After an impressive 2014-2015 campaign that saw them finish in the top three, Lazio failed to follow it up and had an overall disappointing season.
Going into the new season, there was plenty of excitement surrounding Lazio. The biancocelesti were a play-off win away from the Champions League and the club had a number of interesting youngsters within their ranks. With Felipe Anderson coming off the best season of his career, there was plenty of hype surrounding the team. However, Lazio would lose in the Champions League play-off round to Bayer Leverkusen in what would set the tone for a truly disappointing season in the country’s capital.
Season Summary:
Serie A: 8th place.
Champions League: Play-off round (3-1 aggregate loss to Bayer Leverkusen)
Europa League: Round of 16 (loss to Sparta Prague)
Coppa Italia: Quarter-finals (1-0 loss to Juventus)
To make matters worse, the club’s best defender Stefan de Vrij went down with an injury in the second match-day and would miss the rest of the season. Without him at the heart of defense, Lazio struggled immensely to keep the ball out of the back of the net. By the end of the season, Lazio conceded 52 goals which is good for the worst defensive record of all the top ten clubs and is the 7th worst in the entire league. As a result of their porous defense, Lazio found it difficult to push on for higher places in the table and would go win-less from the 28th of October to the 20th of December. (7 games) The biancocelesti’s continued poor form would eventually cost Stefano Pioli his job who was replaced by Simone Inzaghi on April 3rd. The coaching change wouldn’t help much as Lazio finished the season in eighth place.
Their form in Europe, on the other hand, differed greatly from their domestic fortunes as Lazio topped their group consisting of Saint-Etienne, Dnipro and Rosenborg with fourteen points. They then beat Galatasaray in the round of 32 by a score of 4-2 on aggregate and were on their way to the round of 16. After a so-called easy draw against Sparta Prague, optimism surrounding their European run was high. However, much like the rest of their season, Lazio disappointed and bowed out of the competition after an embarrassing 3-0 defeat in the second leg. And like that, Lazio had nothing left to fight for in the 2015-2015 season.
In regards to their Coppa Italia run, there is not much they could have done. While they could have beaten Juventus in that game, the bianconeri’s defense was simply too strong on the night and was enough for a 1-0 win condemning Lazio to a quarter-final exit.
Player of the season: Antonio Candreva
No surprises here as Antonio Candreva wins Lazio’s player of the season for yet another year. Despite the club’s struggles, the Italy international was a consistent performer for the capital club and found the back of the 12 times. In addition to his rich vein of form in front of goal, Candreva was able to assist a further 10 goals. As a result, it leads one to wonder just where they would have been without him this coming season. While he wasn’t always sublime and struggled to impose himself at times, Candreva was still a difference maker for the club. There are now rumors that he will be moving from Lazio and signing for a bigger team. However, that remains to be seen.
Signing of the season: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
There aren’t many players to choose from for this category as Lazio had quite the boring (and average) transfer campaign. As a result, by virtue of a lack of options, Milinkovic-Savic is Lazio’s signing of the season. That’s not to say that the midfielder didn’t have a good year as he did show flashes of brilliance here and there. My main gripe with the player is that he was unable to demonstrate his talent on a consistent basis. Given the fact that this was his debut season in a big league, an adaptation period was to be expected. Going into next season, expect Milinkovic-Savic to take the next step in his career and establish himself as a regular in what appears to be a new-look Lazio side.
Final Word –
Without Miroslav Klose next season, Lazio have the opportunity to rethink their identity as a club. It’s now being reported that former Chile boss and Copa America winner Jorge Sampaoli is the favorite for the job. Should this move come to fruition, there will be fun times ahead for the biancocelesti. The veteran tactician plays an enthralling brand of football and has enjoyed success with it. Given the fact that they will bolster their side on the transfer market and will have a manager with fresh and innovative ideas, I do believe Lazio will be the surprise package of the next season. While 2015-2016 was a season to forget, Lazio fans, fear not, as next year will be a memorable one.
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