Champions League Play-Offs, a win against Real Madrid, a Supercoppa triumph. A lot happened in the week of August 10-16 in Lazio history, as we also remember Claudio Garella.
Matches of the Week
Date: Saturday, August 11, 2002Venue: White Hart Lane, LondonFixture: Tottenham Hotspur Lazio 2-2 Lazio again concede early but come back from two goals down to draw at White Hart Lane.
Date: Sunday, August 12, 1990Venue: Estadio Municipal, La Línea de la ConcepciónFixture: Real Madrid Lazio 1-1 (4-6 on pens), Ciudad de la Línea TrophyLazio win prestigious trophy by beating Real Madrid on penalties
Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2003Venue: Stadio Olimpico, RomeFixture: Lazio Benfica 3-1, Champions League Play-OffA tough game in uncomfortable heat, but Lazio take two-goal lead to Portugal thanks to Corradi, Fiore and Mihajlovic
Date: Sunday, August 14, 2022Venue: Stadio Olimpico, RomeFixture: Lazio Bologna 2-1Down to 10 men from the early minutes of the game and losing 1-0 the Biancocelesti managed to overturn the result thanks to yet another goal from Immobile and a Bologna own goal prompted by Lazzari.
Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2007Venue: Stadio Olimpico, RomeFixture: Lazio Dinamo București 1-1, Champions League Play OffLazio manage to draw a chaotic game and give themselves a chance to reach the Champions League Group stage.
Match In Focus
Date: Sunday, August 13, 2017Venue: Stadio Olimpico, RomeFixture: Juventus Lazio 2-3, Supercoppa
Juventus who had won both the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia in the final against Lazio were clear favourites on this hot evening in Rome, but the Biancocelesti had their new star player Lucas Leiva playing for the first time, and there was hope. Felipe Anderson was injured so space for Luis Alberto, who so far had not performed too well but towards the end of the previous season had shown some signs of improvement.
The Bianconeri came out flying and had three chances in the first five minutes but then slowed down and Lazio grew into the game. Their increasing confidence was rewarded just after the half-hour mark. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic anticipated Cuadrado and sent a perfect low through ball to Ciro Immobile, putting the Lazio striker one-on-one with Buffon. He went around the Italian national keeper and was clearly pulled down. Immobile scored the spot kick with a powerful low and angled shot, despite the keeper going the right way, so after 32 minutes, Lazio 1 Juventus 0.
At the beginning of the second half, Lazio scored again. In the 54th minute, a Marco Parolo cross from the right was met by Immobile who outjumped Medhi Benatia and Andrea Barzagli and headed over and past Buffon. But towards the end, Juve turned the game around in six minutes.
In the 85th minute, they won a free kick on the edge of the box which Dybala wonderfully curled around the wall and found the net. Lazio clung on but in the 91st minute, Juventus were awarded a penalty. A fifty-fifty ball between Alex Sandro and Marusic was reached a fraction earlier by the Brazilian who then went down, for Mr. Massa it was a foul. Dybala stepped up and coolly put a perfect mid-height penalty to Thomas Strakosha‘s right.
Extra time was approaching with Juve on top and Lazio struggling. But in the 93rd minute, Luis Alberto fed Jordan Lukaku on the left and the big Belgian powered forward, going past Mattia De Sciglio towards the by-line. What happened next was a sublime combination of strength and agility as the “Sinjoren” nimbly cut in from the wing somehow keeping his balance, leaving De Sciglio behind and squaring a low ball back to the penalty spot.
Who was there? Immobile? Luis Alberto? Milinkovic-Savic? No. Alessandro Murgia became a Lazio hero for life by stretching and slotting a low right foot past Buffon, under the Curva Nord. Lazio 3 Juventus 2.
By the time all the players and staff had come back from their celebratory travels under the Curva Nord, there was barely time to continue before the referee whistled the end. The match went down in history as Murgia’s Supercoppa, a moment of glory for the then-youngster, in the right place at the right time.
In Memory: Claudio Garella
Claudio Garella did not probably have fantastic memories of his stay at Lazio, but on the other hand neither did the Lazio fans. But he must be considered among the best goalkeepers in Italian football.
Born in Turin, on May 16, 1955, he arrived in Rome in 1976. The manager was Luis Vinicio and Lazio finished 5th. The regular keeper however was Felice Pulici and Garella did not make any appearances. Things changed the next season as Garella was promoted to first keeper. He played 29 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia and 4 in the UEFA Cup.
His performances were not always impeccable and after some hesitant displays against Lens in Europe and Vicenza in Serie A, he was harshly criticized by the fans and the media. The Lazio supporters gave him the nickname “Paperella” (a play on words between little duck and howler in Italian, a sort of butter fingers). A top national journalist, Gianni Brera, coined the term “Garellate” to refer to goalkeeping blunders. He left.
In the years after Lazio he became a great keeper. He went on to win two league titles. One with Verona in 1984-85 and one with Napoli in 1986-87 alongside Diego Armando Maradona and Bruno Giordano.
Garella was a tall goalkeeper at 1.84 and 80 kilos. He was also a controversial one. He had a very unorthodox style, often saving the ball with all parts of his body except his hands. He was famous for blocking shots with his feet rather than diving low. Gianni Agnelli was once quoted as saying, “Garella is the best keeper in the world, without hands though”.
He died on August 12, 2022, following cardiocirculatory complications after heart surgery.
Birthdays This Week
- Francesco Colonnese, 10/8/1971, defender, Italy, 29 appearances (2000-03)
- Claudio De Sousa, 10/8/1985, forward, Italy, 5 appearances, 1 goal (2004-05)
- Luigi Boccolini, 11/8/1946, midfielder, Italy, 17 appearances, 1 goal (1977-78)
- Giovanni Di Veroli, 11/8/1932, defender, Italy, 54 appearances (1952-58)
- Djibril Cissé, 12-8-1981, forward, France, 27 appearances, 5 goals (2011-12)
- Francesco Gabriotti, 12-8-1914, midfielder, Italy, 27 appearances, 6 goals (1932-37)
- Alfredo Monza II, 12-8-1912, defender, Italy, 253 appearances, 1 goal (1935-43, manager in 1958 and assistant 1958-59)
- Alessandro Capponi, 13-8-1919, midfielder, Italy, 28 appearances, 10 goals (1936-39, 1942-45)
- Joaquín Correa, 13-8-1993, forward, Argentina, 117 appearances, 30 goals (2018-21)
- Bruno Giordano, 13-8-1956, forward, Italy, 259 appearances, 116 goals (1975-85)
- Massimo Giacomini, 14-8-1939, midfielder, Italy, 15 appearances (1963-64)
- Vladimir Pektovic, 16/8/1963, Bosnia, manager of Lazio 2012-13
- Gino Ottier II, 16-8-1902, forward, Italy, 60 appearances 32 goals (1921-28)
- Berardino Capocchiano, 16/8/1966, forward, Italy, 3 appearances (1991-92)
This Article Was Written by Dag Jenkins & Simon Basten from Lazio Stories. More Information on the Above Matches and Players can be found on LazioStories.com.