Lazio on the cusp of producing an odds defying Serie A campaign

Lazio on the cusp of producing an odds defying Serie A campaign

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Juventus clinch yet another title, the Milanese teams lose their identity and Lazio, against all the odds, are one of the success stories of Serie A this season, writes Andy Castellano. 

The latter is one of the season’s most enriching stories, especially when you hark back to January 2014. Against the fans’ wishes, Lazio sold their midfield playmaker and the best player in the squad, Anderson Hernanes, to rivals Inter Milan. Claudio Lotito, the Lazio president, cashed-in on a 20 million euro buy-out clause rather than letting him potentially leave for free in 18 months time. The decision was so incredibly unpopular amongst Lazio fans that it resulted in Lotito admitting to receiving multiple death threats.

After the sale of Hernanes, Lazio were immediately eliminated from the Europa League in a winnable two-legged knockout tie against Bulgarians Luzogorets Razgrad. Domestically, they stuttered through the rest of the season to finish a dismal ninth – an astounding 46 points behind Juventus and 29 points adrift of fierce enemies AS Roma. At the end of the season, coach Edoardo Reja resigned from his post a mere six months into the role and the well travelled, but less than successful Stefano Poli took up the post that same day. Poli came with a CV that failed to impress fans, after relatively unsuccessful reins at Parma, Chievo, Palermo and Bologna. This appointment, however, now appears to have been the catalyst for a successful change in attitude and enthusiasm from the playing group.

In June, the likes of Stefan De Vrij, Marco Parolo, Dusan Basta and Filip Dordovic joined the club and strengthened the team. Fast-forward to May, and Lazio, after a poor start in which they lost three of the first four games, are eyeing a top-two finish for the first time since their title win in 2000. This is enhanced by an impressive eight-game winning run during February and through April.

Dutch international De Vrij has been exceptional, forming a solid partnership with fellow centre-back Lorik Cana. Combined with the terrific performances of goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, and fellow custodian Etrit Berisha when used as an injury replacement, Lazio have collected 11 clean sheets so far this season in Serie A.

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In previous seasons Lazio relied heavily on the goalscoring exploits of Miroslav Klose, but this season Felipe Dordevic has seven Serie A goals and Klose 12. On a whole, the pair have formed a deadly strike partnership. As for midfield, Antonio Candreva, Marco Parolo and Felipe Anderson have all been able to impact the scoresheet and cover the loss of Hernanes. With an impressive eight goals and seven assists, Candreva is having arguably his best season on record for Lazio. Parolo, seen by many prior to the season as an insufficient replacement for Hernanes, has eight goals already in this campaign and just three shy of Hernanes’ best tally for Lazio. The greatest joy for Lazio fans however, has been Anderson’s break-out season. Signed from Santos in 2013, the Brazilian has scored 10 goals in just 27 games and demonstrated his immense talent on a regular basis.

Poli must be given credit for what he has achieved with this squad in such a short time. He has seamlessly transformed a relatively average squad into a side that now plays a disciplined and attractive brand of football. Second only to Juventus in both goals scored and conceded, anything less than a second place finish now would be undeserving and a little disappointing for the fans. These are expectations that would never have crossed the mind of even the most ardent of Lazio fans at the start of the season.

The change in fortunes has been drastic, and with four games to go, Lazio can again cement itself as a power in Serie A with a second place finish and a return to Champions League football. The final two games of the season, see Lazio host Roma and travel away to Napoli on the last day – it’s all set up for a thrilling finale. A meeting with Juventus in the Coppa Italia on June 7th represents a chance for Lazio to secure their seventh crown; and wouldn’t that really be the icing on the cake.

On the cusp of a highly successful campaign, can Lazio hold their nerve and provide their fans with some of historic memories?

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