biancocelesti had won the play off against Mura 05 from Slovenia by winning 5-1 on aggregate. Lazio were now in the group stages and had so far drawn 0-0 away to Tottenham and beaten Maribor 1-0 at home. The other team in the group were Panathīnaïkos.
Pescara were newly promoted. The Biancazzurri had won Serie B and returned to Serie A after 19 years. The manager was Zdeněk Zeman and top scorer was Ciro Immobile with 28 league goals.
This season the manager was another Lazio connection, Giovanni Stroppa. The Abruzzesi had been busy on the transfer market. The new players included: goalkeepers Ivan Pelizzoli (Padova), Mattia Perin (Genoa - on loan via Padova), defenders Uroš Ćosić (Red Star Belgrade), Francesco Modesto (Parma - on loan), Christian Terlizzi (Varese), midfielders Birkir Bjarnason (Standard Liege), Manuele Blasi (free agent), Giuseppe Colucci (Cesena), Juan Fernando Quintero (Atlético Nacional) plus forwards Elvis Abbruscato (Vicenza), Gianluca Caprari (Roma-on loan), Mervan Çelik (GAIS), Jonathas (Brescia), Ante Vukušić (Hajduk Split) and Vladimir Weiss (Manchester City-on loan via Espanyol).
Leaving Pescara were: goalkeeper Luca Anania (Padova), defender Riccardo Brosco (Ternana - on loan), midfielders Luca Ariatti (retiring), Andrea Gessa (Cesena), Gianluca Nicco (Frosinone - on loan), Marco Verratti (PSG) plus forwards Ciro Immobile (Genoa - end of loan), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli - end of loan), Riccardo Maniero (Ternana - on loan) and Marco Sansovini (Spezia). Some important players leaving especially Immobile, Insigne and Verratti.
So far, in Serie A Pescara had won 2 (the last 2 against Palermo at home and Cagliari away), drawn 1 (Bologna away) and lost 3 (the first 3 against Inter and Sampdoria at home and Torino away). Pescara were currently joint 11th on 7 points (with Milan and Bologna)
In the Coppa Italia the "Delfini" (Dolphins) were already out. They had beaten Carpi 1-0 at home in August but then lost 2-4 away to Cagliari in early September.
A tricky trip across the Apennines to the Adriatic for Lazio. There was no love lost between these two clubs and Pescara were improving after a difficult start.
The match: Sunday, October 7, 2012, Stadio Adriatico, Pescara
A sunny autumn day brought just under 13,000 spectators to the beautifully situated Stadio Adriatico.
Pescara had to do without defender Damiano Zanon, midfielder Francesco Modesto and forward Vladimír Weiss (suspended).
Lazio had defender Stefan Radu and midfielder Ederson unavailable, while Mauro Zarate was out of the squad.
The first shot was by Giuseppe Colucci, wide to Federico Marchetti's right, but it was Lazio who took the lead almost immediately courtesy of Hernanes. In the 5th minute the Brazilian curled a stunning freekick round the Pescara wall to give the Biancocelesti a dream start, 0-1.
There was little or no reaction from the locals and Lazio dominated. In the 11th minute a Hernanes shot was too central and in the 15th a superb Stefano Mauri volley shaved the post.
In the 25th minute Lazio made it two. Antonio Candreva sliced open the Pescara defence with a perfect through ball to Miro Klose who went around Mattia Perin and slotted it in, 0-2.
Pescara forced a series of corners but nothing more. In the 36th minute Lazio practically closed the game. On a Hernanes corner from the right Klose outjumped Christian Terlizzi and headed down past Perin, 0-3.
Two minutes later Marchetti was finally called into action when he tipped a Giuseppe Colucci free kick over the bar.
At half time Pescara 0 Lazio 3 and no contest so far.
For the second half the hosts tried to change something by replacing holding midfielder Manuele Blasi with Brazilian forward Jonathas.
The Dolphins now attacked more but rarely threatened. In the 56th minute they threw on another forward, talented Juan Fernando Quintero for Mervan Çelik while Lazio in the 60th changed fullback bringing on Luís Pedro Cavanda for Abdoulay Konko.
Pescara increased their efforts and Marchetti was busier but mainly on high crosses into the area.
In the 66th minute the Adriatici put on another forward Elvis Abbruscato for a poor Ante Vukušić.
