Posts Tagged ‘Mauro Zarate’

Lazio 4-2 Roma: Everything You Desire from a Derby della Capitale (Serie A Matchday 31)

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

Lazio's Mauro Zarate (L) celebrates after scoring as AS Roma's Julio Baptista reacts during their Serie A soccer match at the Olympic stadium in Rome April 11, 2009. (REUTERS)

These are dire days in Italy, as an entire nation mourns the losses from the Abruzzo earthquake earlier this week. Hundreds of casualties and thousands of homeless people in central Italy, but as they say in sporting terms, “the show must go on”.

And what a show it was today at the Stadio Olimpico of Rome, really everything you could desire from a tense, heart-felt Roman derby: goals, drama, and the inevitable yellow/red cards. Yes, we can all hide under a politically-correct façade and claim “no one wants to see those in soccer” but the truth is, sending off offences are a testimony to how much a derby victory represents for these teams. In particular two teams who, let’s be honest, can safely call the 2008-09 season a failure.

Lazio can be doubly satisfied with their victory today. Not only did they reacquire a bit of pride after three consecutive league losses, but they triumphed over their arch-nemesis, Roma, increasing their positive “home” trend in the Derby della Capitale to three (after the 3-0 and 3-2 victories in 2007 and 2008) and effectively nullifying the Giallorossi’s Champions League hopes for next season. Just the right kind of victory Delio Rossi needed to keep his job.

It’ll be a very happy easter in the Biancocelesti manager’s home, no doubt.

Note: Once again, I find myself in the position of having to apologize for the lack of recent updates. I’ve been having a rough time this week on a personal level, and to make matters worse I sustained a sprained ankle Wednesday (playing soccer, what else) which will keep me sidelined for a few weeks. My heart & mind’s just not been “in it”. Hopefully things will get better soon, so thank you for your fidelity and your patience.

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Lazio 2-0 Bologna: Mauro Zarate Makes the Eagles Soar… (Serie A Matchday 26)

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

Lazio's Argentine forward Mauro Matias Zarate (R) celebrates after scoring against Bologna during their Serie A football match at Olympic stadium in Rome on February 28, 2009. (AFP/Getty Images)

After nearly two months of hunger Lazio made peace with the Olimpico crowd Saturday, defeating Bologna with two goals by Mauro Zarate and obtaining their first home victory of 2009. It was a double-rebirth of sorts, with the the team collectively answering their coach’s “wake-up” call and their Argentine striker (whose last goal was in mid-December) finally returning his name to the scoreboard. Coupled with Matuzalem’s recovery and Foggia’s first top-notch performance of the season, Delio Rossi can be quite satisfied with how his week-end started.

The same cannot be said for Sinisa Mihajlovic unfortunately. His team’s currently 17th in the Serie A standings, one measley point above the first relegated side (who still have to play on Sunday). Despite a very active Marco Di Vaio, Bologna simply were off their pace today: only the entrance of Marazzina (coupled with the removal of Rodriguez) managed to improve the predictability the Rossoblu had shown in the first half. Mihajlovic knows he will need much better performances from his men if he intends to keep Bologna in the Italian top-flight division.

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Fiorentina vs. Lazio Preview: A Case of ‘Don’t Fire on a Sinking Ship’?

Friday, February 6th, 2009

With a new round of Serie A coming up, the juiciest piece of footy action this week-end is probably the tie between Fiorentina and Lazio.  The home side have come through a rough period but are back to winning ways after two convincing victories vs. Napoli and Bologna.  Lazio on the other hand go into this game on the back of three straight defeats, and desperately need the win if they are to hold any aspirations of qualifying for Europe this season.

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Milan 1-2 Lazio: Pandev Wins It in Extra Time (Coppa Italia Round of 16)

Friday, December 5th, 2008

Chalk out another “big” one. At the end of 120 minutes of intense tactical battling Lazio knocked out AC Milan out of the Coppa Italia, courtesy of goals Mauro Zarate and Goran Pandev. Shevchenko’s opening tally was not enough for the Rossoneri, who exit the competition at the the Round of 16 stage.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are not going through a very happy phase at the moment. They have lost 4 points relative to Inter in the last two rounds of Serie A, and have now seen the first trophy of the season (albeit the least prestigious one) slip away from them. The Biancocelesti on the other hand deserved their win after a solid performance, and it looks as if Delio Rossi’s side brought back their good form from the month of September. They will face the winner of Fiorentina vs. Torino in the quarterfinals.

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Serie A Matchday 11 – Week-End Review + GOALS of the Week (2008-09)

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Week-End Reviews

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Italy.TheOffside.com week 11 review

Italy.TheOffside.com

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Italian Calcio Blog week 11 review

Italian Calcio Blog 2008-09

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Gazzetta in English week 11 review

Gazzetta dello Sport

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Substitute Julio Cruz headed home in stoppage time to give Inter Milan a 1-0 home win over Udinese on Sunday and send the Serie A champions top for at least a few hours. Inter had drawn two of their last three league games 0-0 and Mourinho’s side looked to be heading for a third as they continually lumped crosses into the box and lacked creativity. The Nerazzurri manager again tinkered with his stuttering three-pronged attack and welcomed back defender Walter Samuel, out for 11 months with knee trouble, in place of Nicolas Burdisso who made mistakes for two Anorthosis goals on Tuesday. “Udinese for me are a good team. From a defensive point of view, Inter have played really well,” Mourinho told Sky.

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