Review of the Year: January – June

By: cathal | December 30th, 2008

2008. Not the most memorable year in Lazio history. It will probably be remembered as a transitional period, a year in which many new faces arrived and where optimism and pessimism met somewhere in the middle. Depending on what lies ahead in the future, 2008 will either be seen as a catalyst or a step in the wrong direction. We all hope for the former.

So let’s get this show on the road as we remind ourselves of the year that’s been, 2008.

January

January was welcomed in a mist of negativity. A poor start to the season which saw us languishing in the mid-table region and elimination from the Champions League left little to shout about. Nevertheless, the team trudged on and new blood was introduced; the defensive duo of Radu (above) and Rozehnal and the third man of the strikeforce, Bianchi. On the football field, we got 2008 off to an awful start in Serie A with a disastrous home loss to Genoa followed by draws against Napoli and Torino. In the Coppa, we managed to dump out Napoli and then the Viola to book a place in the semis. Still, there were few signs that our fortunes were about to change but at least we had new men at our disposal.

Highlight of the Month: The new signings and not much else.

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February

Lazio kicked February off with a much needed win against Sampdoria. However, the inconsistency continued with a tense 1-0 loss at the hands of soon to be relegated Empoli. We then retaliated with a rather flattering win over Atalanta before succumbing to a dire Cagliari side. In a month where win was followed by loss, we rounded it off with a fine performance against Reggina where the likes of Bianchi, Meghni and new arrival Dabo all excelled.

Highlight of the Month: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJpF0Mf-p4 (for the scoreline)

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March

The month began with a hard earned point against Milan in the San Siro. Pandev and Rocchi stole the show the next week against Livorno. A topsy turvy draw with Udinese preceded the greatest win of 2008: the derby day victory. Behrami’s last minute goal gave us the spoils as we walked away victorious and in high spirits. Typically, we lose three days later to Fiorentina. A 1-1 draw with Inter rounded off what was an excellent month for us overall.

Highlight of the Month: take a guess! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0jF93f8sp8&feature=related
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April

Bad start to April with another draw against another side in turmoil, Parma. Points were later thrown away against Siena and Catania before we took an absolute hammering in Turin. Despite suffering badly in the Campionato, we did manage to hold Inter in the first leg of our Coppa tie. Sadly that was to no avail as we crashed and burned in May’s return leg. Possibly the worst month of the year.

Highlight of the Month: There is a highlight for April???

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May

The month began badly as Amauri took advantage of the Juve hangover and gave Palermo three points. We redeemed ourselves days later with a rare away win against Genoa who essentially had nothing to play for but pride. We ended the season with a neat win at the Olimpico against Napoli but still finished 12th in the table. It was a crap season, let’s face it. For a side that secured 3rd with a points deduction in the previous season, 12th just didn’t cut the mustard. However Rossi stayed and it was on to the mercato for Lotito while we gently shifted our attention to Euro 2008.

Highlight of the Month: The end of the f**king season…

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June

June inevitably became a period of either reflection and complaints or relief and excitement or even both. We all knew we had had a bad season, we all wanted to know what had gone wrong and we all wanted to see things put right. But what we wanted, perhaps more than anything, was for Euro 2008 to ease all our woes. Unless you’re Spanish, you probably ended up as sick as ever.

Highlight of the Month: Lazio women’s 5-a-side team winning the Scudetto (or if you’re Spanish, Euro 2008).

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Part 2 tomorrow.