With nothing to lose anymore the hosts finally forced Marchetti into a few good saves. First Quintero had a dangerous freekick saved by the keeper from Veneto and then he touched an Elvis Abbruscato effort onto the outside of the post.
Meanwhile in the 72nd minute Vladimir Petkovic had spared Klose the last twenty minutes (he was also one yellow card from a one-match suspension) and brought on Sergio Floccari.
The game had nothing more to say apart from a last substitution for Lazio in the 85th minute with Lorik Cana replacing Giuseppe Biava.
Final score Pescara 0 Lazio 3. Ultimately an easy win for the Biancocelesti. They had stamped down their authority and superior quality in the first half and then merely controlled Pescara's lacklustre reaction.
Lazio were still joint 3rd on 15 points (with Inter). Pescara were still joint 11th on 7 points (with Milan and Bologna) but now only two points above the relegation zone (Cagliari, Palermo and Atalanta on 5 points).
Who played for Pescara
Perin, Balzano, Capuano, Terlizzi, Bocchetti, Blasi (46' Jonathas), Colucci, Cascione, Caprari, Vukušić (66' Abbruscato), Celik (56' Quintero)
Substitutes: Pelizzoli, Falso, Romagnoli, Soddimo, Bjarnason, Nielsen, Brugman
Manager: Stroppa
Who played for Lazio
Marchetti, Konko (60' Cavanda), Dias, Biava (85' Cana), Lulic, Candreva, A.Gonzalez, Ledesma, Hernanes, Mauri, Klose (72' Floccari)
Manager: Petkovic
Referee: De Marco
Goals: 5' Hernanes, 25' Klose, 36' Klose
What happened next
Lazio then went on a good run until late January. They won 8 (including the derby 3-2 and Inter 3-1 at home), drew 3 (including Juventus 0-0 away) and lost 2 and pushed up to joint second place. Then the Biancocelesti lost 0-1 at home to bête noire Chievo and faded. They ended up 7th and even got overtaken by Roma in the last game of the season. The second derby ended up 1-1 while top scorer was Miroslav Klose with 16 goals (15 in A).
In the Europa League Lazio then got four points against Panathīnaïkos, drew 0-0 with Tottenham and beat Maribor 4-1 away to qualify for the round of 32. They then eliminated Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-3 and Stuttgart 5-1 on aggregate. Next, they played Fenerbahçe in the quarters and were beaten 1-3 on aggregate but not helped by a shocking Scottish referee in Istanbul.
In Coppa Italia it was a very different story. The Biancocelesti eliminated Siena on penalties, Catania 3-0 at home and Juventus 3-2 on aggregate to qualify for a historic cup final against bitter city rivals.
On the 26th May, Lazio triumphed 1-0 with a Senad Lulic goal in the 71st minute (one can still see the number graffitied around town).
An average season became an epic one thanks to the derby win which will be remembered forever on both sides of the Tiber.
Pescara ended up relegated. They finished bottom on only 22 points and only won two more matches all season. In November they changed managers from Stroppa to another former Lazio Cristiano Bergodi and then he himself was replaced in March by Cristian Bucchi. Top scorer was Weiss with 5 goals (4 in A) out of a total of only 27 (with 84 conceded).
The Scudetto was won by Juventus (29th title) and the Europa League by Chelsea. Pescara went down with Palermo and Siena.
Let's talk about Marius Stankevičius
Marius Stankevičius was born in Kaunas (Lithuania), on July 15, 1981.
He started his football career with Ekranas in the town of Panevézýs in his homeland. From the youth side he then made his way up to the first team squad and between 1998 to 2002 he played 87 league games with 3 goals. He won two domestic cups and one Super Cup.
In January 2002 he joined Brescia in Serie A. He only played 2 league games under Carlo Mazzone and the Rondinelle (Swallows) finished 13th. The squad included Lazio connections, Antonio and Emanuele Filippini, Simone Del Nero and Igli Tare but also Roberto Baggio, Luca Toni and Pep Guardiola.
In 2002-03 he stayed on at Brescia but only until January, playing 6 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia, still under Mazzone.
In January he joined Cosenza on loan for 6 months in Serie B. The manager was first Emiliano Mondonico, then Sandro Salvioni and finally Antonio Sala. Stankevičius played 8 league games and the Lupi della Sila were relegated.
