Lazio Rise From the Dead in Udine

Simon Basten
Dec 14, 2022
3 min read

Season 2008-09

Game 16, Serie A

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Stadio Friuli, Udine

Udinese Lazio 3-3

Biancocelesti battle back from 3–0 down to claim a dramatic 3–3 draw at the Friuli

Lazio started the season beating Benevento in Coppa Italia 5-1. They then beat Atalanta 1-0 and qualified for the Round of 16 where they won in Milan against the Rossoneri in extra time.

In Serie A Lazio were currently seventh with Atalanta. Not exactly the best start.

The match

Lazio pulled off a remarkable comeback in Udine, fighting back from three goals down to rescue a dramatic 3–3 draw. At the Stadio Friuli, Delio Rossi’s side produced a stirring reaction after weeks of mixed form, earning a second consecutive draw following their derby defeat to Roma on 16 November.

For more than an hour, Udinese looked entirely in control. Until the 60th minute, the home side seemed to be coasting, unaware of the Biancocelesti’s trademark resilience that would soon explode into life after a spell of almost chaotic disarray.

Rossi had gambled by deploying an experimental back line of Modibo Diakité and Emilson Cribari, with Manuel Belleri and Simone Del Nero—making his first league appearance in seven months—on the flanks. The risk backfired almost immediately. After just nine minutes, Fabio Quagliarella held up the ball with his back to goal and slipped in Antonio Di Natale, who drifted inside and lifted a delicate chip over the advancing Juan Pablo Carrizo. Once again, Lazio had conceded early.

Worse was to come. In the 15th minute, Lazio’s defence froze while appealing for an offside that never existed, allowing Di Natale to return the favour: a simple pass to Quagliarella, Carrizo rounded, and Udinese celebrated their second. Lazio were rattled, Udinese ruthless. Only Carrizo’s interventions prevented the match from being effectively over before the half-hour mark.

Up front, Lazio were non-existent. Udinese dropped deep and closed every avenue, depriving Tommaso Rocchi and Mauro Zarate of space and reducing them to frustrated spectators. Lazio’s only attempt came from Diakité, until the final moments of the first half when Cristian Ledesma’s long ball found Rocchi, whose header skimmed over the bar.

Rossi made sweeping changes at the break, abandoning his initial plan and reinstating his “heavy trident” attack by withdrawing Belleri and Del Nero for Mourad Meghni and Goran Pandev. But Lazio’s shape remained unsettled, and their carelessness was punished again on 55 minutes. Losing the ball in midfield, they were hit by a familiar sight: Di Natale racing away on the counter, skipping past Stefan Radu, testing Carrizo, collecting the rebound and rolling the ball in for Udinese’s third.

At 3–0, Udinese looked home and dry. But Lazio finally stirred. Meghni tried his luck from distance, then in the 60th minute Pandev powered through in the box; Samir Handanović’s save fell kindly to Zarate, who tapped in to spark faint hope.

Twelve minutes later, that hope grew. From a Zarate corner, Diakité rose highest and thundered home a header to make it 3–2. Pasquale Marino attempted to shore things up by introducing Christian Obodo, but Lazio had rediscovered their drive—and crucially, Pandev’s presence transformed their attack.

With Udinese increasingly nervous, Lazio pushed relentlessly. Their persistence paid off five minutes from time. Ledesma, finding space from distance, unleashed a strike that stunned the Friuli and drew the Biancocelesti level at 3–3.

What had looked like a humiliating defeat became one of Lazio’s most spirited comebacks of the season—a reminder of their enduring character and a warning to opponents who dare to think them beaten too soon.

Who played for Udinese

Handanovic, Sala, Coda, Domizzi, Motta, Inler, G.D'Agostino (87' Pasquale), Lukovic, Pepe (71' Obodo), Quagliarella (84' Floro Flores), Di Natale

Substitutes: Belardi, Nef, Asamoah, Sanchez

Manager: Marino

Who played for Lazio

Carrizo, Belleri (46’ Meghni), Cribari, Diakité, Radu, Lichtsteiner, Dabo (80’ Foggia), Ledesma, Del Nero (46’ Pandev), Rocchi, Zarate