A disappointing league season was put into shadow thanks to a glorious Coppa Italia campaign that resulted in a fifth title for the Aquilotti and a ticket into the inaugural Europa League next season. Thus, our Lazio are back where they belong, back in Europe. Some may question that when they only finished 10th in the league, but performances against Juve and Milan in the Coppa suggest that they can do Italy proud in Europe next season. Indeed, depsite only finishing 10th in the league, there were many positives for the laziale out their to focus on. Finally, Pasquale Foggia was given the time to show his quality down the Stadio Olimpico wings, quality that Delio Rossi initially appeared to doubt. In the end Rossi had no option but to play the Italy international and the fruits of this decision were their to be seen in the creativity that the little wizard produced week in week out. Alexander Kolarov also showed he has the potential to be a world class wing back, he gets forward well and can add to the offensive side of the Lazio game, much as Maicon does at Inter. Kolarov does though need to improve on the defensive side of his game, and as the season progressed he did.
Seasons discovery
Without doubt though, the discovery of the season was Mauro Zarate. The young Argentine showed glimpses of absolute brilliance that suggests he can become one of the best strikers in the world. Some of his footwork and the goals he scored defied belief at times, and the goals he scored in the derby and in the Coppa Italia final and semi will have him written into laziale legend. 16 goals in all competitions saw him top the clubs scoring charts and I think the fans will be justified in expecting a lot more next season as after all this was his first season in Serie A.
What next for Lazio
The fans will expect more from Lazio now they have won their first trophy for five years. Indeed, Lazio may get the chance to win another in the European Super cup on August 8th although the will have to get past Inter Milan first. Still, what really is required is a competitive Serie A season after finishing 12th and 10th in the last two seasons. They have taken steps to address this already after completing the signing of Portuguese international Eliseu for a bargain fee. However, problems have arisen already after key players Pandev and Ledesma have requested transfers to pastures new. They are not irreplaceable, but it forces club president Lotito to look for more holes to fill in the team, as really finding a quality centre back should have been the focus. Brazilian central mid Matuzalem does look like joining though after a decent loan spell. One thing Lazio also need to do is to trim the squad down, well over 40 players deep, to raise some additional transfer capital and of course cut back on wages.
What can Lazio fans expect next season
So long as any players who leave are competently replaced then Lazio can I believe look forward to a very decent run in both cup competitions as they seem to be able to rise to the big occasions. As far as the league goes then if they can achieve greater consistency from new manager Davide Ballardini then challenging for a top seven finish should not be beyond them, but with the likes of Napoli and Genoa re-enforcing and with three competitions in the offing then it will be difficult, but not impossible, to be successful in everything.
Next on all things calcio: Mercato round up, Inter, Juventus and Milan season reviews
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