In 2003 he returned to Brescia and stayed five seasons (2 in A and 3 in B). He played another 151 league games with 11 goals, 14 in Coppa Italia and 1 in the Intertoto Cup. Brescia finished 11th, 19th (relegated), 10th, 6th and 5th. His managers included Gianni De Biasi, Alberto Cavasin, Zdeněk Zeman and Serse Cosmi. The various squads included Lazio connections: Stefano Mauri, Del Nero, Gigi Di Biagio, Matuzalém, Antonio Filippini and Matías Almeyda.
In 2008 he signed for Sampdoria in A. He played 30 league games with 3 goals (Lecce, Lazio, Palermo), 5 in Coppa Italia and 8 in the UEFA Cup. The Blucerchiati finished 13th under Walter Mazzarri. They reached the final of Coppa Italia but lost to Lazio on penalties. The following season he stayed on but only until January, playing another 14 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia under Luigi Delneri.
In January 2010 he joined Sevilla on loan in the Liga. He played 16 league games, 2 in the Copa del Rey and 2 in the Europa League. The manager was Manuel Jiménez Jiménez and the Sevillistas finished 4th. The Rojiblancos won silverware by defeating Atletico Madrid 2-0 in the Copa del Rey final.
After the six-month loan Stankevičius returned to Sampdoria but only played 2 games in the Champions League preliminary (lost 4-5 to Werder Brehen a.e.t) before being loaned to Valencia. In Andalusia his teammates included future Lazio, Abdoulay Konko.
Back in Spain he played 21 league games with 2 goals (Osasuna, Almería) and 4 games in the Copa del Rey. The Blanquinegros finished 3rd (CL) under Unai Emery.
In 2011 Stankevičius signed for Lazio and stayed two seasons. In the first, under Edy Reja, Lazio finished 4th (EL) and won both derbies. He played 11 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia and 1 in the Europa League. The following season Vladimir Petković arrived as manager and the Biancocelesti finished 7th after a promising first half of the season. There was eternal glory however in the Coppa Italia as on the 26th of May Lazio defeated city rivals Roma 1-0 (Lulic '71) to lift the Cup. Stankevicius only played 3 league games.
In 2013 he left Italy and moved to Turkey where he played a season for Gaziantepspor in the top flight. He played 29 league games and 1 in the Turkish Cup. The Şahinler (Falcons) finished 15th and narrowly avoided relegation.
In 2014 -15 he played in Germany for a season with Hannover 96. He only played 2 league games under Michael Frontzeck and "Die Roten" (Reds) finished 13th.
In 2015-16 he was back in Spain. This time with Cordoba in the Segunda División. He played 39 league games and Los Califas finished 5th (then lost in the playoffs to Girona).
In 2016-17 he was back in Italy with Siena in Lega Pro (3rd tier). He played 27 league games and 1 in the LP Coppa Italia. The Bianconeri finished 12th under two different managers, Giovanni Colella and Cristiano Scazzola. One of his teammates was former Lazio, Ettore Mendicino.
His last two years of professional football were spent with Crema (Cremona) in Serie D. He played 45 games with 2 goals and the Cremini finished 8th and 6th.
In 2020 he had a brief experience back home with amateur side Komanda but it only lasted just over a month.
At almost 39 he retired.
At international level he won 65 caps for Lithuania with 5 goals (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Moldova, Austria, Serbia, Spain). In 2008 and 2009 he was voted Lithuanian Player of the Year.
He then went into coaching which he had already been doing at Crema as a player-manager in 2018-19. He was then assistant at Kauno Žalgiris, head coach of Lithuania U17s and assistant coach of Lithuania national side. In 2020-21 he returned to Italy and coached Lumezzane in Eccellenza (5th tier) finishing 2nd. He then went back to Kauno Žalgiris. He is currently with TransINVEST in the Lithuanian second flight.
Stankevičius was a defender who could play on both sides. He was strong at 1.90 and 85 kilos and good in the air. One of his specialities was his long throw-in which could reach up to 35 metres.
He had a good club career playing in Italian, Spanish, German and Turkish top leagues. He played 547 professional games.
At Lazio he was not a regular but was in the 2013 squad that won the epic Coppa Italia derby cup final. He was on the bench that memorable day.
Lazio Career
Season | Total Appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
2011-12 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
2012-13 | 3 | 3 | - | - |
Total | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
Sources
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