A season which delivered more than any Lazio fan could have hoped for culminated in one of the best finales to a Serie A season in years, and a well earned crack at Champions League football.
Lazio’s Serie A season came down to the wire in the very last game of the campaign against Napoli with a contest they simply had to win.
It was billed as a winner-takes-all battle based around the fact that whomever emerged victorious would claim a spot in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League for next season.
The Aquile had tried to throw away their opportunity on a number of occasions during an enthralling campaign that was littered with inconsistencies, but they were granted one last chance for salvation.
A plethora of new signings including Stefan De Vrij, Marco Parolo and Filip Djordjevic were brought into the club in an effort to improve upon their disappointing ninth-place from the previous season.
As ropy starts go, two Serie A wins and three defeats represented a pretty poor return from a side with designs on the top-six at least.
However, their 4-0 away victory against Palermo at the end of September set the Aquile on a six-match unbeaten run, of which five were wins.
New boy Djordjevic was the main protagonist of this sharp upturn in form when notching five goals in the first three games of that impressive streak. In fact, Lazio hit 16 goals in that period of six outings to shoot up the table.
Two losses and a draw followed to put a spoke in the wheels of the revival, with one of those defeats coming against Juventus to douse cold water on Lazio’s hopes of keeping pace with the defending champions.
Again, Stefano Pioli’s men bounced back with three victories and two draws in league action up until mid-January when top-three rivals Napoli took the spoils away from the Stadio Olimpico. Young Brazilian forward Felipe Anderson came to the fore as he netted five in just as many appearances, whilst assisting a further five goals in that time.
Meanwhile, their Coppa Italia campaign was gathering pace after triumphs over Bassano, Varese, Torino and AC Milan saw them reach the semi-finals.
They stuttered at the beginning of February before eight wins on the trot put them firmly in contention for second spot. Most notably, the Aquile beat Fiorentina 4-0 at home through strikes from Lucas Biglia, Antonio Candreva and a Miroslav Klose brace. They were simply rampant that March evening, while sending out a message to the likes of Roma and Napoli around them.
April saw them knock Rafa Benitez’s Napoli out in advancing to a Coppa Italia final against Juventus, but the final month of the campaign saw a mixed bag of results as they stumbled towards potentially losing out on third spot, having already surrendered in their bid for second when losing to bitter rivals Roma on the penultimate day of the season.
Meanwhile, the Biancocelesti were extremely unfortunate when losing to Juve after 120 minutes played in an epic Cup final. The Bianconeri narrowly claimed the trophy with an extra-time goal from Alessandro Matri to break Lazio hearts.
So, it all came down to the final Serie A game of the season at the San Paolo to see who would claim a Champions League qualifying spot.
Lazio began like a train with two first-half goals from Parolo and Candreva, but the former was sent off after handing them the lead. That seemed to rejuvenate Napoli, and they hit back with a Gonzalo Higuain brace to level matters.
Faouzi Ghoulam was then sent off with 20 minutes remaining to nullify Napoli’s numerical advantage, but almost immediately Senad Lulic tripped Christian Maggio for a penalty kick.
Higuain, on for a hat-trick, failed to convert and two late efforts from Ogenyi Onazi and Miroslav Klose – with his 13th of the league campaign – sealed third and the final Champions League slot.
Player of the Season
Brazilian Felipe Anderson enjoyed a real breakthrough year for Lazio after it looked as if he would be one of Igli Tare’s flops.
Growing into the season gradually, the 22-year-old pulled off a series of man-of-the-match displays from December onwards.
Anderson made 32 league appearances, notching 10 goals and seven assists from a predominantly wide attacking area.
Goal of the Season
Felipe Anderson scored a number of classy gaols throughout the season, but this one was part of a double which downed Torino in March.
He picks up inside the Torino half, beats two men and slots the ball into the bottom corner with aplomb.
A fantastic run and strike showcasing the promise held by the former Santos star.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy0lff_ZxKk[/youtube]
Best and Worst Signings
Dutch central defender Stefan De Vrij must be the pick of the bunch, with the imposing 6ft 2in World Cup star making a massive impression following his switch from Feyenoord.
Great in the air and a powerful figure, De Vrij managed 30 Serie A appearances in the marshalling of Serie A’s third-best defence, which conceded one goal per game on average.
Edson Braafheid was another Dutchman drafted in during the summer, this time from Hoffenheim in Germany.
The full-back began his time with Lazio reasonably well during decent performances against Cesena and Genoa, but his form steadily dipped, meaning he only made 16 league appearances in the end.
At 32 years of age, it’s unlikely Lazio will be counting on him in the future.
The Coach
Stefan Pioli deserves a lot of the credit for Lazio’s vast improvement due in part to his building of a vibrant attacking team blessed with a perfect mix of youth and established stars.
At times, particularly during an eight-match winning sequence that threatened Roma’s second place, they were breathtaking to watch.
He took over a mid-table outfit from Edoardo Reja and turned them into Champions League qualifiers within the space of a year and even greater achievements are on the horizon for Lazio, should they manage to keep the highly-rated 49-year-old at helm.
